About Sheds
Space. All of us need that extra space be it physical or personal. A shed is a place, which gives us that extra space. It is a simple structure that can be used as a storage area, workshop or an outdoor office. Sheds can be built with a professional’s help or with a lot of do-it-yourself-plans. Shed kits available in the market are quite inexpensive and make building much easier.
Sheds can accommodate anything from a family’s garden kit to a company’s heavy machinery depending on their sizes and styles. There are different kinds of sheds ranging from small, metallic, tin-roofed structures to large, rustic wood-framed sheds with windows, lights and electrical outlets.
Sheds can be classified on the basis of utility and construction.
Types of sheds based on utility:
Garden Sheds:
A Garden Shed is a classy way of storing your garden tools and equipments. Anything from push lawn mowers, lawn tractors, gardening supplies to plant saplings and pesticides can be stored in a garden shed. More than that it can serve as a rustic Sunday getaway with just a tea table and chairs. Imagine a backyard tea party with family and friends! If you are artistic and have a visionary in you, you can improvise it, set up a sanctuary and take rest enjoying nothing but tranquility.
The important thing for a garden shed is location. Choose a location that is ideal for storage and other leisure-time purposes. If you are planning to make it artistic, see to it that it is in accordance with the tone and style of your house. The material can be either wood or metal depending on your taste. But it is better to go for a concrete or timber base. Typical garden sheds are often called "potting sheds" which feature windows or skylights for illumination, ventilation grilles, and a potter's bench for mixing soil and re-potting plants. If everything goes well, a garden shed can also be an idyllic place, which can add charm to your living area and you.
Domestic Sheds:
A domestic shed is a perfect solution for domestic storage problems. It is a small shed used for storing items and products that are not suitable for indoor-storage such as gasoline, pesticides and herbicides. A small domestic shed can be of several types: corner sheds (which fit into a corner), vertical sheds (5’ tall x 3’ wide x 4’ deep), horizontal sheds (3’ tall x 5’ wide x 4’ deep) and tool sheds. As the purpose of these sheds is storage, mostly high-sloping rooflines that enable more loft storage are used. Gambrel-roof styles resembling Dutch barns are generally considered ideal. Nowadays gable and saltbox styles of sheds are also becoming popular.
Tool Sheds:
A tool shed is primarily used for storing tools. Any kind of tool right from carpentry tools like screwdrivers, saws, hacksaws, hammers, and drills to gardening tools like lawn mowers and gardening scissors to electric hardware like electric wires, testers, plug points etc can be stocked in a tool shed. As a tool shed is a place for dumping tools that cannot be accommodated inside a neatly furnished house, it is almost designed and located in such a way that it is hidden and not prominent. Sometimes it is painted in such a way that it camouflages the shed with the surroundings. Hence it is not visually appealing. Mostly metals like steel and aluminum or poly vinyl carbonate are used in the construction. Wood being susceptible to rotting and pest-attacks is generally not preferred. In a tool shed, generally there are a lot of shelves and hooks used to maximize storage.
Storage Sheds:
Sheds that are larger in size and more professional in construction are called storage sheds. Though every other shed is used for storage, these sheds are exclusively for storing things. The stored things may vary from raw materials to finished products to unused to bulk out-of-vogue furniture. Some sheds which are used as just storehouses of household junk are made with cupboards, racks and shelves. When used for particular purposes, they are built in an expensive manner with features found in house construction like windows, shingled roofs and electrical outlets. Even porches, doors and compartmentalization of available area are made.
These storage sheds can be further classified on the basis of usage:
Farm Sheds
: Farmers use sheds as outbuildings to store farm equipment, tractors, tools, hay, or supplies. Farm sheds can also be used to house horses, cattle, poultry or other farm animals.
Shearing Sheds
: Sheds used to host cattle or sheep shearing. Such sheds usually contain separate places for water and fodder storage. They also have inbuilt partition for accommodating the sheep.
Locomotive Sheds
: In some places, sheds are used for parking locomotives and automobile-related tools and spare parts.
Bike Sheds
: Bike sheds are sheds used for storing bicycles. These sheds vary in size and style according to the requirement. Large organizations, schools, universities, apartment buildings, homes, retail stores and government offices use these sheds. They are usually made of polyester coated steel work as it promises of high durability. Portable bike sheds that can host three to four bikes with two-tier facilities are also available in the market.
Railway Sheds
h: The railways department of a country may have three kinds of sheds: Engine sheds (for maintaining locomotives), Goods Sheds (for storing goods related to railway machinery) and Train sheds.
Creative Sheds
: An outdoor storage shed can be used as anything from a playhouse or garage to an extended office. With the increasing number of home workers, small to medium sized wooden garden offices are becoming a rage now. Many creative people like writers and artists use such sheds as a study or studio. These sheds are mostly constructed with wood using many decorative options such as dormers, shutters, flowerboxes, finials, and weathervanes. Even practical options like benches, ramps, ventilation systems (e.g., in cases where a swimming pool heater is installed in a shed), and electric lighting are added to these sheds.
Children's Sheds
: Some affluent parents build a separate workshop for their children. These sheds host all the toys and books of children enabling them to pursue their interests in a home within their home. These sheds also encourage children to cultivate time in learning an outdoor activity like gardening, painting or sculpting. Custom-made to suit the children’s taste, these sheds come with all the basic facilities also.
Sheds are also classified on the basis of the construction material used.
Wooden Sheds:
Natural, cool and artistic- this is the feel a Wooden Shed can generate in your backyard. As wood is an easily available and conventional material, many of the sheds are made of wood. Rusticity at its best can be provided only by a wooden shed. Some wooden sheds are designed in old colonial styles with tapering roofs, artistic benches and antique furniture to create a country house setting in the garden. As they can be painted in different hues, they are more suitable for creating an idyllic woody atmosphere. Though wooden sheds are robust in nature and can provide large storage capacity, they are ideal only if they are treated with good preservatives periodically. As wood is susceptible to external damages caused by termites, harsh weather, wood-boring insects, mold and mildew, it may rot, split or change color in course of time. Water-resistant wood such as cedar used with colored preservatives would make a shed stand out as an artifice in the garden or blend with the surrounding environment. Wooden sheds are more preferred because it is easier to modify them (create wooden doors or windows) with commonly available tools.
Metal Sheds:
No cracks. No tears. Long durability. A metal shed can offer all these. Ideal for garage and workshops, metal sheds are popular due to their good resistance against harsh, crumpling weather and termites. These sheds are made when thin sheet metal sheathing (galvanized steel or aluminum) is attached to a metal frame. Rust-free, fire-resistant and waterproof, these sheds come in different colors. Metal sheds should be properly ventilated with doors and windows. Problems like condensation of colors can be prevented if precautions are taken. Nowadays, metal sheds come as composites of two or three materials also. A metal shed, unlike a wooden shed, is easy to fix. Do-it-yourself kits can help a lot in fixing a metal shed. As storage is given preference over elegance, a metal shed is normally provided with a lot of shelves and lofts. Sharp edges, rusting due to harsh weather are some of the demerits of metal sheds.
Plastic Sheds:
Highly durable. Practically feasible. This is the dictum of Plastic sheds. Easy to install and easier to handle, plastic sheds are fire retardant and maintenance free as there is no need for painting them. Available in different sizes and styles, plastic sheds enable a lot of functional activity and great storage facility. Unlike the wooden and metal sheds, they do not rot or rust, and hence are monetarily affordable also. However they are quite hardy, as they have to be installed with steel supports and frames. Small-prefabricated plastic sheds that come in do-it-yourself-kits are even cheaper than regular bricks or concrete buildings. They are suitable for keeping anything from toys to farm materials, as they are moisture-free and weather resistant.
Vinyl Sheds:
Looks. Class. Comfort. A Vinyl Shed has all these. The smooth and gentle vinyl shed is not only maintenance-free but also comes with a promise of long life. The option for recycling saves replacement making a vinyl shed the ‘numero uno’ among all the sheds. Available in a variety of shades, designs and colors, vinyl sheds are suitable for any kind of storage. As extremely functional sheds, they can be custom made to match the style or color of your house. Coming in a range of sizes, they are easy to fix and build than wood or metal sheds. Only the ground anchoring needs to be taken care of. It should be strong and stable as a vinyl shed can be shaken in the wake of a powerful gust of wind. The shed can be easily cleaned using an ordinary hose or a cleansing detergent. If scrubbing is required to wipe off the grime or dirt, it can be done without any laborious effort. Vinyl sheds can withstand almost all weather conditions and hence can make good quality and cost effective sheds.
Amish Sheds:
Simple. Sturdy. Artistic. Amish Sheds are the creative outputs of people belonging to the Amish community. The Amish, a sect found in the United States of America and Canada, are well known for their ethical lifestyle and artistic leanings. They are highly skilled in arts and crafts and hence are trustworthy when it comes to building an aesthetically appealing shed. The woody nature of the shed gives it a rustic look making it a loveable place to spend time. Generally people prefer to spend a weekend holiday in these sheds as they afford the luxury of small cottages. Mostly these sheds are part of gazebos built in gardens, parks, hotel resorts, house barns and arbors. Amish sheds are built with effort rather than with readily available kits. As craft and skill combine to create an Amish shed all one requires to maintain it is creativity. For, the Amish craftsman can fix a dent in your shed in a creative way at a low cost by opening a window or adding a shelf in the dented area.
Barn Sheds:
Larger in size and multi-utilitarian in purpose, barn sheds are built mainly to house cattle and horses. A typical barn shed may be of more than 100 square meters in size with provision for feeding animals and storing fodder. These sheds are built of bricks, wood or metal depending on the requirement of the builder. Hinged doors, tiny windows, shingled roof and minimal furniture – the features of a functional building find place in barn sheds. Proper sanitation being an essential feature, plumbing is given undue attention during the construction process. Some people convert the staid-looking barn shed into a place for working on their car or doing carpentry work. In such cases, barn sheds are made in an artistic way. They also serve as cabanas or poolside workshops.