Which storage building material is best for your needs?
Which Type of storage building is best for you? Well, to some extent, that depends on your purposes.

Metal storage buildings

If you are looking for long term durability, with low maintenance, a metal building, or steel storage building is probably what you want. Most of our modern metal storage buildings are built with sheet steel which is galvanized and well painted. These coverings are attractive and available in many colors, which can match almost any color combination on your property. Metal buildings are durable and need little in the way of special care. Most steel siding comes with a 20 year warranty against “rust though”. This is very important when you consider that your building will last as long as your siding lasts and protects it.

Wood storage buildings

If you are dealing with a home owners association, or don’t mind spending a little time and money on maintaining your storage building, a wood storage building may be right for you. Wood storage buildings can be great in many situations, but they do require some attention to keep them looking good and doing their job properly. Painting and caulking should be done every year to 18 months to keep them weather proof. Composite shingle roofs may need attention from time to time as well. The advantage to wood is that most dealers sell them for less than the cost of a steel building.

Quality materials and workmanship

Whatever building type you decide on, check for good construction techniques, and quality materials. No matter what type of building material is used, if it is not quality material, built with quality workmanship, you will not be happy in the long run. A well built building made from almost any quality building material will give better long term service than a poorly constructed building of the same material.

Gardens and gardeners need storage space, and a place to work when potting plants and making other garden preparations. There are materials to store. There are tools to keep safe and dry. There are plants to be potted and for the serious gardener, there may even be a need for a place to start plants early, or keep something growing throughout the winter months. Fortunately, there are garden sheds and garden storage sheds, potting sheds and greenhouses available at fair prices that are perfect for the backyard gardener.

Garden Sheds.

Garden sheds can be used for tool storage, material storage, and even pesticide storage if you like. A metal garden shed, galvanized and painted, will last for many years with a minimum of maintenance. Wood can also be a good material if you don’t mind spending some time, energy, and money to keep your garden shed in good shape.

Potting Sheds

A potting bench can be easily installed if your garden shed is to be used as a potting shed, as can a work bench, ramps, peg boards for hanging tools, and a variety of other accessories to make your garden experience better. If you want any of these, and you don’t want to go to the trouble of building them for yourself, you can ask your supplier and they can probably have them added for you.

Greenhouses

All gardens can benefit from a greenhouse. Greenhouses can be built or purchased for less than you might imagine, and can extend your growing and gardening season to the entire year. A little tip here: Get one a lot bigger than you think you will need, because your inner horticulturalist will really kick in once you discover the many possibilities of greenhouse growing! Greenhouses can be fitted with accessories like potting benches, growing racks, and and many other appropriate amenities to help you with your greenhouse growing chores.

There is a list of portable building companies in Texas available here. Contact one of them and kick your gardening activities into high gear!

A lot of people ask us whether they should buy a prebuilt storage building, buy a kit, hire a contractor, or build a shed for themselves. It is a good question, and after spending a few years contemplating the best answer, we realized that there is really not a good overall answer to the question!

It is a little more complex

Dealing with your storage shed needs is a lot like any other issue in your life. it is to complex to answer with a yes or know, or multiple choice quiz. It depends on your needs, your resources, your skills and abilities, your drive, and your temperament, and we don’t know all of those things about you. It is something you will have to decide for yourself.

But, don’t lose heart

In the process of hashing this out, we did come up with a few pretty simple ideas to use as general guidelines though, and we decided to share those here.

To build a shed, or to buy a shed: What we think

It boils down to needs, as related to space, and resources as they relate to money available for getting the job done.

Buy a shed or shed kit if:

If you just need a simple small shed for tossing in a few garden tools or boxes, you are probably better off buying a small prebuilt shed and having it moved onto your property, or buying a small plastic shed, or a simple shed kit and popping it together yourself. This can be done pretty cheaply, and pretty quickly, and then your done…at least for a while.

Build a shed if:

If you want something more elaborate, say, for something like a garage, a shop, an office, home entertainment, or a backyard guest room, building your own will save you a substantial amount of money over buying a more elaborate prebuilt structure, or having one built on your property by a contractor. It’s about as simple as that.

This is true, especially if you have some skill with tools, or if you have a background in one of the building related trades. It is also true if you don’t, and you are willing to spend a little of the money you will save to get a guide to help with the things you might not think about otherwise, like planning the layout, putting together a materials list, and making the right cuts in the right places the first time.

Guides

Luckily, such guides do exist, and are available to provide the information you need to get it right the first time, and for a price that costs you less than getting it wrong the first time. We have 2 such plans in mind. Both offer the plans and guidance you need, and both offer a lot more besides, and either will be a real bargain when you decide to build.

Woodworking plans including shed plans

Shed building plans including some woodworking extras

Either of these will give you the guidance you need, each has a slightly different emphasis. They are about the best products of their type on the market, and will pay for themselves with your first project, and will do so again and again with any succeeding projects.

Leland’s Preowned Has a large selection of Used Buildings.

Are you looking for a used storage building or storage shed? If so, check the comments section of this page. We have offered the opportunity for individuals with used storage sheds and used storage buildings for sale to add their listing to the comment section.

Please note, that we are not selling the buildings, individuals are selling the buildings, and any deals are between you and the seller, and have nothing to do with Sheds Texas. We will not negotiate, or be the middle man in any transaction.

You may also advertise your needs for a used building in the comment section as well as the Sell Your Used Storage Shed Online page. When doing this, you will need to put your email address in your comment, and let us know when you find what you need, so we can remove it to prevent further contacts.

Update:

If you are selling a building, we have a suggestion: Get a listing for your shed on sites like Ebay and Craigslist, then add a link to those pages in the comment section along with a detailed description of the building you are selling. That way you do not have to leave an email address here, you can simply use the contacts on the other services.

Lots of folks contact us looking for used storage sheds. Problem is, that we don’t have any used storage sheds, but many of you do!

We thought we would offer you the opportunity to connect with people who might be willing to plop down some cold hard cash for that building you need to get rid of, and do both of you a good service.

We are not going to negotiate any deals for anyone, and will not act as a middle man for any deals, but, if you would like to list your used storage building in the comment section of our Used Storage Buildings For Sale page, you are welcome to work out any deal you can with people who might contact you.

You will need to leave your email address so that potential buyers can contact you, and let us know via email when it sells so that we can mark it as sold, and remove your email address.

No dealers please. If you are a dealer, and are interested in advertising your products with us, we have a page for you: Advertise Your Storage Buildings

A note to all Texas shed makers, shed dealers, and shed deal makers!

Do you sell utility buildings, storage sheds, storage buildings, or prefabricated metal buildings?

If this is your market, we share common ground. We have a small, but highly focused network of utility building information sites which cover the most lucrative marketing possibilities in this field. Put your products in front of qualified leads, and pre-sold buyers! Our network makes it easy to reach people who are ready to buy!

What makes us different?

The difference is in targeting. Most ad networks use a scatergun aproach. Even if they target the exact keywords and phrases that your audience is looking for, they may not target their intentions.

We serve information, not products. When people come to our sites, they are in the information seeking stage of the buying process, and by the time they are done, they are often ready to buy. How do we know this?

Simple, they call or email us every day!

This became such an issue, that we had to remove our phone number from several sites, because we are an information service and have no buildings for sale!

Wouldn’t that be a great problem for you to have?

People come to our information sites seeking the answers to problems, and if your product solves those problems, then you owe it to them, and to yourself to offer it to them in the place where they are looking for it!

Email jim@storagebuildingadvice.com

When we looked at what our customers were asking for, and the best way to meet those needs, we looked at a lot of options, and after weighing them for a long time we decided that the best way to offer our customers and readers a high quality product at the best price was to work with Barns.com for our steel barns.

Having worked with a number of steel building and storage shed dealers over the years, we have become familiar with the best and the worst that they have to offer. Most small dealers offer their own locally made products, and then sign on with one of several semi nationwide company to provide things like carports, steel garages, steel barns, and livestock barns. Most of these are built with the same materials and very similar designs at similar prices, so the quality is comparable. This is not a bad system, but there are a few problems, such as locations which didn’t quite fit into the coverage areas.

Locations

There are some locations which are covered by one of the larger steel building suppliers, and some covered by others, and if your local dealer happens to be partnered with one that does not quite fit into your region, you may be left looking for answers and alternatives. With Barns.com, this problem is solved because of the Barns.com commitment to complete coverage.

Brands

Barns.com features T-N-T buildings, but also offers products from other companies like: American Steel Carports, Inc. and Coast To Coast Carports, Inc. This allows for variety, and complete coverage in the contiguous 48 states. This translates into availability where you live!

Product variety

Variety is the spice of life, and you can count on a lot of spice with Barns.com. There are up to a dozen colors, and, more size and configuration options than you can shake a stick at. Along with the brands mentioned above, there are 15 or more manufacturer brands available, so you are sure to find just exactly what you need.

Building materials

Steel, it is what the nations industries are made of, and it is the cheapest, most long lasting and durable building material available. With modern coating methods like galvanizing, and paint coating, you can count on decades of use. Steel barns will not be eaten by termites, suffer from mold and fungi, warp, or rot under wet conditions.

Ease of design

Barns.com offers a “Build It Buy It” option, so that you can design your own building from the comfort of your own home, and order it right away. The design system works very well, and if you happen to run into a problem, assistance is only an email, or a phone call away.

Eliminate the middle man

Barns.com is the factory direct store for many companies. This means that there is no middle man. Because of this, you are given the best price on the market, without having to worry if you could have purchased your steel building more cheaply from a dealer.

Daily specials and coupons

Barns.com will alert you to their daily specials on their home page as they occur. There are also several coupon opportunities available, and these are listed in the right hand sidebar. Just another great reason why they are the leader in the field of steel barns.

Financing

Barns.com has financing for those who qualify. The form is done online, is secure, and simple, and you will have a response in short order.

You can now choose and buy a utility building online from the comfort of your own home, without even leaving the chair you are sitting in, from companies that you already trust. It is secure, it is simple, and the selection is amazing! We offer the option to buy popular storage shed kits from Amazon and Sears. Amazon is a long standing online business with a tremendous record, and Sears is the retail catalog standard for the world. Both offer great prices on great products. We have also partnered with Barns.com to offer our readers the best in steel buildings, at the best prices on the market! You can even design your own using their online design tool!

Other ways to buy:

There are a lot of ways to buy a storage shed. The best way to begin your local shopping is to visit with your local dealer and go over the details one by one.

• You will need to know how much space you have available for such a building.
• You will need to deal with the issue of accessibility, that is how the building will be placed into position. Is there a gate smaller than the building you need? Does your dealer offer a “built on site” option?

Most suppliers have a variety of buildings on their lot, but if they do not have what you are looking for, they will often build one to your specifications. If this is what you need to do, this is how you will go about it

• The best suppliers will have a list of building prices for basic building sizes. These buildings can then be tailored to suit your needs by adding extras and accessories like different doors and windows, lofts, or shelving.
• Once your building is picked out at the lot, or designed on paper in the office, a method of payment will need to be determined. Most places will accept cash, credit cards, or checks, some offer help with financial institutions who provide home improvement loans, and alternative ways such as “rent to own”, or “3 payments same as cash”.
• Once the financial paperwork is taken care of, the dealer will need a little delivery information, such as which way the building will need to be loaded to allow for proper offloading at your location, directions to your location, and any other specific information you can provide to make the job more efficient.

Storage sheds usually show up with just the basic walls, roof and floor, but don’t settle. There are lots of options to help you outfit your building to suit your purposes.

Your local dealer, and for that matter, even online storage shed kit dealers will have a number of extras to choose from. If they don’t mention them up front, ask about them.

The most common storage building extras and accessories:

• Extra windows, or different window sizes.
• Extra doors, or different door sizes.
• Insulation.
• Entry ramps.
• Shelves.
• Work benches.
• Peg boards for hanging tools.
• Lofts.
• Extra blocking.

Some suppliers may even offer electric lighting and wall outlets, various types of plumbing, or even paneling. You will want to ask about these things if you need them.

Online storage shed dealers will have such extras as floor kits and anchor kits as well as other accessories related to the particular product you are looking at. You can check through their products on their website.

There are many reasons to buy a storage shed or utility building, we wanted to list some ideas that might shed some light on the subject.

Why should I buy a storage shed?

• If your garage is so full that you can no longer park or walk through it, it is probably a pretty good sign that you might need a storage shed.

• If you are paying monthly fees to a public storage facility, continuing to rent there is costing you money, and that is money which could be used to pay for a building of your own. No matter how much or little you are spending per month, it would be a better idea to spend it on a product instead of a service. Even if monthly payments on a building are a little higher than monthly rent for public storage, you will still save time and money on travel and fuel, and you will have something to show for it other than rental receipts.

• If you need some extra space for a game or hobby room, a “man cave”, or even a home gym, a storage shed can be the perfect addition to your back yard.

• If you operate a home business, having a home office outside your home, but still within walking distance from your back door can be a big boost to your business. The same is true if your business involves shipping and receiving, or small manufacture.

• If you are involved in any construction related trade, an on site office or tool shed can mean a bigger bottom line for your business. The commercial uses for portable buildings are almost endless.