Backyard sheds are a valuable and worthwhile investment—so be sure to upkeep them with proper shed maintenance.
In addition to regular home maintenance and yearly home spring cleaning, there’s also an equal need for routine yard care and shed repair and preservation.
While you may be aware of ways to winterize your shed for cold weather, there are basic tasks you can do throughout the rest of the year to ensure that your shed is in tip-top shape. Staying on top of regular shed maintenance tasks will help you to avoid larger, costly repairs, and save time.
To guarantee that your shed lasts a long time and continues to function at full capability, take a moment to review our shed maintenance checklist.
The main purpose of regular maintenance is to ensure that all equipment required for production is operating at 100% efficiency at all times, right? Here are some things to keep an eye on throughout the year.
Check for leaks, cracks, breaks, and holes.
Whether it’s a missing shingle or a cracked window, it’s important to fix problems as soon as they happen. If there aren’t obvious problems, proactively looks for potential issues in order to prevent them from starting or developing into an issue down the road.
Anything from bad weather to fallen tree branches can tear the felt or damage the roof. To prevent issues, check the roof of your shed on a regular basis. Even if your roof seems to be in working order, water can still sneak into your shed. To discover leaks, look out for discoloration on the ceiling and walls, particularly stains and darker patches which may indicate dripping or running water.
When you’re giving your shed a once-over, don’t confuse condensation with a leak. Condensation occurs when the moisture in the air forms water droplets on a cold surface. A properly-ventilated shed is unlikely to have major problems with condensation but you can expect colder parts of the shed to attract condensation.
Bear in mind, water can also penetrate a shed from the ground. If your shed sits directly on the ground, consider building a proper foundation for it using concrete, cinder blocks, or pressure treated timber.
Whatever leaks, cracks, breaks, or holes you spy, make sure to repair all of them as soon as possible.
In short, consider inspecting these specific areas—
Keep your shed pest-free.
Do pesky spiders, ants, pine beetles, wasps, and rodents like hanging around your shed? Perhaps they’ve made your shed their personal home. Not only can this be a nuisance to you, but it can also contribute to the deterioration of your shed and the items stored inside.
Keep your shed pest-free. Here’s how.
Just because you don’t have pest issues now doesn’t mean you’ll never have them. Think and act proactively.
Examine handles, doors, shelving, and workbenches.
Difficult doors, squeaking hinges, and broken handles are annoying. Take a moment on a regular basis to spray hinges and handles with a lubricant like WD-40 to keep things moving and working smoothly. Replace broken handles with ones that work and won’t cause safety issues.
Take a good look at your shelves. Are they holding up ok? Are they still sufficiently sturdy? If they’re rusting (make sure it’s not because you have a leak in your shed!), consider replacing them with heavy-duty plastic or wood shelves.
How about your workbench — have you used it recently? If not, is there anything you need to do in order for it to be ready for use? If you notice low-grade wear and tear, now is a good time to take action.
Take inventory of tools and equipment.
Check through your tools and equipment. Is everything working? Does anything need refueled, oil changed, batteries replaced, or purchased? This is a great time to take inventory of what you have, what needs to be fixed, and what needs to be replaced.
Curious about what others have in their backyard sheds? Here’s a list of the most popular tools and equipment.
Get organized.
Need more ideas? Check out a few more of our shed organization ideas.
While you’re at it, give the floor a good once over with a broom. The extra ten minutes will be a good exercise and it will help your shed remain tidy and debris-free.
Wash the exterior.
Regardless of your siding type—metal, wood, or vinyl—it's important to keep it clean. By cleaning your siding on a regular basis, you can remove stains before they become a permanent and prevent the growth of mildew.
You can use soap and water along with elbow grease to clean your siding . . . or you can use a power washer (Don’t have one? Rent one!); however, make sure to use a low pressure setting to prevent damage.
In addition to soap and water, other liquid concoctions that are great for cleaning shed exteriors include white vinegar (30% white vinegar/70% water) and laundry detergent (1/3 cup of laundry detergent/six gallons of water).
Repaint siding.
If you have vinyl or metal siding, simply keeping it clean will suffice. For those who have wood siding, you’ll need to repaint every few years depending on the paint type/brand used. When it’s time to paint, choose a good exterior paint that promises to be mildew resistant, fade resistant, durable, and covers easily.
Here are some things to consider before you start.
OK, shed owners! It’s your turn. You have the shed maintenance checklist, now it’s time to implement it. Keep this checklist nearby and conquer these items throughout the year. If you do, your shed will remain in great shape—and everyone will be happy.
Maybe your current shed is in such disrepair that it would be better to buy a new one instead of reviving the old one. Or perhaps you need a second shed (they make great backyard home offices and game rooms, you know!). Regardless of your reason for needing a new shed, we recommend our high-quality storage buildings. Because our structures are made with the best materials, they require minimal maintenance. Doesn’t that sound great?
Explore our shed packages – we’re sure that you’ll find one that you love!
Maybe you don’t want a predetermined shed package; perhaps you want to design your own shed or from top to bottom. We get that. With our online configurator, you can create your own from roof to floor. You can choose the roofline, siding material, and add-ons that are right for your unique needs. Try it out our shed configurator tool for yourself.
It’s our mission at Dakota Storage Buildings to make affordable, high-quality buildings that exceed expectations. Explore our storage buildings in person at any of our South Dakota or Minnesota display lot locations. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.