Suncast 30 cu.ft. Garden Shed (Horizontal) — Protecting Lawn Accessories From Mother Nature

You never know what you had until it's gone. I can't believe that there are a few things I miss ever since my family made the move to a new place (thanks to the addition of Little Visdo forcing us to find bigger accommodations): the fantastic, new dryer; the roomy refrigerator; the incredible new lawn mower; the powerful weed whacker; and the two garden sheds. Both were Suncast Garden Sheds that we purchased from Sears. The second one that we got was the 30 cubic feet Horizontal Shed to house our bigger garden accessories, namely the lawn mower and weed whacker.

My wife and I were completely satisfied with the 20 cubic feet shed that we knew another one was need considering that we wanted to protect our lawn mower from the elements. We were covering it with a tarp but it started to become a nuisance. We had no garage and out basement was an ideal place for it. So in essence, a second shed became a necessity.

Putting it together was really easy. I had no problem with the assembly at all and knew what to expect after having going through it with the first shed. Following the instructions was simple with no tools needed to complete the task. I was still taken aback by the size when it was all completed. It was bigger than I imagined, much to my delight.

Being much bigger at roughly 5' x 3' x 2', I could already tell that our lawn mower was going to fit nicely after making it compact, of course. The material for the shed is durable, heavy plastic. It's not indestructible so don't try using it as a bulletproof shield but it will take some heavy damage before collapsing.

The lid lifts upwards with a latch to lock it into place. I know a lot of people just utilize this feature of the shed as it is easy to pull contents from it or place things away without much effort. The lid is very durable and it able to handle objects to sit on top of it without it collapsing in the middle, though I'm sure common sense dictates that extremely heavy items shouldn't be resting on the lid for long periods of time.

The front doors swing open as well allowing for greater access. I've used this more on this shed considering I wheel my lawn mower in and out whenever I use. I like how the base of the shed is elevated by a few inches to lift it off the ground. Does this make wheeling the lawn mower in and out difficult? Not at all. The base is designed so the front edge has a small incline, or ramp, to allow the lawn mower to freely move in and out without a problem. The only difficultly is trying to steer it in so it sits properly. There is a latch that slides down into the base to close both doors into place. When the lid is closed as well, there is a slot to harness a lock that connects both the lid and doors together so no one can open it.

The shed is deep enough to fit not only the lawn mower but the catching bag, the weed whacker, some garden tools, and a few folding patio chairs and umbrella. I also appreciate how the contents inside the shed stay dry. Granted, if you grab items from the shed when it's raining, of course the inside will become wet; however, keep in mind that the base has a slight incline so the water will pour out.

My only problem was keeping the base clean after mowing the lawn. The wheels on the lawn mower would track excess grass and it would linger inside the shed until I washed it out. But because of the little dirt and grass, it would usually attract spiders that would somehow find its way inside the dry shed. I should have been more vigilant in spraying it down from time to time, which is the main reason why we couldn't sell the shed at all.

So what did we do instead? We left both sheds for the new people who moved into the house as a housewarming gift. And I can honestly say that they are still using both sheds as I see them whenever I pass by the old place once in a while.

We managed to get a good deal at Sears for only $150. I really like the portability and durability. We may have only had the Suncast Garden 30 Cubic Feet Horizontal Shed for two years but it still looked brand new. If we ever move again and have a need for a shed, I know which one I want to get again.