can be emailed to you – 
Garden Building Maintenance and Repairs
The Cousins guide to garden building maintenance & repairs
Keep your garden building in tip top shape all year round
Once you’ve purchased your garden building, be it a shed, summerhouse, garden room or other, there are a few things you can do to help prolong its life and keep it in tip top condition. We’ve put together the following guide on maintaining sheds, summerhouses, greenhouses, metal sheds, plastic sheds and concrete garages.
Maintenance for Wooden Garden Sheds and Summerhouses
This is our guide to garden building maintenance which aims to help you prolong the lifespan of your garden building. You’ll also find a few few practical tips too!
Sealing of windows – All garden buildings with windows should be sealed properly to ensure they are water tight. In some instances it may be necessary to re-seal a window if the sealant has perished. We always use a clear/neutral low modulus silicone to seal windows as this allows for adequate movement in extremes of temperature. This means your windows will stay fully watertight no matter what the weather.
Treatments / Preservatives – All of our garden buildings come factory treated with a base coat of solvent timber treatment however it is recommended that you apply your own treatment within 12 months of installation. We advise against using a water based treatment as this only coats the timber, whereas as a solvent based treatment soaks into the timber and fully treats the wood.
Handles, Locks & Hinges – With all door and window furniture we recommend regularly lubricating these items to stop them from seizing up and rusting.
General Maintenance Advice – To maximise the life of your garden building we recommend keeping all surrounding trees, shrubs and bushes cut back so they are not in contact with your building as this can lead to the onset of damp and rot issues.
Roofing Felt – If you notice that your roofing felt is looking a bit tired or you have noticed a rip or tear we advise against “patching up” as this is only a temporary fix. In our experience we would always recommend a full re-felt.
Maintenance for Greenhouses (Aluminium & Cedar)
An aluminium greenhouse should last a lifetime with minimal maintenance required. A cedar greenhouse, if well maintained can last as long as 25 years. Below you will find our top tips and recommendations to keep your greenhouse in optimum condition.
Windows (glass & plastic) – To keep your greenhouse in the best possible condition we recommended cleaning your greenhouse glass or plastic at least twice a year. This will prevent the build up of moss and algae and allow maximum sunlight to shine through which will in turn help your plants.
Gutters – Again we recommend cleaning out and removing debris from your gutters at least twice a year. This will stop any internal leaks, damage to the gutter itself and allow the flow of rainwater to a water butt if you have one.
Water butts – During Autumn and Winter to avoid the build up of stagnant water we recommend draining your water butt before use. In Spring and Summer if you are using the water on a regular basis no further maintenance is required.
Your greenhouse base – Its worth checking the base upon which your greenhouse sits. If there is any sign of deterioration whatsoever its worth rectifying as early as possible as this can affect other parts of your greenhouse frame.
Your greenhouse glazing – On most aluminium greenhouses the glazing is secured using clips. By simply removing a clip or two you should be able to remove and replace a broken pane fairly easily. Changing the windows on a cedar greenhouse can be a little trickier as windows can be slotted in to grooves cut in to the framework of the building, held in place by clips and or beading or a combination or the aforementioned.
Doors – If your greenhouse doors open inwardly or outwardly the only maintenance required is the regular application of a suitable oil to the door hinges as and when required. If your greenhouse has a sliding door or doors we recommend applying a suitable lubricant to the door wheels or “runners”. If your door wheels are heavily worn you can replace them by purchasing a door wheel replacement pack, which are available at all good garden centres.
