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Does anyone have any experience with those pre-built metal lawn and garden sheds you can get at stores like Home Depot and Wal-Mart ? They seem very practical, but look kind of terrible.

I agree with you about the looks of the metal sheds. I would do what I did which is just buy a pre-made wooden one. Just make sure the wood is well-treated for the outdoors.

As a matter of fact I do.... we bought an 8 X 10 from Menard's. It is made of steel about as thick as your Reynolds Wrap foil, and has thousands of bolts and nuts.
We had just got married, and was told that if we were still married by the time we got it together than our marriage was secure.
It has stood there for 11 years now, a little rusty and bent up where I hit it by the tractor once or twice.

As mentioned by cottom... the metal is thin.
Too thin to hold the shape, after a while the doors will not function correctly. And they dent and bend.
Use wood and a proper frame to build on... :smile:KennyV

I built a 8'x12' 14' peak and 8' eaves, metal roof and harde panel siding, 3/4" pressure treated floor
6" floor joist into 8" frames on concrete pads, the floor is about 14" off the ground with a ramp @ 15 degrees, cost about 1100.00$ in materials,
It will be there when I go (not withstanding a tornado) as Hardee panels are impervious to water and rot and the whole structure is PT. Because it's on pads I could move it with my tractor if I had too.
I would send pics if anybody wants to see them. Yes it was some work to erect but I did it myself and everytime I look at it I smile. If it was a metal or plastic shed (don't see any metal sheds for sale around here) I would look at it and see the deterioration. Would not consider a prebuilt shed, but that's me, here. Anything that's not pressure treated quickly becomes a termite nest. So you will be repairing or replacing in 2-4 years.
Build it yourself. It's not hard, it's fun:thumbsup:

i built my shed in my mind, like 5X, but when i started putting it to paper i would goof it up somehow. So now i am planning mine out on paper first. the city has to approve it before i can build it. they have to deem if it will be a permanent or a semi-permanent structure. once it is approved, i could post it here for all of you.

Anyone use any of those Chinese Shipping Crates for a shed? I think they are available and can be hauled in like a tractor trailer rig would. Getting them set up could be something else since they are quite heavy. I saw on tv the other night where in London some guy is turning them into "mini apartments". One was turned up on its end and had stairs outside! It would be too high in normal position for a shed if it had tractor-trailer type wheels on it. Still if it was on the ground it would be tough to get it jacked back up again to move. Some of these "Doomsday Preppers" like those things too! Anyone have plans for one?

You can move them with a rollback or a flat bed with rollers on it. Have never used one as a shed but did have one at the river to store things in.

carla6 said:

Does anyone have any experience with those pre-built metal lawn and garden sheds you can get at stores like Home Depot and Wal-Mart ? They seem very practical, but look kind of terrible.

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I live in upper NY. I put up two of the metal sheds. They both caved in from the snow load. If you live anywhere that has a lot of snow you will just be throwing your money away. One of the buildings that caved in I built wooden roof rafters for it and that one is OK now.

I think it was on "Farm Show" site where I saw in their archives where some farmer took some of those Chinese shipping crates and stacked two side by side with a gap big enough to drive a tractor in and built a shed roof over top of them. Made quite a barn or shed! They say you can stack them up like leggos. I think I'll stay on the ground level if I get one of them.

DaveTN said:

I think it was on "Farm Show" site where I saw in their archives where some farmer took some of those Chinese shipping crates and stacked two side by side with a gap big enough to drive a tractor in and built a shed roof over top of them. Made quite a barn or shed! They say you can stack them up like leggos. I think I'll stay on the ground level if I get one of them.

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I don't know what Chinese shipping crates look like, but in my mine I don't think I would want one sitting in my yard. Then on top of that I am also thinking about town building permits or codes. Also where I live a farmer can get away with different building codes then the home owner can.

reynoldston said:

I don't know what Chinese shipping crates look like, but in my mine I don't think I would want one sitting in my yard. Then on top of that I am also thinking about town building permits or codes. Also where I live a farmer can get away with different building codes then the home owner can.

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When they move the crates on a ship they stack them 6 high.
There is no way 2 foot of wet snow would hurt one. I have seen people put cars on the top

Carscw said:

When they move the crates on a ship they stack them 6 high.
There is no way 2 foot of wet snow would hurt one. I have seen people put cars on the top

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When I am talking about snow load its the cheap metal building that don't hold up. But if you live where you don't get deep snow it makes for a nice cheap building. As far as the shipping crates I don't have any idea what they even look like. I am picturing a big ugly crate that I wouldn't want in my yard and if you live in a town with building codes the town may well say something about it. Now that would really be the frosting on the cake is to have a car setting on top of the crate in your yard, not mine.

The shipping crates being referred to are also called shipping containers and ISO containers. The containers have standardized dimensions and are quite strong as they can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one mode of transport to another such as container ships, rail transport flatcars, and semi-trailer trucks without being opened. As of 2009, approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships; 26% of all container transhipment is carried out in China. Many are used also for storage, temporary housing and office space. Below are some examples.

This is what they look like but most are primer red

Nothing that I pictured in my mine. I was thinking a big ugly wooden box. I just never seen them for sale. Wouldn't they just use them over and over again and not sell them? If they are for sale just where would they sell them. Also if they are selling them I can't see them being cheap to buy. Then once you buy one it would have to be transported, loaded, and unloaded. That being the case wouldn't it be cheaper, easier and look better to put up a wooden building the same size? Now I am thinking the average home owner who would have to hire this work done not someone with large equipment to handle one of these boxes. This thread started out buying a cheap metal building which I have seen costing 2 to 3 hundred dollars so just how would one of these boxes compare in cost and looks.

reynoldston said:

Nothing that I pictured in my mine. I was thinking a big ugly wooden box. I just never seen them for sale. Wouldn't they just use them over and over again and not sell them? If they are for sale just where would they sell them. Also if they are selling them I can't see them being cheap to buy. Then once you buy one it would have to be transported, loaded, and unloaded. That being the case wouldn't it be cheaper, easier and look better to put up a wooden building the same size? Now I am thinking the average home owner who would have to hire this work done not someone with large equipment to handle one of these boxes. This thread started out buying a cheap metal building which I have seen costing 2 to 3 hundred dollars so just how would one of these boxes compare in cost and looks.

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What people do is just have them dropped off with a rollback and use them as a shop or storage. I know a guy attached one to his shop and uses it as a engine build room.

They can only use them for shipping for so many years then they auction them off. You can get a 40 foot one for around 3 grand.

Carscw said:

What people do is just have them dropped off with a rollback and use them as a shop or storage. I know a guy attached one to his shop and uses it as a engine build room.

They can only use them for shipping for so many years then they auction them off. You can get a 40 foot one for around 3 grand.

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Now that would be cool. I need a shed so badly. I just had a close call when I was trying to get to a mower in the back of my garage. I just moved one thing and BOOM! BAM! CRASH! There goes lawn mower bags, my neighbors miter saw, and a ton of other junk. I could use one of those shipping containers, maybe five, for all of my junk.

Carscw said:

What people do is just have them dropped off with a rollback and use them as a shop or storage. I know a guy attached one to his shop and uses it as a engine build room.

They can only use them for shipping for so many years then they auction them off. You can get a 40 foot one for around 3 grand.

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Not a bad price for a 40 foot building, Has anybody run into town building code problems?

reynoldston said:

Not a bad price for a 40 foot building, Has anybody run into town building code problems?

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I live out in the country we really don't have any building codes so don't know how it would go over in a town or city.

If I lived in town or city limits I would find out before I had one dropped in my yard and maybe talk to my neighbors

reynoldston said:

Not a bad price for a 40 foot building, Has anybody run into town building code problems?

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Carscw said:

I live out in the country we really don't have any building codes so don't know how it would go over in a town or city.

If I lived in town or city limits I would find out before I had one dropped in my yard and maybe talk to my neighbors

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In my area the shed needs to be 10' from the property line, and you need a zoning permit. You need a building permit if it is greater than 400 sq. ft.