Replacement For Shed

[graham101]

Last week I removed my old shed; 8' by 6' 4" and was planning to replace it with another shed, a Pent 8' by 8'.

Its going in the corner of the back garden behind the garage where we have a flat level concrete area of 12' by 10'.

The local timber company has been promising to supply the shed for over two months now, but other work; e.g. packing for engineering components seems to be taking priority.

I have been promised again that it will be built next week and erected sometime the following week (have been told this before).

The only reason I have been waiting is the shed will be very well built; real wood floor and roof with 38mm internals and 50mm frame for the base and new non tear felt.

Now my question is: Do I really need the shed? As during the last week got used to the space where the old shed stood.

The shed is going to be used for storing the petrol lawnmower and garden tools, including electric chainsaw, strimmer and hedge trimmer.

Now I was going to move my workbench and others bits and pieces from the garage into the new shed, to clear the garage, but could abort this notion.

I was thinking of a carport type of structure with perhaps a small storage chest for the electric tools. But worried about rust and dampness.

So asking if garden tools etc be OK under a carport?

Look forward to any comments.

Graham.

[wine~o]

Every man has to have a shed doesn't he ?

more seriously, tools left outside (regardless of rust) can be used by burglars to gain entry to your property, far more likely if they are on show rather than locked in a shed.

[Someone-Else]

My last shed (put up by previous owner) collapsed after a few years* so i had a brick shed built, that will out last me and the next person who buys this place.

Yes it wasn't cheap, not too expensive either, a tad bigger than a normal shed, but i had it built so it will last and last.

*no idea how long before but it came to the end of its life

[graham101]

Every man has to have a shed doesn't he ?

more seriously, tools left outside (regardless of rust) can be used by burglars to gain entry to your property, far more likely if they are on show rather than locked in a shed.

Still thinking of a small corner shed under the canopy for the expensive tools.

[Someone-Else]

small is always too small.

[boxedin]

I agree with Win~o and Someone-else

I have a tin shed on the Allotment provided by the council it leaked in around the base until I sealed it earlier this year. Over winter saws and bits rusted badly because of the high humidity and cold temperatures. (Any bare metal tools need to be coated with something WD40, oil to deter rust ) I wouldn't leave any tools lying around as people use them to break into the sheds

So a watertight shed would be my preferred option if I had the choice. If you could run electricity to it you could use it as a small workshop run a heater and fit burglar alarm and security light. Strong locks as well are a must
Video on shed security here by UltimateHandyman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnx64xTWDMo

[martybenji]

If I kept expensive tools in the garden I'd go for something like this: https://www.gardensite.co.uk/garden-bui ... l-base.htm
I think metal technology has moved on from the old tin sheds and these modern ones look secure as well as waterproof to keep anything inside in good condition.

[Job and Knock]

I was thinking of a carport type of structure with perhaps a small storage chest for the electric tools. But worried about rust and dampness.

So asking if garden tools etc be OK under a carport?

From my own long-standing experience of storing tools in big, secure steel site boxes, containers and vans (which are in effect steel boxes on wheels) I'd have to say that storing any type of electrical tool or anything made from high speed steel or tool steel in any kind of prolonged outdoor storage (i.e more than a few weeks in winter) will inevitably result in rusting and/or corrosion - regardless of how much oil/grease/patent nostrum you slap onto the items. This is because because steel sheds, containers and the like seem to "sweat" - what is actually happening is that moisture from the outside air condenses off on the cold metal surfaces (and tools) in the early morning then re-evaporates as things warm up later in the day (thus aiding oxidation and rusting) and on warm humid days containers in spring and autumn they tend to fill with warm humid air which just accelerates the process. You will also have the annoyance of needing to clean the stuff off and re-protecting it each time it gets used which means that when you are in a hurry one day you'll forget to re-protect, or just plain put it off. Result: rust. Electrical goods and edge tools (e.g. saws, chisels, etc) are generally better off cleaned off and metal surfaces oiled sparingly (BTW NOT WD40 as that isn't an oil, it's a release compound which can actually attack some grades of plating and aluminium, whereas 3-in-1 or sewing machine oil IS) then stored indoors when not in use. If you must have a metal box, it needs to be really well ventilated to try to counter this or if not ventilated you might want to consider the oversized silica gel hanging units (the type they put into cars and containers being exported) as an approach. TBH I got so fed up with cleaning off rust that my own gardening tools are now stainless wherever possible as that withstands being in a cold, damp shed very well - and my shed is masonry built with a heavy timber door, hinges and a secure padlock on it. Also I don't keep anything which could serve as a pry bar with them, either, just to be safe

...tools left outside (regardless of rust) can be used by burglars to gain entry to your property, far more likely if they are on show rather than locked in a shed.

Yes indeed. The only safe-ish way I've found to store tools outdoors is to have a very heavy steel site box with security locks securely bolted down to a large, thick concrete slab - and even that won't stop a determined tool thief if he has the time and isn't disturbed (we've had 150kg site storage boxes ripped up and removed over a weekend by the more "enterprising" thievery types).