9 Tips To Maintaining Your Garden Shed

A man’s shed is a very integral part of the garden. But it’s important to take care of it if you want to prolong your man cave’s life. The tasks involved in keeping it healthy aren’t always lengthy, however constant care is required to ensure its life is lived to the fullest.

1. Treat The Wood Regulary

This is particularly important during the winter months as the cold and wet weather can have a serious effect on the wood. This would be especially true of sheds that haven’t had a fresh lick of paint in a few years. You should ideally look to treat your shed within the first six months of its life in your garden, and then every twelve months or so from thereon. It is advised that you treat your shed before the start of the autumn months when the weather gets colder.

To treat your wood properly you will need to find out whether your shed has had an oil or water preserve on it. This can be difficult to work out if you weren’t the original owner, so if you are unsure you should look to sand the wood back a few layers and start from scratch with a couple of new coats. It’s not advised to combine oil and water preserves as the topcoat will flake and then fall off.

Oil and water preserves work in different ways too. The oil would seep into the wood whereas the water preserve would seal it from the outside. They are both perfectly viable options provided you buy a high quality mixture.

2. Repair Any Holes

While you plan to treat the wood you should have a lookout to see if any of the panels are falling away. If there are any loose boards they will not put up much of a fight against the wet weather, which can damage the insides of the shed, so you will need to fix them. Even if they look quite minor they can be much more serious in the cold, wet and windy winter weather.

3. Lubricate The Hinges

This is one of the weakest points on the shed so you should take extra care. The hinges can seize up after a while so you should keep them well lubricated just to make sure you don’t have any issues. Super-gluing the hinges to the door will provide extra strength and security, as potential intruders would struggle to prize the door from the hinges if it’s secured down.

4. Check And Replace Roof Regulary

The roof will probably require the most attention and you should ideally check it every year or so. You should be quick to remove any leaves as soon as possible, and ensure that the felt pins are still secure without any rips. It’s worth replacing this every few years just to make sure your shed is fully protected from the rain.

5. Be Wary Of Nearby Plants

You should be careful to make sure that there aren’t any trees or plants that are left in contact with the shed. This can affect the airflow, which aids the timber to dry out after rain spells. Overhanging trees and branches can also damage the roof so it is worth making sure the plants are well clear.

6. Clean Out The Insides

Every now and then it’s worth giving the inside of your shed. Certain items like bikes or golf clubs can soak up a lot of moisture, which, over time, can be harmful to the shed. This is also a good time to check that the shed still has a good amount of ventilation underneath, otherwise this can lead to a buildup of damp and mold which can affect the wood.

7. Make Sure Windows Are Secure

After a while windows can develop damp as a result of condensation. It is therefore very important to make sure the windows are well looked after. A quick coat of wood treatment will stave off this problem but you will need to be sure that you reapply the treatment every so often. If the windowsills are already damp, you will need to dry this out before you apply the treatment.

8. Check For Rust Or Mould

This depends on whether the shed is made from metal or wood. It is important that you diagnose issues early, as this will help you fix it without any major problems. The longer you leave problems, the harder it will be to repair, which may mean you will need to replace the entire shed altogether.

9. Repaint If Necessary

This final point may just be cosmetic however keeping the paint topped up every so often is important to the overall look of your garden. There are a large number of options available on the market as to the type of paint, however you should find one that will compliment the overall look and feel of the garden.