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Garden shed advice for first-time buyers

Build or buy, which timber lasts, what size fits the garden and what the shed stands on. Plain answers on five topics, for people who are handy but not in the trade.

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Two red-brown timber sheds with windows behind a clipped hedge Latest articleBases Step-by-step gravel shed foundation

Five shed topics, one question at a time

Most shed questions fall under one of these.

  • Costs

    The shed, the base and the bits nobody prices in.

    3 planned
  • Bases and foundations

    Gravel, slabs, concrete or a grid for your ground.

    1 guide, 3 planned
  • Materials

    Timber, metal and plastic, and what each needs.

    3 planned
  • Sizes

    Measure what you store, then add room to turn.

    3 planned
  • Storage ideas

    Shelves, hooks and racks for a small shed.

    3 planned
A brown timber shed on an allotment with a green wheelbarrow in front

Three choices before you buy a shed

  1. Build it or buy a kit

    A kit saves a weekend of cutting. Building lets you pick thicker timber and the exact size.

    A hand saw and a blue tape measure on fresh timber boards

  2. Plan the base before the shed

    Gravel in a timber frame suits most garden sheds on firm ground. A slope or a big shed wants concrete.

    A man shovelling gravel into a yellow wheelbarrow

  3. Timber, metal or plastic sheds

    Timber wants preserver every two or three years. Metal and plastic need none but hold shelves less well.

    A pale metal shed with double doors under autumn leaves

The Shed Review Guide, free by e-mail

A checklist to open on your phone in the garden centre or before you order online: what to look at on a shed, and when to walk away.

  • Cladding and frameTongue-and-groove or overlap, and how thick is thick enough
  • Roof, felt and guttersWhat a cheap roof looks like before it leaks
  • Doors, hinges and locksThe first thing to fail, and the easiest to check
  • Questions for the sellerDelivery, base, treatment and what the guarantee covers

See what is in the guide

A padlocked hasp on a weathered timber shed door

Latest articles

The newest guide, and the two being written next.

See all articles
Close view of angular grey crushed stone

Bases and foundations

Step-by-step gravel shed foundation

A level, free-draining base for an 8x6 ft shed in a weekend, with the materials list and costs.
A timber shed with a pitched roof in a mown garden under fruit trees

Sizes · coming next

How to choose a shed size

Lay out what you will store on the lawn, measure it, then add room for the door to open.

A close stack of planed timber boards seen end-on

Materials · coming next

Overlap or tongue-and-groove sheds

Why the cheaper cladding lets in draughts, and when it is still good enough for tools.