Type search for do it yourself home improvement
construction, buildings,
DIY, gardens, home tips >
Custom Search
|
Anyone who owns or has owned a garden knows how important it is to have safe garden storage for your gardening tools like lawn mowers, shears, pruning shears (secateurs), seeds, and also general and DIY and home tools. It is also useful to have storage boxes and storage cabinets outside. Unless you live in a place surrounded by outbuildings which you can use as storage sheds, you are most likely to need to have one for your home.
Every household needs to have tools around for fixing up stuff, gardening, cleaning, mowing the lawn etc. Storing such tools inside the house is quite a frustrating thing as these things take up quite a lot of space. And if not provided proper storage facility they can easily get damaged. If not taken care of, they get rusty, are lost or become useless pretty easily.
In fact, if not stored properly in the first place, the repair and maintenance of these tools becomes very expensive. Moreover, child and adult safety also becomes a concern when such tools are carelessly lying around the house. Garden storages provide a convenient and cost-effective solution to all these problems.
Garden storage sheds and outbuildings are usually built in a corner of your garden and provide a multi-purpose structure to suit all your storage needs. Garden outbuildings are built using different materials. They can be of the following types:
There are different advantages of each type of garden storage construction material and you should choose beforehand which type suits you best.
Wooden garden outbuildings are easier to build and much more cost-effective. With the help of a few household hardware tools, anyone can build a wooden garden storage shed. The most important thing to be kept in mind is that water does not seep into the garden shed and also it does not get worn out due to rain and other natural phenomenon. Prefabricated garden buildings are available at a range of prices if you don't fancy all that work. These start with humble sheds and go up to big commercial outhouses.
Shed in garden shows many uses - tools, garden items, bike (image from Waltons UK)
Care and maintenance is required of a wooden structure. If you want a structure that could last ages then you should go for a metal garden storage building. Although lesser amount of care is required in comparison to wooden buildings, keep in mind that the metal ones do tend to get a little heated up in summers. Wooden storages remain cool even in warm weather. Also they blend nicely into the scenery and provide a classic look to the structure. They can also be designed to look like a miniature home with all the decorations and architectural values.
There are many wooden sheds and prefabricated garden buildings available fairly cheaply now, and the fun of building your own must be offset against the ease of buying one as a flat pack. You will need a couple of people to erect one, so be prepared.
If you are looking for mobility and you want to take your garden outbuilding with you when you change residence or go away someplace for the summer, then a plastic garden storage box would be the most suitable solution for you. They are easier to transport and come in variations that can be packed and unpacked quite easily. They are nmore like wardrobes or ottomans than actual sheds, and are useful for storing paint, bits and pieces, tools, etc that are not large enough to require a proper shed. In fact why not have a shed for large items, and a smaller storage box for other items?
Metal buildings are good if the box or shed has to be strong to withstand theft, bad weather, or is likely to be moved to a new location. So metal buildings are seen more on professional building sites where then can be deposited by lorry and crane, used, then carted off again. So they have to be very strong and hard-wearing to take this sort of treatment. Metals might be aluminium or zinc, or alloys. Such metal buildings can rust unless the metals are chosen carefully, so a bought solution is best.
Other garden buildings articles:
Awnings, canopy, parasols >
Garden sheds >
General garden design for garden buildings tips >
Garden rooms building and regulations, neighbours advice >
Types of Garden rooms and garden buildings >
See also our Main gardening index >
Green buildings >
Party wall advice >
Damp proof course advice >