Finally, I've got rid of our old shed. It belonged to the previous owners of our house, and I've always hated it. There, at last I can say it. I HATED IT!
Why did I hate it? First, it was an overlap (or weatherboard) shed, where the slats of wood that form the walls overlap each other. Or, as frequently happens, the slats of wood do not quite overlap each other, and allow gaps for ivy to push its way in, for mice to gain entry and for water to seep through.
Second, the door had warped/fallen out of position, so it wouldn't shut properly. This meant that water was coming in via the walls and the door.
Third, the acrylic windowpane had broken. This meant that water was coming in via the walls, the door and the window.
Fourth, the roof was leaking. This meant that water was coming in via the walls, the door, the window and the roof. It was pretty darned wet in there.
My new shed is a shiplap shed, which is constructed on tongue and groove basis. This is much stronger and more weather-proof. The window is pristine and uncracked, the roof is sound, the shed is snug, and it smells gorgeous. I might even put up some little lace curtains and move in.
The old shed was on a concrete base, which was good and bad news. Good, because it was a solid base, but bad because I would ideally have liked a bigger shed. However, I couldn't bear the thought of reorganising the entire end of the garden, so the new shed is a replacement 6 x4ft.
I've also had a garden storage shed installed, which is a bit smaller (4 x 3ft). My idea was that the mower would go in here, leaving the shed free for me to put my tools in. To my horror, the mower did not fit in the 4 x3 shed. (You know that O......M.......G....... feeling when you realise you have made a ghastly mistake of some sort? It lasted about 10 minutes.)
I finally worked out that I could keep the mower in the shed, and put my tools in the store cupboard. Simple!
Here's the door to the old shed, which I had tried to disguise by adorning with a homemade trellis of homegrown bamboo. It sort of worked in my head
Water stains inside the old shed. If I was a conceptual artist, I could probably have made a lot of money charging admission to this. I could have said it was a statement about the effect of water on our lives.
It didn't take long to clear out the old shed ...
I just had to dump the stuff here...
And here...
And clear this bit for the tool store...
Oh, and here's some more junk. Martin, who helps me with the garden, did a lot of it, thank goodness. He took quite a lot to the tip too, and I suspect more will go.
And here are the new sheds!
Not a single plant was harmed in the making of this post (or indeed the putting up of the sheds). I was very impressed. Huge thanks to Premier Sheds in Streatham for their work.
Here's the little tool store.
Oh, the relief of having a shed with a door that shuts properly. Oh, the relief of having TWO sheds with doors that shut properly.
So, only one dilemma remains. To paint or not to paint? Everything else in my garden is now painted in a sort of greige - like a stone colour. The old shed was stained very dark brown, which was good in that it disappeared into the corner, but bad in that it looked a bit like a black hole. (And that was just from the outside.)
At the moment, I'm quite enjoying the natural colour of the wood. But I might get a bit of trellis and cover the window, so it looks as if it has glazing bars. I can never resist the urge to tinker with things.
Oh, and put up the lace curtains.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
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11 comments:
Oh I love talk about sheds! Now I'm going to have to rush off to see what type of construction ours is (soon). I like your two new ones. I woudln't paint them, for a while at least - I agree in liking the wood as it is and I think it will weather, things will grow (and get planted) and your eye will get accustomed (though this isn't always a good thing). Re the mower - no doubt you did investigate folding the handles over? (sometimes possible) Martin might find someone lurking at the tip...
These are great Victoria!! I too would enjoy the natural look for a bit..once it's painted, well, it's painted. :)
It's surprising how often storing a mower becomes a problem. Being the bloke type, I have a big (10x8), but very crowded, shed. When I replaced the mower last year I had one of those lengthy pondering moments too. The handles which folded for storage didn't fold in the same way so needed twice as much space.
I solved the problem by replacing the wooden patio furniture with that modern all-weather stuff so don't need to store it in the shed over winter.
Maybe your solution is to expand the beds and borders, so reducing the lawn area. Then you can get a smaller mower!
oh my ! You've really hit a soft point there... At Botanic Bay, we really could do with a new shed, but it's not yet on the 'things-to-do list' I'm afraid !
Emily: No, my mower doesn't fold, sadly - it's a rotary type, with a grass bag and rigid handles. Might go back to using the old Flymo, which is hanging on the wall in the garage, but you don't have so much control over the grass height.
Darla: Thanks! Good point about the painting. Trouble with me is, once I have paint and brush, I start looking around...
John: Think smaller mower could be the way to go. I shall start investigating... especially as I love creating new growing areas.
Celine: I know what you mean - it wasn't on mine, until I found rainwater was actually running down my spade. Have to say, tho, that I've learned that getting rid of things that don't work, or give you pleasure, is rarely an extravagance. It usually works out cheaper/less stressful in the long run.
Oh I'm jealous. I hate my shed too. Its hideous concrete panels, with possibly an asbestos roof, the window pane is up against a fence so it allows no light in and I can't put up shelves because the concrete is so hard to drill into. I nice lick on paint on the outside render and a door painted in a lovely greeny-blue colour have made it look bearable. It's just too much hassle to rid of it, especially when we think we may move in a couple of years. I spotted a greenhouse/shed combo at Malvern which I fell in love with but £3000 does seem a lot to spend on a shed! I love the colour of the seat you painted the sheds would look lovely painted in the same colour with trellis and clematis growing up them.
If you ever get a new mower, you can get a rotary one that folds.
How exciting. We had a horrid shed when we moved here which went very quickly. Putting a shed in my garden is just too problematic with the slope
How nice :-) I hope you get a lot of use and joy out of them.
Oh Victoria, it is lovely...(as is your garden). You will enjoy the usefulness of the garden shed/s so much, and so well located.
As for stain.. a complimentary color (to your plantings) might bring the best of your zestful and vibrant garden to another level. However, if you want the shed to disappear...keep it natural and maybe stain it a woodland greyish or green. I'd go for the first though.
Very nice...overwintering mice will certain;y be disappointed ;)Did wandering through Chelsea give any inspiration for staining/painting?
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