Metal sheds

Metal garden sheds are popular for storing garden equipment as they are fairly easy to construct and don’t require yearly maintenance/treatments. They are ideal as a storage shed to place at the bottom of the garden. Metal sheds are made from metals such as steel, aluminium or corrugated iron, making them fairly cheap sheds.

There are many different sizes of metal sheds available on the market; however the smaller sheds tend to have wooden bases which could be a disadvantage. If you have decided to build a metal shed you will not necessarily need to build a foundation, however this will make the shed stronger especially if it is windy.

The main downside to metal sheds is that that although they are robust, they tend to rust which is not helped by the damp environment within the UK. There are a number of metals with alloys that are resilient to rust however garden sheds built using these metals are a lot more expensive.

Benefits of different shed materials

Metal Sheds

Metal sheds are usually built from a metal such as galvanised steel, aluminium or corrugated iron. The benefits of building a shed from metal are that it will be strong, long lasting, and fire, rot and termite resistant. However a metal shed will be prone to rusting, will dent easily and will need to be attached to a heavy base to stop it blowing away when windy, as thin metal is a lot lighter than alternative materials such as wood.

Wooden Sheds

Wooden sheds tend to be more popular than the other shed materials mentioned here as they look more natural within a garden and wood is a reusable resource. They do however have many disadvantages when compared with other materials, for example they are prone to warping, splitting and becoming rotten. They are also prone to mould, therefore they require yearly maintenance to protect them from such things. There are many treatments and preservatives on the market that can be used to treat a shed to prevent it from having some of the problems mentioned. However there is no real solution to the wood splitting and warping. On the other hand though wood is easy to work with and can be adapted easily, say for instance if you want to put a new window into the side of the shed, then this can be done fairly easily, unlike with a metal shed. Wood stains can also be used to make a wooden shed the exact colour you want it, although you will have to stain it yearly to maintain the colour.



Plastic Sheds

Plastics sheds are usually made out of either PVC or polyethylene. More expensive plastic sheds tend to be UV resistant. The benefits of this type of shed are that they are strong, fairly light, and are resistant to denting, rot and chipping unlike wooden sheds. Plastic sheds also don’t require yearly maintenance as they don’t need to be treated.



Vinyl-sided Sheds

Vinyl-sided sheds are built with oriented strand board on the walls covered with standard vinyl siding placed on a wooden frame. They are fairly expensive when compared with the three other common types of shed, however they are stronger than metal or plastic sheds and they don’t need to be painted. Vinyl sided sheds often mimic the style of finish of a wooden shed and they will not rot or flake. There are health concerns associated with this type of shed material though.