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How to Winterise Your Shed or Outbuilding

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We regularly provide advice and guidance in how to beef up shed and outbuilding security. With winter approaching its a good idea to consider what you can do to protect your outbuildings from both the weather and criminals. Read our blog to find some practical shed and outbuilding winterisation tips.

Many of us store thousands of pounds worth of valuables in our sheds and outbuildings. Motorbikes, scooters, e-bikes, lawnmowers and barbecues are just some of the expensive items we like to keep in our sheds, so it makes sense to take a little time to make sure they are as safe and secure as possible.

Take Stock of Your Shed Contents

It`s worth taking a little time to recognise exactly what’s stored in your shed or outbuilding, but this doesn’t mean listing every jar of old nuts and bolts. What you should do is identify everything of value stored in your shed over the winter, such as tools, garden furniture and bikes. If you quantify the value of these items you can get an idea of what it would cost to replace them if they were lost to damage or theft. Many people are startled when they find out how much it would cost them to replace everything they keep in their sheds.

Creating an inventory of your outbuilding contents is useful in ensuring you are adequately insured. It`s also beneficial when prioritising the order in which you store your valuables, which we cover later in this post.

Carry Out a Shed Maintenance Check

One of the most important steps in winterising your outbuildings is to carry out a thorough maintenance check to determine what needs to be repaired. The summer months can take a toll on sheds and outbuildings with daily wear and tear on doors, windows and the building structure.

A thorough check of both the shed exterior and interior means moving all of the contents out. But this isn’t always practical, so you may need to move things around to take a good look into all of the corners and crevices where damp can creep in and rot can take hold.

When inspecting your shed pay particular attention to:

  • The Roof
    • Look for damaged roofing felt, especially around the edges and along the apex.
  • Guttering
    • Look for damage and blockages.
  • Shed base and floor
    • Look out for areas of wear on the floor. And make certain the shed foundation and base isn’t subsiding or damaged.
  • Windows and doors.
    • Thorough inspection of windows and doors is essential. Doors are in constant use throughout the summer months, so wear and tear naturally takes place. Pay particular attention to hinges, door frames and window frames along with the hasps and staples used to secure them.
  • Walls and weatherproofing.
    • Take a good look at the weatherproofing applied to the outbuilding structure. Determine whether the structure needs a new coat of paint or waterproofing.

Fix Your Shed or Outbuilding

Having carried out a thorough outbuilding maintenance check the next thing to do is fix everything that needs fixing.

Pay particular attention to all aspects of weatherproofing, especially the rooftop. If necessary, replace any damaged roofing felt and make certain the building is watertight. Always replace any damaged or worn hinges or other deteriorating pieces of door or window hardware.

It`s worthwhile thinking about the worst winter weather we are likely to see and making certain the building can withstand it. It`s also important to make certain the building is well ventilated to prevent mould and rot.

Clean Up

Constant use throughout the summer inevitably means dirt and detritus builds up inside our sheds and outbuildings. It makes sense to clean this out and not provide environments for pests or mould to take hold.

If possible, shift all of the larger items out of your shed and off the floor so it can be thoroughly cleaned for the winter.

Protect Against Rodents and Pests

Mice and rats are common shed invaders, sometimes causing significant damage. They look for warm places to establish their homes, ideally with easy access to food. So if, for example, you store your wild bird feed in your shed, this can attract pests.

When inspecting your outbuilding look out for signs of mice or rats. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to eradicate but removing or carefully storing anything they can eat makes an outbuilding a far less appealing nest site. Look out for holes through which they are gaining access to the shed and plug them. A cat can be a great help in dealing with rodents.

Insects and bugs can also be a problem when they contribute to the deterioration of a shed structure and what’s stored inside. As for rodents, bugs like easily accessible food sources so it`s important to store anything they like to eat, such as pet food, potting compost and grass seed, in sealed, inaccessible containers. Importantly, bugs like moisture which is another important reason to make certain there are no water leaks that allow rain to penetrate.

And if your outbuilding has suffered from a pest invasion it`s a good idea to regularly inspect and clean the interior to spot future infestations before they become a problem.

Re-Organise Your Contents

Having thoroughly repaired, cleaned and weatherproofed your outbuilding it`s a good idea to prioritise how you organise and store your contents. Make certain the items you are likely to need throughout the winter, such as tools, are easily accessible while things that aren’t needed until next summer can be sensibly stored at the back.

Shelving, drawers and tool-hangers are all great ways to store tools. Wherever possible, take steps to prevent corrosion and rust, such as coating steel tools in vaseline. Power tools should ideally be stored inside the boxes they came in, or inside their respective cases. Sachets of silica gel inside containers will help absorb moisture.

Bolster Security

We’ve previously highlighted warnings coming from police forces about how the cost of living crisis is anticipated to prompt a crime wave. Sheds and outbuildings are typical targets for thieves, on the lookout for easy pickings, so it`s a good idea to take steps to make your shed or outbuilding as secure as possible.

Compiling an inventory of your shed contents, as previously recommended, should have alerted you to the potential impact of becoming a crime victim. While most home insurance policies cover the structures and contents it`s a good idea to check the fine print and perhaps talk to your insurers to make certain you are covered. Many reputable insurance providers offer some great advice in how to keep your valuables secure.

Here are some of our primary security recommendations for sheds and outbuildings.

  • Use security marking
  • Ensure Doors and Windows are Secure
shed bar on shed door
Shed Bar Bolsters Shed Door Security
  • Secure items with chains
    • Wrapping high security chains through the handles of tools and frames of bicycles and locking the chains in place is a powerful theft deterrent.
  • Lock items to immovable anchor points
    • The security of valuables such as motorbikes, bicycles, lawn mowers and power tools is boosted enormously by securely attaching them to immovable anchor points such as ground anchors and wall anchors.
shed shackle anchor point
Shed Shackle Anchor Point
  • Remove batteries from power tools.
    • Removing the batteries from power tools and storing them inside the home makes the tools a far less appealing target for thieves.
  • Use lockable containers.
    • Immovable, locked tool storage chests and toolboxes are great for keeping tools safe and secure.
  • Hide valuables
    • Make certain the shed contents can’t be seen from the windows.
  • Install a shed alarm.
  • Don’t leave ladders outside
    • Burglars will often use whatever they can find to perpetrate their crimes. If ladders can’t be secured inside, make certain they are chained to an immovable anchor.

Inspect Your Shed or Outbuilding Daily

Since many of us won’t be using our sheds or their contents very much over the winter it`s important to routinely take a look around our outbuildings to check for signs of attempted break ins, weather damage or pest invasion. We recommend carrying a out a brief, two minute exterior inspection every day throughout the winter period.

We hope our shed and outbuilding winterisation tips help protect and secure your outdoor valuables.

If you have any questions about shed or outbuilding security remember we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 475500 and we’ll be happy to provide free, expert advice.

This message was added on Thursday 20th October 2022

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