The addition of a storage shed to your back garden can be a weight off your shoulders. But before buying storage shed plans it’s highly recommended that you keep in mind a few pointers:

What will you need this time next year?

Most people buying a shed, or anything for that matter, think only about their current needs and in many cases it’s very costly – we’ve all seen people with two ghastly sheds in their garden… By thinking about what you will need in the future you save yourself not only money but plenty of time buying more storage units.

Try to imagine what you’ll be using the shed for in a few months’ time. Here are a couple of ideas to help you:

The bigger your garden, the more you can, and will, put in your shed.

How does this relate to your situation?

As a general rule of thumb, take what was going to be your ideal size shed and increase the dimensions but (minimum) one foot – you won’t believe how many items you’ll want to be stuffing in there!

Do note however that I strongly believe that a shed should be in direct proportion to a garden. If you have a very small garden but want a very big shed, it’s not going to be balanced and quite honestly, it will look hideous. Storage sheds are generally built for function more than anything, so aesthetics probably aren’t a priority for you. However, if your back yard looks to garish the neighbours may have something to say about it, and even your council. If you aren’t sure, I would always urge you to contact your council before building a shed – especially if it’s a particularly larger shed.

Do you plan to use it for anything more than storage?

If you plan to stay in the shed for anything more than a minute – for example you want to set up a work bench in there for a little project you’re working on – then you should be concerning yourself with a list of additional features you’ll need. A quick list might be electric lighting, 3 windows, a vent, a ramp, and 6 hooks on the wall.

If you don’t plan to use it for anything more than a storage shed now, try to think what it will be used for 6 months from today. For example, perhaps you are building the shed in the Autumn/Winter for storage, but you like gardening in the Spring/Summer. Well, common sense tells you that if you are working in the garden, you’ll be using the shed more!