Many shed suppliers will erect them for around ï¿¡50.However,this option usually onlyapplies to wooden sheds and excludes ground clearance and site levelling.

Putting a shed up yourself should be fairly straightforward,although ill-fitting componentsand poor instructions may hinder progress.Allow a full day to erect a wooden shed,once you've prepared the site,and enlist a helper to support the side panels while you're fixing them together.Metal sheds can be more time-consuming as they come in so many pieces,but a plastic shed may only take a couple of hours to assemble.

Treat the floor joists liberally with wood preservative.Leave overnight and treat again thenext day.Ensure you use a preservative that specifies it protects against rot-water-basedtreatments don't. Level the area where the shed is to go,tamping soil down firmly with a sledge hammer or fence post. Measure the length and width of the shed floor-don't assume they're as per the specified shed size. Lay a base of these dimensions using paving slabs on soft sand(for levelling purposes).Try to avoid making the base larger than the floor,or it could get wet when it rains.The idea of making a base is to protect the shed bottom from damp.Instead of laying paving,you could stand the shed on pressure-treated bearers or fence posts laid at right angles to the floor joists. Put the floor into position and,with a helper,lift the back and one side wall into place,aligning the corner carefully. For sturdiness'sake,fix the two panels together using screws rather than nails-ideally,use two 75mm 10-14 gauge coach screws with washers.Work from inside the shed-otherwise aburglar could easily unscrew them.Attach the other side and then the front panel likewise. Cover the roof panels lengthwise with roofing felt,allowing an overhang at each end-thiswill be held down by barge boards.

First,fix a length of felt to the top edge of the panel using large-headed,rust-proof cloutnails spaced 10cm-15cm apart.The shed probably won't come with sufficient nails for thisspacing but if they're put any further apart,wind may get under the felt and rip it off.Toavoid expletives,press the nails into the felt with your thumb before hammering them in.Put a row of nails along the middle of this strip too-otherwise the sun tends to make the felt bubble up.

Nail the bottom length of felt so that it covers the edge of the roof at the eaves and tucksunder the top strip by at least 5cm.Cut out a V at the corners so it can be folded neatlyaround the eaves. Put the roof in place and nail the bottom rail of the wall panels to the floor joists. Working from the outside,attach the roof to each wall with rust-proof spring nails driveninto the uprights.Then attach a narrow strip of roofing felt along the ridge,allowing anoverhang at each end. Nail on the barge boards,cutting and folding overhanging felt as necessary.Attach the all-important finials-their pointed shape apparently deters the devil from sitting on the roof!Lastly,nail on the strips of wood(fillets)that protect the corners from damp.

Fitting guttering and a downpipe to a water butt will help keep the shed dry and be auseful source of water.Space gutter brackets no more than 1m apart,sloping them in thedirection you want the water to go.Raise the butt on something high enough to enable youto stand a watering can under the tap.Fit piping to prevent the shed becoming wet shouldthe water butt overflow.