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5 keys to choosing your home shed location

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When it comes to bringing in a new storage or garden shed into a home building, one of the biggest considerations that most homeowners struggle to make is the issue of placement and location.

Yes, we all know that the shed has got to be placed outside, but “where exactly” is what many people struggle to wrap their heads around, so much so that some even begin to ask themselves questions like, where is the best place to locate the shed? If I situate it here, won’t it be too far from home? Or perhaps I need to get it as far away from the main building as possible to prevent kids from strolling in and toying with tools?

If you’ve found yourself asking these questions each time you remember that your timber company will soon be bringing in your storage sheds, then I’m happy to inform you that we’ve got an answer for you.

Read on to discover some of the factors you need to consider before deciding on the perfect location to situate your soon-to-be-delivered shed. And if you’ve got a wrongly-placed shed too, our list of tips can help you reconsider your shed positioning and make some appropriate corrections.

Purpose and function of the shed

First things first, you need to answer the golden question in the world of home sheds, which is: what do you plan on doing with the shed in question? Usually, all sheds are not made equal, and the function of a given shed can help you determine the appropriate place to situate it.

For instance, if you’re getting a garden workshop shed, which you intend to use for the storage of your garden supplies, tools, then you might want to consider placing the shed in the backyard where it can be easily accessible by you and far away from the reach of kids.

But if you plan on using the building for the storage of vehicles like bike, then you might want to consider placing your shed somewhere closer to the front of the house.

How frequently you need to access the shed

Another important consideration is how frequently you intend to access the shed. For a shed that’s almost always going to be accessed daily, you want to place it not too far from the house so that you don’t have to travel distances each time you need to do or pick something from there.

But if the purpose of the shed is such that you’ll only need to seldom visit it, then you can situate it far from the house. But not too far or too close to trees and bushes that it’ll almost be impossible for the delivery drivers to access the location when they bring in the newest structure in your house.

The appearance of the shed

You are the best judge of your shed’s curb appeal, and you’re in the best position to tell whether or not it’s aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. So I want to believe that when you get your new building, it would have a color that matches the tone of the house, a size that blends in with the rest of the property, and an appearance that doesn’t make it look out of place in the compound. Now, depending on what the overall appearance of your shed is, you can decide where you want to place it.

Perhaps you didn’t know before now that there is a need to get a shed that matches the rest of the house, and you’ve placed an order with your timber company to bring a grey-shade shed into your yellow-and-buttercream color home. If, by the time the shed arrives, you see that the color doesn’t match with the rest of the building, you can simply place it in the backyard where it doesn’t affect your building’s curb appeal.

Amount of lighting desired

This is one factor that bellies some of the factors we’ve mentioned so far. And that is because it works side by side with the first factor mentioned – the purpose of the shed.

How much light is needed in the building? Do you want a direct impact from the sun, or you just need something to illuminate the building? If you plan on using the shed as a summerhouse or a greenhouse, then you might want to consider placing it directly in front of the sun’s path.

But if you’re planning on using it as a small office, storage barn, workshop, or studio, then you certainly want to keep it as far away from the direct impact of the sun as possible.

Also, if the interior of the shed is the type that retains heat when the exterior gets beaten by the sun, then you should avoid placing it close to where the sun will directly shine on it, as this could create a problem during the summer.

Foundation of the shed

Usually, most home sheds are built on gravel pads and concrete foundations. But not all the areas of a building can be suited for the construction of these sorts of foundations. So your choice of shed placement can also be determined by the nature of the ground in your compound.

If the ground of your property is such that a gravel pad foundation or concrete foundation can only be built in the backyard – where the presence of trees and bushes have limited the impact of rain on the ground over time – then this is where you’ll have to situate your shed.

If you don’t choose a location where a strong gravel pad or concrete foundation can be laid, nothing will matter because the longevity of your storage shed will be disrupted.

Other important factors you shouldn’t forget to consider are the security of the shed, the landscape of the shed location (you need an area where there are no roots or clumps of rocks), and the local ordinances for sheds in your locality.

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