The Pros and Cons of Different Types of Garden Buildings

A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Right Garden Building for Your Needs

What you should ask and check BEFORE buying

1/ Are the buildings you want to buy on display?
2/ How good is the timber cladding?
3/ Are the floor and roof SOLID timber – is there any chipboard?
4/ Can you choose your size and style of the shed?
5/ Is the building erected FREE and delivered FREE?
6/ How thick is the framework?
7/ How tall are the buildings, are you a midget?
8/ What conditions are attached to the guarantee?
9/ Are the shed made in the UK and are they stockpiled?

If you Buying a Garden Shed or Outdoor building, you have a large range of companies to choose from, offering a very large range of pricing and quality, HOWEVER, you need to know that the building is built to last. Many companies offer their sheds WITHOUT the option to view, so until the building arrives you have no idea of how good or BAD your purchase is.

We have a DISPLAY site where you can see the QUALITY Diamond, Platinum, Sapphire and Humber timber sheds and Safestore Secure Steel Sheds in situ for YOUR INSPECTION. You can then make your mind up by physically examining our sheds BEFORE you make that decision. The other BONUS is that we will ASSEMBLE these timber garden buildings for you FREE of charge. If any company is not prepared to let you see their product beforehand then you need to be CAREFUL. We recommend you VIEW beforehand if poss and we are confident and happy to display our products before you spend a penny of your hard earned money.

Guide to Buying Garden Sheds or Timber Workshop

If you are thinking of buying a timber garden shed there are many things to consider to ensure you don’t waste your money. With many cheap garden sheds on the market, you may be tempted to think these will fulfill your needs but if you intend to use the sheds for many years this can be a false economy.

The main thing to look at is the thickness of the shed framing (effectively the skeleton of the shed). You will find that the cheap sheds often only have framing only 28mm x 28mm (that is only 1″ x 1″). Take a look at a ruler and see how small that is. Then try to imagine that this very thin timber has to hold the weight of the cladding, and the roof and felt, although the roof is very thin as well. Then try to imagine a layer of snow on the roof (it does happen) and think how much extra weight this puts on the shed, does this give you confidence that the timbers are strong enough, is yes, then keep your fingers crossed. The ideal minimum thickness for the framing should be 50 x 50mm (2″ x 2″) which is about four (4) times thicker than you see on these cheap sheds. With this thickness, your new garden shed will withstand everything our British weather will throw at it.

The next most important thing is to ensure that the building is made from proper timber, chipboard and OSB board is not really suitable for outdoor use where there is a chance they will get wet (Right !! England and wet weather go together like Wimbledon and Strawberries) OSB board can be adequate in certain circumstances however if any of the board is cut (which nearly always has to be to meet the size of the shed) then this removes the special waterproof paint which had been applied to the edges. The cut edges of the garden shed floor is then prone to swelling when it gets wet and then that is the beginning of the end of the roof and floor.
With the roof you have to cover it with the roofing felt – how do you do that – you put clout head nails through the roofing felt into the OSB boards which again – potentially if you do not align the nails correctly – allows water to get into the OSB board. When this happens you can expect the roof to shows signs of letting in water and disintegrating. Chipboard is by its name made from wood chips stuck together – which is fine for kitchen and bedroom cabinets covered in melamine – but it is NO USE whatsoever in a shed.

Also, notice that companies offering chipboard or OSB boards describe them as solid sheet materials as they are too embarrassed to tell you the truth. They also do not offer any guarantees on this chipboard and OSB boarded floor as they KNOW they won’t last the minute they get wet.

How do we know all this about Garden Sheds and how qualified are we to say this?

We have been involved in the manufacture of timber garden sheds and workshops since 1979. For over 20 years we ran one of the largest Garden Shed companies in the south of England and made the conscious decision to only deal with quality materials which we knew would last the test of time. This ethos probably comes from our upbringing. Our father was a Master Butcher in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire and Quality was always the keyword behind his business which he took over from his father.

As you can see we are not just salespeople selling a range of products who know nothing of little about the products but have the history behind us to ensure that when you choose ‘1st Choice’ then you know your building will be ‘1st Choice.

Click on any of the following links for more important things to consider before buying!

Read About Quality of Timber Which Should Be Used

Read About What you MUST know about Garden Sheds Floors & Roofs

Read About Range of Styles and Sizes from 1st Choice Garden Sheds and Buildings

Read About Delivery and Assembly Options

Read About Glass and Windows

Not from Lilliput ?? Then Read About Height and Doors

Read About What you MUST Know about Guarantees and Where your Building will be Made

Written By Robin - Expert in Garden Buildings For 44 Years.
Hi, I'm Robin Antill, founder of 1st Choice Leisure Buildings, and I use my expertise gained over 44 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.