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Garden shed buying guide

Updated: 22 October 2026

The mower is in the hall, two bikes lean on the fence, and the listing still says 6x4 as if that settled it. A garden shed buying guide only works if you measure the objects and the plot first, then pick a type. The foot label is a nickname, and on these amazon.co.uk pages it usually describes the outside, not the floor you can use. Prices and the full table for the twelve listings stay on the [garden shed comparison](/hub/garden-supplies/garden-shed). Figures are listing details and named UK guides, read on 19 October 2026. None of this is a lab test.

The mower is in the hall, two bikes lean on the fence, and the listing still says 6x4 as if that settled it. A garden shed buying guide only works if you measure the objects and the plot first, then pick a type.

Our top picks

Keter Keter Store It Out Nova

Best overall

Keter Keter Store It Out Nova
9.2/10about £137.99
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EPCPSHADES EPCPSHADES steel-frame bike tent

Best value

EPCPSHADES EPCPSHADES steel-frame bike tent
6.8/10about £51.99
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COZYBRITE COZYBRITE 6 x 4 metal shed

Rank 3

COZYBRITE COZYBRITE 6 x 4 metal shed
5.7/10about £149.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Start with the thing you will store
  2. 2.Read centimetres, not 6x4
  3. 3.Box, cabinet, tent or walk-in
  4. 4.Five checks before you pay

Start with the thing you will store

Name the largest object before you name a brand. Two 120 litre bins, a hover mower, two adult bikes and a shelf of hand tools are four jobs. Dobbies' buying guide, written for timber buildings rather than this set, maps a 6x4 towards tools and an 8x6 towards bikes. Two 120 litre bins point at a lockable box. The Keter bullets claim two 120 litre bins and 880 litres. Olsen & Smith is listed at 775 litres and includes a combination padlock. Opal Retail puts a 240 litre bin at about 110 cm tall, so a bin store and a cushion box are not the same purchase. Two adult bikes without a mower can be a tent if you trust UK reviews rather than a two-to-five bikes line. A mower plus two bikes wants a walk-in. The Outsunny fir cabinet is 46.5 cm wide.

Read centimetres, not 6x4

The number on the title is usually the outside. Shedstore says a quoted size is not the floor. The LARBANKE 8x6 resin sheds are listed around 1.7 x 2.4 x 2.3 m. One UK buyer measured about 5 ft 7 in outside and about 5 ft 3 in inside, and a bike wheel stuck out. The COZYBRITE is sold as 6 x 4 ft, while the external size is 170.5 cm wide, 110.5 cm deep and 178 cm high. A true 6 x 4 ft is about 183 x 122 cm. The door line copies 170.5 x 178 cm, which is the shed, not an opening. The Keter box prints an inside of 122 x 61 x 108.8 cm. Olsen & Smith prints two size lines that disagree, so keep the smaller. Offizon's 100 g and 16 square metre cells conflict with a tent of about 2.0 x 0.8 m. Do not use them.
Keter Keter Store It Out Nova

Testsieger

Keter Keter Store It Out Nova
9.2/10about £137.99
View offer

Box, cabinet, tent or walk-in

A box is doors you stand in front of. Keter, at £137.99 with 4.4 from 15,025 reviews, and Olsen & Smith, at £109.98 with 3.6 from 80, are the resin stores. The Outsunny at £137 is fir, 46.5 cm wide, and the listing tells you to treat it. Wovella, Offizon, EPCPSHADES and PMEIXU have no solid floor. EPCPSHADES reviewers, 4.1 from 120, put two adult bikes in. COZYBRITE and Garden Universe left reviewers with struts, or no base. The LARBANKE sheds claim a floor: the 4x6 at £339.99 has 13 reviews, and the 8x6 pages sit at 2.8 from 11 and 2.9 from seven. Steel or resin is on metal vs plastic garden shed.

Five checks before you pay

Confirm the floor in the reviews, not the title. LARBANKE's 4x6 and both 8x6 pages claim an integrated floor. COZYBRITE, Garden Universe and the four tents do not. If the listing is a shell, the base is a separate job. Olsen & Smith includes a four-digit padlock. Keter leaves room for your own. COZYBRITE's hinge screws sit on the outside, so a padlock on the hasp does not stop someone undoing the fixings. A Keter box is often an hour to ninety minutes. LARBANKE's 4x6 took an experienced buyer two days. Height and any application sit on garden shed base and planning. Under 2.5 m on the listing does not grant permission.

Common questions

What size shed do I need for a mower and two bikes?
Measure the mower with the handle up, and each bike from tyre to handlebar, then leave a path to stand beside them. The COZYBRITE shell is 170.5 x 110.5 cm outside, which left one adult bike short of full length. A box will not take that trio.
Is 6x4 the inside or the outside?
On these listings, 6x4 is a sales label for the outside, and it can be smaller than 6 ft by 4 ft. The COZYBRITE external size is 170.5 cm by 110.5 cm, not about 183 cm by 122 cm. If the page prints no internal size, do not invent one from the title.
Will a storage box take two wheelie bins?
Only if the bins match the bullets. Keter's claim is two 120 litre bins in an interior 108.8 cm high. A 240 litre bin is about 110 cm tall, so two full-size bins are the wrong assumption.
When is a bike tent enough?
A tent is enough for a seasonal cover for about two bikes, if you can tie it down and you do not need a floor or a serious lock. EPCPSHADES reviewers did fit two adult bikes. Pegs alone fail in a UK gust.
What should I measure before I order?
Measure the plot in centimetres, including the fence and the path you must keep, and the largest object in the way you will store it. Write down both of Olsen & Smith's size lines and keep the smaller. Ignore Offizon's 100 g and 16 square metre cells.
Does the door opening match the shed width?
Not on the COZYBRITE page. The door line repeats 170.5 cm by 178 cm, which copies the shell. If the door figure equals the shed figure, assume it is a copy until a review describes the opening.

Related pages

Best garden shed

Garden shed

Garden shed planning permission, height and the base

How to assemble a garden shed without twisted doors

Metal vs plastic garden shed: rust, floor and lock

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk listings in this set, dated 19 October 2026. Page updated 22 October 2026.

  1. Planning Portal: outbuildings (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. GPDO 2015, Class E (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: permitted development technical guidance (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 2, Class 6 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Building Regulations 2010, regulation 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Scottish Government: Circular 1/2024, Class 3A (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. ABI: buildings insurance (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. BIBA: garden insurance (retrieved 22 October 2026)