Wooden Sheds have maintained their popularity over many years and still outsell their metal and plastic equivalents. Available in many sizes and styles they are versatile and can be used for a variety of activities.
Part of their success is probably due to the fact that, as a natural material, timber merges easily into the landscape and, due to modern techniques, a long lifespan can be guaranteed.
Timber
Most timber workshops will be made from northern European mixed softwoods, and all the workshops available through GardenSite will use timber obtained from sustainable and well-managed forests, this is usually indicated by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo.
For floors and roofs, chipboard and OSB may be used. OSB or ‘Oriented Strand Board’ comes in the form of sturdy sheets made up of compressed wood flakes and adhesive. Strong, rigid, and waterproof, it is an ideal material for these applications.
Roof Styles
Apex roofs resemble a triangle. Hence there is lots of headroom in the centre running the length of the workshop and glazing can be fitted on either side. Sheds with apex roofs will normally have their door/s on the end to take advantage of this height but, if a workshop has a reverse apex roof, the entrance will be on the side.
Pent roofs just have one sloping surface with the highest point over the front and any rain will run off the back. All the headroom, and glazing, is therefore at the front of the workshop and diminishes towards the rear. The door may be at the front or the side.
Cladding
The cladding, or walls, of a workshop comes in four main styles.
Overlap is the most common. Nailed to a frame the rough sawn boards overlap each other slightly, similar to feather edged fencing but horizontal, and creates a ‘rustic’ look. This is the most cost effective option. Over a long period of time, some distortion might take place.
Shiplap is very similar to tongue and groove but is shaped so that rain runs off more effectively, meaning there is little chance of water getting into the joints that might result in expansion, distortion or rot. This cladding is more expensive but offers the best rigidity and longevity.
Tongue and Groove cladding features interlocking boards where the ‘tongue’ on one side of the board fits securely into the ‘groove’ of the adjacent board. This is a more rigid construction that looks very neat, offers the best protection against wind and rain, and there is a much smaller chance that it will distort.
Loglap has grown in popularity due to its appearance rather than any added strength. This cladding has smoothly planed rounded timbers that interlock using tongue and groove. Rain disperses quickly and the workshop has the look of a log cabin rather than a rustic workshop.
Treatment
To ensure longevity, timber will either be dip or pressure-treated.
Dip treatment is a method of applying anti-fungal preservative by literally dipping timber into a tank of preservative before the workshop is assembled. This is a cheaper, quicker process than pressure treatment and means that workshops built from dip treated timber cost less. However, it offers only short-term protection and you will need to re-treat the workshop annually with a preservative to prevent drying out and warping, and to comply with the guarantee’s terms and conditions.
Pressure Treatment is also known as Vacuum Pressure Impregnation or Tanalising. Moisture is first of all removed from the wood and it is then placed into a pressure treatment tank where air is removed via a vacuum. Then the tank is flooded with preservative liquid and the wood draws the preservative deep into the grain.
Pressure-treated products can usually be identified by their green-tinged finish when new, but this will fade to a honey brown colour over time. Green spots on the wood, resulting from salt being forced out of the timber, is a good sign that your timber has been fully pressure treated. These patches are not harmful and will not affect your workshop’s lifespan, they will naturally wear away or can be bruworkshop off.
All our timber workshops come with a long guarantee against rot. If the wood has been dip treated, there should be a ten-year anti-rot guarantee; pressure treated timber will be guaranteed for fifteen years. With proper care and attention, their lifespan will be much longer.
Roof Protection
The majority of timber workshops will have traditional roofing felt to ensure that the structure is waterproof. This material is supplied on a roll and is fixed to the roof with nails. Depending on the quality it will periodically need to be replaced.
As an alternative, Onduline is a tough, lightweight, corrugated sheet made up of cellulose fibres that have been soaked in bitumen. This is a long-lasting material that is cut to size and offers both waterproofing and insulation.
Glazing
Except when security is a consideration, glazing is important since it lets light into a workshop so that you can see what you’re doing. Traditionally glass has been the favoured material, however many workshops now use a synthetic equivalent.
Glass is easy to break whether this is when it is being fitted or later on perhaps by a stone or a football. Toughened glass will not break into dangerous shards but it will still have to be replaced if only to retain your workshop’s smart appearance.
Acrylic, Styrene and Polycarbonate offer superior strength and shatterproof qualities with the ability to survive high impacts. In addition, both are lightweight and easy to handle, have excellent light transmission and are better insulators than glass.
Painting
Painting is not necessary but wooden workshops can be painted at any time after delivery, although some manufacturers recommend waiting at least six months in order for any pressure treatment to completely settle.
If you do choose to paint your workshop, then we would recommend using a suitable branded outdoor wood paint solution such as those from Cuprinol, Ronseal and Sadolin. We would advise following the paint’s guidelines regarding when a fresh coat needs applying (normally once per year thereafter).
Splits and Cracks
Timber is a natural product and so splits and cracks may appear, this is due to changes in daily and seasonal temperature and humidity causing the wood to expand and contract.
This is a normal occurrence with natural wood and so splits and cracks are not any cause for concern. In 99% of cases, it will not affect the strength or structural integrity of your workshop.
Usage
There are so many different sizes and styles of wooden workshop available that they have a wide variety of uses, not just the traditional storage spaces that get filled with everything that would otherwise clutter the household.
Most workshops will have decent glazing, either acrylic or glass so that the interior has plenty of light for you to undertake quite a few activities. Increasing the size gives you more options, for DIY projects, gardening or hobbies, until you reach the large workshop type constructions.
However, if you have valuable equipment inside you may choose a ‘security workshop’ which has very small high windows or none at all. These workshops will also be fitted with pad bolts and boast other specifications that lessen the chance of a break-in.