When building a house, choosing one without a basement, without a utility room inside, or simply with a bit less space - a standalone tool shed will be the answer to your storage problems for garden tools, essential DIY equipment, grill accessories, or bicycles. What tool shed should you choose?
Choosing a tool shed
Today’s tool sheds offer many possibilities for storage, are extremely functional, and also serve as a unique decoration for our green space. However, when deciding on a specific solution, it’s worth paying attention to a few key issues, which will allow us to choose a shed that perfectly fits our needs and personal preferences.
Every small tool shed should be practical and hold all garden tools and small machines. It should harmonize with the surroundings, creating a cohesive, harmonious whole not only with the garden but also with existing buildings and the house. Of course the shed must be durable and made of materials that guarantee its high quality for many years of intensive use. Its size and its position relative to the residential building are also important.
How big should a garden tool shed be?
Minimum size of tool sheds is 200x130 cm. These are buildings that will accommodate basic garden tools, work clothes, and a spare stash of seeds and plant protection products. Larger sheds, whose dimensions range around 300x200 cm, will also allow convenient storage of small equipment and machines. Lawnmowers, properly stored garden furniture, and even bicycles with this size of construction can be stored practically all season.
Larger buildings dedicated to storage are more like outbuildings. If their size does not exceed 35 m2 in the countryside or 25 m2 in the city and they are single-story, detached structures, their construction does not require a permit.
Regardless of size and the material from which the shed is made, an increasingly popular and welcomed solution is a tool shed with a woodshed, which greatly facilitates house maintenance in autumn and winter when gardening work takes a back seat. It is an excellent option for storing firewood.
What is a tool shed made of?
When choosing a tool shed, it is worth analyzing the features of the individual materials from which these buildings are most often made. Wooden tool sheds are by far the most popular. Slightly less common in the garden are metal tool sheds or those made of plastics.
Wooden sheds
Each wooden tool shed is unique. Wooden constructions are not only beautiful, but also practical, durable and affordable. They can be single-story or have an attic, with a flat, gable or hip roof, most often covered with tar paper, shingles, tiles, or even thatch. In the walls they have openings for windows and doors - single- or, in larger buildings, double doors. Wooden sheds optionally may have a floor, which - importantly - should not have direct contact with the ground.
Remember that both the wood used to build a wooden tool shed and the roof covering must be regularly preserved and cared for. Yet these are environmentally friendly solutions that best emphasize the garden’s style as a natural green space.
Plastic tool sheds
Plastic sheds are lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and don’t require impregnation. Their advantages include easy assembly, water resistance, easy cleaning, and the ability to purchase imitations of virtually any material. Additionally, plastic sheds come with floors.
What are the drawbacks of this option? PVC tool sheds fade quickly and even in the most expensive options you can notice small, unattractive discolorations. It is also the least eco-friendly solution.
Metal tool sheds
Metal tool sheds are the least popular solution. These are lightweight, durable and inexpensive constructions made of galvanized steel or aluminum. Their biggest advantage is the ability to completely secure the interior, for example against theft.
Metal tool sheds are also resistant to outdoor conditions, UV radiation and water, if they are properly protected. In very few cases do these models come with a floor. Some models imitate wood well, but they do not have to be impregnated as wooden constructions do.
A metal tool shed, though a practical, sturdy and easy-to-assemble option (especially if it is built from ready-made panels), is unfortunately an unattractive visual solution, clashing with the garden’s aesthetics. Additionally, it is difficult to maintain an optimal temperature in winter.
Why choose a tool shed?
Tool sheds are certainly a solution to problems related to the lack of a basement or utility room. Functional, versatile and aesthetically pleasing. Placed to the side, in more distant parts of the garden, they can also provide a perfect retreat for the handyman, craftsman, gardener or people who want to devote themselves to their craft in peace and quiet.
Tool sheds with a woodshed, a bicycle shelter, or in any other form tailored to individual user requirements will also be an excellent, year-round utility space. That’s why we sincerely recommend this solution.
