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Garden storage on t...
 

Garden storage on the cheap

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I need somewhere to store a lawn mower in a specific space so I need to make something.
It has to last for a year.
Chipboard loft panels look like the cheapest option.
Is there a way of making them survive a winter?


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 11:53 am
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For the time and effort required to make something, I'd probably just get something like this. 

Living and Home 5 x 3ft Black Outdoor Sloped Roof Waterproof Tool and Storage Shed | Wilko

Edit - maybe not that exact one, reviews are terrible! 

Or just buy a decent thick tarpaulin and cover it up. 


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 12:43 pm
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I bought one of these for the garden when we moved house. Takes a lawn mower, strimmer, a couple of garden tools and a few other odds. Didn’t want something which took up lots of room and it looks inoffensive. Don’t think it can be locked mind.


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 12:59 pm
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Pallets and clad with feather edge boards, I got the pallets for free.


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 1:01 pm
retrorick reacted
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My (mountfield) lawnmower has been outside in the open for 9 years  now. 

Never drain the petrol for winter always starts 3rd or 4th pull. 

If you did t already get the lawnmower I propose a bikelock as a cheaper option. 

 


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 1:18 pm
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I'm thinking a box made out of decking boards should be fairly cheap and sturdy.
It's got to fit in a gap 120 cm wide.
All ready made stuff is either too small to be of any use or a couple of cm too wide.


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 1:36 pm
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Posted by: zippykona

I'm thinking a box made out of decking boards should be fairly cheap and sturdy.
It's got to fit in a gap 120 cm wide.
All ready made stuff is either too small to be of any use or a couple of cm too wide.

Why not just make with shiplap or feather board and do it properly?

 


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 2:44 pm
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1. Gumtree for Keter shed. I sold a big 'un that was 5 years old for £250 to a neighbour and bought a brand new 6x4 Keter shed with wet packaging as it had been sat in someone's garden for £100... 

2. Get a couple of good tarpaulins and some bungee cords. Wrap like a good un.


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 6:56 pm
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Chipboard loft panels look like the cheapest option.
Is there a way of making them survive a winter?P

Build the shed in your loft so it doesn't get wet? 🙂

You'd be as well building a shed out of wheatabix otherwise

For something cheap and cheerful - given that it only has to last a year maybe look for something you can recycle for weather proofing it. Used signage materials - see if anyone on your local Facebook market place is getting rid of Dibond or Foamex - both long lasting materials that you can can cut and drill like plywood and would easily outlast then but  tend be used for short term applications but aren't really recyclable. PVC banners would work well too.

I had a load of dibond come off a job and my brother used it to line his garage


 
Posted : 30/05/2026 10:48 pm
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If it’s going in a gap just make a roof (and end panels if needed for security)

Simplest would be a tarp wrapped around a batten and then screwed into the wall/fence either side, leave slightly more sag at one end so the water runs off.

 If its a rental or against neighbours house, a couple of spreaders going across with a wedge one end would make it fairly secure without actually putting in any permanent fixings.


 
Posted : 31/05/2026 8:11 pm
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2x1 or roofing batten frame clad in poly carbon sheeting, about £25


 
Posted : 31/05/2026 8:41 pm
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Reading the tread title I thought, what has the world come to!
Mine just stays outside all year long.
Reading the detail, it was not quite so simplistic.


 
Posted : 31/05/2026 9:17 pm
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Our Bosch electric mower survived a couple of years just wrapped in a Screwfix blue plastic tarp - you don't really 'need' to build anything


 
Posted : 31/05/2026 9:53 pm
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Posted by: zippykona

I'm thinking a box made out of decking boards should be fairly cheap and sturdy.
It's got to fit in a gap 120 cm wide.

That's exactly what I made a storage box with in our back yard (rough size 8'x2'x2'). Some 3x3 for the corners/legs, and 10mm marine ply for the lid and bottom. Doubles up as a bench to sit in the sun for a couple of days of the year


 
Posted : 01/06/2026 9:00 am
 poly
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Posted by: maccruiskeen

For something cheap and cheerful - given that it only has to last a year maybe look for something you can recycle for weather proofing it. Used signage materials - see if anyone on your local Facebook market place is getting rid of Dibond or Foamex - both long lasting materials that you can can cut and drill like plywood and would easily outlast then but  tend be used for short term applications but aren't really recyclable.

That is quite a sensible suggestion - we used to have a “shed” at a previous workplace where waste cardboard was flattened and piled up for the recycling truck.  It was a commercial product but was basically made from Corex with some nice joints on the corner.  


 
Posted : 01/06/2026 10:17 am