Best Average Size Garden Sheds To Buy

When you hear the term medium shed, what’s normally meant is a standard sized shed that is suited for pretty much every garden, big or small.

If you’re not sure what you need, a medium sized shed is excellent middle ground. Large enough for long term use as a workshop or summer house, but unobtrusive enough that it’s not going to sit squat and bloated and take up your entire garden. 

How big a shed is considered average?

According to manufacturers reports, the average size of sheds sold in the UK is around 8” by 10”. This is a good figure to keep in mind when you’re thinking about purchasing a shed.

If you find yourself thinking ‘What size shed should I get?’ Consider that the average garden in the UK is around 50ft long and less than half of that in width, so expect your shed to take up around 10 to 20% of your garden’s area.

How to choose the correct shed

Choosing a shed isn’t easy, especially considering the absolute wealth of models and varieties available.

However, by following a simple three step process, you can narrow down the selection significantly and make your choice much easier.

Step 1. Decide what you’ll be using the shed for

A medium sized shed isn’t big enough to be multi use, in the way that larger sheds might be.

Whilst a medium sized shed is perfect for converting into a small home workshop, once that’s done and everything is installed, you won’t have any room to work around it.

So focus. If you need more space, then a larger shed might be a better option.       

Step 2. Work out how much storage space you need

Lay out the items that have to be stored on floor space to see how much square footage they actually take up. This gives you a rough idea of how large a shed is necessary for you.

A shed can save you space, if you make smart choices. A lot of tools can be stored vertically, and this is without considering wall storage space like racks and shelves.

Step 3. Consider how a shed will fit in your garden

When considering the area a shed takes up, there’s a few things that can make a massive difference.

For smaller gardens, a different shape can be all the difference. For example, a long, thin garden might better suit a longer, thinner shed, freeing up space alongside the entire thing.

Another option is the corner shed, which are proving increasing popular as people realise that the combination of triangular area and easy access perfectly suit them to small workshops or summer houses.

Access is something that people often don’t consider. As an example, if you’re using your shed as a workshop or for storing large gardening equipment, access could be as important, if not more important than storage space. If you’re using your shed several times per day, getting into and out of it with what you need should be as easy as possible, both for simplicities sake, and safety.

What type of shed is best? Our top 5 list

Forest Garden 10×8 Apex Shed

Best overall medium sized shed

As a general purpose shed, this model by Forest Garden has pretty much everything an owner might be looking for.

It’s right in the sweet spot when it comes to size, being the average of 10”x8”, so giving you just under 80 sq. ft. of internal space to play with. You’re also going to find it easy getting in and out, because of the front double doors.

It’s made from smooth planed, pressure treated wood that’s arranged in overlap wooden cladding, which gives you a strong finish that’s waterproof and resistant to rot, guaranteed for 10 years.

If you’re going to be storing valuables inside, in terms of security, there’s a lot to like. For a start the door has hidden hinges and a built in latch that accepts standard padlocks. In terms of windows, there’s two choices. Windowless, for maximum safety, or polycarb windows that are held in place with security screws.

Lastly, it’s easy to assemble, coming in a simple kit with everything that you’ll need. Some buyers report being able to assemble it in less than a day by themselves.

Overall, there’s very little to dislike. Even every negative review we could find were about incredibly minor things like slightly warped wood that was easily fixed.

Combine that with the wealth of features, for a really reasonable price, and you can easily see why this is our number one choice for best general purpose medium sheds.

   Pros

• Great value
• Easy to put together
• Good quality, especially for the price

   Cons

• Occasionally slightly bowed struts when assembling

Yardmaster 10×8 Apex Deluxe

Best metal shed

High security, with a huge amount of internal space, this shed is a great option for long term, hard wearing storage.

We’ve made our thoughts clear on metal sheds before. Whilst we love them, we think they’re better suited as places to store bulky or valuable tools, and not as places that are suited for long term usage.

But taken for what it is, this shed is fantastic, especially for the more budget friendly price. All panels are hot dipped in zinc and treated for anti-corrosion, with an accompanying 12 year guarantee.

The whole structure is ventilated along the roof line, so unlike a lot of metal sheds, you’re not going to bake in the summer, and it comes with huge double doors so access is a cinch.

Security is where it really shines, though. Metal sheds already have an advantage over wood when it comes to security, but this shed also has built in lockable handles that also take a padlock, plus have anti tamper bolts.

Lastly, whilst metal sheds can be a minor pain to put up in the first place, once this is up, it’s staying up. The anchor fixings to bolt it into the foundations are high quality, and so is the internal brancing.

If you need a high quality shed and don’t mind it being metal, this really is a great product. It’s also half the price of some of our other options, which we know can be an important consideration.

   Pros

• Good internal space
• Strong, robust design

   Cons

• Metal sheds have their own idiosyncrasies
• Needs footings

Power Shed 10×6 Pent Shed

Best for lack of space

Earlier we mentioned slightly longer and narrower than average sheds that are perfect for long, thin gardens. This is one of those sheds. It’s perfect if you don’t have that much room, but still need the length and a decent amount of floor space.

The whole thing screams simplicity and ease of use. From the pent style roof that’s just under 6 feet at its lowest point, to the fact that the door and windows can be placed in multiple locations, giving you huge flexibility and the easiest amount of access to the entire shed, no matter how your garden is laid out.

Structurally, it’s a really nice build quality. The whole thing is tongue and groove Scandanavian timber that slots together easily, topped by high quality felt. The wood comes pretreated and waxed, so you won’t have to worry about weather for at least a year after purchase.

Fixtures and windows are good quality, too. Safety glass, solid framing and high quality, galvanised metalwork ensure that once you put this up, it’s going to stand firm for a good long time.

Honestly, this is an awesome shed. The only reasons it’s not on our number one spot is because it’s pent roofed, so there’s a little less vertical space, and it’s slightly smaller than our other offerings. But if these things don’t matter to you, then this is an fantastic medium sized shed.

   Pros

• Long, space saving design
• Can set up doors and windows as you want
• Excellent build quality all the way through

   Cons

• Pent roof isn’t ideal

Waltons 8×8 Corner Shed

Best corner shed

Earlier, we mentioned corner sheds as a great alternative that a lot of people might not have considered. The contrasting profile and floor shape mean that a corner shed will fit into a lot of gardens in a completely different way.

If the shape of a corner shed suits what you have, then this is a fantastic choice. First off, it’s slightly  smaller in square footage than most other options on these lists, but that doesn’t matter because of the way it’s laid it.

A corner shed like this, with the door centrally positioned, gives you access to the entire contents with just a single step inside the threshold. If you need ready access, over and over, this is an awesome choice for that.

It’s made by Waltons, a brand we know and love. That means you can buy it with confidence because it will be made with the same general level of quality that all of their products are.

As a quick cheat sheet, high quality timbers, treated for anti rot with a 10 year guarantee, shatterproof windows with safety glass. The only real issue is the flat roof, but that’s a minor thing, especially on a shed this size.

Out of every corner shed we’ve seen, this offers the most. It’s a great size and a high level of reliable quality. What else could you ask for?

   Pros

• Excellent size for a corner shed
• Simple to put together

   Cons

• Slightly less internal space than others
• Flat roofed

Waltons 8×8 Summer House

Best medium summer house

We finish with a summer house. Another shed by Waltons, the reason we’ve chosen this shed is the size and features make it a great choice whether you want it to function purely as a summer house, or drop double duty as storage as well.

It’s 8”x8”, which is slightly smaller than the other sheds here, but the huge front double doors more than make up for the slight loss in storage space. They basically take up the entire front of the shed, all 8 feet of it.

It’s made of the same high quality materials that Waltons make all of their sheds from, and it’s given the same anti rot treatment, which means you get the same 10 year guarantee.

The huge windows are shatterproof styrene, and despite the size of them, this shed goes up easy, and stays together well. We did find one of two buyers reporting that a panel or two arrived scuffed or bent, but in all cases this seemed to be rapidly resolved with no issues. Everyone who bought one of these fell in love with it. You will too, just make sure you check everything over before you put it up.

   Pros

• Serves admirably as a cute summer house or shed
• Good build quality all the way throughout
• Massive front doors

   Cons

• Not the largest
• Occasional material issues, but easily rectified

https://astonshedsuk.com/garden-sheds