Garden Shed - Buy or Build?

tempnam

Need a new garden shed as we have outgrown the old one and it's old enough at this stage.

Any ideas of cost variation between buying & building? Somewhere in the region of 12ft X 6ft / 12ft X 8ft.

There's a lot of options for 'off the shelf' products online but they can get quite expensive.

Would it be a lot cheaper to buy the materials and build it myself?

Thank you.

Lumen

Buy.

SouthWesterly

Lumen wrote: »

Buy.

Did you ever get yours finished?

Lumen

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Did you ever get yours finished?

Not yet.

CJhaughey

Build probably more expensive but if you have experience building basic wooden structures then you will get a much stronger product than the ones on offer.
What are you going to clad it with?

smelly sock

tempnam wrote: »

Need a new garden shed as we have outgrown the old one and it's old enough at this stage.

Any ideas of cost variation between buying & building? Somewhere in the region of 12ft X 6ft / 12ft X 8ft.

There's a lot of options for 'off the shelf' products online but they can get quite expensive.

Would it be a lot cheaper to buy the materials and build it myself?

Thank you.

Buy.

10-10-20

I went down the steel shed route. I laid the concrete base myself, had the company come in and mount the shed, then I finished internally to my spec. I now have LED down-lighters running off solar for when I roll the lawnmower in. lol
So if you can do the concrete part, then no reason to no go that route.

tempnam

CJhaughey wrote: »

Build probably more expensive but if you have experience building basic wooden structures then you will get a much stronger product than the ones on offer.
What are you going to clad it with?

hadn't thought that far ahead. Shiplap maybe?

listermint

Keep eye on adverts you can pick stuff up like this for not alot of outlay.

http://www.adverts.ie/20208001

awec

It wouldn't be massively difficult to build a shed the same as what you'd buy, they're a basic enough structure.

But you wouldn't do it for cheaper than buying one.

Calahonda52

tempnam wrote: »

Need a new garden shed as we have outgrown the old one and it's old enough at this stage.

Any ideas of cost variation between buying & building? Somewhere in the region of 12ft X 6ft / 12ft X 8ft.

There's a lot of options for 'off the shelf' products online but they can get quite expensive.

Would it be a lot cheaper to buy the materials and build it myself?

Thank you.

It depends on what you want it for.
most steel sheds require a concrete base.
I have a 3 by 2m steel one, the base required 2.5 cu m of ready mix as it was on a slope, it cost 350 to supply and fit, i built the formwork and dug out the top soil.
The shed cost 2k
I went with a sliding door, which is not mouse proof.
However its a great job

CJhaughey

Shiplap is OK, but like all wood here needs regular maintenance, If you want less maintenance think about using metal.

Darando

CJhaughey wrote: »

Build probably more expensive but if you have experience building basic wooden structures then you will get a much stronger product than the ones on offer.
What are you going to clad it with?

Contemplating myself using 3x2 or 4x2 with ply skin then clad..the pricey part is the shiplap cladding..Any suggestions other than shiplap?

Don’t fancy the standard metal steeltec look.

krissovo

10-10-20 wrote: »

I went down the steel shed route. I laid the concrete base myself, had the company come in and mount the shed, then I finished internally to my spec. I now have LED down-lighters running off solar for when I roll the lawnmower in. lol
So if you can do the concrete part, then no reason to no go that route.

Plus 1 to this, did the same 6 years ago and it still looks like new.

Calahonda52

Darando wrote: »

Contemplating myself using 3x2 or 4x2 with ply skin then clad..the pricey part is the shiplap cladding..Any suggestions other than shiplap?

Don’t fancy the standard metal steeltec look.

Can be screened, this was a year ago,

tempnam

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Can be screened, this was a year ago,

That's a great idea.

CJhaughey

Darando wrote: »

Contemplating myself using 3x2 or 4x2 with ply skin then clad..the pricey part is the shiplap cladding..Any suggestions other than shiplap?

Don’t fancy the standard metal steeltec look.

Standing seam metal, Horizontal corrugated iron looks pretty cool IMO.
Would you use OSB instead of ply as the skin? I have that on my garage.
One thing I would do is use a piece of folded weldmesh around the gap between the skin and the cladding to stop rodent entry.

SouthWesterly

Do it in 6ft increments and get 6x6 panels to face it with.
Did that on a chicken run recently

gary550

tempnam wrote: »

Need a new garden shed as we have outgrown the old one and it's old enough at this stage.

Any ideas of cost variation between buying & building? Somewhere in the region of 12ft X 6ft / 12ft X 8ft.

There's a lot of options for 'off the shelf' products online but they can get quite expensive.

Would it be a lot cheaper to buy the materials and build it myself?

Thank you.

We built a timber shed that was roughly 8 x 5' during the winter, 3 x 2 framework and shiplap exterior. Solid shed, worked out I`d say 20% more expensive than the quote we got and took a few weekends of work. We also got a steel shed which also required a bit of work (and expense) re the concrete base.

If you are just looking for a standard shed for storage etc I would say just buy one and save yourself the hassle and time of building one.

tempnam

gary550 wrote: »

We built a timber shed that was roughly 8 x 5' during the winter, 3 x 2 framework and shiplap exterior. Solid shed, worked out I`d say 20% more expensive than the quote we got and took a few weekends of work. We also got a steel shed which also required a bit of work (and expense) re the concrete base.

If you are just looking for a standard shed for storage etc I would say just buy one and save yourself the hassle and time of building one.

Yes it's just for storage - lawnmower & garden tools, painting bits & pieces, a few tools, patio chairs, kids bikes etc. - just your standard household shed items!

I'm liking the idea of the project of a self build though. But maybe the idea is more fun than the practicality of actually doing it....

SVI40

Buy, it's far easier.

I got one from Shanette Sheds, found them to be really good.

hesker

Buy.

I’ve done both.

Get one about 50% bigger than what you think you need. Exercise your creativity in fitting shelves and organised storage areas.

I inherited a nice 10x12 one in my current house but the roof sagged a bit and water rotted away some of the osb roof panels. So I refitted new panels and added some supporting rafters inside. So if you’re going for a larger timber one check the roof supports.

Nua

Calahonda52 wrote: »

It depends on what you want it for.
most steel sheds require a concrete base.
I have a 3 by 2m steel one, the base required 2.5 cu m of ready mix as it was on a slope, it cost 350 to supply and fit, i built the formwork and dug out the top soil.
The shed cost 2k
I went with a sliding door, which is not mouse proof.
However its a great job

Hi sorry to interrupt OP's thread but where did you source sliding door for shed?
Thanks

Richard tea

I was thinking the same myself op but I think I'm better off buying the steel shed. The reason I was going to self build was the area size. Ideally I want a shed that's 13x6 or 13x7. Length is not a major factor but 7 foot would be the limit width wise. How customisable are steel shed from various companies does anyone know?

10-10-20

They would be more likely to customise the sides rather than the gable-ends. They use jigs for working out the angles and tend to stick to 2M, 3M or 4M on the gables, meaning that they work to a pattern for each configuration. For the sides they can overlap the panels to decrease the dimensions, so not as much hassle as the gables.

tempnam

Looking around online and the prices are crazy. Talking 1,200 -1,600 for a 12X6 or 12X8 sort of option. Seems expensive, no?

awec

tempnam wrote: »

Looking around online and the prices are crazy. Talking 1,200 -1,600 for a 12X6 or 12X8 sort of option. Seems expensive, no?

For steel or treated timber that sounds about right.

I got a 8x10 treated timber shed last year and it was 1300. Similar prices everywhere.

Richard tea

tempnam wrote: »

Looking around online and the prices are crazy. Talking 1,200 -1,600 for a 12X6 or 12X8 sort of option. Seems expensive, no?

Where did u see the 12x6?

tempnam

Richard tea wrote: »

Where did u see the 12x6?

I've looked at that many I can't remember where exactly. If I find it again I'll let you know

Darando

CJhaughey wrote: »

Standing seam metal, Horizontal corrugated iron looks pretty cool IMO.
Would you use OSB instead of ply as the skin? I have that on my garage.
One thing I would do is use a piece of folded weldmesh around the gap between the skin and the cladding to stop rodent entry.

Could use Osb if most cost effective than ply. Never considered a mix of coloured corrugated panels and timber...you’re causing a google hunt now! Would love to build rather a standard off the shelf thinly constructed sheds.