Garden Sheds

We’ve all make jokes about the “easy to assemble” instructions that come with flat packs and often seem to be written by someone who struggles a little with the English language. It’s amazing how simply leaving a word out sometimes can make the meaning of an entire paragraph totally ambiguous. Then there are those little instructional drawings that sometimes may as well be ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics for all the help they provide.

Add that to the obligatory missing – or additional – bolt or screw, and it’s really no surprise that a few hours later many of us end up scratching our heads in confusion and wishing we’d just paid someone else to do it. And of course sheds have the added complication of the concrete slab and the window, if you’ve chosen one.

Generally, doing it yourself is a great option. If you’ve purchased online and got a great deal and it’s a relatively small shed for a suburban backyard, paying a handyman to erect it for you may cost more than the shed.

For the semi handy person, Absco sheds come with high quality instructions and access to several videos showing you exactly how to construct the slab and erect the shed.

If you’re not confident enough to do it yourself, or you’d simply prefer to have company, here are a few suggestions:

• Throw a shed building barbecue two weekends running and invite your mates around. Weekend one is the slab – reward their assistance with the other kind of slab and a few juicy steaks and they’ll be back next weekend to help you put up the rest of it.
• If you’re middle aged parents with a strapping young son – get him to invite his mates around. Better make sure you supervise though. Put on some good food and a few beers and not only will they be back the following weekend to finish off, they’ll be asking if you need anything else done.
• For the single woman lacking in “spatial intelligence” or who doesn’t aspire to handiness, try testing the mettle of any would-be boyfriends or prospective partners. Not only will you discover how keen they are, but if they don’t run a mile when you ask you’ll also get to assess their handyman skills - so you know what you’re letting yourself in for.
• If you’re a young single male who’s lacking the requisite skill set it’s a little more complicated because the chances are your mates don’t have them either. If you’re the only one in the family who dipped out it’s time to call on the relatives for help. A father, older brother or even an uncle might be able to help – naturally, you’ll have to make it worth their while.

People say that doing it yourself gives you a sense of satisfaction and achievement. For some, just the thought of a DIY task is enough to raise the blood pressure. But as you can see, doing it yourself doesn’t always have to mean doing it yourself – and having someone else do it can be just as satisfying.