Monday 24 November 2008

Securing your garden shed

Whether you are purchasing a new garden shed or you already have a shed containing expensive gardening equipment, you must make sure that it is secure. Recently there have been a number of burglaries in Kent involving possessions being taken from people's garden sheds and garages.

There are many security measures that can be taken in order to secure your shed including: purchasing a shed security kit, use a strong padlock and not leaving the keys for your shed in an obvious place or on view.

You may also consider outside lighting as this is a deterrent for burglars.

Thursday 20 November 2008

Tips for building your garden shed

1. Shed Base

It is essential to create a dry and level foundation for your new garden shed before you start constructing it. If you build your shed on an unlevel base, the screw holes connecting the wall panels will not line up. There are a number of different types of suitable shed bases, these include:


For whichever base you choose it is recommend that you have a 5cm (2’’) lip around the edge of your garden building.


2. Constructing the Side Panels

First of all position a side panel and fix it to the gable panel, this should be done with the panels sitting on the floor. This creates one corner of your shed. The other two panels should then be fixed to the previous panels one at a time until your shed has all four sides attached.


3. Adding the Roof

Place both of the roof panels onto the top of the shed. You will find that if your base is not level then the roof panels will not fit together properly. The next step is to secure all the side panels and roof panels together. Make sure your side panels are all straight. To attach the roof, first put the roof truss in place and fix up to the ridge, then fix the ends up the underside of the top rails of the side panels. You will need to do this one end at a time.


4. Felting the Roof

Please see my previous blog post for information about felting the roof of your garden shed.

Thursday 13 November 2008

Huge increase in the popularity of garden sheds

As less people are moving house nowadays due to the current economic uncertainties, it is becoming more apparent that people are spending more time and money on home and garden improvements.

The main market areas that have seen a vast increase in customer interest, leading to sales are bathroom equipment & fittings and garden design.

A recent study by Thomson Local has shown that over the last year the number of people searching for a garden shed has increased by over 200%.



Tuesday 11 November 2008

Felting the roof of your apex shed

1. The first thing to do when felting your garden shed roof is to cut the felt to the right size. For a shed with an apex roof you will need to cut out three pieces of felt. Two of the felt pieces should be slightly longer then the actual roof panels (about 50mm longer) and the other felt piece should be used to cover the gap along the very top of the shed (the apex part) and extend at least 75mm over each roof panel.

2. Each piece of felt must be nailed sepearately. Lay one of the pieces of felt over a roof panel and nail down using felt nails. It should be nailed at the top of the panel with a 50mm overhang at the eave. Neatly fix the gable ends and eave ends with closely spaced felt nails. Once one roof panel is completely repeat the same on the other side.

3. The third piece of felt can then be placed over the gap at the very top of the shed and nailed down using closely spaced felt nails again.

4. The final thing to do is to tidy up the felt at the corners. The fascia board can then be hammered onto the front and back gables, to do this four 40mm nails should be used for each strip.

Wednesday 5 November 2008

Secure tool storage sheds

Most homeowners own a set of tools for the odd occasions where something needs to be fixed. No one wants these tools cluttering up valuable space within their home, this is why many people invest in a secure tool garden storage shed. There are hundreds of different types of storage shed available ranging from small wall stores to huge workshops.



For a more secure shed it is advisable to choose one which doesn't contain any windows. Metal sheds are also a good choice for extra security. If you are keeping high value items in your garden shed it may also be worth investing in a shed alarm which work in a similar way to house alarms.