Can I put a shed anywhere in my garden?

You can do anything you want, champ – but with that said, we’d like to have a word about where our customers are planning on putting their garden sheds.

In most instances, people tend to put their shed in logical, sensible places. Sometimes however, there may be something less obvious that may be easily overlooked; the landscape, planning permission and boundary walls may all pose problems if not addressed ahead of time. So let’s look at the best place to put your shed in the garden, as well as highlighting some potential pit falls.

 

Don’t build on a slope

Let’s start with a nice simple one. It should be fairly obvious to us all that you can’t build a shed on a slope. A degree or two won’t make a massive difference, but you’d be surprised at the inclines some people think they can built on. All sheds need to be built on a level base. Steel Sheds need to be built on a solid, level base. The last thing you want is your shed slowly sliding away into the nearest shrub. C’mon now, it’s common sense. “Don’t be a dope, don’t build on a slope” 

 

Build as near to the house as you can

‘The shed at the end of the garden‘ is lovely thought, but it’s not very practical if it’s going to be used a lot.

Imagine you’re a young impressionable chap, sitting in on a rainy November evening playing Sonic the Hedgehog. Out of nowhere, someone asks you to pop out to the shed and grab some potatoes. Being the pleasant fellow that you are, you leap up and get straight to it. You also can’t leave Sonic alone for too long, so you sprint out, shoe-and-sock-less, to the shed at the end of the garden. Sure, you may have gotten the potatoes, but the unintentional slaughter of innocent snails and slugs, via your feet will haunt you to this day, as you sit at a desktop writing blogs about sheds.

I mean it could have all been avoided had they put on socks, but sure look. For convenience sake, it doesn’t hurt to have the shed as close as possible, particularly if you’re going to be storing turf or coals in it.

 

Be aware of overhanging trees (and their roots)

One that often catches people out is building under a tree. I mean it sounds very elegant, doesn’t it? The shed nestled under the in-bloom branches of an apple tree. Bless. Alas, positioning your shed near to, or under a tree isn’t a great idea. Trees’ branches sway in the wind. In high winds they can thrash around like old heavy-metal fans. These branches can scratch away at the surface of steel sheds and can damage or splinter into wooden ones. Scratches can expose the roofs or sidewalls to the elements. Steel Sheds that have the galvanisation scratched off are liable to rust, for example.

It’s not just the branches that pose a problem. If the tree fruits, these can fall and rot on the roof of your shed, leading to long-term corrosive damage. Even if the tree doesn’t fruit, falling leaves or other debris can rot away or clog up the vents on a steel shed and cause future rainwater to spill out continually over your sidewalls.

Don’t build under a tree if possible – and if you have to build under one, make sure you do regular inspections of the roof and gutters.

 

Don’t go too close to the wall

We’ve a full blog post on why you shouldn’t build your shed a wall, but the long-and-short of it is that it leads to moisture formation, it’ll attract rodents and it could also p*ss off your neighbours. We recommend that you’ve at least a foot between the shed and any walls in the garden. This will prevent water soaking into the shed from nearby shrubs etc – and it should give enough room around it so that you can get in and maintain / treat your shed as needed.

 

Planning Permission issues

It’d be foolish of us to even attempt to give a brief overview of the planning regulations, given how important, complex and thorough they are. They don’t affect the vast majority of instances where people are buying and positioning their shed, though.

One notable thing regarding planning permission that you should be at least aware of is that no garden shed “shall be constructed, erected or placed forward of the front wall of a house”. So that means no sheds in the front garden, folks, but this is common sense. Otherwise, if you’re looking for more information, you can see the full details relating to all this in the The Planning and Development Regulations (2001-2021).

 

Just give me the ‘Too Long, Didn’t Read’ Version: Can I put a shed anywhere in my garden?

No, you can’t. You should take into account the environment, the structure of the shed and planning regulations first.

 

Can I talk to anyone about this?

You can indeed. We’re on the phone at (01) 864 4247 during business hours. You can get us on Facebook, you can chat away to us on the website (use the live chat down the bottom right, there), or you can get in touch through email.