How to Protect Your Garden Shed Through the Winter Months
For the majority of homeowners in the UK, there’s never enough space in your house or in your garage to store all of your tools and your gardening equipment and some of your outside garden furniture and barbecue across the winter months. The solution is to purchase a garden shed so you can store all of these items safely and securely.
There are many different types of sheds that you can purchase for your garden including metal sheds, plastic sheds and the U.K.’s favourite – a wooden garden shed.
The pros and cons of each type of shed
Metal sheds are sturdy and are usually easy to put together in kit form, but should they be damaged or badly scratched, the protective coating will have been broken and the damp atmosphere in the UK garden will quickly assist rust and corrosion to set in. If these problems are not dealt with quickly, you may need to exchange a complete panel or more to keep your garden shed workable.
However, metal sheds don’t require much maintenance work and can see you through the winter months without much effort on your behalf.
Plastic sheds are very good at resisting the bad weather, but the majority of people still seem to suggest that a plastic shed doesn’t sit nicely in the UK garden and many look quite out of place.
Wooden garden sheds require the most maintenance to keep them free from damp and rotting damage. Particularly, before the winter months start, you will need to apply a protective covering, which may be a preservative or a particular paint that will keep the wet weather away from damaging your wooden shed. Wooden sheds do have the advantage that they looked the most natural in a garden, but without regular maintenance, they can quickly become run down and damaged and you may lose the security that you require for your winter storage.
Preparing your shed for the winter months
The sooner you can arrange your winter preparation, the better the outcome will be when you open up your shed again in March or April as you need to remove your lawnmower for the first time in the year.
Ensuring that all window frames are securely fastened and caulked so that wind and rain can’t find a way into your garden shed, is essential. You should also make sure that your door to your shed fits well for the same reasons.
Inspecting your roof will check that the roof felt is not torn or showing a way for wind and rain to access your garden shed. If you do find holes in your roof felt, acting quickly will save you from much further damage. You may be able to apply a substance that looks like tar (bitumen) and might also have a rubbery finish that can seal any holes in your roofing to prevent water damage which will eventually rot your roof.
Checking the condition of the padlock on your shed and perhaps oiling it with WD-40 will mean that when you come to try and open the lock in March or April after a season of rain, frosts and snow, you won’t be presented with a padlock that is rusted and inoperable.
