Shed recommendations?

[nelletap]

Time to get some of the beekeeping equipment out of the house.
I think my requirements are something like this:
Durable
Wide door or double door (so mower could also go in)
Probably something like 6 feet by 8 feet and tall enough to stand in.
Either windows or clear roof panels for light (Too far from power supply but perhaps solar lights can help for those odd times)

Would plastic or metal offer more effective bee proofing?
If so, is it harder to then consider any shelving or hooks to suspend things if appropriate.
Advice re additional extras to look our for, or specific recommended models or suppliers all welcome. As always - on a budget. Will need to use some of my meagre savings but want something that won't need replacing too quickly.
Over to you helpful folks!
Tricia

 

[Poly Hive]

Ask a decent joiner for a quote.

PH

 

[Headnavigator]

You'd be as well to check any quotes or other suppliers against Arg*s, at least a few months ago they were unbeatable and the two wooden ones I've seen the timber looked excellent.

 

[Cazza]

Buy the biggest shed you can afford/have space for and it will still be too small.Double doors and ventilation are a must.
Cazza

 

[Brosville]

I bought an "el cheapo" 8x6 shed from Focus for around £199 some 6 years ago
Put it on a good solid wood or concrete base, fill all the corner joints with something like silicone to keep out the water, and treat once a year with hot boiled linseed and beeswax - after around 3 years the ghastly felt roof started falling apart, so I "tiled" the roof with aluminium-printing plates - I also added some "strengthening" wood* along the roof "supports" to stop sagging before it started, and around the door - it's waterproof, comfy even in winter (I added a woodstove), and not an eyesore
*roofing battens are ideal!

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I have shed envy, Brosville!

 

[nelletap]

This is wonderful. I note the solar panels and the long mast truncated in the photo. Are you a radio ham or is it to hoist the Blue Peter?

Hubby suggested that plastic or metal would be better - but is he wrong? The shed won't be visible from the house or main part of the garden.

Tricia

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If you can go for an 8x10 minimum, nice and roomy, if timber insulate and line it with 4 or 6mm plywood - and yes, beware the roof that is probably the part to go first if you treat the rest of the timber regularly

 

[greatbritishhoney]

If you have the room and you don't need it to look nice, you can get an old caravan very cheap on ebay.

 

[Brosville]

I'd always stick to timber, rather than metal or plastic, which tend to suffer horribly from condensation - if I did it again I'd go for a larger shed (there's never enough room).
The roof on mine has 3x55w pv panels, and the rusty mast in the background is for a small wind turbine (that never got put up) - there's a couple of battery banks (660 amp/hr, and 440 amp/hr) fed by the roof panels and two other pv panels "behind" the shed which run a grossly overpowered sound system, lights, computer and tools.......... when we have a power cut, which is fairly often, I run a cable in from an inverter in the shed and "carry on regardless" with computer, tv and lights....

 

[MuswellMetro]

i paid extra for a taller 6x8 shed ( i am 6ft 3) with a double door , so now i dont hit my head on the door frame nor the roof purlins

but that costs a lot more than Argos sheds, about X3

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....282274892&clk_rvr_id=271282274892&mfe=sidebar

but at least i dont see stars anymore every time i went in to the shed

 

[dpearce4]

Is Arg0s the best of the high street for sheds? cose i need 1 for my allotment.

 

[Brosville]

Argos look pretty competitive, I'd shop around too - Screwfix, Wickes, Homebase, even the dread B&Q! -, sometimes one of them will flog off a "demonstration" or "end of line" shed very cheaply

 

[alanf]

Hubby suggested that plastic or metal would be better - but is he wrong?

I went for metal down the lottie, largely because over the years there were arson incidents. Metal is potentially easier to vermin proof and galvanised steel doesn't need much maintenance. Another plus was that it was cheap - there's a chap on ebay who sells the metal sheds returned to the 'catalogue' suppliers when the buyers find out they have bought a heap of thin steel panels and a bag of screws. If you loved Meccano as a kid, they are the grown up version.

It is, however, somewhere to store stuff. Not really attractive to hang out in even as a quick shelter in heavy rain - noisy, dark and limited head room. It also needs a firm base to screw to - council standard paving slabs work well.

If you want the heavy duty version, there are a few down the allotment which are made of corrugated steel sheets on a tannelised wood frame. Solid is one word that comes to mind. Cheap if you have recycled sheets available and will last for many years.

 

[BBG]

Ask a decent joiner for a quote.

PH

And go for an 8' by 10' minimum but preferably bigger if you can stretch to it.

 

[user 6228]

I built a workshop that I wanted to warm in winter but look ok in the garden. So I built the walls out of 150mm thick thermalite blocks , plastic sheet ,then battens, then ship lap.
The roof was beams, plywood, plastic sheet, kingspan, corrugated bitumen sheet.
The windows were 2nd hand Double glazed off Ebay. It turned out very well indeed more like a "room in the garden" than workshop.
Next time the walls would be steel frame, kingspan panels,plastic sheet, battens, shiplap. This would be to speed up contruction.

 

[itma]

Seems like its metal for allotment security, maybe plastic for low maintenance and wood for 'conventional good looks'.
But for an insulated eco-statement what about straw-bale construction? Naturally, that's what Kevin McCloud has for his own Grand Design shed ... but somehow the price must have escalated, just like on tv. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2004/mar/13/features.jobsmoney14
Straw bale construction can be pretty cheap. If not always pretty.




Its 'the end of the gardening season' so there's a good chance that the DIY sheds and garden centres will be flogging off their demonstration units. It might be worth enquiring around about getting notification of local clearances.
And there's the sales coming up in a couple of months ... are you in a hurry?

Maybe you could sound out a local joiner about 'customising' a cheap and basic unit. Likely he wouldn't be able to be remotely competitive on the basic shell, but its likely that he could do a better job than most folks at beefing it up and generally improving the off-the-shelf product.

 

[psafloyd]

I have shed envy, Brosville!

 

[tonybloke]

how about building your own shed, like my wife did in our garden
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=5148&stc=1&d=1317755141

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Wow, tonybloke. I almost posted a photo of the sheep shed that I built a couple of years ago. Too embarrassed now!