Garden Sheds Lothian: Top 5

Lothian’s Top 5 Shed Manufacturers Reviewed

as rated by NattyShedGirl

Lothian – it’s a big place covering a lot of gardens, so, as expected, there’s a fair few Shed Manufacturers to pick from.

As usual, we’re focusing on Google’s Page 1 as our reference for what Garden Sheds are available for the search term ‘Garden Sheds Lothian’.

We exclude the paid ads as they tend to be online companies and not businesses operating from the area we’re interested in. In this case, we’re only interested in Shed Manufacturers operating in the Lothian area or serving the Lothian area.

So here’s what we’ve got…  

Seafield Shed Centre

Meadowmill Shed Centre

Simply Sheds Scotland

Champfleurie Estate

A1 Sheds

THE RULES

1. I’m not interested in Gillies and Mackay’s 8’ x 6’ – this has nothing to do with my Sheds. This is me rating other businesses based on my knowledge and personal opinion.
2. We only talk about 8’ x 6’s, which makes things easier for comparison.
3. I have 3 things I believe Shed companies should ultimately be good at – specification, service and price. I hate when Sheddies get ripped off for shite Sheds and I hate it, even more, when the aftercare is shoddy.  

So – let’s begin, shall we?  

SEAFIELD SHED CENTRE

What a delight! Seafield, you make the dream work. Straight away we have a specification, there on the home page. Seafield use Scottish Fir for their timber and they tanalise it. They also use a minimum of 2” x 2” framing and 12mm weatherboard.

See Sheddies, it’s not difficult to get the important information out there!  

Seafield Shed Centre don’t have a complex website. They don’t need it because they’re letting us know straight away the information we need to decide whether or not we want to buy from them.

Seafield are using Scottish Fir – it’s a whitewood and we’ve talked about this in depth so feel free to check out some of our other blogs and videos, for example: 

What is the difference between Whitewood and Redwood?

They also provide the pricing right there for all to see: –

Screenshot from Seafield Shed Centre

Seafield have a workshop in Fife where they manufacture all their buildings themselves.

GOOD TO KNOW!!

Their cost for an Apex 8’ x 6’ is £500.00. I think that the Slab cost is for them to prepare the site. I’m hoping there are additional bearers other than the floor joists too but I cannot determine this from the description.

Unfortunately, Seafield don’t seem to fair that well on the social media and I suspect, like many trade services, there is little focus on the end user, meaning you could be waiting a while for them to get back to you.

NEXT!

MEADOWMILL SHED CENTRE

Yes, Lothian. You are rocking it with the informative Shed companies. I’m seriously impressed. Next on the list is Meadowmill and not only are they telling us EXACTLY what they are using, they’re making the point of WHY.

Scandinavian Pine – Hela! (Yiddish for HELLO!)

I love that Meadowmill have their full specification on the Shed page for you to fully understand what the builds are made from.

Screenshot from Meadowmill Shed Centre

I am a little concerned about the roof – it does state that they’re using 12mm sarkin but I cannot see any framing?

Anyway, that’s the least of our worries… Whars the prices?! You’ve come this far Meadowmill? All this amazingly informative chat about your specification but no price?

I’ve had a wee look on Facebook (this is what I do when businesses don’t tell you the price on the website #RollingEyeEmoji – you can always guarantee someone of FB is asking “How much is this please?” on one of their pictures…).

I found a wee 5’ x 4’ Shed picture that Meadowmill Shed Centre answered. £360.00.

So based on that rough idea, I’d say their 8’ x 6’ would be in the region of £500 – £650.00 – given the 12mm specification and the lack of roof structure, I’d say that’s a fair price.

Their feedback on Google Reviews is 10 x 5* – it’s always good and comforting to read other peoples experiences before taking the leap yourself. However, always be aware of legit reviews v’s fake [How to spot fake reviews].

SIMPLY SHEDS

Straight out the door – Simply Sheds have a price list PDF on their website – YUSSA!

Now that’s what we’re talking about Sheddies.

An Apex 8’ x 6’ shed is £476.00 including VAT and assembly within their area. But what do you get for that price? Simply Sheds have a basic specification detail on their price list and website.

They do boast of their high quality but don’t tell us what type of timber they are using… just that it’s CLS.

Simply Sheds specification:-

• 12mm Tongue and Groove Weatherboard (unidentified origin)
• 18mm OSB Floor
• 11mm OSB Roof
• 45mm x 38mm CLS Framing (graded)  

CLS is a grading system to tell you how strong a timber is and where it can be used when building a house or other building that requires building control.

Ideally, you want framing to be a decent thickness, yes, but you also want it to be used in the right places. In the roof for example. So many Shed manufacturers skimp on the roof framing.

You will find that framing can vary between manufacturers. I’ve explained a bit about Shed framing in this video.

Again, the social reviews fall short on the customer experience. Service, missed delivery dates and lack of organisation/communication. It’s a broken record in the building trade.

CHAMPFLEURIE ESTATE

Champfleurie are a TGB stockist. TGB Sheds have already featured heavily in our blogs on other suppliers.  

TGB Sheds Reviewed

Wood n Garden – Garden Sheds Dundee

Anchor Timber Buildings – Garden Sheds Fife

Champfleurie Estate have a similar setup to Wood n Garden which allows you to select upgrades for your Shed. Looking specifically at the 8’ x 6’ we’re talking £860.00 for an 18mm thick weatherboard and flooring, decent framing and felt.

Screenshot from Champfleurie Estate

Again it’s worth pointing out, as soon as you upgrade the specification it starts to get much more expensive than what’s generally on offer throughout the Shed market. The reason being, good timber is expensive – you get what you pay for.

I’ve had a look on the usual review sites, but because Champfleurie do other services like logs (mainly logs) the most of the reviews are about that. Not much on the Shed service, unfortunately.

A1 SHEDS

Our final company to review in the Lothian area of Garden Shed Manufacturers. Despite the classy name, A1 have the largest selection of wholesale I’ve ever seen based in Scotland.

Scrolling through their suppliers, A1 Sheds claim to be the UK’s best quality… Aye okay, but they’re completely impartial too.

2 seconds on their homepage and I’m already pissed off with this:

“Images shown may not accurately represent the finish of the products ordered, especially on natural wood products… The manufacturers reserve the right to change the specification of their products at any time.”

Well, what do they represent? Some dreamland Shed? Some A.I. Shed? Honest to sonny Jim… There is nothing that infuriates me more than folk getting ripped off and this, this single first line statement, tells you straight up that A1 don’t care.

You might think you’re buying a Shed, you’re not, it’s a cardboard box for £300.00 – no need to thank us!!

Looking specifically at what they have to offer Shed wise, we’re honing in on Saltire Sheds – given they pitch themselves as Scottish Sheds built for Scottish weather…

I’ve tried to find their independent website or social to no avail. Which is a shame as I’d like to identify them – however, there’s enough to go on from A1 Sheds.

Screenshot from A1 Sheds

There’s our favourite term again… nominal and finished.

Nominal stands for: “doesn’t mean a thing to you because that’s not what you’re getting MATE!”

So Saltire are making Sheds from Scandinavian Pine (Yaaasss) and they’re slagging off the old OSB (oriented strand board).

I feel like I need to stick up for OSB. Shed builders are notorious for the misuse of OSB – “OSB abuse” as it’s otherwise known. Some Shed builders use it as flooring, exposing it externally to moisture from the ground up, without even a single thought for its absorbent nature. They even use it as cold roof sarkin, with shitty 15g cap sheet as a covering, then expect it to defy the odds of water?!!

OSB has a purpose. It is primarily an integrated lining for walls of buildings that are compliant for Building Control – usually to create a cavity. It’s really clever and strong stuff. If you’re a Shed company that likes to mug off OSB then just remember it’s your responsibility to use it properly.  

Let’s get back to the 8’ x 6’ Apex Saltire Shed from A1 Sheds.

£667.00 is the price for delivery and assembly if you live in the RED area (A LOT of England and most of the Central Belt of Scotland).

The specification isn’t anything different from what the rest of the companies in this review are offering, and if I were honest I’d say my preference would be to #always buy from a company direct.

I have to say TGB – looking at their reviews of customer service etc. – are the most responsive, so even when buying from a wholesaler, A1 or otherwise, TGB are the better option in my book.

Garden Sheds Lothian: Top 5

That’s it for another week Sheddies. Remember there’s a tonne of content to help you make that decision to become a full-time Shed expert – starting with the Buyer’s Prep Guide.

Also, if you have any questions or any companies you’d like me to review, just let me know!

Peace and Shed Love

NattyShedGirl x