Which Storage Solution?

By protecting your belongings from the weather and being stolen, you are stopping them from depreciating and there won't be a need for an insurance claim. So here is a guide to wooden, metal and plastic stores that will offer shelter from the elements and also minimize theft.

Dorset Wooden Single Tier Welly Boot Shelter

Timber Stores

There is a huge choice of wooden stores from all the major manufacturers. With a tremendous variation in sizes and styles, dip and pressure treated stores blend easily into their environment, there are specialist versions for cycles and they can also attractively disguise unlovely but essential items such as wheelie bins and recycling boxes.

Dorset log stores range feature slow-grown Swedish redwood, these are handsome structures with corrosion-free fittings and tongue & groove cladding. They cater for all your garden tools, cycles, up to three wheelie bins and there's even a welly storage hut to place by your back door.

The ranges from market leaders Forest and Rowlinson are very similar, both have several modestly-sized chests and stores with prices to match, they are waterproof and lockable with larger versions for several wheelie bins and cycles. Taller 'sentry' style stores cater for garden tools such as hoes but Rowlinson Heritage wall stores are particularly notable due to fine sawn vertical tongue & groove cladding and a grey wash appearance.

Shedlands Tool Store

With a wide door offering great accessibility, Shedlands tool stores are all the same excellently specified design with tongue & groove cladding and floor, and the fourteen versions range in size from 6ft x 2ft to 10ft x 4ft, so there has to be one to suit your needs.

Garden Village products are manufactured using high quality planed tanalized redwood and they specialize in stores that hide up to four unsightly wheelie bins, although their superbly made and easily accessible stores can be used for many different items.

Plastic Stores

With the development of new highly durable plastics, these stores are low maintenance and good looking, there's no need for paint and preservatives, they are UV resistant and will not crack or fade.

All the way from the US, the range of Suncast storage solutions made from blow moulded resin is exceptional. Attractive garden benches and seats with rattan or woodwork decoration double up as storage spaces and deck boxes are the ideal way to put garden essentials tidily out of sight. They also offer a variety of vertical and horizontal storage options including wall cabinets, with various sizes up to a 9 cubic metre capacity shed.

Although better known for their timber garden stores, Forest again have a comprehensive offering with impressive plastic boxes of different sizes, some with a rattan effect finish others replicating wooden cladding. Rowlinson have a smaller collection suitable for cushions, wheelie bins and general storage.

Other brands include the Lynford range of cushion boxes from Handpicked, Lifetime's storage boxes and sheds and the Palram Voyager in either amber and anthracite both offer long term use without the threat of rot or corrosion.

BioHort Highline H2 Metal Shed

Metal Stores

There's no need to be concerned with rust or corrosion with these stores as only galvanized metal is used, that is steel covered with zinc, and then several polymers are added to provide maximum protection from the elements and long term durability. This type of store is fire and rodent resistant and requires little maintenance, they are perfect for caravan parks and holiday homes.

BioHort metal storage boxes of various capacities are expertly manufactured for those with security in mind. They look perfect near a pool or barbecue and can accommodate cushions, folding chairs and other leisure items. They have a gas-operated spring opening system, excellent ventilation and a cylinder lock for security. Alternatively, the StoreMax range of utility storage boxes are easy to access with coated aluminium roll-up shutters and a cylinder lock will secure your scooter and bicycle.

TriMetal stores feature PVC coated galvanized panels, rust-free fixings and an attractive range of colours. They are guaranteed for 25 years and their Storeguard, Stowaway and Senator garden stores can hold anything from lawnmowers to mobility scooters. Specialist bicycle stores with two padlock points have ample width and height for up to three adult mountain or racing bikes, and Senturion storage units are specifically designed to keep gas cylinders out of sight.

Asgard Flexistore Metal Shed

Asgard specializes in high-security stores with multiple point pick and drill resistant locks, heavy-duty integral floors together with other specifications that are designed for complete security. If you have limited space, Asgard has a twin and vertical bike locker, in addition to a double-ended locker suitable to be located at the side of a house. The latter has two doors and internal locking points that ensure the two bikes can be secured independently of each other inside the same unit. Other products include an E-bike store, Asgas gas bottle stores, and several very secure lockers for public areas such as schools.

Of the other manufacturers, both Lotus and Sapphire offer bicycle stores large enough to hold four cycles and their wheelie bins stores are similarly impressive while Rowlinson stores have either sliding front doors or lids on their deck boxes which have a surface finish that resembles rattan.