Sheds

A man's shed is his castle, or so they say. Sexist, perhaps, but sheds have been traditionally typified as the place where a man retreats when life, and the wife, has become too much. A place where he can be alone with his thoughts, and tools.

OK. That's a bit rich. But outdoor sheds are still a greatly important garden building, one that can be used by not just the 'man of the house', but the whole family, for many purposes: for example, they can be used to create an extra room, an extra office, a playroom for children, a workshop, or they can be used as plain old storage sheds, a place to keep all the garden equipment.

When it comes time to buy a garden shed, you need to think carefully not just about what it will be used for (see above) but about how it will be constructed.

Traditionally, in the UK, sheds for the back garden have been made of wood. This is a practical, durable material (once you have treated the wood) that will last for years and years. Wooden sheds also fit beautifully in with the 'look' of the average English garden. The drawbacks are the need for regular maintenance (wood needs to be treated regularly to maintain it's waterproofing), and the cost - they're made of lots of individual sheets of wood which take time to put together.  Wooden sheds work particularly well in gardens that have a wooden garden edging fence, as they compliment each other nicely.

More recently, sheds have been constructed of plastic, or vinyl. Plastic has the benefit of being extremely durable (think of the trouble we have disposing of plastic bags!), lightweight, and much cheaper than wood. Because the shed kit can be supplied as large sheets of plastic, they are also much easier to construct than wooden sheds. The biggest problem with plastic sheds is that they look cheap. Plastic and vinyl sheds usually come in a nasty shade of green (which is supposed to match the colour of your grass) and they just look, well, flimsy. A great choice if you are a cost-cutting landlord. Not so good a choice if you are building your dream home and garden.

Another option is the metal shed, which is often made of steel, aluminum, or corrugated iron. Metal sheds are a much less common site at the end of the garden than they are on an industrial site, where they are often used, as they are relatively durable, easy to throw together, and quite cheap. Metal sheds are also much more popular outside of the UK. The downsides are that they rust, they often look ugly, and they can get incredibly hot in the summer.

Building your own shed is the ultimate DIY job, and is a rite of passage for many men. OK, not really a rite of passage, but it's a great project that you can really get your teeth into, but which is relatively straightforward to complete. You even get the chance to work outdoors!

This video, by the Two Ronnies, gives a perfect example of the joys of building your own garden shed.

You can pick up a shed kits from pretty much any home improvements or DIY store. In your kit you'll find all the materials you'll need (be it wood, plastic or metal), as well as the shed plans that you will need to use as your blueprint for construction.

If that's not for you though, there are plenty of firms that will build a shed for you. They'll either build it from scratch, or from a kit that you provide. Some of the bigger and more established firms are getting good at building competitively priced sheds of all types, from the really small storage sheds to big, multi-room complexes that are almost new houses in their own right.

One of my favourite firms is actually a US based firm - Tuff sheds - who can build you pretty much anything you want at a decent price. If you're based in the UK, though, don't despair. A quick internet search, or flick through the yellow pages will bring up plenty of local companies that can help you out.