Shed- type and base

keithdc

Hi,

We are looking to get a shed for our garden.

Two issues:
1) Wood or plastic- we can't decide which to get. It's not helped the fact that few garden centres stock plastic sheds so tricky to see what they look like.

2) What base would you choose? We have seen plastic ones that you fill with gravel and wooden ones. Not sure which is best.

Would welcome thoughts and experiences (including suggested retailers, especially in West Midlands/ Warwickshire/ Staffordshire).

FreeBear

I'd go for a wooden shed with wood floor sitting on a solid concrete base every time. Plastic fades and goes brittle in time - When a wooden shed starts to rot, it is fairly easy to cut a new length of timber & repair.

DIYDave1

Wooden shed with concrete base! The concrete base will never fail if done right and if you keep on top of the timber with a good treatment it will last for years!


I got my shed 2 years ago, still looking brand new!


And maybe think about going for a slightly better waterproofing for the roof, instead of the crappy nail on felt. A small piece of EPDM and adhesive isnt going to break the bank and itll outlast the felt for sure.

hannah57

I've always had a wooden shed in my garden and it has lasted years and years. I believe it has a concrete base.

All the best,
H

Ganga

We have had both,the wooden ones take more looking after,the roof felt if damaged must be changed asap to stop the wood from rotting,the plastic one that we have now is doing ok and gets cleaned with the garden hose now and again,it stands on the block paving so no problems with a solid base.

tgon

Im currently considering getting rid of my old wooden garden shed and buying a metal one.

Homersimpson

Personally I would avoid metal, I have a garage with a metal roof and I have a lot of problems with condensation, its always damp even though its well ventilated.

gamston

not had the plastic one's, I built two wooden ones to fit into certain areas of the garden, base from concrete with 1 level of brick/block to raise the shed away from the grass, and first planks overhang bricks so rain drips off & away from the wood

getmore4less

What ever you get make sure it has double doors or a wide door to make access easy.
if going big, double doors and a person door is worth considering.

One advantage of wood if you get one with decent framing is you have structure you can use to attach stuff to like batons for hooks, shelves etc.

MY small plastic 6'x3' Keter one not so easy to attach stuff and needed free standing or structure built to support.
(double door on the 6' side)

One thing the Keter measurements are nominal sizes.

I have a bigger wood shed but all the stuff I use dayto day is in the small one(because of the better door) and it is not big enough.

ouraggie

I have a 6' X 7' wooden shed on a paving slab base (with bricks placed upon the slabs at each corner and at various points under the base) and a 6'x 3' plastic one. The wooden one is about 25 years old and lived its first 5 years at our old house. The plastic one is about 15 years old and has always been at current location.
Wooden shed survived being dismantled and reassembled. I have recently had to replace a rusted hinge and also it needs painting every year or so to keep it looking good and preserve the wood. It has needed to be reroofed three times (decent felt always used but two local cats with sharp claws use it as a jumping board onto the fence). Several of the overlap panels have warped dreadfully in the sun (south facing) over the years and let air/water/ivy in (I have now nailed thick plastic over that wall on the inside). Hard to replace these so it looks a bit wind-warped on the side facing next door.
Plastic shed (on plastic base) still looks new, albeit a bit mossy in places. If you push against a side panel it flexes alarmingly but no cracks as yet. Useful skylight lets light in. Main problem, as previously mentioned, is that you can't put shelves up in a plastic shed. Plastic shed is not a thing of beauty but ours is hidden right at the bottom of the garden behind the wooden shed.
I would not keep anything valuable in a plastic shed. I don't even bother locking ours as it would be so easy for a thief to just bend or kick a side panel in and help themselves to my tins of paint/bulbs/wood offcuts/collection of old washing up bowls and plant pots etc.
If you are lazy or busy go for plastic. Wood looks far nicer but more on-costs and labour intensive.