Garden Focused reviews Asgard Garden Storage

Metal Garden Sheds Compared

View the article on their website.

Metal garden sheds are becoming increasingly more popular in the UK. One of their prime advantages over wood and plastic construction is the security they offer. Lawnmowers, garden and household tools, strimmers, bikes, rotovators and much more can be stored with security.  Another key advantage of metal sheds is that they can last a lifetime with almost no maintenance, unlike wood built sheds. Price is also in favour of metal sheds.

In this article we guide you through the maize of manufacturers and retailers of metal sheds so that you end up with the shed that best suits your needs and is within your price range. It deals with full sized garden sheds rather than bicycle, motorcycle and other smaller storage sheds. This article is not for the faint hearted! It is stuffed full of facts, figures, comparisons and expert opinions, just what you need if you are serious about investing in a metal shed.

All our advice is totally impartial, we are not affiliated to any shed manufacturer.
All the pictures are taken by us and not copies of manufacturer's glossy pictures.

We have viewed for ourselves, and critically evaluated, each of the sheds mentioned in this review. This article is not simply a re-hash of the manufacturer's descriptions, it has been produced as a result of us going to display sites to see and test the sheds we have reviewed. We believe that no other secure metal garden shed review can claim to be as impartial and also contain first hand experience of the sheds reviewed.

Asgard

For an overview of the company Asgard, see our top level metal shed review page which can be found here. They have been in business for over forty years and the sole focus of their business is secure metal storage. Not only do they manufacture garden sheds but they are world renowned for their other secure storage products.

For the purposes of this article we examined the Centurion Metal Shed (5ft x 7ft 3in) which is shown in the picture below. Other sizes and those in the Gladiator range are all constructed in the same manner using the same locks and panel types.

There are three possible colours, green (as shown above), brown or ivory. Full retail price for the basic shed is currently £1,270 although out of season, from September to February you will likely find discounts available. Included in that price is an integral shed base. There is an extensive range of extras including hanging hooks, shelving, ramp, wooden over-floor etc.

The initial impression from the outside is one of solidity and security. Push the panels in and there is hardly any give at all. The lock appears to be very secure. Open the door and you will see that the lock is indeed securely mounted on the door. It operates two solid poles which lock into the door fame at the top and bottom. A solid arm also comes out from the lock to secure the door onto the frame half way down.

If you compare the Asgard lock above to the lock on Trimetals sheds (see picture lower down this page) you will be astonished at the difference between the two.

Once inside the shed you can feel the solidity of the panels, they are 1.2mm thick. Unless you take a petrol or electric grinder of some sort to them, they are impenetrable. See the video below where a strong looking guy does his best to break the lock with a hammer and various implements. This video was recorded by the Loss Prevention Certificate Board in their tests on Asgard sheds.

Three more videos can be see here with the same guy trying to break into the Asgard shed. That is about as secure as a shed ever gets. The shed is guaranteed against rust penetration for 10 years and this applies to buying the shed directly from Asgard or one of their retailers. If you choose to buy your shed through a retailer, we would strongly recommend GBC for two prime reasons. Firstly they have these sheds on display throughout the country at 35 garden centres.

To find out the nearest display site to you, click here. When the list of display sites then appears, click on the one you want to visit and a list of sheds they have at that display site will appear. The Asgard sheds appear as "Secure Storage" and the model shown above is called Wharfedale.

The second reason is that GBC have been in the trade for many years and they only deal in the best shed brands. We can recommend them from our own personal experience. A few more reasons to choose an Asgard metal shed include the ventilation system. There are vents not only at the front and rear but also along the top of the shed. This significantly reduces condensation, better than other manufacturers. All Gladiator and Centurion sheds come with an integral metal floor included in the base price, making the shed even more solid and secure.

A summary of the key features of this shed are:

• Ridge (apex) height 6’8” / 203cm
• Eaves height 6’2” / 188cm
• Size 5’ x 7’3” (152cm x 221cm)
• Metal base included
• Weight - a massive 255kg / 40 stone 2lb
• 10 year warranty
• Panel thickness 1.2mm
• Five point locking system
• Anti-pick and very securely mounted lock
• Double doors standard
• Installation service - Yes