June | 2012 | Shedforce | Home of Metal Garden Sheds

The most unique shed in Britain?? ITV news

Posted on June 26, 2012 by andyheath

Shedforce love to look out for Shed stories – and we have found another one. This guy (Geoff Hill) has been credited with Britains most unique shed.

“A garden shed is a very special place for thousands across Wales – but most people don’t need to be a strong swimmer, an expert canoeist, or require a small yacht to reach theirs. The Water Shed at Frongoch Boatyard, near Aberdovey, has won the ‘Unique Shed’ category in the international ‘Shed of the Year’ competition, beating 380 rivals to the coveted title. Owner Geoff Hill must now wait until National Shed Week, which runs from July 2-7, to discover if his plywood pride and joy has won ‘Shed of the Year’. If it does, he’s promised to spend the prize money on something ‘completely impractical’. I get quite a lot of people asking: ‘Is it an art installation?’ or ‘Is it an environmental statement?’ And I have to point out to them, no it’s not – it’s… a shed”. – OWNER GEOFF HILL

The floating shed has been in place since last summer, when it attracted around 10 visitors a day. Comedian Arthur Smith even gave a performance from the Water Shed earlier this year. Geoff describes it as a ‘bog-standard, flat-pack shed’ but adds: “The Water Shed is a shed for anybody. Anybody can go out to it and potter around.” The shed contains a primus stove, cups, teabags and sugar, but visitors are advised to bring some water and milk. There have, however, been some more unusual gifts left. Someone left a copy of the Kama Sutra there, along with ’101 Things To Do In Your Shed’. –GEOFF HILL

Information from the ITV news website

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Filed under: Best sheds | Tagged: Best sheds | Leave a Comment »

Store your horse tack to keep safe from crime

Posted on June 18, 2012 by andyheath

Horse tack theft is not a new crime, tack thieves get away with an average haul worth £30,000, according to crime figures.

A survey by insurers NFU Mutual, based on claims at more than 300 of the company’s rural branches, suggests that tack is ninth on the top-10 list of items stolen in the countryside. Number one is quad bikes.

And 70% of agents say rural crime is on the up.

The survey was based on claims from January-June this year and agents were asked to compare claims against the same period in 2009.

“Since our last survey in 2007, horse thefts have decreased — due to a combination of microchipping, visible security markings and better traceability of horses as a result of passports. Nine were recorded last year and none so far this year,” said Nicola Whittaker from NFU Mutual.

“But tack thefts are on the rise and different people are being targeted. A couple of years ago we found most tack theft was opportunist — a bridle here, a saddle there. Now thieves are aiming for livery yards and businesses and the average theft has risen to around £30,000.

“Thieves plan very meticulously, and theft on a grand scale can ruin careers and businesses.”

Tack and rugs cleaned out

Sussex was found to be one of the worst affected counties, with over a dozen tack-theft claims in May alone. East Anglia and Wales are also recorded to have been badly hit.

West Sussex-based dressage rider Amy Stovold had her tackroom raided while she was competing in Saumur.

“We had really tight security — but they got past all the cameras and alarms. If thieves want to get in, they will,” Amy said.

All Amy’s saddles were bespoke and their loss could have made a big impact on her career.

“I had to go a week with no saddles at all and then it took a few weeks to break in the new ones — it was a complete nightmare,” she added.

See more on this story>

The loss of horse tack can be very costly to replace, so having somewhere safe and secure to store these items is essential. Investing in a secure storage unit is always a good step to ensure your horse tack items are safe.

Asgard secure storage offer reinforced steel tack storage boxes and accessories.

Filed under: Horse riding equipment, Horse Tack Storage, Secure storage, Uncategorized | Tagged: horse storage, Outdoor Storage, Secure storage, tack storage | Leave a Comment »

Wheres my parcel? I’ve missed it…….. again!

Posted on June 17, 2012 by tarahamilton

With more and more people choosing to shop online, or not having the time to visit the local high street to do their shopping, regular home delivery is becoming a normality in a growing number of homes. Although it is convenient at the time of purchase, being home to receive a parcel delivery box can be rather tricky. Repeatedly missing the delivery of your parcel can quickly make the process an inconvenience. If your parcel box doesn’t get wet because its been left out in the rain, it gets taken to your neighbours the ones you avoid speaking to, or you have the hassle of collecting your parcel from the post office.

If your really unlucky the delivery company may even leave your parcel box outside for all to see and it gets stolen, all because you weren’t home for the delivery of your parcel. What happened to home delivery being a simple solution to a busy lifestyle? Instead it can create added stress to something you thought was going to be straightforward. Missing a home delivery can be particularly problematic if your parcel is urgent, that pair of shoes you ordered especially for tonight or the gift you purchased for your mothers birthday. Meaning you spend more money and time trawling the high street, for something similar to what you have already purchased and when your parcel is finally delivered to your home you won’t even need it. Online retailers have tried to help shoppers by offering home delivery with a time slot that is suitable for the customer, but this comes with a hefty price tag that can soon mount up if used on a regular basis. So what can you do to ensure your parcel is delivered to your home when you are there, or is waiting at home when you arrive?

Having a designated area for your parcels to be delivered to outside your home when you aren’t there, that is safe from the elements and thieves would put an end to anyone’s parcel delivery nightmare! Asgard secure storage have a range of home parcel delivery boxes, designed to do just that.

These parcel delivery boxes take the stress out of home delivery, “I collect stamps and often order online. After repeated issues with the post office and couriers leaving packages in the rain I decided a box would be the answer. So far 7 orders have been delivered and have remained dry and in perfect condition”. – section of online review

To see the full range or home delivery parcel boxes visit Asgard Secure Storage

Filed under: home delivery, Home Security, Parcel Box, Parcel delivery, Postal Delivery, Prcel Delivery, Secure storage, Uncategorized | Tagged: home delivery, parcel delivery, Parcel Delivery Box, secure parcel delivery box | Leave a Comment »

Enjoy fishing, but not the after odor….

Posted on June 16, 2012 by andyheath

Fishing is enjoyable and ever increasing hobby, but the smell can be off putting. Most people do not like that to linger in their home once the fun and adrenaline has ended, or to hear their wife nagging them about the smell. Finding a suitable place to store your fishing tackle and keep that odor out of the home can be difficult.

Fishing equipment is expensive and needs to be stored correctly to protect the items from damage . Buying a storage unit for your fishing items is always a wise investment and will save you from plenty of ear ache about the smell!

Asgard secure storage offer fishing equipment storage that is also insurance approved. From the customer reviews it is well liked product by the fishing fanatics.

“I semi retired this year and spend far to much time fishing or talking about fishing. Now I have the time to fish I have some very expensive equipment. After being a victim of a garage theft once before I treated myself to one of these units to keep all my new kit in. I have to say it really is a quality unit. Nice and tall, the locks are excellent quality and the whole unit feels very secure. The fact it is a walk in unit is excellent (and most important to a man of my senior years) as it gives me easy access to my equipment with out too much bending. - R.P.

Filed under: asgard, Fishing Tackle Storage, Fishing Tackle Storage Shed, outdoor storage, Reviews, Secure storage, Uncategorized | Tagged: Fishing, Fishing Tackle Storage, Outdoor Storage, Secure storage | Leave a Comment »

Summer is approaching, time to tackle that garden

Posted on June 15, 2012 by andyheath

With summer on the way, getting your garden into tip top condition becomes ever important. The thought of tackling your garden can be daunting to some. Where to start after months of rain and wintry weather? Here are a few projects that will not only keep you busy but will add some color and light to your home and garden.

Project 1 –

Paint your garden sheds and other garden buildings

Any time of the year is perfect for adding a coat of spirit based wood substance which will protect your wooden sheds panels from the external environment but why not add some colour at the same time. Red, blue or green will add a colourful change to your garden……maybe not green actually. Beige is a lovely colour for a log cabin or summer house and creates a tranquil and calming feature whilst you could add stripes, patterns or if you are an artistic person even your own drawings whatever they may be.
The benefits of this project is that it has minimal cost implications and actually can be an enjoyable task, especially if you have children as you can let them choose the colour they want for the shed maybe. Not only that it is a great way to keep the children entertained on a Sunday afternoon.

Project 2 –

Go one step further and add hanging baskets plus other decorative items to your sheds

A simple hanging basket can be the difference between a dull and boring shed to an interesting and delightful gardening area. With the addition of these added extras which can easily be placed to the exterior of your shed plus a makeover you will be able to make your shed stand out from the rest and transform your shed in to the focal point of your garden.

Project 3 –

Create a roof top garden

If you are feeling slightly more creative or you are looking to achieve a modern and contemporary look and feel then a roof top garden is the perfect answer to this. With a small amount of preparation you can ensure that your shed will not be damaged from the garden area and create an unusual spectacle for all of your neighbours. What I like about roof top gardens is that you can alter the plants that you have and create a different look every few months.

Project 4 –

Get Outdoors and start gardening

Many people have are well in to the gardening season as propagators have been a popular method for growing your own so far this year but with the winter weather behind us now is the perfect time to start gardening outdoors and working on your beloved vegetable patch.

Your bike has been stolen, what do you do?

Posted on June 14, 2012 by tarahamilton

With bike theft a continuing threat, what would you do if you suddenly discovered your bike had been stolen? Should you leave it to the police, head round with some heavies or jump on the black-market merry-go-round and buy it back?At a loss? … the police warn against attempting to take a stolen bike back by force.

Your beloved bike has been stolen, and as per the advice all over the internet you’ve been scouring eBay and Gumtree for it. But if you do spot it, what next?

The obvious first answer is to contact the police; either your local station or, if you’re in London, the Metropolitan Police Service’s Cycle Task Force (cycletaskforce@met.police.uk). They urge bike owners to follow the 3 Rs – record, register (including a photo) and report (if stolen) – to maximise the chances of getting your bike back.

Reporting a sighting to the police does work out very well for some people. Charlotte Barnes and Julian Norman had eight of their bikes stolen from their garage, saw a couple of them for sale on eBay and got in touch with the Met Cycle Task Force. After a nailbiting week or so, all eight bikes were returned to them. Two people have since been arrested in connection with the case.

“I was initially concerned that they were taking quite a while before starting work on our case,” Charlottesays. “It just reflects how thin they’re stretched fighting cycle crime inLondon.” The statistics bear that out: only 2% ofLondon cycle crime was “detected” last year (ie with a suspect charged), although the number of returned bikes is probably a little higher than that. Nationwide, it’s estimated that around 5-8% of stolen bikes are returned to their owners.

According to Vicky Barnes of the Met, “each case is dealt with individually, and the length of time to act will vary”. Inevitably, given the numbers, there’s a risk that a bike will be sold on before the police are able to tackle the case. If you don’t think the police will act fast enough, what are your other options?

It might be tempting to round up a couple of hefty mates to have a “chat” with the thief. That advice certainly shows up a lot on bike forums – largely, it seems, from people who’ve never actually tried it. WhileCharlottedid know of a couple of people who’d successfully applied “overwhelming strength of numbers”, she and Julian never seriously considered that option. It’s certainly far from safe – remember, you’re dealing with people who are already on the wrong side of the law – and the police strongly recommend against it.

If you’re really desperate to get your bike back and you’re worried that the police won’t get there in time, it may seem safer (if infuriating) just to show up and buy it back.Charlotteadmits that winning the eBay auctions was their backup plan, “which gave us the option of turning up to collect them with local officers in tow”. Paying a thief for your own bike is going to be painful – but is it more or less painful than losing it?

Even then, it’s not that straightforward. There’s the known scam in which the seller mugs you for the cash when you turn up to buy the bike. Worse, if you’ve already contacted the police, by getting in touch with the seller you might screw up their operation.

Jon C saw his stolen bike being offered at a “seriously cheap” price online, with the police unable to investigate for a couple of days. Nervous that it would go, he phoned the seller, thinking he might just buy it back. When the arrangements began to increasingly seem like a setup for a mugging, and no local police officer was free to go along with him, he reluctantly backed out. Afterwards, the seller stopped answering the phone, the police were unable to go further and the bike is still sadly missing.

Agonising though the wait is, it probably is best to pass it on to the police and hope for the best. You can always fill in the waiting time by getting over those nagging feelings of disloyalty to your old steed early and planning the replacement bike you’ll get if it all goes to pot.

“Sheddies” – Turning sheds into a manly escape

Posted on June 13, 2012 by andyheath

FOR years men have treated their garden sheds as a haven of peace and quiet where they can do a spot carpentry, pot plants or simply read the newspaper.

But “Sheddies” go one step further, turning their sheds into anything from a bar to a church.

One Malmesbury man has even transformed his humble shiplap shack into an artist’s studio.

Now it has been entered in a national shed of the year contest judged by Property Ladder presenter Sarah Beeny.

The Stencil Shed has been created by former street artist Luke Hollingworth, who prefers to be known as Syd.

What started out as a simple shed given by his father-in-law has been pimped into a workshop, party shed and “man space,” with the help of a friend who gave him a day’s labour as a wedding present.

“I showed him my shed. I was pretty proud of it at that point,” Syd told the Standard. “But he was full of ideas to improve it.”

The roof was lifted, wood reclaimed from skips was used to put in a new floor and the size of the shed was doubled. A tree was in the way so the men simply built around it.

Syd runs his business hand spraying artwork from the shed and large doors were installed opening up the front “So I don’t gas myself when I’m spraying.”

A Calor Gas bottle was recycled and turned onto a small woodburner and a small sofa installed. It even has wifi and its own website, TheStencilShed.co.uk.

“The wife likes it, but it is normally just me and the dogs,”

However he knows his days of peace and quiet in his “man haven” will become fewer because he and his wife are about to have their first child, which could mean having to turn some of his pride and joy into a Wendy house.

More details on this story >

Filed under: Allotment shed, What's in your shed? | Tagged: Best sheds, Garden security, garden storage | Leave a Comment »

The Met issue security advice for your garden shed

Posted on June 5, 2012 by nazishs

Garden Sheds

Garden sheds are a very popular target with burglars and are often overlooked when security is being considered. The value of the contents, such as garden mowers, strimmers and cycles etc. can often add up to many hundreds of pounds. It is therefore wise to secure the shed door with at least one heavy duty hasp and closed-shackle padlock.

It may not always be appropriate to fit a heavy duty padlock, hasp and staple as the shed door and frame may not be strong enough to support them. There is a range of smaller but sturdy padlocks, padbolts, hasps and staples which would be suitable. Whether fitting heavy duty devices or otherwise, always use coach-bolt fixings through the door and frame.

All opening windows require good window locks.

In addition to fitting external physical security to your shed, it is worth considering the installation of an alarm. This does not mean a complete burglar alarm system, though, if your house already has such an installation, it may be possible for it to be extended to the shed. There are various stand-alone devices on the market specifically designed for remote use in garages or sheds, which fall into two main categories:

a passive infra-red detector within the shed to detect movement and body heat
a door contact system

Both systems will operate a sounder if the shed is accessed without the correct de-activation. They are available with battery or mains power supply and can be purchased from your local locksmiths, D-I-Y or discount store.

The major problem with vulnerable garden sheds is that they provide burglars with an arsenal of house breaking implements, e.g. the versatile garden spade: because of the blade size and the leverage that can be exerted, few door or window locks can withstand a prolonged attack from this implement. If the shed is too fragile to secure adequately, the spade should either be bolted or padlocked to a heavy bench or frame, or, better still, kept in a more secure place such as a locked garage. Alternatively, your tools can be secured by chaining them together.

Consider the use of a strong lockable box or cage within the shed in which you can store not only your garden tools but also insecticides, weed killers or other items which may be harmful to health or plants if improperly used.

Visit http://www.met.police.uk/crimeprevention/garden2.htm for more information and garden security help.

Secure a shed with quality locks and fittings

Filed under: allotment storage, Garden Buildings, Garden equipment, Garden Safety, Garden security, Garden sheds, Garden tools, Gardening, lawnmower security, Lawnmower storage | Tagged: Best sheds, Bike Security, Bike storage, Garden design, Garden security, garden storage, Secure storage, shed security | Leave a Comment »

Motorcycle Storage from Asgard

Posted on June 4, 2012 by andyheath

We have found another online review! Remember if you submit a review directly to Asgard you could win prizes!

Asgard Motorcycle Garage

“I bought an Asgard Motorcycle garage about a year ago. I was somewhat stunned by the cost – at £1000 for a shed, I thought … mmnn maybe not – then after a local builder wanted 5k to build me a garage of similar proportions +planning permission and I went for the shed.

The process: Ordered online after 1^st phoning and checking they were a real company. The shed is approved by a number of companies, however I am always suspicious of online companies.

The shed took 23 days to arrive. Quite a site when it arrives, a very daunting pile of a dozen or so large metal panels. The panels are very heavy and required two people to manoeuvre. They have got trip to casualty written all over them, panels this heavy made from metal could result in lost fingers. A pair of gloves are a must.

There were plenty of screws sent with it – again – quite daunting. The instructions were nice and clear, though written by engineers, you can just tell, they have a technical look about they are well illustrated though. Two of us got the shed together in 90 mins - all the bits were there and everything went together very well. A word of warning, the shed has a metal floor, but also a wooden subfloor which sits over the metal floor to protect your tyres. These bits of wood are unbelievably heavy and a tight fit – watch the fingers with these, they suddenly drop into position.

This is the same for the roof panels, they are also reinforced so very heavy, when you are lifting them on to the structure, they suddenly fit into place and drop into some slots – be careful.

The lock system is super. Bolts, reinforced doors and a casing around the rear of the lock gives me real assurance this should be a good safe house for my bike.

As the unit is quite high and wide, I am able to perform basic maintenance with the bike in the shed, which is a bonus, though it is quite dark at the back.

I would recommend this product without hesitation – just be careful with your fingers”.

To see the Asgard range of Motorcycle Storage see the main motorbike storage category here

Filed under: Best sheds, Bike storage, bike theft, motorbike locks, motorcycle lock, Quad bike security | Tagged: Best sheds, Bike locks, Bike Security, Bike storage, bikes, Metal sheds, Motorbike storage, Motorcycle security | Leave a Comment »

Cycle Passports – Are They A Good Idea?

Posted on June 1, 2012 by andyheath

Police have launched a new operation to tackle the growing problem of bicycle theft in the county of Lincolnshire.

To combat a recent spate of thefts of bicycles, Lincolnshire Police will be holding a series of bicycle marking days across the area.

There has been an increasing number of bike thefts across the county, with 1,832 bicycles stolen between April and November 2011, a rise of 14 per cent.

The new scheme will introduce bike passports and encourage bike marking, along with the use of microchips that will help officers return bicycles to their owners when they are recovered.

Bikes are being stolen from a variety of locations, including sheds and garages, as well as being taken from outside shops and houses.

Over recent months the police have made a number of arrests and hundreds of bikes have been recovered but officers have been unable to return many of them to their owners due the lack of detail on the bikes given to the police at the time of reporting the crime.

During the week of action, local police officers and PCSOs will be out in the community delivering leaflets on crime prevention and handing out ‘bicycle passports’.

These passports record the details of the bike, including its make, model and frame number, with space for a photograph to be attached which is then put in a safe place. Then, should the cycle be stolen and later recovered, the ‘passport’ will help officers to return it to its rightful owner.

Bicycle passports will also be available from local police stations and many local retailers.

Secure a bike with a good quality bike storage unit.

Statistics found via the internet.

Filed under: Bicycle Security, Bike locks/security, cycle storage, cycle theft | Tagged: Best sheds, Bike Security, Bike storage, Cycle locks, cycle storage | Leave a Comment »

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