All About Garden Storage Sheds

Need help finding the right shed for your needs?

The main types of sheds

Sheds can be quite expensive. Costing anywhere from a few hundred to upwards of ten thousand dollars, means that making the wrong choice can be a costly mistake. The most common materials used for storage shed construction are wood, metal, and vinyl. You should consider the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Wood

For aesthetic value, wood sheds are hard to beat, but they can be quite expensive. Wood is great if you want a shed that can be matched to the style and color of your home, or if you would like a storage building with its own character. Wood offers great flexibility.

Interesting examples are antique Amish barns. These are disassembled and shipped piece by piece to the buyer. This is a visually appealing selection; but it might put quite a dent in your wallet. Cost seems to be the greatest disadvantage of choosing a wood shed.

Dollar for dollar, a wood shed will cost you from 25% to 75% more than its vinyl or metal counterpart. These costs can be deferred by using Do-It-Yourself building plans. If you are inclined to build from scratch, as opposed to using a prefab kit, you can secure a good deal of savings.

Metal

Metal's greatest advantage is that it you can acquire a large storage shed for not a large amount of money. If you need relatively quick assembly, and virtually unlimited size, a metal shed is your best option for storage.

Unfortunately, a metal garden storage shed can often be quite Spartan, if not downright ugly. Some companies have begun building models that look much more substantial and attractive than the metal storage units that we are used to. Sheds with windows and soffits that resemble their wood counterparts have started to find their way to the marketplace.

Vinyl

Vinyl is great for the construction of smaller sheds. Companies have created modular systems that allow for additions as your need for square footage increases. These sheds also come with built-in shelving and easier access doors than either wood or metal versions. Vinyl also doesn't rot or rust, so maintenance is kept to a minimum. 

There are a few drawbacks to vinyl sheds. First, you can't really change the color of a vinyl shed once you own it. You can paint wood and metal, but not vinyl. Second, vinyl sheds tend to be injection-molded pieces that are usually limited to about the size of a large walk in closet. If your space needs are small, this might be less of an issue. Finally, vinyl isn't quite as good looking as wood, although it can have a certain utilitarian appeal.

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