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Garage Storage Ideas

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If you’re being driven crazy by the back yard clutter, it must be time to look for a new shed. Outdoor storage sheds provide an easy and affordable way to corral the clutter. The choices are numerous. We all have different needs for outside storage, so assess your needs first and then see what’s best for you.

At the bottom of the price range you will find steel storage sheds. Sizes come from small to big. The smallest sheds can be purchased for around 0 and will easily accommodate regular yard and garden supplies, such as a lawnmower, hoses and some basic tools. Larger sheds are available to store big items such as a tractor. On a price per square foot basis, steel sheds can have the edge.

There are many finishing options, including painting decorative finishes. This can actually make your shed look like wood. Bear in mind that steel sheds have some disadvantages. To begin with, they are prone to being dented. Their walls are often thinner, making them vulnerable to temperature fluctions of a more extreme nature. You can, though, insulate them. The need for a concrete foundation is an additional cost for a steel shed.

Vinyl or plastic sheds are also popular. These are often built with a thicker and more durable wall. They are freestanding and do not need a foundation. But they will be more sturdy if you do. The initial cost is higher, but longer term costs should be lower.

Vinyl outdoor storage sheds are made to resist denting and sun damage, making them a great long term solution. They are a good choice for renters, as they can be easily moved. Sizes are much the same as for steel. A small garden shed may be 6 by 4 feet, but you can get many sizes up to 18 feet long and more.

Whenever you erect a storage shed, pay close attention to the instructions of the manufacturer. Any shed will last better if put up properly and maintained correctly. By doing this, you will get a longer lifespan, which saves you money long term.

As you have decided to obtain a new storage shed, it might be a good time to think about some cheap shelving.

It is inevitable that you will need to repair your garden shed at some point or other. If you have a cute old shed with character, that time is probably nearer than you would like. I would say that typically a well built shed will last 10 – 20 years before it’s in for some major updates.

Many factors are involved in deciding whether to fix or replace your old garden shed, including your budget, how much you like your current shed (in good shape that is), whether it suits your purposes, and whether it suits your house style.

I had to answer these questions for two separate sheds this year – my own tiny falling down pine board lean to shed, and my mothers lovely large cottage style split roof design which had a severe water problem. My mothers shed was actually quite an easy decision. Her shed was quite large, so it would have been quite expensive to replace. Also, it didn’t actually look in bad shape, except for the holes in the roof and floor. As it turns out, I got away pretty lucky. I did have to entirely replace both roofs, but thankfully there was vapour barrier between the plywood floor and the joists, so I only needed to put down a new plywood floor. The cost for materials was about $550.

Our shed was a different story. Our shed was hidden around the side of our house and really out of view of the house or the back deck. It was approximately 3 feet by 8 feet and about 6 feet tall. Like my mother’s shed it had board and batten siding made out of wide planks. We knew both the roof and floor including the joists and sills were rotten. We thought we had a complete rebuild on our hands.

We started to figure out the material cost for a complete replacement. We both agreed that it needed to keep the character and charm of our old one, so the material costs ended up to be a little higher than the bare minimum. The first price was over $500. It seemed a bit too expensive to replace such a small shed, so we started to look for alternatives. That didn’t go so well, and we found that for the size we wanted, anything new was at the very least $500, plus they were either ugly or ugly and small, and made out of resin or lightweight metal, neither of which lends itself to decent shelving.

After a bit more consideration, we decided to salvage the old siding boards and add a new roof and floor. In fact the roof and floor turned into rebuilding a new frame as well, but the extra cost was minimal. The task was tedious but we took the shed apart board by board, built a new floor, framed in new walls and added a new roof. Then we re-assembled the old board siding just as in the original. I believe the total repair cost was $220.00, although we saved a little on roofing materials that we had left over from my mothers roofing job.

In both cases we were dealing with homes that were over a century old and we felt that the sheds really needed to match the older aesthetic of the houses. In both cases we decided to keep the wood that was salvageable and rebuild the roof, floor, and in our case, the frame. We ended up with 2 very pretty sheds and I think we managed to keep both budgets as low as possible. There are many factors to consider when faced with a garden shed in need of repairs. Do your homework and figure out various budgets. The right answer for your garden shed will become evident.