All You Need to Know About Garden Sheds

The Wooden Shed Company have been building wooden garden sheds in NZ for over fifteen years and we’ve learned a thing or two about what makes a great shed! This guide will take you through everything you need to know about garden sheds—from assessing your needs, choosing a style and deciding what materials to use. Our garden sheds have all sorts of uses—we’ll share some great ‘sheddie’ projects and also how to care and maintain your shed. Of course, The Wooden Shed Company have an extensive range of garden sheds for sale and we’ll finish this guide by showing you how easy it is to order, ship and assemble your very own shed.

What can I use a garden shed for?

A wooden garden shed is a wonderful addition to your property—providing practical storage for your gardening tools and a clean and dry workspace. But they’re not just for gardeners—our sheds make great tool sheds, man-caves, pool sheds, hobby sheds, a lock-up for bikes and sporting equipment, even sleepouts!

Our sheds are not just for home use either—they make great offices, cabins or a dedicated workshop.

A shed for every need.

Our kitset wooden garden sheds are a cost-effective solution when you need a place to store your gardening implements, tools, lawnmower or outdoor furniture over winter. They’re perfect for firewood storage, a shelter for horses, even a secret backyard bar!

Quality Materials.

We specialise in timber garden sheds (both treat and non treated) for NZ conditions. Wooden sheds are rigid durable structures that can be painted to suit your location. Unlike steel, they won’t rust or warp and they just look better! Steel sheds also tend to build up more internal condensation than wooden sheds, which isn’t great news for your tools. We use quality locally sourced materials including pine, cedar, macrocarpa or oregon cladding, plywood flooring, colour steel roofing and galvanized fixings. All pine timber in framing and cladding is H3.2 treated for longevity.

Cedar and Macrocarpa are an amazing natural resource that is grown sustainably and both contain an oil which has antimicrobial and antigrowth properties. So basically, they have a natural timber preservative! However, these oils in these timbers will dry out over time so we still recommend you apply a protective stain, oil or coating to the exterior cladding.

All shapes and sizes.

Check out our website to see our most popular standard designs or we can create a custom solution just for you. If you’re looking for a low-cost option, we have a range of mono pitch garden sheds for sale that work well near fence boundaries and areas where height is an issue. Gable sheds give you a classic roof peak and the extra head height makes them ideal as activity sheds for woodworking, crafts and hobbies.

A shed design is made up of four principal components:

1. Roof
2. Walls
3. Floor
4. Windows & doors.

Roof
Do you prefer a mono-pitch, i.e. a single sloped roof or a gable design (two sloping sides with a central peak)? Mono-pitch roofs integrate well with modern architecture, whereas more traditional gable roof designs are a good match for properties with villas or bungalows. Roofs can be clad with Coloursteel (in a choice of colours), zincalume roofing.

Walls
We use sturdy H3.2 treated pine for all our framing. From there you have the option of weatherboard or ‘board and batten’ style exterior cladding,in a range of thicknesses. You can choose whether to insulate and line the interior with ply too.

Floor
We offer 19mm timber planks or 20mm plywood for flooring. To minimise dampness from the ground below, we suggest you cover the area with a moisture barrier like polythene sheet.

Windows & Doors
Our custom garden sheds are completely flexible—which means you can choose where you’d like to position your doors and windows. We can supply cost-effective fixed Perspex window fittings or you can supply your own window or door for us to fit. We believe shatter-proof Perspex is a safer option for environments that include children or pets.

All our sheds come with double doors. This is very useful when storing larger items such as bikes or ride-on mowers.

Sheds have never been more popular—they even make TV shows and magazines about them! As George Clarke from ‘Amazing Spaces’ would say, “They’re brilliant!”. But seriously, sheds can add value to your property, reduce the clutter in your main dwelling and provide a year-round, all-weather shelter for your hobbies and activities.

Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for the garden shed designs and applications. Imagine a garden ‘house', that looks out onto your private garden or patio, complete with a hot tub and changing room. Or maybe you fancy a fold-out backyard bar and entertainment area, including a beer fridge, TV and mood lighting, that you can open up at a moment's notice.

Don’t forget the kids—a playhouse is a great way to get the young ones playing outdoors and inspire their imagination.

Of course, if you’re looking for a step up from a garden shed, we also build custom offices and sleepouts. You can add additional features like sliding doors or a covered Kwila deck to make it more homely and appealing. Whether it’s extra accommodation, a portable building for your company or a separate studio for a small business venture—talk to us about your needs and we’ll put together a design and quote just for you. Please be aware that you will need to ensure your sleepout or office meets building regulations—the code is more stringent for these types of construction.

What else can you do with a shed? The possibilities are endless. Here’s a list of just some of the ways you can use a wooden garden shed in NZ:

I need a shed—where do I start?

Before you choose a design, it’s important to think about the purpose of your shed and how you will use it, as this will influence the size, style, and materials required. Will it be a shed for your stuff or is it a shed for you? Does it require lighting, power, and insulation? Here are some other factors to consider:

Size

How much space do you need? It can be helpful to lay out the items you want to store on your driveway or back lawn, to get a feel for what size you need. Allow some ‘walk-in' space so you'll have easy access. Be aware that sheds over 10m2 may require building consent from your local council. By choosing a Gable roof design, you gain more headroom and a more spacious interior without exceeding the 10m2 footprint. A small mono-pitch shed next to your house is an unobtrusive way to gain extra storage for little outlay.

A small shed (1.65m x 3.0m) is a great size for firewood, pool pumps or a courtyard cupboard. A medium shed (say 2.50m x 3.0m) is ideal for sports equipment or a potting shed while a large shed (e.g. 4.0m x 2.50m) can accommodate bikes, mowers or serve as a workshop or studio.

Over 78% of our customers opt for a custom garden shed and it’s so easy with our online quote form—click here to order your very own quality tested garden shed from The Wooden Shed Company.

Lighting

Is the shed just for storage or will it be a space for working in? If you plan to use the shed for potting plants, woodworking or other creative pursuits, you’ll need to consider its position and whether there is sufficient natural light. You’ll probably want to include more windows in the design and a maybe an electrical outlet for lighting and power tools. If power isn’t easily available, consider using clearlite roofing or solar-powered LED lighting. If you don’t want windows or clear roofing for security reasons but still want a light and airy space—consider installing double doors that can be locked securely but open up wide when the shed is in use.

Location

Choosing the right spot for your wooden garden shed is probably the first decision to make and you need to consider how often you’ll be accessing the shed. Is it close enough? If you plan to store valuable items, you might need to ensure it isn’t too visible to onlookers. Sheds under 10m2 in size don’t require building consent but depending on the intended location of the shed on your property, you may still require consent. We highly recommend checking with your local council but as a general rule, sheds need to be set back from any boundary or other building by a distance equal to the total shed height. Different rules may apply to the street facing boundary so it pays to check first.

If you're laying a concrete base for your shed, it's particularly important to ensure you have the right spot. Many of our customers build their sheds on relocatable bearers, pavers or sleepers, which means the shed can be easily moved if required. Sheds can even be built onto a trailer base, for the ultimate in portability. Concrete pads do provide a high-quality foundation but it’s important that they are sized correctly for the shed, too large and you’ll get water pooling where the concrete meets the structure. For this reason, we still recommend a raised wooden floor when assembling a shed onto an existing concrete pad, such as a driveway.

It's best to situate your shed in an area that isn’t exposed to prevailing wind or rain and it should ideally be exposed to sunlight with good air circulation all around its sides. Avoid placing your shed under trees as this will increase dampness and require frequent removal of leaves and broken branches.

Build finish

Obviously, a sleepout will require a higher level of finish than a simple mono-pitch shed but even garden sheds can benefit from added features like interior lining and plywood flooring to reduce dampness and keep your stored items dry. If the shed is close to your main dwelling, you can opt for a similar cladding style such as weatherboards, to maintain a consistent look. Painting the shed the same colour as your house will also help it blend in. The sturdy framing timber allows you to fix shelving to the interior walls with ease—try doing that with a steel shed!

How to care for your garden shed

We’re confident we make the best value garden sheds for sale in NZ and with the right care and maintenance, they’ll last you a very long time. You can help protect your shed with the following simple tips:

• Avoid positioning the shed where water gathers, e.g. at the bottom of a slope.
• Make sure the shed is built on a raised platform, either a concrete pad, pavers or footings.
• For long-term protection, we recommend you stain, waterproof or paint your shed and recoat on a regular basis.
• Clear away any leaves or grass clippings that may build up on the roof and against the outer walls. If left, this organic material will trap moisture and encourage mould and rot.
• Wash the walls regularly to remove any build-up of dirt or mould.

Because timber is porous, you may experience some staining or discolouration over time, particularly in damp or shady areas. You can remove these stains with a commercial product like 30 Seconds or try a diluted solution of household bleach in a bucket of water, combined with about 60ml of detergent.

Do you Deliver?

Yes, we do! Our kitset wooden garden sheds come in handy pre-made sections making flat-pack delivery easy as. We build our wooden garden sheds in Christchurch and can ship to all the major centres in NZ. Need a wooden garden shed in Wellington? No problem. We freight to Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. You should allow 3 days for South Island deliveries and 4 days for delivery to the North Island.

Just complete the quote form below and we’ll get a customised quote out to you, including the freight cost.

Installation

All sheds come with easy to follow instructions for any home handyman or builder. The panels are largely pre-built so you only have to assemble the flat-pack on site. We generally recommend you allow 3 hours for the install. We can install on your property if you live in the Canterbury area. Mono Pitch Sheds and Gable Sheds are $399 Incl GST

For other South Island clients, just include installation when you request a quote and we will provide separate pricing.

As the prefabricated panels can be fairly heavy, installation is a two-person job, particularly for larger shed sizes.

Tools required:

• Cordless power drill for roofing and door screws (Screws supplied in kitset)
• Hammer (nails supplied in kitset)
• Handsaw

Site Preparation

The key to a successful shed installation is a clear and level base. This will help ensure that all the panels line up correctly and shed doors will open freely. It’s worth clearing an area slightly larger than the footprint of your shed, to provide a good working area. Remove any large rocks or roots and use a spirit level to confirm the base is level. You can spread a layer of gravel on top to help with drainage. If the site you have chosen is quite uneven or sloping, or you want your shed raised off the ground, you or we can create a foundation using piles and joists.

Summary

Thank you for your interest in The Wooden Shed Company and our range of quality tested wooden garden sheds for every kiwi garden! To help you on your way with choosing the right shed, we’ve created this handy checklist:

So that’s pretty much all you need to know about garden sheds. When it comes to choosing a garden shed company, The Wooden Shed Company is the obvious choice.

Beat the summer rush and get your order in now using our easy online quote form.

If you have any questions about wooden garden sheds, give us a call on 027 441 4010 or email us at info@thewoodenshedco.co.nz.

You might also like:

• 10 Reasons Why Invest in a Wooden Shed
• 10 Custom Wooden Shed Ideas
• How to Choose the Right Wooden Garden Sheds