Did your shed survive?

After a really mild, dry and mainly still Autumn, the real Winter weather hit the UK for the first time this last week. Where I live (about 35 miles South of London) we got off fairly lightly, but other parts were very severely affected - especially Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North-West of England. Some places reportedly had gusts of wind reaching over 160mph, and many places had significant snowfalls. We gardeners are particularly sensitive to weather conditions, and we are constantly worried about what will be blown over, uprooted or demolished by the wind and rain - like for instance our garden sheds.

My shed was a minor casualty in the recent storms - part of the roof (made of roofing felt) was ripped off, and the roof now leaks so much that I have had to strategically place a bucket to catch the drips.

And this is not the first time this has happened either - I replaced the whole of the roof-covering a couple of years ago. Is it time for me to consider replacing the whole shed, do you think?

The shed is an essential feature of my garden. In it I keep all my tools, my garden chemicals and fertilisers, my empty plant-pots, string, spare canes, and a lot more besides. Allotment holders will probably be even more attached to their sheds, which eliminate much of the need for carrying to-and-fro of tools etc. I couldn't manage without mine. I have had this one for many years now and I am reluctant to replace it until it is really necessary, but maybe that time has come...

I think it would probably be wise for me to leave replacement until the Spring, because I don't fancy moving all my stuff out of the existing one until the weather is better, but I shall certainly be thinking about my next shed over the Christmas holiday. Perhaps that is next year's major project for me. I've already been having a bit of a browse around and I have found lots of different offerings, but amongst the best garden sheds(certainly in terms of variety of choice and value for money) are those available from Argos. I hadn't expected this, because I normally associate this retailer with High Street shopping for relatively small items, but they actually offer what sounds like a very attractive home delivery option. They even have a Buying Guide which takes you through all the important points to look for when choosing the shed you want.

Have any of you readers out there got a plastic shed? If you have, I'd be interested to hear your views on them. They don't LOOK very nice, but I imagine they do the job pretty well, and probably last longer than a wooden one? And they don't need treating with wood-preservative!