How do I look after a shed?

Sheds fail from the bottom and the roof, not from the walls. Water sitting under the base and getting through the roof covering are the two causes, and both are cheap to prevent and expensive to fix.

What you'll need

• Wood treatment
• Brush
• Roofing felt or repair tape (optional)
• Gravel or bearers (optional)

Step by step

1. Check the base is dry and the shed is off the ground.It should sit on bearers or a base with a gap beneath for airflow. A shed directly on soil or wet paving rots from the floor up.
2. Clear vegetation away from the walls.Plants growing against a shed hold moisture against the timber permanently. Keep a clear gap all round.
3. Inspect the roof covering annually.Felt splits, lifts at the edges and tears at the nails. A small tear becomes a wet floor and rotten framing within a season.
4. Treat the timber every two or three years.A proper wood preservative rather than a decorative stain. Do it on a dry day with a dry shed, and do the ends and edges of boards.
5. Do not forget the inside and the floor.Treating only the outside leaves the timber vulnerable from within, particularly the floor, which is the most common failure point.
6. Clear guttering and downpipes if fitted.A shed gutter fills with leaves fast. Overflowing water lands at the base, which is exactly where you do not want it.
7. Check and oil hinges, locks and latches.Cheap hardware seizes and then gets forced. A minute with oil each year prevents a broken door.
8. Ventilate it.A closed shed traps condensation, which rusts tools and rots timber. A small vent or an occasional open door makes a real difference.

Tips

• Store tools off the floor and off external walls. Both are where condensation collects and where rust starts.
• Painting or treating in early autumn means the timber is protected before winter, which is when the damage happens.
• Sheds are usually not covered by home insurance for their contents to any great value. Do not store anything genuinely valuable in one.

Common mistakes

• Placing a shed directly on soil or wet paving — Water wicks up into the floor and framing, and the shed rots from the bottom regardless of any treatment above.
• Treating only the exterior — The floor and interior timbers are the ones that fail first, and they are the ones usually left untreated.
• Ignoring a small tear in the roof felt — Water gets into the framing and the floor and causes rot that costs far more than a repair patch would have.

Questions people ask