Garden Sheds Aberdeen: Who is the best?

ABERDEEN! Yes, you. You beautiful creature you.

We know what it’s like trying to find the right people to build you a Garden Shed. How are you expected to know who makes the best Sheds in Aberdeen when you’re up against shoddy websites and poor information? It’s a minefield of mis-Shed information…

Don’t you worry though, NattyShedGirl is here and luckily I know a thing or ‘tree’ about Sheds. And websites for some odd reason…

Here’s why we’re getting all up in Aberdeen’s face.

We’ve been invited to Crathes Castle Garden and Outdoor Show on April 7th to basically turn up and show off our amazing #Shedlife – Gillies and Mackay buildings.

THE LIST 😉 [keeps you up to date with what we’re doing on the day]

So I thought I better check out what’s already on offer up there and see if I can muster a ‘Shed Buyers Guide – Aberdeen’ for all you slick lookin’ Aberdonians.

You may remember me from such articles as;

• The best Summerhouse manufacturers in Scotland: Top 3
• TGB Sheds: Reviewed
• Midlands: How much does a Shed cost?

My google search was specific to Sheds this time and I kept it quite broad to try and catch them all.

Google Search: Garden Sheds Aberdeen / Sheds Aberdeen / Garden Buildings Suppliers Aberdeen

Who did we catch?

1. BS Joinery Services
2. Carle’s Sheds
3. Clad Cabins
4. Deeside Log Cabins
5. Forest Log Cabins
6. Garden Buildings Centre
7. Midmar Timber Centre
8. Paterson Joiners
9. Timber Garden Buildings

Based purely on the information the 9 companies detail on their websites I have made the following assumptions;

About half are wholesalers for bought in Sheds and the other half make the Sheds themselves. Some have pricing on their website (YEAY) and some do not (BOO). Some are selling right shite Sheds, some are selling okay Sheds and one is selling a really good Shed.

As we dig a little deeper I’ll be able to explain each company using our Top 3 Buying Credentials; Specification, Price and Service. I will award each company with their own merit on what they do best. So here we go, in alphabetical order.

1. BS JOINERY

 

Screenshot from BS Joinery website

What a name! It’s a cracker. Now there’s a lot I could say about BS Joinery’s website, but that’s an entirely different blog – so we’ll stick with what needs to be answered…

Specification

BS Joinery refer to their specification in their Shed Buying Guide whilst explaining what other Shed companies do and what to avoid. BS do not tell you what kind of timber they are using but they do tell you some of the other details.

Shed Jargon Buster (G&M blog to help with the tech terms)

BS are adamant they are ‘Scotlands highest quality timber building manufacturers’ and I wish I could agree but I can’t without all the information. BS do say you are best to visit them to get the full picture of how much quality you’re getting and they also say that 8 thousand satisfied customers can’t be wrong!

Pricing

Now, this is all a bit confusing…

BS don’t have prices on their website 🙁 they do talk of ‘deals’ – as in right now they have 33% off any orders placed in March. But they don’t tell you how much the buildings are, to begin with, so it’s a bit difficult to decipher the ‘deal’.

Service

BS will deliver and assemble your Garden Building. They have a radius of free delivery and then delivery charges outwith. BS have a 10-year Guarantee on the roofing of your Shed/Garden Building and from the extremely ‘passionate’ tone of the website I’d say BS are keen to make sure you are fully satisfied – but definitely don’t call them on a withheld number. They hate that.

AWARD: Making the Sheds themselves YEAY!

2. CARLE’S SHEDS

Screenshot from Carle’s Sheds website

Aw Carle, this will be short and sweet. There’s absolutely nothing to tell me what Carle is using to make his Sheds or how much they cost or what kind of service he provides.

So based purely on the pictures from his website and his Facebook I’ve made the following assumptions: –

Carle makes his own Sheds (YEAY!) he’s using a decent framing – it looks roughly like 70mm x 40mm, the cladding I’m almost certain is whitewood (Spruce) and it’s in a weatherboard profile presumably tongue and groove. The flooring appears to be OSB although I can’t tell the thickness. The roof covering appears to be just your normal cap sheet and the sarking again I think is OSB.

There are no prices and there is no description of service although they do have a catchy tagline “Another Quality Shed”.

From their Facebook posts from 2016 showmen erecting some of Carle’s buildings so it is possible that they offer this service.

AWARD: Making the Sheds themselves YEAY!

3. CLAD CABINS (BEST OF THE BUNCH)

Screenshot from Clad Cabins Website

Specification

Clads specification is really good. Perfect for our Scottish climate. I love that they’re using 19mm thick throughout and that the cladding is pressure treated. Clever Sheddies. This information was clearly displayed on their website and easy to make sense of.

Pricing

Handcrafters are notorious for not detailing the price of their buildings on their website. WHY?! It’s completely beyond me. What is the first thing you do when you can’t find a price for a product online? Search for a different website. Exactly.

**Shakes Head**

Luckily, Clad Cabins are all over this, which means I can draw a decent comparison between Clad, who make the sheds themselves and the rest of the companies that show their prices too.

Service

Clad provide a 10-year warranty with their Sheds and their buildings have a life expectancy of 25 years plus. They are a small family run business, with a progressive attitude – tailoring their services not just to timber buildings, but all aspects of joinery. They even offer an electrical service too.

AWARD: Best Shed Maker in Aberdeen

4. DEESIDE LOG CABINS

Screenshot from Deeside Log Cabins Website

Deeside are wholesalers of Lugarde and Palmako. Lugarde are well known for their Interlocking log construction. This means there is no wall frame, unlike traditional sectional panels which allow multiple layers for insulation and damp proofing.

Deeside’s Sheds are provided in ‘kit’ form suggesting again that they are also bought in.

Specification

Deeside’s Premium Shed is made using the following materials. Tanalising their timber to protect the building against rot and fungi is a definite bonus. The flooring and sarking are unspecified, unfortunately, so it’s possible it might be sheets rather than boards. The roof covering is also unspecified.

Pricing

From Deesides FAQ’s it tells us they do offer an assembly service, although dependent on the building and the distance presumably. The price quoted for an 8’ x 6’ in this spec does seem a little steep but as we go on you’ll see the comparables aren’t much cheaper.

Service

Taken from the reviews page of their website;

Thanks for the excellent service and the way you executed our order and the way the two lads went about the job of erecting our order. The whole order and the way it was carried out was excellent. I would recommend you to anyone.  A Shewan, Peterhead

Deeside are a family-owned business, established in 2002. You can tell from the overall feel of the website and product range, that they are competent and professional in what they do.

AWARD: Extensive Range of Buildings

5. FOREST LOG CABINS

Screenshot from Forest Log Cabin Website

We meet again Forest! Forest Log Cabins feature in our The Best Summerhouse Manufacturers in Scotland: Top 3 blog. I choose one of their Summerhouse designs as a comparison to what else was available in Scotland. But this is all about the Sheds so let’s see how they measure up.

We’re going for the Bentley Supreme Apex Shed.

Specification

This is annoying. Forest haven’t detailed any of the spec that matters. They tell us that the building comes treated (whooptaedoo, I should think so too), that there’s diagonal bracing… on what? No frame size no cladding size or type – it’s clear from the picture they’re using felt on the roof but I’ve nae idea what kind… This is a real shame after how informative their Summerhouses were.

Pricing

Forest are really good at pricing on their website which is a total win, it would be nice to have a full specification so you could see what you were getting for your money though.

Service

Forest have made guides and pack plenty of information on their site if you want to assemble your building yourself, although they do offer this service too, at a fixed rate specific to each build.

Forest claim to be Scotland’s longest established Log Cabin and Summerhouse supplier, established in 1989 and supplying timber buildings since 1992…

**cough cough, hello… G&M over here… 30 years and counting…**

Because the time you’ve been in business is a direct result of the service you provide today, right? WRONG.

Anyway, regardless of this, Forest have great social proof from their actual customers (not just themselves) with fab testimonials supporting their business and product.

AWARD: Customer Service (check out their Facebook)

6. GARDEN BUILDING CENTRE

Screenshot from GBC Aberdeen Website

Ugh… It’s hard to get excited about these guys. They’re everywhere. Wholesalers for a range of mass-produced buildings, similar to Deeside and Forest. But for the love of Sheds I just cannae fathom their dreich puss. I remember going to Stirlingshire to look at one of their sites as a possible display for G&M. Reminded me of a graveyard.

Anyway…

Looking at the Malvern Heavy Duty Apex Model

Specification

Malvern don’t state most of the specification that we need to compare, but they do have options for the cladding which is decent, they even offer Cedar – although it’s only 12mm thick. Not ideal for Scotland. I’ve picked the 19mm Deal cladding (Deal is a sketchy name for either whitewood or redwood, not really specific) in order to compare price.

Pricing

GBC do offer a cheaper alternative but I feel this is a better comparison for Clad Cabins when you take into consideration the full spec you get from Clad for less than 1.5 times the price to Malvern/GBC it’s a no-brainer. £2,216.00 is mental.

Service

GBC are an agent who work from Dobbies Garden centre Aberdeen (as well as other garden centres across the UK) –

We pride ourselves on the variety, quality and high standard of presentation of our buildings…not to mention the great special offers that you will find! Please come and take the opportunity to view the best garden buildings available in the UK.

The best Garden Buildings available in the UK… Aye okay, easy sweetheart.

The good thing about GBC is they are a large company and easily found. Their website is extensive and their 12-month aftercare I’d imagine looks after the customer as any big business would.

AWARD: Detailed Website

7. MIDMAR TIMBER CENTRE

Midmar’s primary focus is the supply of the timber itself. Their website is pretty basic so it’s limited on information about the individual products.

I can tell a wee bit about the Sheds from the pictures and considering they are a timber merchant the quality should be decent.

Again, unfortunately, I can’t say specifically as there is no information on their site.

No pricing and no information of service.

AWARD: Being Found on Google

8. PATERSON JOINERS

Screenshot from Paterson Joiners Website

Another delightful website. Paterson’s is a long established family firm of father and sons. Patersons’ make the buildings themselves as well as deliver within a 25-mile radius.

Specification

Great to see Patersons detail their specification online – it’s not the best Shed spec I’ve ever seen but at least you know what you’re actually getting.

Pricing

Unfortunately, Paterson don’t share this information on their website.

Service

Although Patersons are trading as Joiners primarily, they have seen an increase in demand for their buildings and so have started to stock popular sizes of Sheds.

Their website does say to find them on Facebook but the link is broken and I can’t find them through the search. I would imagine that Paterson offer an assembly service as well as delivery.

AWARD: Detailed Specification

9. TIMBER GARDEN BUILDINGS

Screenshot from Timber Garden Buildings Website

Much like Midmar and Carle’s Sheds this company does not have enough information to do a price comparison. It does have a small detail of specification which is rather difficult to decipher.

I think it’s stating that small buildings are made with 47mm x 35mm frame and 16mm sarking (cladding?) and the bigger buildings are made with 72mm x 47mm framing and 18mm cladding?

Regardless, it isn’t enough to make an educated buying decision.

AWARD: Being Found on Google

YES AND…

That’s it Aberdeen – that’s yer lot.

Based on all 9 companies I can say that Clad Cabin’s and possibly some of the other handcrafted companies who don’t detail their prices are your best bet for a decent Aberdonian shed.

It’s been a mammoth article to write but it’s good to see what’s going on up there.

Our pals Cherry Tree Landscapers are keen to get us up there and sort the Shed scene out. It seems we might just do that.

Let’s see how Crathes Castle Garden and Outdoor Show goes on the 7th April and we’ll take it from there yeah?

If you fancy paying us a visit at the show and want to be kept up to date with what we’ve got going on on the day, get your name on the list and I’ll keep you in the loop.

THE LIST 😉

Thanks for reading Sheddies, as always – any questions feel free to ask.

Cheers

NattyShedGirl x