Rubbermaid Outdoor Storage Shed Setup Tips

In my previous article I mentioned my favourite garden item, namely the Garden Shed and in particular the rubbermaid storage shed and it has come to my attention that quite a lot of previous buyers have run into a number of difficulties after purchase.

Here I will try to offer some help and guidance with getting the best from your plastic storage shed and ensuring it has a long life in your back yard, after all BigGranite is here to help as much as possible.

Setting up your Rubbermaid Storage Shed

OK to begin with I recommend using either a solid base of concrete paving slabs or pouring a base of concrete the correct size of your storage shed. This is always a good idea, whether it be a plastic, metal or wooden storage shed, a solid foundation will help a shed stay stable for many, many years. Pouring a solid concrete base will mean choosing the right location for your storage shed/s, get it right first time, you won’t be moving a slab of concrete very easily! 😉

Many Hands Make Light Work

If possible get yourself a second pair of hands for this operation and draft in a team player: wife, husband, friend, neighbour or even one of your kids. It just makes things easier to get the first couple of walls together.

Fixing Your Plastic Storage Shed Together

Now that you have your helper and instructions at the ready, read through them and everything should become clear, you can often have a rubbermaid outdoor storage shed up and interlocked in under 10 minutes.

Tip: If you have access to a power drill/screwdriver or can borrow one, once you have your shed set-up the first thing to do would be to get some screws (not thicker than the thickness of the walls) and screw the walls/panels together, at the joins/interlocking corners so as to stop any movement.

Making a Shelf for the Plastic Storage Shed

The Rubbermaid sheds don’t seem to come with any plastic shelving and often you cannot even buy them for the sheds direct from rubbermaid, so you will have to make your own. Some decent ply wood will do the trick or ready made shelves from somewhere like home depot will suffice, even if you have to trim them down a bit.

Tip: It is advisable to add in some supporting struts to the underside of the shelving. If you put 2 shelves in I would add a support at either end [cut to size] from the underside of the top shelf to the top of the bottom shelf (if only fitting 2 shelves). Then position a length of timber each end of the bottom shelf running from the underside of this bottom shelf to the base of the storage shed.

This will ensure your shelving can take the weight of what you put on them. I would have the timbers positioned at the front of the shelves to also ensure the shelves do not tip forward, if anything, you could add 2 timbers for the front and back, [4 per shelf] kind of like a table, the shelf being the table top.

 

Wind-proofing your Rubbermaid Storage Shed

It has been reported that in windy areas, some Rubbermaid Storage sheds have been known to blow over or in extreme cases, blow away, never to be seen again.

Here my solution would be to drill some holes and fill the walls with sand. What I would do is drill holes into each upright wall about 3 feet up (from the inside) and only pierce the inside skin so your drill bit does not go through to the outside, (you don’t want unnecessary water getting into your storage shed).

Make the holes about 10mm wide and if possible drill the hole at an angle pointing downwards, then get a funnel from the kitchen or local store, get some sand and pour away until you have filled each side up fairly high.

This will ensure the shed does not get too battered in severe wind, if this is too much effort, assemble your plastic storage shed on a solid base, screw it together and tuck it behind a wall or fence or sheltered by bushes and shrubs etc.

Rubbermaid Shed Security

I must stress however that while I think these Rubbermaid storage sheds are fantastic value for money and can really be useful for various different garden tools and outdoor storage items, I would not advise keeping any expensive machinery inside of them. It is possible to lock these rubbermaid sheds (you will have to buy one) but with any plastic storage shed, getting into them would be fairly easy for a determined thief, using a lock is advisable just be mindful of the items you keep inside them.

These tips should ensure many satisfactory years of your rubbermaid storage sheds!