These cheap metal sheds- any good?

I’m renting a place just now and I’m allowed a shed- not for the bikes or tools, they’re going in the house! My derelict motorbike’ll get abandoned up the back, and it’ll be otherwise “shed stuff”, nothing very valuable.

Anyway, obviously wood is expensive and shiplap is expensiver, but I keep seeing these cheap metal ones., like this feller, that are less than half the price

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304168478115?hash=item46d1daa5a3:g:V34AAOSwEWxhH4RK

Anyone actually got one? Apparently they’re a bit of a bollocks to build and I get the definite impression I won’t want to take it down and take it with me when I get my own place in a year or two, whereas with a half decent wooden one it could last a long long time… I guess my main concern is that any shed can get the attention of a thief and wood’s much easier to fix than mangled metal. Or, ya know, that it just collapses or something.

They’re not particularly difficult if you’re at all practically minded though a drill and some extra self tappers can be handy sometimes.

The extra effort of running mastic strips up every joint in the roof would be worth it in the long (few years) term. Don’t accept anything that’s bent or creased as it’ll rust through in no time. They also do not travel well, that’s how I know about the bends and creases rusting.

If you want something to take with you look at flat pack containers, they are miles stronger, more secure and can be built in no time. Only problem is they weigh in at around £1800 for a 2.1x2m delivered to KA30. Still thinking about it though, I’m in a similar position (not looking to stay more than a few years) and that’s where I’ve got to.

The plastic keter ones are actually pretty good. I built one for my girlfriend, been watertight for a few years now.

Can get them second hand relatively regularly

The plastic keter ones are actually pretty good. I built one for my girlfriend

Saves her cluttering up the house I suppose.😉

The dimensions look a bit low- I’d want a shed I could stand up in

We got a Screwfix unit (yardmaster) for the lawnmower and garden tools.
It arrived like a giant mechano flat pack with lots of panels and about a thousand screws*
They do not have a floor section so you need to make a good base.
As squirrelking said,go mad with the mastic and that will make a big difference.
(*ok, maybe only 500)

Had one for mowers and stuff, wasn’t easy to build, needed a base and was very flimsy. Also condensation was terrible in it, was like rain inside during the winter. Was still really damp after I insulated the inside with self adhesive foam sheets. Zero security, I think the handles you put the padlock through on mine were plastic.

I wouldn’t bother again. I do have some of the plastic Keter type boxes though, they seem much better, keeps outdoor cushions dry all year. I think I’d look at the shed equivalent of those, give the metal ones a miss.

We inherited a yard master feom previous owner.

Put stuff in it initially …it was pretty bad for condensation noisy to open and I ended up using it as a wood store.

Scrapped it during renovations as it was just a pain

My community group had one like that, they just kicked the doors in, padlock was still attached.

yeah forgot abouyt that – they are about as secure as throwing a plastic cover over your gear.

shermer is right, 1.5m door height but it’s 2.5m squared?? Going to get back ache pretty quick putting stuff in there!

I’ve got one at the caravan as wooden ones aren’t allowed on site. I only keep a very old bike and some BBQ stuff in it. Condensation is pretty bad, the entire inside surface of the pent roof beads and drips, soaking anything below. Reckon I’ll have to put plastic sheets over everything. Security is non-existent, anyone with a screwdriver can undo the self tappers and remove panels. I used big rivets wherever possible but they can drilled out. It sits on a concrete slab base, so water can get in (and out) quite readily in heavy rain. Fortunately the slabs are thick, so I installed a ground anchor and chain for the bike.

In short, only fit for keeping things out of sight.

I kept stuff in a shipping container. I didn’t believe everyone about the condensation. They were right. The only way i’d put a motorbike, or power tools in one is if they had tarps/covers or were stored in plastic boxes!

Just built a nearly 4m square shed for under £1500, so a motorbike sized one roughly half the size is do-able for £700 I imagine (4×2 frame/floor/roof, corrugated sheets roof/sides, 2nd hand UPVC front door, 18mm plywood floor, all sat on breeze blocks). A lot more solid than the cheap metal ones, not too much more expensive, completely dry as off the floor.

Metal cheap = shite in my experience. I sent it back after half building it. Supplier didn’t even argue…

We’ve a Keter Artisan 13×8 now. It’s brilliant. Well made, easy to build. Watertight and well vented. I’ve built a shelf and bike rack internally with a couple of solar lights, alarm etc.

Ours was £850 from Costco, usually around £1300.

We have a small one as a wood store – if you just want to keep rain off your stuff they are ok….. But a good base can cost almost as much as the shed and ideally you need to two to build them. Absolutely no security though so if your keeping stuff you don’t want nicked, don’t bother.

I’m interested in the same.. any opinion on this, looks ok to me…

https://www.diy.com/departments/keter-darwin-6×4-tongue-groove-composite-shed-with-floor/7290112632159_BQ.prd?ds_rl=1272379&ds_rl=1272409&ds_rl=1272379&gclid=CjwKCAjwn8SLBhAyEiwAHNTJbeUo07GwBIj0vLxUGa2eITXxwG1qvrz5p-_R_gO3pi3GQrdmagEZqRoCOcUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&storeId=1232

That’s the keter shed we got, though in normal plastic.

Been great!

Thanks folks, that’s a definite no!

The Keter sheds look brilliant for smaller sizes, I need something just a little bigger and they get quite a bit more expensive for that. Probably wood is beckoning

That price is incredible though. You could barely buy the raw materials in the UK at todays prices.

The 6×8 looks not bad. Security is still my biggest concern though.

As far as dampness goes you absolutely need ventilation, if you have that (as most containers do now) then you shouldn’t have issues.

Security’s a weird one for this, because if anyone breaks in, they’re most likely going to look around and go, bugger, and leave emptyhanded or at worst grab some low value easy movable stuff. But that’ll still **** up my door, and it’s going to have to be a big enough shed to give “worth breaking into” signals. It’s almost like I need the perfect weak lock, that’s just enough to stop kids or other total no-effort breakins, but still easier to break the lock than to break the door.

I have one of those ebay ones, they are terrible, low height,sliding doors that stick, thin sharp panels that nearly scalped me during building it.

I only bought it in desparation during a house move as nothing else was available. It will be replaced at some point.

I don’t know how I’ve not kicked it hard in frustration.

Yeah, that’s why I settled on the flat pack option but if I don’t keep all my bikes out there I could probably get by with plastic.

Asgard

Had a yardmaster cheapo for a while.

Absolute shite. Crap doors and the condensation meant everything was piss wet through and rusted.

Really crap doors, oh and a sod to build with 10 bazillion self tappers.

I now have a metal agricultural shed with a fuzzy non-drip roof coating. It gets damp (the dartboard grows a bit of mould) but after having it for 5 years the stereo works, the laptop works, the beer fridge works, nothing is rusty and the bikes are in excellent nick.

Stop condensation dripping and metal is worth it, but even then the yardmaster doors were a racket in the wind and about as secure as the dickhead Johnson’s underpants.

I am looking at those Asgard ones… I guess they still suffer from condensation but they seem secure if a bit expensive.