Sheds, sheds, sheds... Argh!!

So, we're on the lookout for a sparkly, brand new shed to replace our old, falling down (I'm sure it's only the ivy keeping it upright) dilapidated shed.. It was in the garden when we moved in, and that was 17 years ago, so I reckon the poor thing is 25 years old at least..
Your foot goes through the floor when you walk in it and I think Mr Ratty and his many, many chums have been having a rave up in there! it's way, way, WAY past it's sell by date now..

So the hunt for Shed October has begun... Simple enough task you would think...

OMG.. How wrong was I. Crumbs, there's soooooooo much choice, it's a little bit bewildering really.
I know it needs to be a minimum of 10x8 and we want it to be in the reverse apex style. It will have a slabbed base (something the old one doesn't have, poor mite).

We've ruled out metal sheds, so it's wood, or as my darling hubby has now thrown a curveball into the mix, plastic! Not the crappy plastic one's mind, nooooo. He's found a couple that look to be a very sturdy construction and they seem to be., well.... quite nice! BUT WOWZERS..... THE PRICE!

I'm looking at the traditional wood! Old school see.

I'll add some pix of the ones we're both looking at, and if you've any experience of any of them or have one yourself, I'd love to know your thoughts about them.

We're open to suggestions, so please if you can recommend a stockist or particular shed, share the info as I think I might go slightly mad with it all... Yes, madder than I am already..

So, the wooden sheds are my choice (yes, I know they're basically the same shed!!! lol) and the placcy ones are the hubs..

HELP!
My choices
Adley 10' x 8' Pressure Treated Premium Shiplap Reverse Apex Shed
10ft x 8ft Waltons Shiplap Pressure Treated Reverse Apex Wooden Garden Shed

Hubby's choices.
Keter Oakland 11ft x 7ft 6 (3.4 x 2.3m) Side Door Shed | Costco UK
Keter Artisan 11ft x 7ft (3.2 x 2.1m) Shed | Costco UK

 

Two very different styles.

The plastic ones would fit better in a modern garden. Not sure how they would handle condensation but they are maintenance free.

I do like the idea of double doors which you can also get with wooden sheds.

Fat Controllers shed looked really sturdy and would be on my list if I was needing a new shed

 

This just an observation, not a criticism.

A lot of store bought wooden sheds look good, but they are mostly built with timber from "sustainable" sources. Fast growing trees of low density wood.

It's all about protecting them. We get sold on "pressure treated." Or as I call it, "given a good coat of looking at." They need regular attention if they are to last.

I built mine from reclaimed timber and "proper" roofing plywood.

This is it this year, after I'd replaced the roofing felt, for the second time in its life.
Still rock-solid no rot.



I built it in 1976. The windows even then were reclaimed, made in the mid sixties when they were still using "proper" wood.

 

I will be extending our current metal shed using timber to create a workshop, I shall do all the work myself and build the extention from scratch using "heavy duty" timber, I know not everybody has my experience or tooling for working with timber but for me, the cheapest option for a quality build.

The chickens will be a bit miffed though because I'm stealing half their current run!

 

we have in our local newspaper, folks that will come and get the old sheds, not sure the cost. just wondering if you all have that also there? anyway, if you do a search this topic was talked about already, might find other thoughts there.

we have a shed for the garden stuff. and then my husband has two garages he brought in for his cars on the other side of the property. there are at least two local shed places to purchase them from in the area. often seen on flat beds being delivered places. they also sell gazebos.

 

When we moved over here, we stored all our worldly goods in a couple of Keter plastic sheds. They were brilliant. Although rodents did get in through the pre-formed holes in the integral floor, a few blue sachets put paid to them with no damage done.
The sheds are on concrete bases and still going strong 13 years later.
Only major drawback is that all storage shelves and hooks have to be free-standing as you can't screw into the plastic, or hang stuff from the cross braces. One minor drawback which probably wouldn't arise in UK is that paper wasps love to build nests in the ventilated square-sections that run down each side.

 

Looking long term with a shed, if it has a felt roof, check the quality.
If you have a shed and the felt is getting a bit tired. Get a quality non-tear polymer variety. as a replacement sold by roofing supply wholesalers, not available in the likes of B&Q.

 

Thank you all, so very much for your highly informative replies, they've been tremendously helpful.
@noisette47 just passed on your info to hubby and I think (hope) that the lack of being able to hang stuff directly onto the walls of the shed and the potential for rats/mice to move in has called a halt to one of those. Personally, I'm quite pleased as although they're easy, I'm really not keen. We're also in a very rural location and the house is listed so to me it just wouldn't sit right to have something like that in the garden. \

@Doghouse Riley & @Fat Controller Thankfully hubby is a dab hand at diy. He finished off building our garage after builders didn't finish the job properly and as an added bonus father-in-law is an absolute whizz in that too..
So more curveballs have come into the fold now. Either go down the route of buying one big workshop/shed and remove both of the ones we have or build it ourselves to our spec. F-i-L was for many years in his working life a draughtsman and has built many garden buildings of various guises. He built our wood store to spec about 5 years ago. (piccies below) So, we're also looking into that.
Thank you both again, I really appreciate your input.

 

I also need to give the wood store a treatment of preservative! The round area in the middle of the door opening did once have an outside clock on it, but high winds put paid to that last year. We haven't found a decent replacement yet.

@redstar there probably is something similar here, but, I wouldn't pass on the smaller shed as it really is on its very last legs. The other one isn't in bad form if truth be told, needs a small section of flooring sorted and new roof covering. I'm trying to persuade the hubster that we could re-site it down by my greenhouse and I could use it there as storage for my garden tools and overwintering plants. He thinks it's too big to have in that area as it's roughly 12 x10 (I think)
I will keep suggesting it though! I really could use it!

 

Definitely go shiplap if you're buying wood.

Re plastic, I don't care what lies the manufacturer tells on their promotional stuff, it will suffer from UV, lose its colour and go brittle. It just happens. So if you buy plastic, don't think of it as being that long term.

For preservative, if you want different colours from just plain brown or green, I thoroughly recommend Cuprinol Garden Shades. I put two coats on my shed (a lovely pale sky blue, from mixing two different shades) and 4 years on the colour hasn't faded and the wood is still as waterproof as when it started.

If you go wood and you're using any kind of preservative, one tip. It's a damn sight easier to get it done (without drips or runs) if you paint the panels lying flat on the lawn. It also lets you paint where panels will join, which otherwise wouldn't get preservative and could give a weak spot for rot to start. So get that done before you put it together - it feels a shame to wait to build it, but trust me, it'll work out better.

 

@Graham B Thanks so much for your reply. I really appreciate everybody's thoughts and input on this.
I think that hubby's thoughts of the plastic ones are not as positive now. He has wood turning machinery which he would like to keep in the workshop area, my comments of condensation and the lack of being able to attach things to the walls are a big deciding factor here. If we go down the design and build it ourselves route we would definitely do all the preserving/painting before it was constructed as you rightly point out, you can't cover everything once it's built.