Sheds are produced in many different materials including wood, metal, and plastic. Most manufactures, like Lifetime Products, will make sheds out of one of these materials. Other manufacturers, such as Duramax, make sheds out of a couple of the materials. In many cases, the intended use and location you have for your outdoor storage shed will determine which material you should have for your shed. We will explore the differences and appropriate uses for sheds made with plastic and metal.

Plastic storage sheds: Review of Features

When you see that a shed is made with plastic, you need to suppose that all parts of the shed are made with plastic or that the shed is weak or flimsy in any way. All plastic sheds have reinforcements to the shed wall and roof structure. Of these reinforcements, such as those made by Lifetime Products or Duramax, the material use is powder coated steel. The powder coating of the reinforcements helps the metal resist rusting and corrosion. The metal reinforcements serve to help stiffen the walls and roof structure. They also help the roof support weight and pressure for things like snow storms. Most of these sheds include floors. The flooring tends to be relatively thin and must be supported with some sort of foundation structure underneath. This type of shed is highly useful for specific needs.

Who would want a plastic storage shed?

Plastic storage sheds tend to be much lighter than metal sheds. They are easily assembled and disassembled. Thus, someone that might want to move their shed to a different location on the property or a different property all together would benefit from the plastic shed modular design. Plastic are also not going to rust over time. Even with powder coating, or some other sort of coating, all metal eventually rusts. Thus, a shed with walls and roofs made of metal are much more likely to rust quicker and need upkeep compared to a plastic shed that has metal structural parts placed safely inside the shed. Thus, those who intend on using their sheds in a adverse weather climate might benefit the most from the plastic shed design.

Metal Storage Sheds: Review of Features

Most metal storage sheds are going to have a modular design (meaning the shed is built using interlocking panels). Unlike plastic sheds, most metal sheds do not include a floor. Metal sheds panels are reinforced with metal support beams to help strengthen the shed structure. Metal sheds tend to be more rigid than their plastic counterparts due to the nature of the metal material. Metal storage sheds also have a covering for the metal panels that will help resist rusting.

Who would want a metal storage shed?

Metal sheds are great for non-aesthetic, strictly functional needs. The design is very simple, rarely even having any windows. Because of this simplicity in design, they also tend to be a littler shorter than plastic sheds, which makes them ideal for strictly storage needs. This height difference can be significant in some cases. For instance, some metal Duramax sheds are as short as 65 inches of head room. Whereas most plastic sheds, such as those from Lifetime Products, have 76 inches or more of head room. Most metal sheds are going to be priced lower than comparably-sized plastic sheds.

In places where higher winds are expected from time to time, Lifetime storage sheds have built-in features to help secure the unit to the ground. The floor, in this case, is specifically designed for this purpose. On the end floor panels of the shed, there are areas in each corner that can have an anchor bolt pushed through to anchor the shed to the ground. Please note that these anchor bolts neede to anchor the shed will vary depending on the material you are anchoring the shed to, and the size of shed you are trying to anchor. Thus, these bolts are not included in the purchase of any Lifetime shed; they must be purchased from a local hardware store. So, using this feature will help you shed hold its position better in areas with strong winds.

Lifetime Storage Shed Base Requirement

The floors of Lifeime plastic sheds are 3/4-inch thick. They are not sufficiently strong to bear weight. The shed must be supported underneath by a rigid surface that can support the weight of the shed and the contents of the shed. Typically, the surface used by most customers is a cement slab. However, a wood frame work can also be effective for support of the shed. Another insteresting option that might work in other instances is a structure of cinder blocks. In this type of design, the cinderblocks are set into the ground with an entirely level surface. The blocks can then be filled in with gravel to keep them in position and support the shed in the empty spaces of the cinder blocks. In any case, the floor is not weight-bearing and thus must have additional support.

Wall, Floor, and Roof Structure

Lifetime sheds are designed with a paneling system. Adjacent panels interlock and fasten together. This type of design allows Lifetime sheds to easily be extendable, or modular in function. All Lifetime sheds – except the 7-foot wide models and model 6413 – can be extended in 2.5-foot increments. Creating a shed at the desired lengths is simply a function of choosing a desired base model dimension and adding extension kits as necessary to get to the desired length.

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