Metal Shed

Hmmm a friend down the lane has one.. He says it is great & watertight & has never tried to take off...
He also was disappointed with the gauge metal & he also had/has a few problems with the sliding doors now & then, but he has never had mice in there & his tools are all very dry & happy as far as he knows...
I think I would build yourself a wooden reinforcement.. He has thick ply around the lower half of his which also strengthens it up loads..

 

I've had one for about 5 years now, it took me + son twice as long to put up compared to what the instructions claimed (8 hrs instead of 4). Getting it all square was impossible so we had to modify (i.e. drill) the final few panels to get them to fit. I don't like the paper thin metal panels, next door's kids kicking a football makes big dents, though the dents do spring back into shape with a gentle push.

The worst thing is the condensation over winter, it drips off the cold inside roof, so everything stored inside has to be covered in plastic sheets. I can't keep tools in there, they would rust plus it's not secure.

I wish I had spent a bit more and bought a wooden shed.

 

I suppose it depends on the make of shed. We have had ours nearly 7 years with no trouble. The metal is fairly sturdy with a lot of horizontal panels (not the verticals you have) and no hint of condensation.

It was half the price of a wooden one of equivalent size (I think it's approx 10' x 13') and took two men eight hours to put up.

 

The shed is a Yardmaster, made in Northern Ireland. Ours was approx 10ft x 13ft but I can't see that size in the current catalogue but GardenBuildingsDirect (there are other sellers as well ) show one that size at £470.

Their catalogue is here:
http://yardmaster.co.uk/pdf/ymeng.pdf

Here is an ad for the shed
http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Metal-Sheds/Yardmaster-SL-Shiplap-Metal-Shed

I seem to remember that it worked out at about half the cost of a wooden shed but there is a lot more work involved in erecting it. The assembly instructions are very clear but the booklet is 24 pages of A4.

You'll need to make a base for it (slab or paving) and you would be better off making a floor. I made my floor out of marine ply (got it cheap) and covered it with some old lino. I also made a wooden ramp to put down when getting the mower out as you have the metal frame all round. As long as you get the whole thing square you shouldn't have any problem with the doors which ar sliding doors on an overhead runner. The couple of translucent panels in the roof give plenty of light (no windows). There is no maintenance needed

I've never had any problem with the shed and it does the job it was bought for - keeping the field rats out!!! They ate holes in walls and floors of the two wooden sheds.

 

I overcame, unwittingly, the possible problem of damp on the paving by having it raised. This was done because the ground was sloping so it needed to be levelled. I'd recommend it in order to get round any damp problem.

I also have shelving but, as it's not easy to fix to the walls, I bought some cheap, freestanding, racking shelving.

As Pam has shown , it's not difficult to get round problems with a little bit of thought.