As outdoor sheds become more attractive in design and materials, they are being used for multiple purposes. In fact, some people have stopped using their storage sheds for storage and instead taken to using them as recreation rooms and guest houses!

Some have turned them into playhouses for children.

Give your imagination free rein and see what you come up with. Do you want to teach classes in gardening? Why not buy a new “storage” garden shed just for that purpose? It would be cheaper than adding a room to your house.

First, be sure to check your local and neighbourhood zoning laws before adding a shed to your property. If it is permitted, it’s time to choose your shed!

After spending the money and installing your shed, it would be disheartening to have to take it down because you didn’t call about the zoning laws. So don’t forget!

Also, be sure you place your shed on a level site with good drainage and an appropriate foundation. If you don’t, the durability as well as stability of your shed may be compromised.

Preparing the foundation may take a little more time than putting the shed together, in fact, but it will be worth it.

Wooden Garden Sheds

Wooden sheds are the most expensive and highest maintenance, requiring periodic repainting and re-roofing. But they can be painted to match your house.

A wood shed offers storage for everything from summer toys, lawnmowers, garden tools, bikes, and anything else that homeowners need to store away from inclement weather.

Various sizes can be purchased to accommodate the needs of each family.

Smaller sheds can be used as outdoor playhouses and give children a little house of their own.

An 8 by 8 shed is large enough to hold a riding lawnmower, and if shelves are added within the building, more storage can be obtained for storing oil, parts, belts, and tools.

The designs of the sheds can vary from a plain design to a very intricate designed building.

Everything from the shingles to the styling of the wood work can upgraded to a better built shed and looks less like a shed, but more like an addition of an outside room.

Vinyl garden sheds

In the 1800s, researchers used a gas, vinyl chloride, to create a solid, rigid material. This material was more of a curiosity than anything at the time. No one knew what to do with it. But in 1926, Dr. Waldo Semon created a rubber-like substance out of it, polyvinyl chloride, or PVC.

This new material was lightweight, fire-resistant, and durable.

During World War II, vinyl was used to replace natural rubber, which was in short supply.

Later, it would be used to make insulation for electrical wires, waterproof fabrics, and PVC pipes, which don’t rust like metal.

Now vinyl is used widely in the construction industry. It is cheaper and performs better than wood or metal in many applications.

“Vinyl Is Final” is a popular slogan in the siding industry because it never needs to be replaced.

Garden sheds made from vinyl are also “final.”

They never need painting, they don’t rust or rot, and they are waterproof. For decades, they look as great as the day they were first bought.

While vinyl garden sheds are not the least expensive, they are the most maintenance free. Vinyl is also the most durable of all the materials, but it cannot be painted.

Vinyl can be made to look like anything from a barn to a clapboard-sided house to an igloo. It is so versatile that it can be made to look like other materials, from wood to stone to leather to glass. It is also less expensive than other materials. Because it’s manmade, the supply is nearly inexhaustible.

Plastic Garden Sheds

Plastic shed kits are the least expensive and easiest to put together. The interlocking panels go together in a snap.

A plastic shed can save you time and money, not just today but for years. You’ll have more time to putt around in the garden planting those herbs and tomatoes with your tools right where you need them.

If you’re not an architect or a carpenter, a plastic garden shed may be the answer for you.

Maybe you want more time to weed and water your flower beds, and not spend a lot of time looking through garden shed plans, buying the materials, and nailing it together. It might be winter before you’re through!

If you want a fast solution, you can choose a plastic garden shed online or at a garden store from among many different sizes and styles. Pick out a kit, take it home, and put it together in an hour or two with a couple of basic household tools, and you’ll still have time to get some gardening done!

Plastic sheds are pretty much maintenance free. You don’t have to paint them or deal with rust and repairs.

Steel/Metal Sheds

Steel sheds provide the best storage solution garden storage whether it is a small number of tools or a ride on lawn mower.

Coated metal shed construction means that the units are maintenance free and will not rot away like timber sheds.

The steel garden sheds are fire resistant and provide excellent weather resistance. They provide a storage solution that will last many years.

Steel storage sheds are suitable for use on mobile home sites where timber sheds and stores have become unsuitable because of their fire risk.

What material should you go for?

Vinyl shed kits are easy to put together but are more expensive. Plastic garden sheds are affordable and easy to assemble. Wood shed kits may be the most difficult.

Depending on your skills and the size of the shed and the design, you can find what you are looking for.

Steel sheds are the best solution for storage of many items both large and small in the garden, backyard or larger outdoor building.

Metal sheds are available in a huge variety of styles and sizes to suit everyone and their budget.

A metal shed can be used as small storage for garden tools or supplied considerably larger for hosing vehicles. Steel sheds can be delivered in kit form to assemble in-situ and can have various styles, roof designs, door positions and a range of colours.

Steel Shed Benefits

1. No blistering or cracking.
2. Low cost compared to brick or timber.
3. No splitting due to frost.
4. No torn roofing felt.
5. No swelling or warping.
6. No damage from insects or pests.
7. No painting.
8. Maintenance Free.
9. Fire Retardant.
10. Lockable Doors.
11. Ultra-Tough Steel.
12. Easy and quick assembly.
13. Panel assembly.

After deciding on the type of material you want your shed to be made of, figure out how big you need for it to be, which will depend on what you are going to use it for, and then select the style.