subject: How to choose the right Garden Shed [print this page] How to choose the right Garden Shed How to choose the right Garden Shed
Today there is a wide range of garden sheds available so it can be difficult to know what is best for you. Well, I'm in the fortunate position of knowing someone who knows a lot about it and told me what to look for. So, after buying a new release last week thought I'd write about it.
Apex Garden Sheds
An apex roof shed is probably the type most commonly thought of when thinking about a garden shed. It has a pitched or inverted V' shaped roof creating ridge height and access is normally granted through a single or double door positioned on the front gable. Windows are usually located, down one of the side panels.
Pent Garden Sheds
A Pent Shed changes the orientation and positioning of the garden shed when compared to the apex shed. Instead of a pitched symmetrical roof the pent shed has a sloping roof with the highest point being situated at the front of the building and reducing in height at the back.
Access is granted from the front of the building as opposed to the gable ends of the apex shed. Windows are located on the same front panel as the door.
Tongue & Groove (T&G)
The T&G joint is widely used for re-entrant angles. The effect of wood shrinkage is concealed when the joint is beaded or otherwise moulded.
T&G is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to make a single flat surface. Before plywood became common, tongue and groove boards were also used for sheathing buildings and to construct concrete formwork.
Another type of construction method, pieces are end-matched. This method eliminates the need for mitre joints, face nailing, and the use of joints on 16" or 24" centres of conventional framing. However his method reduces material waste by 10%-15%.
Each piece has a slot (the groove) cut all along one edge, and a thin, deep ridge (the tongue) on the opposite edge. The tongue projects a little less than the groove is deep. Two or more pieces thus fit together closely. The joint is not normally glued, as shrinkage would then pull the tongue off.
Planed standard wood Sheds
Planned deal pine cladding is generally used in most sheds you see on today's market because it is much cheaper than most other timber and is available in various grades depending on the shed manufacturer. One of the most common types of shed construction usually uses a tongue and grooved board more commonly known as T &G. The boards are slotted together giving greater stability and generally this is a better form of construction as it is less likely the boards will move and eventually open up.
Feather edge is also used in shed construction and this usually is where the boards overlap each other, this is more commonly used and reflects in the price of the shed and the durability of the shed too.
So if you are intending on using standard planed deal wood for a shed the first question to ask yourself is the type, either a featheredge timber which overlaps or the T&G timber which locks into position. This really only comes down to price. Is it better to save money in the short term or can you afford to pay a little extra and get more durability out of your shed effectively saving money in the longterm.
Tanalised, Pressure Treated Sheds
You probably will have heard of the expression tanalised timber. Well this is where timber is impregnated with a life long preservative which considerably extends the life period of any building built from it. Timber is placed into a vacuum cylinder and timber treatment such as tanalith is forced deep into the wood grain so it gives better protection throughout.
Pressure treated timber gives the shed a green tinge but is really worth it as it will keep the shed maintenance free for about 10 years and on most occasions even longer. This is especially great if the shed is going to be placed into a tight corner where you can't access the side to paint it every year. Any timber can be tanalised but if it is not dried out correctly
it can cause a great deal of shrinkage.
Most manufacturers will dry the tanalised timber up to 2 months before using it to build a shed because of its shrinkage issues. This is why not so many manufacturers like to use pressure treated timber because you need to hold a good stock of it constantly drying out. Tanalised sheds or buildings are a greenish hue but can be painted, stained as appropriate once the building has weathered for about 3-6 months.
