The Lemon Fool

Looking to put up a metal shed for secure storage (bike & accessories, camping gear, ladder, etc). In an underground area notionally for parking (I have no car), so looks don't matter and it goes on firm concrete. Probably 8'x6' or very similar size.

Any reason I shouldn't go for a cheapo?

All the reviews say they're a hard job to put up. I can buy something like this from B&Q including assembly: good idea?

Depends how secure it needs to be, my neighbour has a similar one and drilled holes in both handles and used a padlock to keep the doors closed but you only have to lean on it a bit and then the doors would just collapse inwards. You are probably paying c. £250 for the assembly.

RC

Might be worth taking a look at these folks: https://www.trimetals.co.uk. A colleague visited their factory a couple of years ago and thought their products looked sturdy and well-made. Assembly seems fairly straightforward.

One observation on the B&Q shed. It's not obvious where the ventilation is (if it exists at all). No ventilation = serious condensation issues with a metal shed, even if it's under cover.

If it is underground then just build a rebar cage with a lockable door, dspp

Thanks for the replies.

ReformedCharacter wrote:my neighbour has a similar one and drilled holes in both handles and used a padlock to keep the doors closed but you only have to lean on it a bit and then the doors would just collapse inwards.

Hmmm. Sounds like the sort of thing unlikely to impress an insurer.

rabbit wrote:Might be worth taking a look at these folks: https://www.trimetals.co.uk. A colleague visited their factory a couple of years ago and thought their products looked sturdy and well-made. Assembly seems fairly straightforward.

Saw those whilst browsing. The reviews suggest they're a lot of work to put up, too. Hmmm ...

dspp wrote:If it is underground then just build a rebar cage with a lockable door, dspp

Interesting thought, but it doesn't give me much peace of mind if someone can reach in through the bars and help themselves to anything smaller than the mesh of the bars. Googling rebar cage that would seem likely to include most of what I'd keep there short of an entire bike!

Most metal sheds are not secure, they are easy to break in to. They aren't really intended to be secure, they are storage and will stop someone walking past and picking stuff up and that's about it.

If you want security it costs so you need to decide if what you want to protect is worth the cost of the shed Good security on a 7 x 11 could be £1600.

If that's too much it's just a case of deciding how much you are prepared to pay and accepting it won't be secure but the more you pay the more security you can get.

At the end of the day someone with time and determination will get into any shed no matter how secure it's supposed to be. Give me an angle grinder and a secluded spot and I'll be in in 5 or 10 minutes.