That Male Refuge The Garden Shed.

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I have a sad tale to tell, I feel it may just help me at long last to get over the traumatic event that occurred so many years ago.

Not long after moving into our first house, I persuaded the love of my life to allow me to invest in a garden shed.
I prepared the area where it would be constructed, a level and firm base was measured and lovingly prepared for it.
It arrived Saturday Morning and I spent that day constructing it.
The following day was spent giving it several coats of wood preserve and fitting it with a brand new padlock and hasp.

I sat back on that Sunday evening a can in hand admiring my new acquisition and imagining the adventures I would have inside it. I had even constructed a key rack in the kitchen so that I would always know that no matter how much chaos and clutter was happening within the house sanctuary would never be far away.

I went to work on the Monday a happy and contented man.

On returning home that evening I was slightly confused when I opened the front door and the usual clutter of kids bikes and other household items wasn't there to greet me, instead there was a happy smiling wife obviously very excited and bursting with pride unable to contain herself, she led me through the kitchen, picked up the key took me outside, opened the shed door and there to my utter dismay was my new love, it's insides absolutely jam packed with all the detritus of family life.

We lived in that house for another 10 years, I never did get the shed back!

The Moral of the story?
Never entrust the sheds key to the mercy of the family, always keep it on your keyring so that no-one but you can enter your little sanctuary and do to it what had befallen my little piece of England!

I lost interest in the shed, never again having any enthusiasm for it and after a few years was being nagged for neglecting it.
She just couldn't understand that I had no interest in protecting it with new coats of preserve, I just sat in the house slowly rotting on the inside as my shed slowly rotted on the outside.

[Sparkologist]

I've got myself the warm, indoor equivalent of a shed... It's called a loft. Lettie doesn't venture up there. If she did, she would be amazed at the wide-screen tele & minature 'fridge for my libations.

[MargaretR]

I always thought that garden sheds were for magazine storage

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Originally Posted by MargaretR

I always thought that garden sheds were for magazine storage

I wouldn't know, I never got the chance to find out!

[lettie]

Originally Posted by Sparkologist

I've got myself the warm, indoor equivalent of a shed... It's called a loft. Lettie doesn't venture up there. If she did, she would be amazed at the wide-screen tele & minature 'fridge for my libations.

Don't think I don't know what's in the loft dear.... I just choose to turn a blind eye.

[MargaretR]

That loft idea sounds ideal - ladders are sabotageable

[cashman]

i had a shed once, it suffered a very similar fate. was when i lived near enfield cc. so i took refuge in the "Little Crown" n ya know what Less........i prefered it to the shed.

[maxwell silver]

Got myself a new model the other week,in 21st century plastic.Would have put the ****** up in a couple of hours if it was'nt for the weather.But now Mrs Silver has started 'billing & cooing' over it & has plans for tumble dryers/freezers in it.Not happening is my response.After all i wanted a larger model to begin with bit she was'nt having it....so tough.Iv'e been & had shelves cut to store all my DIY crap on.Lose the barbie,hammock & sun lounger (which we have had no use for these last couple of years) & at a push i might think about it.SHEDS ARE FOR MAN THINGS

[Benipete]

Originally Posted by cashman

i had a shed once, it suffered a very similar fate. was when i lived near enfield cc. so i took refuge in the "Little Crown" n ya know what Less........i prefered it to the shed.

I had to make do with a Greenhouse - Cost a bloody fortune for the curtains

[shillelagh]

Cant wait to see if anyone goes in my shed .........it will fall down if anyone tries to open the door.

[Mancie]

seen a few words of wisdom here... always look aftrer yer shed.. cos yer shed looks after yer spade.. and you can't turn oo'r turf we out yer spade.

[Mick]

We used to live in Rutland st and the back yard had been all concreted just right for a shed hehe.
A friend of mine told me they where going to pull some sheds down in Darwin and if i wanted one as long
as i moved it i could have it free it was only 8ft x 6ft
so i organized 3 mates with estate cars and off we went when we got there 3 of the sheds where all ready half way down
but the one i wanted was still ok we took all day taking it down piece by piece and loading it into the cars
and running it back.
when we started to build it we found a lot of the roof was rotten and so was a few of the wall planks it was made
out of tongue and groove and had 2 A frames for the roof.
so while my mates where sorting the good from the bad and taking all the nails and screws out i went to a builders
merchants and ordered more wood and plastic corrugating for the roof.
i think i over did the wood because when it was all finished and the roof on it measured 20x15 ft and 12 ft to the apex of the roof which instead of only 2 A frames it now had 4 hehe
i made my own security system using a car battery a car horn and a indicator relay and a switch the relay
made the horn go off and on not a continuous noise.
i had 2 welding plants a MiG and arc welder a bench drill a small centre lathe, a compressor for spray painting,a bench grinder for sharpening all the tools
the "shed" was wired up to the mains so had electric.
kettle and a sink even one of them little over the sink electric water heaters
I used to go to a merchants for all the metal they where very good gave it me at cost and would cut it to the size i needed and deliver it free as long as i bought £100 worth each time, this was not a problem with all the orders for gates & fences i had
it was a great place out of the way
i ended up making quite a bit of money making metal gates and fencing
it also had a car radio cassette in run of a battery so had music while i worked.
it even had a fire extinguisher just in case
ended up a right little work shop with all the people in the area bringing me jobs to do .
really enjoyed and miss "my little shed"
sadly the Phenix project came along and we had to move now i dont have a shed but its on the cards i might get another "little shed" sometime

[Mancie]

I've been thinking that I've let my shed get abit run down recently: