Sheds are unquestionably Britain’s most iconic garden buildings, but is it possible to single out just one particular shed as being the best of all? It’s a question that has teased us shed connoisseurs for a very long time, so we’re delighted to have finally found an answer to it.
After much debate within the Buy Sheds Direct offices and warehouse, our shed experts got together to examine the nation’s favourite sheds, and they have now passed judgement on what they consider to be Britain’s Best Garden Shed.
Shortlisting the Sheds and Picking the Winner
Therefore, our Shed of The Year finalists represent the following eight shed categories: best metal shed, plastic shed, wooden shed, garden workshop, cheap shed, pent shed, tongue and groove shed, and lean-to shed.
Shed of The Year 2022 Finalists
Our shed experts have marked each category winner out of ten on the following criteria: strength, style, key features, ease of assembly plus maintenance, and value for money. The five marks are then added together to give each shed a total score out of 50.
This allows us to compare the sheds in as fair a way as possible, so that we can properly determine Buy Sheds Direct’s ‘Shed of The Year’ for 2022.
As the tension is probably now mounting around the sitting rooms and sheds of Great Britain, without further fanfare, let’s get started…
Best Metal Shed: 10 x 8 Yardmaster Green Metal Shed 108GEYZ (3.03m x 2.37m)
With a beautiful baked-on emerald-green finish, this metal shed particularly suits a contemporary style of garden. It is designed without a floor, although you can purchase a metal floor support kit as an optional extra.
Sliding, overlapping double doors provide storage-friendly access to the shed’s interior. They are fitted with anti-tamper bolts and a padlock fixing to keep stored items safe (padlock not included). The windowless design might present a problem to some shed customers, but it succeeds in keeping valuable tools safe from unwanted attention. Ventilation along the ridge and eaves helps optimise garden storage conditions.
Strength: 10
Style: 9
Key Features: 7
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 8
Value for Money: 10
Total Score: 44/50
Best Plastic Shed: 6 x 8 Palram Canopia Rubicon Double Door Premium Plastic Shed - Dark Grey (1.85m x 2.28m)
The tough polycarbonate floor will easily accommodate your heavier tools and equipment, as well as cope with regular footfall. Skylight roof panels allow plenty of natural light into the shed, while remaining externally opaque for enhanced privacy and security.
The wide double doors come with a ramped entrance to help you deposit and retrieve stored items. They are fitted with a pad bolt too, so rest assured that your valuable tools will remain safe from unwanted attention (padlock not included).
This shed’s sliding panel installation system will help you achieve a straightforward assembly, while complete UV protection ensures they will neither fade nor discolour in the sun. The whole shed can be maintained with just a damp cloth and soapy water.
Strength: 9
Style: 8
Key Features: 8
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 10
Value for Money: 9
Total Score: 44/50
Best Wooden Shed: 10 x 8 Forest Timberdale Tongue and Groove Pressure Treated Double Door Apex Shed with Logstore (3.07m x 2.36m)
Handcrafted in Great Britain, from pressure-treated 12mm tongue and groove on a strapping 66 x 33mm frame, this garden shed is incredibly robust and durable. Its smart modular design means that the shed is delivered in smaller sections but you get more wood, so you'll find it far easier to assemble than other wooden sheds, and much stronger too. This modular design also offers you a choice of door and window placements, so the shed can easily be tailored to your exact requirements.
The floor is supported by pressure-treated bearers, while the roof is fitted with a premium mineral felt cover for complete weatherproof protection.
You can gain easy access to the interior via ledged and braced double doors, which are fitted with exterior turn buttons, interior bolts and a key-operated lock for A1 security. Two opening, toughened-glass windows provide plenty of natural light and ventilation.
This shed comes with a spacious logstore too, which can easily be used as additional garden storage space for all manner of outdoor equipment.
And, if you’re drawn towards a cheaper shed, please bear in mind that this one comes with professional installation included in the price.
Strength: 10
Style: 10
Key Features: 10
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 10
Value for Money: 9
Total Score: 49/50
Best Garden Workshop: 20 x 10 Mercia Shiplap Apex Workshop (6m x 3.2m)
Built in Great Britain from FSC®-certified wood and supplied with a 10-year guarantee, this garden shed features a smart modular design, which makes for an easier assembly, greater flexibility and a stronger shed. Boasting shiplap tongue and groove cladding throughout, supported by a robust 27 x 44mm frame, this shed will withstand whatever life throws at it and be an invaluable feature of your garden for many years to come.
The ledged and braced double doors are fitted with 2 interior bolts and a pad bolt, so rest assured that your expensive tools and machinery will remain completely secure. When the shed is packed full of tools and equipment, an additional door, located at the side of the shed, provides a useful alternative point of entry. This door is also ledged, braced and fitted with a pad bolt (padlocks not included).
Three large, opening windows provide ample natural light to help you get your practical jobs done. They are made from styrene, which is completely shatterproof and far safer than conventional glass – ideal for a busy, family-orientated garden.
Strength: 9
Style: 9
Key Features: 9
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 9
Value for Money: 7
Total Score: 43/50
Best Cheap Shed: 6 x 4 Yardmaster Green Metal Shed 65GEYZ (1.86m x 1.25m)
Expertly constructed from hot-dipped galvanised steel, with seven unique layers of protection and a 15-year guarantee, this garden shed offers you strong, long-lasting outside storage for tools, bikes or other equipment.
The sliding double doors provide easy owner access to the shed, while anti-tamper bolts and a pad bolt keep valuables safe from unwanted attention (padlock not included).
Applying annual treatment or replacing torn roof felt will be things of the past once you own this metal shed, which is completely maintenance free.
A high roofline, ventilation along the ridge and eaves, plus rust-resistant screws are just a few of this shed’s other great features.
Strength: 10
Style: 9
Key Features: 7
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 8
Value for Money: 10
Total Score: 44/50
Best Pent Shed: 8 x 6 Forest Overlap Pressure Treated Pent Wooden Shed (2.52m x 2.04m)
Currently available at just over £500*, this garden shed punches way above its price tag. Built in Great Britain from FSC®-certified timber, its smart modular design makes it easier to assemble, stronger and more versatile than most other sheds. What’s more, pressure-treated protection and a 15-year anti-rot guarantee mean that no further treatment is required, saving you both time and money.
This shed boasts lots of other great features too. These include a ledged and braced door; tamper-proof hidden hinges; a hasp and staple locking system; two UV-protected, shatterproof PET windows; and a super-thick 14mm boarded wood floor, which is perfectly equipped for storing heavier items and withstanding regular footfall.
Strength: 9
Style: 8
Key Features: 9
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 10
Value for Money: 10
Total Score: 46/50
Best Tongue and Groove Shed: 12 x 8 Forest Timberdale Tongue and Groove Pressure Treated Double Door Reverse Apex Shed (3.65m x 2.52m)
This garden shed is beautifully handcrafted from tongue and groove, renowned for its tight, interlocking construction, which is more aesthetically pleasing, robust and weathertight than other forms of cladding. Together with the whopping 66 x 33mm frame, this makes for an unbeatably strong and durable structure. The shed’s smart modular design brings the added benefits of an easier assembly, even stronger build, and choice of door/ window placements.
Pressure treated and backed by an impressive 15-year anti-rot guarantee too, this garden shed requires no further treatment, saving you money and leaving you more time to focus on your garden-based DIY projects.
Strength: 10
Style: 10
Key Features: 9
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 10
Value for Money: 9
Total Score: 48/50
Best Lean-To Shed: 4 x 6 Palram Canopia Grey Skylight Pent Plastic Shed (1.18m x 1.75m)
Palmako, Traditional, Trimetals, Yardmaster, Lotus and Forest sheds all got a mention in our shed experts’ discussion, but one particular garden shed stood out for them.
Backed by a 10-year warranty, this plastic shed is constructed from near-unbreakable, UV-protected polycarbonate panels, on a galvanised-steel supporting frame. It provides strong, stylish garden storage, and will maintain its effectiveness for many years to come.
The single door can be fitted with a left or right-hand opening – the choice is yours. It is made from the same premium polycarbonate as the rest of the shed, and secured by a pad bolt to keep stored items safe (padlock not included).
Air vents at both the front and rear of the shed ensure everything is housed in optimal garden storage conditions, while the skylight roof panels flood the shed’s interior with natural light.
Easy to assemble, weatherproof and maintenance free, this small shed packs a very big punch indeed.
Strength: 9
Style: 7
Key Features: 8
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance: 10
Value for Money: 8
Total Score: 42/50
Shed of The Year Winner for 2022
All of these sheds have their own unique selling points but, like with any competition, there can only be one winner. And that winner is…consults notes, presses the equals sign on the calculator, and starts drumroll…
Congratulations to Forest on manufacturing this sensational shed, and to all the other manufacturers who made the final.
Of course, just because we’ve said that the 10 x 8 Forest Timberdale Tongue and Groove Pressure Treated Double Door Apex Shed with Logstore is our Shed of The Year doesn’t mean you have to agree with us.
Browse our unbeatable range of garden sheds for sale now, and feel free to name what you regard as Britain’s Best Shed in the comments section below.
(*Prices as at 21/09/22)
Main image: 8 x 6 Forest Timberdale Tongue & Groove Pressure Treated Apex Shed (2.47m x 1.98m)