Outdoor Storage Sheds

A couple years ago, I began doing my homework on sheds and outdoor storage shed kits. There were all sorts of possibilities and options available. One at a time, I sifted through them, until I had filtered out the junk, filtered my way through to what actually works.

I could get plans very inexpensively from the local lumberyard and build one from scratch. Early on, I did buy the plans, but they were worth a bit less than the $9.95 I paid for them, and I knew better than to throw good money after bad by trying to make a structure with them. There may be some good ones out there, but they won't be cheap, and if they don't provide life-sized templates, they won't do much good for the novice builder.

Some companies building them ahead of time, offering to haul them to your location. You buy (or, in some places, rent) it, it shows up all finished, ready to go. But the prices are obscenely high, and the sizes are rather limited. I've also seen that the quality of materials isn't very good, and they're prone to cutting corners. And then there's the whole complication of trying to get a small house into your back yard in the first place. So while the notion may work for some, it wasn't at all for me.

A variation on that theme are the guys who have a bunch of outdoor storage buildings already built, alongside the highway. These are their demos. You don't actually get that unit, but they'll come and build it on your lot. That solves some of the problem. You don't have to worry about getting a small house through your front gate. But it also brings a whole slew of new ones on. You'll have a bunch of strangers showing up at your house, using your bathroom, making a mess of your back yard as they put the thing together. Sawdust everywhere, scraps of wood, nails, etc., and you still don't know about the quality of materials or labor. Given that, I'd as soon build it myself. That way at least I'll know what is going into it.

That's how I came to the kits. Building from scratch wasn't cutting it, whether I did it myself or paid someone else to do it for me. I wanted to know what for sure what I was getting, and I wanted to know that ahead of time, not after some colossal mess was installed in my back yard and I was stuck with it.

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I started looking at the local lumber yards, but their concept of a kit was pretty close to the plan version. You got a pre-manufactured skeleton, and then had to stand them all up and put them together. Not very easy for one or two people to do. Worse, though, were those skeletons themselves. The workmanship was sloppy, the quality of the materials left much to be desired. They were cutting corners everywhere, using 2" x 2" wood for frames instead of 2x4's, covering short pieces by splicing or mending plates, etc. It's no way to build anything, let alone a structure I'd be using to safeguard important property, and my own body and those of my loved ones would be inside the thing. Not so good. NEXT!

When I went online, I found a number of suppliers of outdoor storage buildings. Everything from metal frames with tarps over them, to modular garages, steel buildings, pole barns... You name it, if it could make money, there was somebody out there peddling it. Most of the time, I'd get to the fine print and figure out the flaw. They were cutting corners too, and that was only what I could see from their description. There were a few honest, quality units, but they were few, and far between.

Then I came across a company that really stood out, far above the others. BetterSheds.com offers a HUGE selection of outdoor storage sheds and storage buildings - every sort of design I'd seen thusfar, and more. They have some log-cabin types, some kits using vinyl siding, some with Smartboard, some with wood planks or siding. You name it, if it could be build out of the stuff, they had it there.

Shop: Find a Selection of Vinyl Shed Kits plus Contractors Buildings and Garages

I was reading through one of the kit's descriptions when I noticed something that really set them apart. The kit I was looking at boasted wood from Germany and Sweden. I already knew that the lumber they were talking about was of a much better quality than I could possibly have bought locally at any price. As it is, we've been buying #2 and #3 quality boards, while paying #1 and #2 prices. There it was, in front of me and in full color. No skimping, no cutting corners, and no questionable mending plate assembly line construction. That's what they promised, and that's what they delivered.

When the kit came in, I was truly impressed. As promised, all the hardware and materials were there, in good condition and of highest quality. The pre-cut pieces were all there and all correct, ensuring that the building would go up square and proper the first time, and without any hassles. These guys at BetterSheds.com were even promising to replace any part that didn't meet my satisfaction!

Constructing the BetterSheds kit was a breeze. Unlike the kit from the lumber yard, that basically came as a list of materials, the construction of this unit was straightforward, the diagrams and instructions plain and easy to read and understand. Putting the unit together was a actually fun! The pre-cut pieces matched up perfectly, shaving off days and saving me lots of headaches in calculating the right angles, etc. Pre-cut sheeting also made the job a lot easier, especially on the unusual shapes. Unlike so many of the other so-called kits I'd looked at before, what I received from BetterSheds.com was all top-notch quality materials. No #2 or #3 wood, about to fall apart. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Shop: Find a Selection of Wood Storage Shed Kits for Backyard and Garden Storage

The kit went together swiftly and smoothly. By the end of the second day, it was pretty much complete. The door had already been assembled, and the Smartboard exterior sheeting came primed in a pleasant color, ready to receive another coat of paint when I felt like it, instead of having to hurry up and get paint on it before it rained and the wood got wet. The trim was all there, and pre-cut as well. I really can't imagine anything that I'd have wanted differently. Most importantly, when it was finished, it looked just like the one in the pictures. BetterSheds.com really did have a better shed!

There are a lot of people out there trying to sell you something these days. Especially when you're looking at making a purchase online, from a distance, it's really important to order from a company with a sound reputation. At every step along the way, BetterSheds.com came through with quality. I didn't feel like I was alone with it either. Their directions were clear enough, that I didn't need to phone them, but I feel confident that they would have been there for me, if I had questions or discovered something was missing.

In doing my homework, I looked at a lot of options, and found out all kits are not created equal. Now that the building is done and getting lots of admiration from friends and neighbors, it's a pretty sure bet to say that I'm glad I came across BetterSheds.com. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again. In fact, we're saving up now. The next outdoor storage shed kit I get from them is going to be a lot bigger, and give me workshop and office!

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