Wooden Garden Sheds

With tongue and groove cladding, panels are designed to interlock. The result of this are smooth panels which comfortably join together, providing a clean finish with little to no visible join.

Tongue and groove cladding provides a huge amount of strength and durability to any wooden shed, thanks to its interlocking system. Because of this, the longevity of your shed will be increased, and more than enough protection will be provided against the harshest weather Britain is capable of throwing at it. Click here for more on tongue and groove cladding.

With overlap cladding, wooden boards are placed on top of each other. This provides a traditional and rustic aesthetic, as each board overlaps the previous one to create a panel effect.

Overlap cladding is a brilliant option for a starter shed. This cladding is much cheaper than its counterparts, while still providing plenty of weather protection, as it causes rainwater to run off the sides.

If you want your wooden shed to last, then proper care and maintenance is a must, with rotting wood being one of the most common problems to deal with.

There are several ways to prevent your shed from rotting:

• Keep your wooden shed off the ground. Place your wooden shed base on a sturdy foundation with pavers or a timber sub-floor if possible.
• Place your shed in a sunny location, so heat can dry up moisture after periods of rainfall. 
• Buy one of our products built from pressure-treated wood.

Use wood treatment on timber and paint.

You can keep a wooden shed dry by venting it as much as possible (even during the coldest months of the year). This will allow fresh air to circulate through your shed, preventing a build-up of moisture.

Heating your shed can also be an effective means of keeping damp under control. If your shed has mains power, then a tubular or electric heater is definitely worth considering, in order to keep the internal temperature above the point where moisture can cause damp and mould. For a complete rundown of how to damp-proof and insulate your shed, check out this guide.

If you intend to have your shed placed on a foundation or wooden shed base, then we would recommend raising it off the ground. Some estimates suggest you should raise your wooden shed a minimum of four inches off the ground. This will allow sufficient air circulation underneath your garden shed as well as ensuring it doesn’t sit in groundwater which is essential in stopping the underside of your shed from becoming damp, and rotting as a result. If building your garden shed onto a concrete slab this shouldn’t be necessary.

Generally, due to their relatively small size, no. If they’re not likely to infringe on anyone else’s property and will go unnoticed, chances are you won’t need planning permission. Always check with your local authority however, if you’re not sure. There are a few minor regulations you should be aware of, so check these to make doubly sure you won’t get into trouble:

• The building shouldn’t be more than 2.5m high at the eaves, and 3m high at the ridge (4m if a double pitched roof).
• Your shed shouldn’t extend beyond the front of the house.
• A garden shed should be single storey.
• No taller than 2.5m if within 2m of a boundary.
• Your garden shed should be no larger than 50% of your garden’s size.

Yes, we’d advise against building any garden shed straight onto the ground. This is because it is unlikely to be level and can put uneven strain on your shed’s frame. On top of that, the ground holds moisture and acts as a heat drain. This can result in problems like rising damp, a cold shed, mould, and rot.

It’s up to personal preference as to whether you paint or stain your shed. Both have their 

advantages - they both protect and preserve the wood in their own individual ways; in the same vein, there are cons to both to consider as well.

Paint will add a much thicker, bolder finish to your wood as it sits on the surface and means that the grain of the wood, as well as any imperfections, will be rendered invisible. Stain soaks into the wood, meaning that the final tone of your wood will be influenced by it’s original shade. You can always use a clean stain before painting your wooden shed.

Paint will last longer without needing to be re-coated, but once it does peel and chip, you’ll have to strip it off in order to paint again if you want a pristine finish. Stain wears away quicker naturally, but you can apply more on top of what you’ve already done.

Stain is generally cheaper than paint.

Concrete, wood, gravel and plastic foundation bases can all act as garden shed bases. We offer an Eze base as an option with many of our garden sheds; a wooden perimeter base fixed into the ground with plinths. There’s also our EcoBase; a base in the form of plastic blocks that are fixed together and filled with pea gravel. All of this will raise your shed out of the way of sitting groundwater and moisture and allow for adequate airflow.

Our range of BillyOh 12x10 wooden sheds starts at £1,683 secure windowless workshop made from quality tongue and groove timber panels.

Our range of BillyOh wooden sheds all come flat-packed as pre-assembled tongue and groove panels. Simply follow the assembly instructions provided with your order and you and a friend can have a garden shed built in no time. You will require some basic tools like a drill and bits, level, and hammer.

Some cladding types like overlap may have larger gaps, especially if timber was warped over the years. Luckily, tongue and groove panels are designed with this in mind and built to expand and contract slightly with changing temperatures whilst providing a tight seal.

For any gaps in your wooden shed, consider caulking with a silicone gun or using expanding foam to seal them.

To combat damp in a wooden shed, consider buying a product with a tight seal like a tongue and groove wooden shed. Build a suitable base that allows for airflow and drainage and raises your wooden shed off the ground. You should install a ground membrane and then you can think about insulating. Lastly, be sure to keep a constant airflow through your shed, even in the colder months.

For more tips, check out our guide on damp-proofing a wooden shed.

If you have tools, time, expertise and access to quality materials, then it may be cheaper to build your own wooden shed. However, if you’re not confident with the prospect of measuring, marking out, and framing your own shed it’s probably not a wise idea. But instead of outright buying a shed you could opt for a BillyOh shed - some simple assembly helps you feel like you’ve built something your own, at a price that’s budget-friendly. We go into more detail on this question in this post.