A garden shed is one of the most practical and cost-effective improvements you can make to a UK property. Whether you need garden tool storage, a workshop, home office, or simply a place to keep bikes out of the rain, the right shed, on a solid base, will last 15–30 years with modest maintenance. This guide covers sizes, materials, base types, costs, and the planning rules you need to know.

Typical Shed Sizes

Shed dimensions are usually quoted in imperial feet in the UK market, even though manufacturers sometimes give metric equivalents. Common footprints are:

Size (ft)Approx metricPractical use
4×31.2×0.9 mMower and basic tools only
6×41.8×1.2 mSmall tool store, bikes
8×62.4×1.8 mThe most popular all-round size
10×83.0×2.4 mWorkshop or large garden store
12×83.7×2.4 mDual-purpose storage + workspace
16×104.9×3.0 mHome office or substantial workshop

The 8×6 ft shed is the sweet spot for most UK gardens, large enough to store a lawnmower, garden tools, and modest DIY equipment, yet small enough to avoid any planning complications on most plots.

Materials Compared

Timber (pressure-treated softwood), by far the most popular choice in the UK. Usually tongue-and-groove or overlap cladding on a timber frame. Modern pressure-treated timber (tanalised or similar) resists rot for 15–25 years when properly maintained. Needs re-treating with a wood preservative or stain at the interval the product states, often every 1–3 years. Aesthetically flexible, can be painted or stained.

Timber (log cabin style), interlocking horizontal logs, typically 28–44 mm thick. More substantial and better insulated than standard sheds. Usually sold as garden rooms or workshops. Higher cost but better suited to year-round use.

Metal (steel or galvanised), cheaper at the entry level, lighter to handle, fire-resistant, and pest-proof. However, steel can rust at joints and fixings over time, condensation inside is common without added insulation, and they are louder in rain. Popular for secure cycle storage or basic garden tool storage.

Plastic (PVC or resin), virtually maintenance-free, won’t rot or rust, easy to clean. Limited size range; less attractive than timber; some cheaper models lack structural rigidity. Good choice for low-maintenance storage of garden furniture or equipment in smaller sizes.

Shed Costs (Supply Only, 2026)

These are retailers’ own prices for one named shed at each size, in October 2026, before delivery and without a base.

A small metal shed is the cheapest way in: Wickes sells the Rowlinson Trentvale 6×4 ft metal apex shed, without a floor, at £228.1

Wickes sells the Mercia 8×6 ft overlap apex timber shed at £399.2

The same maker’s 8×6 ft shiplap apex shed is £608 at Wickes.3

Its 10×8 ft shiplap apex shed is £913 at Wickes.4

A 12×8 ft log cabin with 28 mm logs, the Shire Bucknells, is £2,219 at Wickes.5

B&Q sells the Keter Factor 8×6 ft plastic apex shed, with a floor, at £930.6

At the top of the range, a 12×12 ft double-glazed timber garden office from Shire is £3,755 at Wickes.7

Flat-pack delivery is standard; assembly is either DIY or can be contracted to the supplier or a local handyman. Assembly of an 8×6 ft shed typically takes 4–8 hours for two people.

B&Q sells the GoodHome Clapperton 8×6 ft shiplap pent shed on its own at £975.8

With B&Q’s assembly service included, the same shed is £1,250, so the retailer charges £275 to put it up.9

Shed Base Options

A proper base is essential. A shed sitting directly on soil will rot from the bottom within a few years, void any manufacturer guarantee, and become unstable. The main options are:

Concrete slab, the most durable option. Typically 100 mm thick C20 concrete on a 50–75 mm compacted hardcore sub-base. Should extend 75–100 mm beyond the shed footprint on all sides. For an 8×6 ft shed this means a slab of approximately 2.6 m × 2.0 m. The price depends on access, ground condition and local rates.

Summer Garden Buildings publishes the suggested prices its baselayers charge to supply and build a 100 mm concrete base, and a 6×8 ft base is £621, including VAT.10

Paving slabs on sand, a good budget alternative if the ground is reasonably firm and level. 50 mm bedding sand on compacted sub-base, with 600×600 mm slabs (or similar). Can be DIYed. Slabs must be laid level, use a spirit level throughout.

On the same retailer’s list, a 6×8 ft paving slab base, supplied and laid, is £490.11

Timber bearer frame, pressure-treated timbers (typically 100×50 mm CLS or sleepers) laid on compacted hardcore. Cheaper to install than concrete, allows some adjustment, and works well on sloped ground. The shed floor frame bears directly on the timbers.

Wickes sells a pressure-treated Forest Garden timber base kit for an 8×6 ft shed at £95; add labour if not DIY.12

Plastic grid base, interlocking plastic grid panels on compacted ground. Quick to install, drains freely and cheap. Works adequately for light loads but may flex under heavy point loads (e.g. a loaded chest freezer).

Wickes sells an EcoBase plastic grid base for 8×6 ft sheds at £149.13

Total Installed Cost: 8×6 ft Example

The installed cost of an 8×6 ft shed is the sum of its parts, each priced above: the shed itself, the base, assembly if you are not doing it yourself, and electrics if you want them. Electrics are the one part with no published price, because they depend mostly on the length of the cable run from the house.

Electrics (if wanted) are notifiable if the circuit runs from the house consumer unit: either a registered competent person installs and self-certifies the work, or it is notified to building control before it starts.14 A simple garden cable supplying a single socket and light, including an RCD-protected outlet, is priced by quote.

Planning Permission

In England, garden sheds are classed as permitted development (PD) under Class E of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, subject to the following conditions:

  • The shed must be within the curtilage of the dwelling (your garden)
  • It must not be on land forward of the principal elevation of the original house (usually the front garden)15
  • It must be single storey, with a maximum eaves height of 2.5 m and a maximum overall height of 4 m (dual-pitch roof) or 3 m (any other roof), or 2.5 m if it is within 2 m of the boundary15
  • The combined footprint of all outbuildings must not exceed 50 % of the curtilage, excluding the ground area of the original house15
  • On article 2(3) land (conservation areas, National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Broads and World Heritage Sites), no part of the shed may sit between a side wall of the house and the boundary15
  • In a National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Broads or a World Heritage Site, outbuildings more than 20 m from the house are limited to 10 m² in total15

Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have similar but not identical PD rules, check with your local planning authority if in any doubt.

Outbuildings within the curtilage of a listed building are not permitted development and need planning permission; ask the council whether Listed Building Consent is also needed.15

Security

A garden shed is a common target for theft. Practical security measures:

  • Quality hasp and padlock, minimum grade 4 padlock to BS EN 12320:2021, fitted with a hardened steel hasp bolted through the door frame with coach bolts (not screws)16
  • Anchor point, a ground or wall anchor inside the shed allows bikes and tools to be secured with a chain
  • Alarm, a simple battery motion alarm inside the shed can deter casual theft; B&Q sells Yale’s battery-powered shed and garage alarm at £12.89.17
  • Consider a smart camera at the shed entrance, mains or solar-powered, connected to a home Wi-Fi network or mobile data

Inform your home insurer that you have a shed and that it contains high-value items (bicycles, power tools). Cover under your buildings or contents policy often has a lower limit for outbuildings, and some policies set a minimum lock standard, so check the wording.

Maintenance

Timber sheds last longest with:

  • Regular treatment with a quality wood preservative or shed stain, at the interval the product states (often every 1–3 years)
  • Clear gutters if the shed has them, blocked gutters overflow down the wall and accelerate rot at the base
  • Ventilation, most sheds benefit from keeping small ventilation gaps at eaves level to reduce condensation; a vapour-permeable felt underlay under the roof boards also helps
  • Check felt roof annually and re-felt when it begins to split or lift; roofing felt typically lasts 5–10 years before replacement is needed. Wickes sells a 10 m × 1 m roll of IKO green shed felt at £32.18
References (18)

Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 30 September 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.

  1. 1costsupplier figureWickes.RN-SOI4JHA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for a Rowlinson 6 x 4 ft metal apex shed without a floor, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  2. 2costsupplier figureWickes.RN-A0GLVBA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for a Mercia 8 x 6 ft overlap apex timber shed, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  3. 3costsupplier figureWickes.RN-S8XQENA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for a Mercia 8 x 6 ft windowless shiplap apex timber shed, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  4. 4costsupplier figureWickes.RN-ZBTUVTA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for a Mercia 10 x 8 ft shiplap apex timber shed, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  5. 5costsupplier figureWickes.RN-DGPPCDA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for the Shire Bucknells 12 x 8 ft log cabin with 28 mm logs, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  6. 6costsupplier figureB&Q (diy.com).RN-FVET0FA price, true at 2026-10. B&Q product page for the Keter Factor 8 x 6 ft plastic apex shed with a floor, sold and shipped by B&Q, giving its retail price.
  7. 7costsupplier figureWickes.RN-N3R9OKA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for a Shire 12 x 12 ft double-glazed timber apex garden office, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  8. 8costsupplier figureB&Q (Kingfisher plc).RN-SAP5DXA price, true at 2026-10. B&Q product page for the GoodHome Clapperton 8 x 6 ft shiplap pent shed sold without assembly, giving its retail price.
  9. 9costsupplier figureB&Q (Kingfisher plc).RN-I4IC5ZA price, true at 2026-10. B&Q product page for the GoodHome Clapperton 8 x 6 ft shiplap pent shed sold with B&Q's assembly service included, giving its retail price.
  10. 10costsupplier figureSummer Garden Buildings (Summer Garden and Leisure Buildings Limited).RN-LZ4F16A price, true at 2026-10. A national garden building retailer's price list for concrete bases supplied and built by the independent baselayers in its network, from 6 x 8 ft to 12 x 20 ft plus hexagonal and octagonal sizes, inclusive of VAT, with the specification (100 mm slab, thickened toe beam to 300 mm, hardcore and shuttering) and the conditions: no survey, no significant excavation, site clearance extra, offered only with one of its buildings.
  11. 11costsupplier figureSummer Garden Buildings (Summer Garden and Leisure Buildings Limited).RN-R253XGA price, true at 2026-10. A national garden building retailer's price list for paving slab bases supplied and built by the independent baselayers in its network, from 6 x 8 ft to 12 x 20 ft plus corner, hexagonal and octagonal sizes, inclusive of VAT, laid on sand, mortar or concrete, with the same conditions as its concrete base list.
  12. 12costsupplier figureWickes.RN-T5DZCKA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for a Forest Garden pressure-treated timber shed base kit for an 8 x 6 ft shed, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  13. 13costsupplier figureWickes.RN-ZZB5PPA price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for an EcoBase Fastfit plastic grid shed base sized for 8 x 6 ft sheds, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.
  14. 14technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-JYJ3I5The document that decides what electrical work a homeowner may legally do themselves, and the exact list of notifiable jobs. Regulation 12(6A), reproduced at paragraph 2.5, makes only three things notifiable: the installation of a new circuit, the replacement of a consumer unit, and any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a special location. Regulation 12(9) defines special location as, in a room containing a bath or shower, the zone extending vertically from finished floor level to 2.25 metres (or the shower head position if higher) and horizontally 600mm from the edge of the bath tub or shower tray. Paragraph 2.7 states that all other electrical installation work is not notifiable, namely additions and alterations to existing installations outside special locations, and replacements, repairs and maintenance anywhere. Paragraph 2.8 gives worked examples: a built-in cooker is not notifiable unless a new cooker circuit is needed, and connecting an electric gate or garage door to an existing isolator is not notifiable but running a new circuit from the consumer unit to that isolator is. Paragraph 2.2 confirms Part P reaches outdoor work including fixed garden lighting, pond pumps and outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and domestic greenhouses. Notifiable work must be certified by self-certification by a registered competent person, third-party certification, or a building control body (paragraph 3.1), with the compliance certificate issued within 30 days (paragraph 3.4). Note that Approved Document P is a source of guidance rather than a ban: non-notifiable work still has to comply with BS 7671.
  15. 15technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-J6L7TIThe primary legal text for garden rooms, sheds, summerhouses, pergolas, greenhouses and outdoor pools. Class E permits any building or enclosure, swimming or other pool within the curtilage required for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse, plus a domestic heating oil container. Limitations: E.1(b) buildings, enclosures and containers other than the original dwellinghouse must not cover more than 50% of the curtilage; E.1(c) nothing forward of a wall forming the principal elevation of the original dwellinghouse; E.1(d) single storey only; E.1(e) maximum height 4 metres with a dual-pitched roof, 2.5 metres if any part is within 2 metres of a curtilage boundary, otherwise 3 metres; E.1(f) eaves no higher than 2.5 metres; E.1(g) not within the curtilage of a listed building; E.1(h) no verandah, balcony or raised platform; E.1(j) oil containers capped at 3,500 litres. E.4 defines incidental use as including keeping poultry, bees, pet animals, birds or other livestock for domestic needs or personal enjoyment, which is why a garden room used as a separate dwelling falls outside Class E.
  16. 16technicalstrongBSI, a standard.RN-6W1R8WBS EN 12320:2021, the standard for padlocks and padlock fittings, specifying strength, security grade and test methods. The reference behind a security rating on a padlock, which is what an insurer means when it requires a particular grade on an outbuilding or gate.
  17. 17costsupplier figureB&Q (diy.com).RN-JSCLBVA price, true at 2026-10. B&Q product page for Yale's battery-powered, wire-free motion-sensing shed and garage alarm, giving its retail price.
  18. 18costsupplier figureWickes.RN-782ZJ8A price, true at 2026-10. Wickes product page for a 10 m x 1 m roll of IKO green shed roofing felt, giving its retail price including VAT and before delivery.

  1. Rowlinson Trentvale Dark Grey Metal Apex Shed without Floor - 6 x 4ft, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  2. Mercia Overlap Apex Timber Shed - 8 x 6ft, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  3. Mercia Shiplap Windowless Apex Timber Shed - 8 x 6ft, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  4. Mercia Shiplap Apex Timber Shed - 10 x 8ft, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  5. Shire Bucknells Log Cabin - 12 x 8ft, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  6. Keter Factor 8x6 ft Apex Beige Plastic 2 door Shed with floor & 1 window, B&Q (diy.com), accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. diy.com

  7. Shire Double Glazed Timber Apex Garden Office - 12 x 12ft, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  8. GoodHome Clapperton Shiplap 8x6 ft Pent Wooden Dip treated 2 door Shed with floor (Windowless), B&Q (Kingfisher plc), accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. diy.com

  9. GoodHome Clapperton Shiplap 8x6 ft Pent Wooden Dip treated 2 door Shed with floor (Windowless) - Assembly service included, B&Q (Kingfisher plc), accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. diy.com

  10. Prices for Concrete Bases - Supplied and Built, Summer Garden Buildings, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. summergardenbuildings.co.uk

  11. Prices for Paving Slab Bases, Summer Garden Buildings, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. summergardenbuildings.co.uk

  12. Forest Garden Shed Base - 8 x 6ft, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  13. EcoBase Fastfit System Shed Base for 8 x 6ft Sheds, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk

  14. Approved Document P: Electrical safety - Dwellings (2013 edition), HM Government, accessed 9 September 2026. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

  15. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class E, The National Archives, accessed 30 September 2026. legislation.gov.uk

  16. BS EN 12320:2021 Building hardware. Padlocks and padlock fittings. Requirements and test methods, BSI, accessed 7 September 2026. knowledge.bsigroup.com

  17. Yale SAA5015 Shed & garage alarm kit, 1 piece, B&Q (diy.com), accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. diy.com

  18. IKO Green Shed Felt - 10 x 1m, Wickes, accessed 24 October 2026. Priced at 2026-10 and left there. wickes.co.uk