Storage Shed Maintenance Tips

Introduction

After you have purchased your shed and are a proud shed owner, you will have some basic routine maintenance activities to keep your shed in tip-top shape in the months and years ahead.  Below are a few pointers to help you keep your custom storage shed, studio, she shed or man cave in like-new condition for years to come!

Inspect Paint | Sealer

One of the most important things you can do is inspect paint and sealer once a year.  If you notice any areas that have been scuffed or damaged make sure to repaint immediately to protect the siding on your shed. Some sealers or stains require yearly or bi-yearly recoating. Others have a much better warranty. Even though the paint or sealer on your shed may last for years, and even have a 10-20 year warranty, to keep buildings looking new and fresh some people like to paint more frequently than required. Here at Sheds by Design, we use Sherwin Williams® SuperPaint®  with a limited lifetime warranty.

Remove Debris

Don’t place or lean items too close to your shed! barrels, boards, tarps, kayaks, dog houses, piles of leaves, rubbish, sticks and branches or any items that could hold moisture. Any time there are items that could hold moisture that attracts bugs and insects, mold, and worst of all prolonged and steady moisture. This could lead to failure of protective paint coatings which are designed to be in constant contact with air, not 24/7 moisture and water!

Watch Shrubbery and Vines

I have seen vines and bushes and shrubbery grow so aggressively next to buildings that branches and vines began to work their way under vinyl and wedge trim off houses! Keep shrubbery tree branches and vines trimmed back from building walls and roof.

Check The Roof

Keep branches and debris off your roof, look for moss or other build up that needs to be removed. If your shed is under large trees, you may have to be more vigorous with removing leaves or small branches on the roof with a long handled rake. If the roof is shingle check for loose shingles and moss. If the roof is metal, check to make sure screw fasteners are secure.  Also, go inside your building to make sure there are NO places water is leaking or seeping through the roof. If you notice dark water stains report to the company of purchase as soon as possible to claim warranty repair if possible.

Mower Hazards

We all love the feeling of cutting grass and turning on our mowers. However, with mowers becoming more powerful it’s easier than ever to bang into something with enough force to put a real dent or ding in something, including a shed. The corners of the shed are the most vulnerable, so be careful when driving past with heavy mower. When weed whacking be careful that the high-speed string isn’t coming too close to the protective sealer that coats your building. If weed wacker string can de-bark a small tree it can certainly remove protective paint or sealer from your building.

Carolina Clay Stains. 

Shed owners in NC have a specific problem when it comes to keeping their shed looking nice, Carolina red clay!  Mulch or stone around the outside so that rain spatters do not coat bottom of the shed in Carolina red clay stain.  I have seen beautiful sheds visually ruined because of clay stain.  Red clay stains show up the worst on light shed colors such as white, Navajo white, beige, and cream.  On any shed be careful of clay stain, but especially on light colored sheds, you might consider a washed gravel skirt around your shed.  That way rain splatter will bounce off of clean pea gravel, not red clay!

Inspect Shed Fasteners and Hardware

Doors and windows are some of the few moving parts on your shed. Make sure and check if they are performing properly. Do doors open and close nicely? Do slider windows open and close? Check hinges, barrel bolts, door chain, door stopper, handles, and any other hardware on shed door to make sure it’s working.  Inspect nails and screws, make sure there are no nail heads or screw heads loosening sticking out. Check for water intrusion around doors and windows. Make sure there are no areas water is getting in. Water is not a friend to the inside of a shed, it is supposed to and needs to stay out. Check windows, make sure there are no leaks and that windows panes slide up and down properly.

We hope you are now a more educated shed owner. Enjoy the maintenance of your shed building! If Sheds by Design can be of any assistance, let us know and we will be in touch shortly.