Topic: Getting a shed - help please

[sazhig]

Its my birthday coming up this month & my parents have agreed to buy me a shed for my allotment ;D. Thought I would pester you lot to make sure I have thought of everything...hope you dont mind!

The questions going round my head atm are:

• Size? When I drew up my original plans for the plot I allowed for an 8x6 ft one.....is that enough do you think? I do have room for a bigger one if really necessary as the plot is bigger than we thought but tbh I would rather save the extra space for a fruit area. I need it to be big enough to store hand tools (no motor ones as they tend to get nicked round here), maybe a wheelbarrow, few toys for our 2 year old to play with, store some of the produce, as well as have as small counter for working on for sowing seeds or DS to sit & draw or do jigsaws at and a comfy-ish chair or 2 to sit in & have a cuppa when its raining. Have I forgotten anything? What do you use your sheds for?
• Style? Is there much difference between the single sloping roof ones & the 2 sloping ones or is it just personal preference?
• Delivery? - would a garden centre or similar deliver a shed to an allotment? We have no way of getting it there otherwise. Bit concerned about them finding it tbh :-\
• Extras? I know we will need some guttering, but as we dont have a water butt yet that can wait for the mo....I shall have a hunt around the garage for some wood to make some shutters out of to protect the windows and to make some shelves & worktop & of course Ill need a good padlock...anything else?
• Base? What will we need to make sure its stable? DH is talking about putting it on wooden plants/batons - what do we need to put under those?

• Where to get it from? Ive been told to avoid B&Q as their sheds arent v good quality & weve had problems with their wood products before so will definately not be going there. Any retailers or manufacturers that are recommended...or anywhere else to avoid?
  
  Forgive the daft questions....this is my first shed (well unless you count the half rotten one that I used as my wendy house as a child :D)...all comments & suggestions & reminders about anything Ive forgotten welcome!
  
  Thanks
  
  Saz

[Lady of the Land]

Depending on your site, may require angle iron at the four courners of the shed to prevent it blowing over in strong winds. We had 8 blow over recently on our site.

[cocopops]

Hi Saz

Lucky you having your parents buy such a thoughtful present :)

I am sorry I cannot offer to much help with most of your questions as I am working our of an old cow shed!  I would love 'truly dedicated' wooden shed to work from, without my OH clutter.

A couple of years ago my grandparents, now sadly passed, wanted a shed for their garden.  We looked at the diy store one's which were so flimsy they were not an option.  There were several local companies selling much nicer sheds, but they were really expensive.  In the end we looked in the local paper, in the classified adds, and found a company that sold great sheds, and had it errected in a few hours.  The price was a fraction of what the more high profile sellers were offering.

Good luck in your search and happy birthday.

[legendaryone]

We got our shed delivered to our allotments and didn't have any trouble, speaking to the driver it was quite common for him to deliver to allotments. We've had several deliveries to the allotmets with out any bother ar all.
I have rested both my sheds on fence posts straight onto the earth.

[Bryan]

Good luck in your search for a shed, but for myself, i am going to build one that will be to my size out of old or new pallets, timber boards//lengths and other recycled timber that i may come across.
This will work out to be totally free, and will be as comfortable as i can make it.

[coznbob]

We are also in the market for a new shed as our inherited one blew over and has pretty much disintegrated over the winter.

Check your site rules though as our site only allows a 6x4, with a sloping roof. We are trying to get around this as we took on 2 plots, but not sure it will work!

[sazhig]

Bryan - I really do wish I could use recyled materials & build my own shed...however as I only have a small car I struggle to even get 1 pallet in it, so getting enough down the allotment to build my compost heap has been hard enough over the past few months, without all the hassle of trying to prevent them from being nicked by other plot holders before Ive even had the chance to use them (I had 4 taken the first month I was there >:()....even if I could find enough to build the shed (it seems they are like gold dust round here)....so bought shed seems to be the only for me atm.....

Have added angle irons to my extras list (site is fairly exposed as its on the side of a hill) and shall have a hunt around for the local papers to check for suppliers & my agreement to check for any site rules.

Thanks for all the replies - keep em coming!

Saz

[cornykev]

Hi Saz do check the site rules because they all differ, on our site no solid bases are allowed and the sheds are rented not our own. 8x6 sounds more than big enough, ankle irons are a must if you are exsposed,you may want to  grow something near the shed that will act as a wind break, and any future pallets you get mark them up as your own, name or plot number, the thieving *fatherless children* may think twice about nicking them,  >:( good luck and happy sheding.    ;D ;D ;D

[Nelson]

Ah sheds...  ;D

Ours should hopefuly go up next weekend (£1 from the Friday-Ad).  Been up to the plot to do some more clearing & preparation this afternoon.

An 8x6 should do you fine, I've no idea regarding the single/double slope to the roof - that's down to preference & cost I guess.

Your footing needs to be sufficient to keep the actual shed structure from sitting in/on water & rotting.  The least you should put underneath it is some fence posts to act as bearers & raise the floor off the ground, these can then be replaced as and when they begin to degrade.  As a further step you could put blocks under the bearers as a further step or a concrete base but many allotments don't allow solid bases such as this.

We're going for a gravel base for good drainage, laid 2" deep and lined with a weedproof membrane.  Pressure treated bearers will then sit on this and the shed on top.  One advantage of a gravel base is that it's easy(er) to get the bearers, and therefore the floor, level.

Good luck  ;D

[GYO city gardener]

Hi, I bought a shed last year- it pays off to shop around- I went to different shops, found what i liked and than looked on the web.  I saved about £60 on the £200ish shed, which paid for additional bits that I fitted.  I don't have an allotment yet (I am 534 on the local list...) but i would think that security is important so I would suggest you invest in this.  I also painted mine out (wood stain) and in (off white emulsion- this makes it brighter and easier to see inside).  I also went to Ikea and bought some cheap shelving which is great ; they also have these netting tiered toy holders which are great for bulbs, onion sets, potato seeds and anything that needs air circulation.  I think I am getting carried away...ask away if you need more.  I am storage freak!

visit my website www.gyocitygardener.co.uk

[woppa30]

My 2p worth..
Size, my 7x5 is fine for me. Laid a base of sand and slabs with loads of broken glass to prevent rats and its fab.
Style, I went for the single sloped roof variety. I'm tall so it suits me better and it also meant that one piece of guttering and one water butt to collect the rain.
Delivery, I got mine from an add in the paper, I think they arrange delivery nationally, telesheds is their name and they will deliver; to allotments but they won't be happy if they then have a mile walk to your plot. How close can the van / small lorry get ?
Extras, I get from carboots. I recommend a padlock that is designed to be outdoors. Not just a simple brass one. These get filled with rubbish after a while and can seize. Get a decent one and it will last for years.
Base, I laid sand onto a load of rubble and then put slabs on top with a load of broken wine bottles underneath to help deter rats. If I had the time and electricity I would now dig out a base, fill it with rubble, build a wooden frame bigger than the shed and fill it with concrete. That way you have a solid flat base. The secret to a long lasting shed is a good flat base, decent shed and wood preservative and not stacking all your tools onto one side of the shed :-)
Suppliers. As I said I used telesheds and they were cheap and good sheds. Delivered to plot and erected for me on time. Must say I would use them again.
Hope this helps
woppa

[kenkew]

8x6 sounds like a decent size.
Lay a couple of quarry tiles or such at the 4 corners plus also middle of the 2 long sides and middle of 2 short sides and a centre one too. Make sure these are on solid earth. Dig out any loose soil and ram hard core into the hole if need be.
Get them level with each other. Spend some time doing that, you only get one chance.
Lay something like railway sleepers (3 off or even 4 if you have them) crossways. Check levels as you go.

Go for a two sided roof, single ones means one side of the hut has no wind deflection, just a solid wall....not as good in high winds.

Sink 2 posts at at least 2 opposite corners; that will give sideways support and length support to help keep it in position.

If you're in a windy place, try to keep heavy stuff in it, it will help....and lastly, most roofs are simply slotted into position with only a few flimsy screws holding it down. See if you can get hold of a few strips of leather to fasten roof to walls.
(Treat the shed with a good wood preservative - used to be creosote!- and don't forget to apply roofing waterproofing...used to be tar!)

[sazhig]

Thanks for all the tips guys - just thought Id update you as Im having a nice quiet birthday in front of the pc ;)....decided after looking at the top end of the plot not to get a shed at the moment. Our time is limited enough this year without spending valuable bed clearing & planting time trying to clear the waste high compst pile :o so that the shed can be put up...think I would rather have some food on my plate this year! My in-laws have just put a shed up on their plot on the same site so I think we will borrow theirs for now & look at clearing the top end next year...by which time hopefully we will have gathered enough pallets to build one (which means my eco/green side feels slightly happier as well!). Shall save this thread for then so I can keep all your tips in mind.

Parents have instead given me some money to have my hair done at a posh salon ;D & hopefully I will have enough left over to get a filofax organiser thingy to collect all my allotment planning notes in.

Thanks again!

[isbister]

I think you're doing this the wrong way round - what if you're down your allotment and there's a sudden rainy squall - if you havn't got a shed to shelter in your posh haircut will be ruined...
I'm a big fan of sheds...

[kenkew]

Haircuts don't last as long as sheds.

[Big Al]

If you have only got one sloping roof
then you only need one lot of guttering.

Just a thought.

Alan

[sazhig]

what if you're down your allotment and there's a sudden rainy squall - if you havn't got a shed to shelter in your posh haircut will be ruined...

Aaah but I do coz parents-in-law have just moved their shed from their house to their plot so all I have to do is run up to their plot ;D

Haircuts don't last as long as sheds.

True - but my hair is sooooo tangly atm & Ive havent had it cut for nearly a year now.....I have very wierd hair & only trust one hairdresser to do it properly....trouble is he costs a small fortune ::)...Its not really a very posh hairdo....just the owner of the salon chain cuts it, hence its expense!.....he cuts it so well I dont have to style it - just wash it & let it dry naturally - so I will have more time to spend down on my lotty ;D