As good as new: Asgard rebuilds 15-year-old metal garden shed

This feature describes how Asgard undertook the rebuild of the 15-year-old Asgard Centurion Shed that had been built, stripped, built again, stripped, and dragged around the country as a demonstrator shed and how it went together again like it was new.

What is the Centurion SBD accredited shed?

Asgard’s Centurion Secured by Design accredited storage shed is a heavy-duty 5ft x 9ft metal shed manufactured from galvanised steel. Part of their high-security metal shed range, the Centurion features reinforced panels, doors and hinges, plus a 5-point locking system and integral base. As Asgard sheds are constructed from galvanised weatherproof paint with an epoxy powdered coating, these sheds are built to last and come with a free 10 year warranty.

This shed at 15 years old had really been put to the test - so the question was how would it stand up when built and dismantled a dozen times for over a decade? 

Building the Asgard Metal Shed

“The shed had been in storage for at least 2 years so the first thing we noticed was the cobwebs. This shed was buried in a garage and looked like it had not been touched - ever!” - Stuart, Asgard installation. 

A quick inspection showed that only one cover strip was missing, a few deep scratches were present on the bodywork and as expected the keys for the lock had long since been misplaced.

So the job was to rebuild the shed and swap the lock.

Shed Build Stage one

The preparation - Asgard laid out the shed panels as per the instructions for a closer inspection, which revealed a few more dents to the base, but thanks to the galvanised panels, there was no rust at all, they just looked unsightly. A quick spray of touch-up paint and the scratches all but disappeared.

Shed Build Stage two

Base down, this is where the problems started. 

“The base had just been put down, by a local builder, and it was pretty poor. The location was also far from ideal - the base had a “runoff” (allows water drainage in heavy rain) but it ran the wrong way. Instead of away from the house and wall, it ran into the wall which would potentially cause long-term problems with water damage to the wall and house. The excessive angle did also mean there was a 1-inch lift on one corner of the shed.

“This took all of our packing pieces to level the shed base, but we did it.” - Stuart, Asgard Shed Installation team. 

Shed Build Stage three

The build - like many DIY kits that have been in storage for an extended period of time, the original screws were all missing. Asgard had anticipated this and provided a new fixing kit, and the shed went up very swiftly. Every screw lined up to perfection, and the shed went up in around 35 mins.

A piece of advice – the key really is getting a flat surface to build the shed on. It's worth spending the effort getting the shed base as flat as possible.

Shed Build Stage four

The bolt down…

“It is always tricky when we have had to pack up a shed base to this extent. There is always a natural downward movement in the shed when the bolts are tightened. After a little bit of jiggling and some packing piece adjustment, we got the shed perfectly level, with the doors aligning perfectly, and the locking bars fully engaging.” - Stuart, Shed Installation Team

Shed Build Stage five

With no key, swapping the locking system was next. A new lock is very easy to fit, and Asgard decided to change the entire lock mechanism, not just the barrel - both are easy to do, the old lock worked fine, but the old lock mechanism was over 15 years old, so why not fit a new one while we are there? This took around 10 minutes to do - a few squirts of oil in the door hinges for good measure and we were done.

“So after just over an hour we managed to rescue and reuse an old Asgard shed - by 10am we had picked, sorted, packed up the base, re-oiled the hinges, built the shed and swapped a locking mechanism. A great result and shows how durable an Asgard shed is. After 15 years, its looks as good as the day it was made.”  - Stuart, Asgard Installation.

The 15-year-old shed lived up to its hard-wearing potential - and it’s clear to see why Asgard are a Secured by Design member with strong storage that lasts. 

To find out more about Asgard Secured by Design sheds, please visit: https://www.securedbydesign.com/member-companies/sbd-members?view=companydetail&account=0011i00000JpvznAAB or https://www.asgardsss.co.uk/high-security-sheds