Shed

The word is recorded in English since 1481, as shadde, possibly a variant of shade. The word shade comes from the Old English word "sceadu", which means "shade, shadow, darkness". The term's P.Gmc. cognate, "skadwo" also means "shady place, protection from glare or heat".^[2]

The Old English word is spelled in different ways, such as "shadde", "shad" or "shedde", all of which come from an "Old Teutonic/Anglo-Saxon root word for separation or division". The first attested usage of the word, in 1481, was in the sentence, "A yearde in whiche was a shadde where in were six grete dogges". The Anglo Saxon word "shud", which means "cover" may also have been part of the development of the word. In 1440, a "shud" was defined as a "... schudde, hovel, swyne kote or howse of sympyl hyllynge [covering] to kepe yn beestys".

Depending on the region and type of use, a shed may also be called a shack, outhouse, or "outbuilding". Sheds may be classified as "accessory buildings" in municipal bylaws which may regulate their size, appearance, and distance from the principal building and boundary lines.

A bicycle shed

• Agricultural sheds
  

  A hay shed typical of Australia and New Zealand (elsewhere often termed a "barn")
  • Arena sheds may have a simple open roof structure, or be partially walled or fully enclosed. They are typically used as horse-riding equestrian venues, providing all-year usage of the facility with protection from the weather.
  • Farm sheds and other outbuildings are used to store farm equipment, tractors, tools, hay, and supplies, or to house horses, cattle, poultry or other farm animals. Run-in sheds are three-sided structures with an open face used for horses and cattle.
  • Shearing sheds can be large sheds found on sheep stations to accommodate large-scale sheep shearing.
• Bike sheds or bicycle sheds usually contain a framework on which bikes can be supported and locked and a roof to keep rain and/or snow off the bikes and their riders while mounting and dismounting. Bike sheds range from little more than a supported roof to more complex structures with walls and locking doors or gates. The color of a bikeshed is the topic of a well-known adage about the challenges of group work in organizational psychology.
• Boat sheds (or boatsheds)
  Main article: boatshed
  Boat sheds are typically lockable wooden sheds built near a body of water to store small private boats, bathing suits, life vests and related items. Boat sheds used for rowing clubs are generally larger structures for storing rowing skiffs.
• Garden sheds or garden tool sheds, including allotment sheds. Garden sheds are used to store seeds, soil, hoses, portable sprinklers, or garden tools such as hand rakes, shovels, lawnmowers, etc.
• Railway sheds
  • Engine sheds are structures used for the maintenance or storage of railway locomotives. In Britain, these are also called motive power depots.
  • Goods sheds are railway buildings designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.
  • Train sheds are buildings adjacent to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. The first train shed was built in 1830 at Liverpool's Crown Street Station.
  • Snow sheds are strongly built timber or reinforced-concrete tunnels that protect railroad tracks (or roads) from avalanches.
• Storage sheds may contain any items any person wishes to store and to organize and/or protect from the weather and theft.
• Tool sheds may contain hand tools and/or power tools used to repair automobiles or for construction.
• Wood sheds are sheds used for the storage of large quantities of firewood. Woodsheds help protect firewood from adverse weather and moisture, especially in snowy or wet climates. Woodsheds are commonly in close proximity to buildings heated by a wood-burning stove, such as a log cabin.
  

  A wood shed located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
  In the United States, "the woodshed" was the traditional location for parents to administer corporal punishment to children.^[3][4]
• Miscellaneous
  • In the 19th century military barracks, sheds were used as auxiliary buildings for various purposes. The Royal Artillery park barracks in Halifax used sheds as gun sheds, carriage sheds, repair sheds, wheel sheds, wagon sheds and storage sheds.^[5]

Discover more about Uses related topics

Law of triviality

Law of triviality

The law of triviality is C. Northcote Parkinson's 1957 argument that people within an organization commonly or typically give disproportionate weight to trivial issues. Parkinson provides the example of a fictional committee whose job was to approve the plans for a nuclear power plant spending the majority of its time on discussions about relatively minor but easy-to-grasp issues, such as what materials to use for the staff bicycle shed, while neglecting the proposed design of the plant itself, which is far more important and a far more difficult and complex task.

Barn

Barn

A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain. As a result, the term barn is often qualified e.g. tobacco barn, dairy barn, cow house, sheep barn, potato barn. In the British Isles, the term barn is restricted mainly to storage structures for unthreshed cereals and fodder, the terms byre or shippon being applied to cow shelters, whereas horses are kept in buildings known as stables. In mainland Europe, however, barns were often part of integrated structures known as byre-dwellings. In addition, barns may be used for equipment storage, as a covered workplace, and for activities such as threshing.

Shearing shed

Shearing shed

Shearing sheds are large sheds located on sheep stations to accommodate large scale sheep shearing activities.

Sheep shearing

Sheep shearing

Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year. The annual shearing most often occurs in a shearing shed, a facility especially designed to process often hundreds and sometimes more than 3,000 sheep per day.

Boatshed

Boatshed

Boatsheds are generally lockable wooden sheds, often brightly colored, that were originally built to securely store small private boats and bathing materials directly on beaches. They are similar in appearance to beach huts, with the main difference being an integrated boat launching ramp directly to the beach. Many boatsheds also incorporate heavy-duty winches, which are used to winch a boat up from the water and back into the boatshed.

Allotment (gardening)

Allotment (gardening)

An allotment, or in North America, a community garden, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-commercial gardening or growing food plants, so forming a kitchen garden away from the residence of the user. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundred parcels that are assigned to individuals or families. Such parcels are cultivated individually, contrary to other community garden types where the entire area is tended collectively by a group of people. In countries that do not use the term "allotment (garden)", a "community garden" may refer to individual small garden plots as well as to a single, large piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. The term "victory garden" is also still sometimes used, especially when a community garden dates back to the First or Second World War.

Garden tool

Garden tool

A garden tool is any one of many tools made for gardening and landscaping, which overlap with the range of tools made for agriculture and horticulture. Garden tools can be divided into hand tools and power tools.

Rake (tool)

Rake (tool)

A rake is a broom for outside use; a horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, or tines fixed to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from lawns, and generally for purposes performed in agriculture by the harrow.

Shovel

Shovel

A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore.

Motive power depot

Motive power depot

A motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds" or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and replenishing water, lubricating oil and grease and, for steam engines, disposal of the ash. There are often workshops for day to day repairs and maintenance, although locomotive building and major overhauls are usually carried out in locomotive works.

Goods shed

Goods shed

A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door. There will also be a door to move goods to or from road wagons and vans, this sometimes is parallel to the rail track, or sometimes on the side opposite the rail track. Inside the shed will generally be a platform and sometimes a small crane to allow easier loading and unloading of wagons.

Train shed

Train shed

A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train cars not in use, The first train shed was built in 1830 at Liverpool's Crown Street Station.

Small domestic

A metal garden shed made with sheets of galvanized steel over a steel frame

A wood shed with stacked firewood

The simplest and least-expensive sheds are available in kit form. These kits are designed for regular people to be able to assemble themselves using commonly available tools (e.g., screwdriver). Both shed kits and DIY (do-it-yourself) plans are available for wooden and plastic sheds. Sheds are used to store home and garden tools and equipment such as lawn tractors, and gardening supplies. In addition, sheds can be used to store items that are not suitable for indoor storage, such as petrol (gasoline), pesticides, or herbicides. For homes with small gardens or modest storage needs, there are several types of very small sheds. The sheds not only use less ground area but also have a low profile less likely to obstruct the view or clash with the landscaping.

These small sheds include corner sheds, which fit into a corner (3 ft tall × 3 wide × 2 deep, or about 1 m tall × 1 m wide × 50 cm deep), vertical sheds (5 ft × 3 ft × 4 ft deep, or 1.5 m × 1 m × 1 m), horizontal sheds (3 ft × 5 ft × 4 ft or 1 m × 1.5 m × 1 m), and tool sheds. When a shed is used for tool storage, shelves and hooks are often used to maximize the storage space. Gambrel-style roofed sheds (sometimes called baby barns), which resemble a Dutch-style barn, have a high sloping roofline which increases storage space in the "loft" area. Some Gambrel-styles have no loft and offer the advantage of reduced overall height. Another style of small shed is the saltbox-style shed.

Many sheds have either a pent or apex roof shape. A pent shed features a single roof section that is angled downwards to let rainwater run off, with more headroom at the front than the back. This is a simple, practical design that will fit particularly well next to a wall or fence. It is also usually lower than the typical apex shed, so could be a better choice if there are any height restrictions. A pent shed may be free-standing or attached to a wall (when it is known, unsurprisingly, as a wall shed).

An apex shed has a pointed roof in an inverted V shape similar to the roofline of many houses. Two roof sections meet at a ridge in the middle, providing more headroom in the centre than at the sides. This type is generally regarded as a more attractive and traditional design and may be preferable if the shed is going to be visible from the house.^[6]

A twist on the standard apex shape is the reverse apex shed. In this design, the door is set in a side wall instead of the front. The main advantage of the reverse apex design is that the door opens into the widest part of the shed instead of the narrowest, so it's easier to reach into all areas to retrieve or store equipment.^[7]

Larger domestic

A tall shed with windows and a shingled roof

Larger, more-expensive sheds are typically constructed of wood and include features typically found in house construction, such as windows, a shingled roof, and electrical outlets. Larger sheds provide more space for engaging in hobbies such as gardening, small engine repair, or tinkering. Some sheds have small porches or include furniture, which allows them to be used for relaxation purposes. In some cases, remote workers who live in mild climates use small to medium-sized wooden garden sheds as outdoor offices. There is a growing industry in providing "off the peg" garden offices to cater to this demand, particularly in the UK but also in the US.

Shed owners can customize wooden sheds to match the features (e.g., siding, trim, etc.) of the main house. A number of decorative options can be added to sheds, such as dormers, shutters, flower boxes, finials, and weathervanes. As well, practical options can be added such as benches, ramps, ventilation systems (e.g., in cases where a swimming pool heater is installed in a shed), and electric lighting. Sheds designed for gardening, called "potting sheds", often feature windows or skylights for illumination, ventilation grilles, and a potter's bench for mixing soil and re-potting plants.

Materials

The main types of shed construction are metal sheathing over a metal frame, plastic sheathing and frame, all-wood construction (wood frame, wood siding and wood roof), and vinyl-sided sheds built over a wooden frame. Each type has various advantages and disadvantages that a homeowner has to consider. For example, while metal sheds are fire and termite-resistant, they can rust over time, or be severely damaged by high winds or heavy snow loads. Wood sheds are easier to modify or customize than plastic or metal because carpentry tools and basic carpentry skills are more readily available. Vinyl-sided, wood-framed sheds blend the strength of a wood frame with the maintenance-free aspect of vinyl siding (it does not need to be painted or varnished). The International Building Code (IBC) defines a shed as a building or structure of an accessory character; it classifies them under utility and miscellaneous group U (Chapter 3 Section 312).

Metal

A corrugated iron shed

Metal sheds are made from thin sheet metal sheathing (galvanized steel, aluminium, or corrugated iron) attached to a metal frame. Metal sheds are a good choice when long-term strength and resistance to fire, rot, or termites are desired. However, metal sheds may rust over time, particularly if they are constructed from steel that is not galvanized. Be aware that concrete is highly corrosive so care needs to be taken when assembling your shed to avoid contact with the outside panels.^[8]

As well, some types of metal sheds that have thin walls are easily dented, which may make some types of thin metal sheds a poor choice for vandal-prone areas or for high-traffic activities such as small businesses. In cold climates, metal sheds with thin walls need to have snow and ice cleared from the roof, because the thin metal may be damaged by a heavy accumulation. Since thin metal sheds weigh much less than wood or PVC plastic sheds, thin metal sheds are more at risk of being damaged by heavy winds. To prevent wind damage, thin metal sheds should be attached to a concrete foundation with screws.^[9] In countries where the climate is generally mild, such as Australia, very large metal sheds are used for many types of industry. Corrugated metal sheds may be better able to withstand wind and snow loads, as the corrugated shape makes the metal stronger than flat tin.

Plastic

Lifetime brand blow-molded plastic sheds

Plastic shed kits utilizing heavy molded plastics such as PVC and polyethylene may be less expensive than sheet-metal sheds. PVC resins and high-impact, UV light-resistant polyethylene make plastic outdoor sheds stronger, lighter, more durable, and more resistant to denting and chipping than wood, and tend to be more stable. Plastic shed kits sided with vinyl are typically among the least-expensive types of shed construction. Higher-quality sheds use UV-resistant plastic and powder-coated metal frames. Many plastic sheds are modular to allow for easy extensions, peg-boards, shelving, attic-storage, windows, skylights, and other accessories to be added later if these additions are purchased from the manufacturer.

Plastic sheds are not susceptible to termite or wood-boring insect damage, and they require little maintenance. Being rot-proof they do not need to have preservatives applied. This makes them preferable in climates where the weather can be changeable, such as the United Kingdom.^[10] Unlike wooden or metal sheds, which often require a permit to build, in many areas, plastic sheds do not. However, this is something property owners will need to verify. A call to your council/town's planning or building code office can provide information on permits.^[11]

Wood

Domestic wooden sheds.

Wooden shed in Mariehamn, Åland.

Example of wood storage shed from US cedar shed builder.

Wooden sheds have a natural look that can blend in well with garden environments. Despite the strength of wood, over time, untreated and neglected wood can rot, split, warp or become susceptible to mold and mildew, so wood sheds should be treated for protection with stain and varnish. Wood sheds need regular maintenance. This includes keeping plant matter and debris from piling up beside the walls and on the roof, and occasional rot-proofing with preservatives. Sheds are sometimes also re-stained or varnished at times for aesthetic and wood protection reasons. Fire and, in some regions, termite attack are also potential problems.

Stains and preservatives can be applied to wood sheds to prevent damage to the wood caused by exposure to rain, damp ground, UV light, harsh climatic conditions, fungal attack and wood-boring insects. If a coloured preservative oil or stain is used, a wooden shed can either be made to stand out as a feature within a garden, or to blend in with its surroundings. Red cedar coloured stain is popular. Legislation such as the European Biocidal Products Regulation has reduced the number of effective active ingredients available for wood preservative formulations. For this reason, in recent years, there has been a greater emphasis on preserving wood by keeping it dry, for example through the application of water-repellent "wood protection creams."

Some types of wood, such as cedar, are more naturally resistant to water damage.

When looking for a wooden shed, it is important to understand the difference between the two types of preservative used in their manufacture. The timber will have been treated in one of two ways: dip treatment or pressure treatment. Dip-treated sheds are made from components that are lowered into a tank of preservatives before the panels are assembled. This is a quick and simple process that keeps costs down and encourages manufacturers to produce a wide variety, making dip-treated sheds the most popular and affordable type on the market. They are easily recognisable by their golden brown colour, which is due to a dye added to the preservative. Most manufacturers offer a 10-year anti-rot guarantee on dip-treated sheds, but they have to be re-coated every year or two. [1]

Pressure-treated sheds are made from timber planks that have had the moisture sucked out of them under vacuum conditions in a special cylinder. A powerful preservative is then forced into the wood at high pressure until it is absorbed deep into the grain, becoming an integral part of the timber. This provides excellent protection against the weather - so much so that manufacturers generally give a 15-year anti-rot guarantee. These sheds are usually distinguished by a pale green tinge which will fade eventually to a silvery grey. Although pressure-treated sheds tend to be more expensive than dip-treated ones, their big advantage is that they won't need any further preservative treatment during the guarantee period, saving owners time and money. [2]

One advantage of using wood sheds over metal versions is that it is easier to modify them by adding windows, doors, shelving, or exterior trim (etc.) because wood can be cut and drilled using commonly available tools, whereas a plastic or metal shed requires specialized tools. Some homeowners may prefer wood sheds because wood is a renewable resource.

Vinyl-sided

An Amish-style vinyl-sided shed

Vinyl-sided sheds are typically built with standard wood framing construction and oriented strand board (OSB) on the walls covered with standard vinyl siding. The vinyl siding protects the OSB wood and the frame from moisture from rain and snow. Vinyl-sided sheds never need to be painted, and are maintenance-free. They are stronger than plastic or metal sheds, and are usually built to conform with the local building codes. They offer good value for money because they hold up in all weather, including winters with heavy snowfall, as they use a strong wooden frame and the OSB panels have stronger structural support than thin metal or PVC siding or roofs. Metal, plastic and resin sheds are cheaper, but they cannot handle the weight of snow in winter (roofs may cave in). Vinyl sheds also offer more colour options.

Asbestos

In the early and middle years of the 20th century, many garden sheds and domestic garages were made of asbestos-cement sheets supported on a very light angle-iron frame. Concerns about safety led to the practice being discontinued, but they were cheap and long-lasting, and many can still be seen in British gardens. Advice on continued use or disposal is available.^[12]

TPR

Since 2013 garden sheds have been available in the UK made from TPR - a sustainable alternative to concrete.^[13] They are typically coated in a marine gelcoat and are far stronger and more durable than traditional sheds. A shed made from TPR became the first Secured by Design-approved shed in 2014.^[14]

Discover more about Construction related topics

Gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline or petrol is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. On average, U.S. refineries produce, from a barrel of crude oil, about 19 to 20 gallons of gasoline; 11 to 13 gallons of distillate fuel ; and 3 to 4 gallons of jet fuel. The product ratio depends on the processing in an oil refinery and the crude oil assay. A barrel of oil is defined as holding 42 US gallons, which is about 159 liters or 35 imperial gallons.

Herbicide

Herbicide

Herbicides, also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds. Selective herbicides control specific weed species while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed, while non-selective herbicides can be used to clear waste ground, industrial and construction sites, railways and railway embankments as they kill all plant material with which they come into contact. Apart from selective/non-selective, other important distinctions include persistence, means of uptake, and mechanism of action. Historically, products such as common salt and other metal salts were used as herbicides, however, these have gradually fallen out of favor, and in some countries, a number of these are banned due to their persistence in soil, and toxicity and groundwater contamination concerns. Herbicides have also been used in warfare and conflict.

Gambrel

Gambrel

A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, while the lower slope is steep. This design provides the advantages of a sloped roof while maximizing headroom inside the building's upper level and shortening what would otherwise be a tall roof. The name comes from the Medieval Latin word gamba, meaning horse's hock or leg. The term gambrel is of American origin, the older, European name being a curb roof.

Barn

Barn

A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain. As a result, the term barn is often qualified e.g. tobacco barn, dairy barn, cow house, sheep barn, potato barn. In the British Isles, the term barn is restricted mainly to storage structures for unthreshed cereals and fodder, the terms byre or shippon being applied to cow shelters, whereas horses are kept in buildings known as stables. In mainland Europe, however, barns were often part of integrated structures known as byre-dwellings. In addition, barns may be used for equipment storage, as a covered workplace, and for activities such as threshing.

Gardening

Gardening

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits, and herbs, are grown for consumption, for use as dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use.

Internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to. This replaced the external combustion engine for applications where the weight or size of an engine were more important.

Remote work

Remote work

Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, warehouse, or retail store. Instead, work can be accomplished in the home, such as in a study, a small office/home office and/or a telecentre. A company in which all workers perform remote work is known as a distributed company.

Office

Office

An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the term "office" may refer to business-related tasks. In law, a company or organization has offices in any place where it has an official presence, even if that presence consists of a storage silo rather than an establishment with desk-and-chair. An office is also an architectural and design phenomenon: ranging from a small office such as a bench in the corner of a small business of extremely small size, through entire floors of buildings, up to and including massive buildings dedicated entirely to one company. In modern terms an office is usually the location where white-collar workers carry out their functions.

Dormer

Dormer

A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window is a form of roof window.

International Building Code

International Building Code

The International Building Code (IBC) is a model building code developed by the International Code Council (ICC). It has been adopted for use as a base code standard by most jurisdictions in the United States. The IBC addresses both health and safety concerns for buildings based upon prescriptive and performance related requirements. The IBC is fully compatible with all other published ICC codes. The code provisions are intended to protect public health and safety while avoiding both unnecessary costs and preferential treatment of specific materials or methods of construction. The code is updated every three years.

Aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has a great affinity towards oxygen, and forms a protective layer of oxide on the surface when exposed to air. Aluminium visually resembles silver, both in its color and in its great ability to reflect light. It is soft, non-magnetic and ductile. It has one stable isotope, 27Al; this isotope is very common, making aluminium the twelfth most common element in the Universe. The radioactivity of 26Al is used in radiodating.

Rust

Rust

Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3), and is typically associated with the corrosion of refined iron.

A shed near Sydney, Australia

A much-loved and frequently restored British shed in Lincolnshire

Fastest Shed, the world's fastest shed, in December 2018

In Australia and New Zealand the term shed can be used to refer to any building that is not a residence and which may be open at the ends or sides, or both. Australia's passion for sheds is documented in Mark Thomson's Blokes and Sheds (1998).^[15] Jim Hopkins' similarly titled Blokes & Sheds (1998), with photographer Julie Riley Hopkins, profiles amateur inventors from across New Zealand.^[16] Hopkins and Riley followed up that book with Inventions from the Shed (1999)^[17] and a 5-part film documentary series with the same name.^[18] Gordon Thorburn also examined the shed proclivity in his book Men and Sheds (2002),^[19] as did Gareth Jones in Shed Men (2004).^[20]

Recently, "Men's Sheds" have become common in Australia.^[21] In New Zealand, the bi-monthly magazine The Shed appeals to the culture of "blokes" who do woodwork or metalwork DIY projects in their sheds. The Australian Men's Shed Association is one organisation that has been set up involving sheds.

Another magazine called The Shed, a bi-monthly PDF magazine produced in the UK, but with a global audience, targets people who work (usually in creative industries) in garden offices, sheds and other shed-like atmospheres. In the UK, people have long enjoyed working in their potting sheds; the slang term "sheddie", refers to a person enamoured of shed-building, testifies to the place of sheds in the UK popular culture. A Usenet Newsgroup "uk.rec.sheds" has long championed this subculture: their lengthy FAQ^[22] is a masterly summary of the idea. Shedworking: A lifestyle guide for shedworkers is published at Blogger.

Since 2007 there has been a UK competition called Shed of the Year. Each year British sheddies enter their shed builds and after a short list is produced (including Pub Sheds, Eco Sheds, Workshops & unexpected categories), a public vote helps to decide the ultimate Shed, it also featured on Channel 4 television as George Clarke's Amazing Spaces: Shed of the Year, for four series (with host George Clarke)

In the United States, Shed Builder Magazine is a bimonthly magazine dedicated to the builders, dealers, and manufacturers within the shed industry.^[23] The magazine owns and manages Shed Builder Expo, a yearly, two-day conference for the shed industry.^[24]

Author Gordon Thorburn examined the shed proclivity in his book Men and Sheds, which argues that a "place of retreat" is a "male necessity" which provides men with solace, especially during their retirement.^[19] In contrast, in the novel Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, Aunt Ada Doom saw "something nasty in the woodshed" and retreated to her bed for half a century.

To woodshed, or 'shed, in jazz jargon, is "to shut oneself up, away from the world, and practice long and hard, as in 'going to the woodshed'."^[25]

A shed built onto the chassis of an old car, and called Fastest Shed, is legally roadworthy in the UK, and holds the world speed record for sheds.^[26]

Discover more about Culture related topics

Fastest Shed

Fastest Shed

Fastest Shed is a motorised shed designed and built by Kevin Nicks of Great Rollright, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The vehicle has been used to break the world land speed record for sheds three times since it was built in 2015, most recently with a speed of 114.7 mph (184.6 km/h) set on 23 September 2018 at Pendine Sands in Wales.

Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

Jim Hopkins

Jim Hopkins

Jim Hopkins is a New Zealander known for his work in television, radio and theatre.

Gareth Jones (journalist)

Gareth Jones (journalist)

Gareth Richard Vaughan Jones was a Welsh journalist who in March 1933 first reported in the Western world, without equivocation and under his own name, the existence of the Soviet famine of 1932–1933, including the Holodomor.

Bloke

Bloke

Bloke is a slang term for a common man in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Australian Men's Shed Association

Australian Men's Shed Association

The Australian Men’s Shed Association (AMSA) is a non-profit organisation that was set up in April 2007 to aid men's sheds across Australia. The purpose of the Association was to offer a central source for all Men’s Sheds in the country, due to the number of duplicate men's sheds appearing.

Blogger (service)

Blogger (service)

Blogger is an American online content management system founded in 1999 which enables its users to write blog with time-stamped entries. Pyra Labs developed it before being acquired by Google in 2003. Google hosts the blogs, which can be accessed through a subdomain of blogspot.com. Blogs can also be accessed from a user-owned custom domain by using DNS facilities to direct a domain to Google's servers. A user can have up to 100 blogs or websites per account.

Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is instead funded entirely by its own commercial activities, including publicity. It began its transmission in 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in the United Kingdom. At the time, the only other channels were the licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and a single commercial broadcasting network ITV.

George Clarke's Amazing Spaces

George Clarke's Amazing Spaces

George Clarke's Amazing Spaces is a British television series that first aired on Channel 4 on 23 October 2012. In 2015 it was nominated for BAFTA Best Feature.

George Clarke (architect)

George Clarke (architect)

George Clarke is an English architect, television presenter, lecturer and writer, best known for his work on the Channel 4 programmes The Home Show, The Restoration Man, George Clarke's Old House New Home, and George Clarke's Amazing Spaces.

Cold Comfort Farm

Cold Comfort Farm

Cold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by English author Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb.

Jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals.