The last few years have been quite difficult for the gardener, and in general, due to the recession and gloom in the economy so this means that many people have put garden buildings on the ‘back burner’. This seems quite logical as a garden shed cannot be classed as an essential item. It’s possible to patch up the shed to see out another year or so or even put it off for several more years.

However, it is important that the garden shed does the job it’s meant to do and that is to look after your valuable items used in the garden. It needs to keep these dry as well as stopping various rodents getting in. Sadly a shed which has not seen a lick of paint or treatment will be as good as a ‘chocolate teapot’ if not looked after. Even more so if the shed was one of the cheaply made sheds bought from some of the large DIY stores or on flashy web sites with massive (alleged) discounts.

These cheap garden sheds would have come with either a chipboard or OSB (oriental strand board) floors which, essentially are wood chips or wood shavings stuck together. Now, these are perfectly fine until they get wet. Then what happens is that the boards will absorb the damp and then swell and fall to bits. I do know this as when I started my garden shed company back in 1979, I used these materials. After a couple of winters, I found that some shed roofs had failed and this cost me for replacements. And since then I have only offered roofs made from proper T&G (tongue and grooved) timber.

The interesting thing to me is, if you look at the specification for these cheap sheds, that these Internet companies described their floor and roofs as solid sheet material. You need to wonder why they do this and not use the proper names if they believe them to be suitable for outdoor use. Is it because it is cheap? Beware as cheap does not mean good value!! You will find that all the garden sheds and summerhouses 1st Choice Leisure Buildings are made from all timber – no sneaky descriptions of materials used in their specifications.

A little different to back in 2010 where reports showed that £6.8 billion was spent by the British at large which included items such as summer houses, garden sheds and other items relating to their gardens. Research in those years also, by GoCompare, showed that 74% of homeowners will have been taking on some garden project or another.

With 12% having ideas to giving their gardens a complete makeover and other dedicated owners giving up on their holiday to invest in their garden. This has to be good sense as money spent in the garden will last for years whereas a holiday only provides you with memories. About 12% were hopeful garden improvements would increase the value of their home and nearly one quarter were more pragmatic and were concerned about the security of their garden items even when locked away in their garden sheds.

At that time the head of pet insurance at GoCompare.com, John Miles, said that the start of the Chelsea Flower Show is the time homeowners get out into the garden, also confirming that 2010 was a good time to be spending money. He also was offering advice about the security in their gardens and that people should invest in fences for the garden as well as security lights.

Written By Robin - Expert in Garden Buildings For 42 Years.
Hi, I'm Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings, and I use my expertise gained over 42 years in the garden buildings industry to understand that each customer is different. With my manufacturing, retailing and customer service experience my articles help people choose their ideal shed, garden workshop, summerhouse, log cabin or garden office needs to suit their requirement and that is key to satisfaction. And what do I do when I'm not writing? You may find me following Grimsby Town Football Club or riding roller coasters - so plenty of 'ups and downs' in my life.