It's a shed, Fred, but not as we know it! (Keter Garden Store)

Member Name: cmh4135

Product:	Keter Garden Store
Date:	09/04/09 (360 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy assemble, no need for a base screed, weatherproof

Disadvantages: Not a natural look

The Keter Garden Store is a plastic shed. The shed, like many wooden sheds, comes flat-packed but, unlike wooden sheds this is really easy to put together and requires very little skill! Some strength is required to get the joints to bed home fully but no tools are required. It only took around 30-40 minutes to complete and site the shed.

The standard Keter is large enough to take a variety of garden tools and equipment. Ours happily takes a large Flymo (with grass collection box), a pressure washer, strimmer, portable BBQ, all garden tools and a child's scooter and tractor! Yes, the toys do sit atop the other equipment but they all fit with ease. In the past we've had two adult bikes in there but it must be said that this was quite a jigsaw to get them in and required some careful positioning of the wheels!

As the store is half-height compared to standard sheds this is an ideal storage solution for those with limited space or for situations where you want something a little more discrete. There is an inbuilt tool stand (a kind of quarter circle rack in one corner) which is useful but not so big that it makes storage of items awkward.

The fact that the store has a base is a good point. The base is solid and structured such that, although you need a level surface, the surface need not be as perfect as is required for a free-standing shed (and, of course, means you don't need to lay a concrete base). The plastic base also means that there's less risk of damp and water ruining that which you have stored. In fact, for a couple of years I over-wintered some bulbs in the shed and they were fine.

One of the biggest advantages of the Keter over other small wooden sheds is the fact that it has both a lifting lid and double opening doors. This makes it very accessible and easy to get items in and out - it certainly beats a single opening door! The lid, when lifted, stays up on its own rather like a car bonnet with an automatic arm. It's easy enough to lower the lid, just knock the side arms off the catches and, being light, you can do one side at a time without risk of a heavy lid falling! There is facility in the door/lid combination to allow a padlock to be used. We do use one but it has to be bought separately from the shed - any sturdy lock will fit.

We've had our shed for over 11 years now and I can still say that it is in excellent condition. There has been some minimal discolouration to the beige elements but nothing that makes it look old and grubby. Being plastic it's easy to keep clean (although we don't wash it down more than once a year) and it doesn't seem to attract mosses or lichens (or the like) despite being sited in a dark area under extensive foliage. The doors and lid have stood up to extensive bashings and battering and are as good as new.

The shed is particularly weather-proof and we've had no leaks or other similar issues. The shed is NOT impermeable to wildlife though. Is seems to be a perfect breeding ground for young snails (who enjoyed munching their way through our pressure washer box) and the spiders love it!
It is possible to purchase additional shelves, and tool racks and even possible to stack one shed on top of another to give double height storage (you just don't put the base on the top shed). We've not tried any of this though so I cannot comment on how easy it is.

Retailing at around £100 I would heartily recommend this shed. It's given us many years use and I see no reason why that shouldn't continue. It's discrete and ideal for the smaller garden.

~~~~~~~~

Size (H)111, (W)148, (D)81cm.

Summary: A superb choice for the smaller garden or small space