Sheds near you

Most sheds start as one of two things: a kit made in a factory and assembled on your base, or a shed framed on site to your plans. The difference is in fit, flexibility and how much of the design is already decided for you.

The material decides the look, the upkeep and how the shed copes with snow, sun and cold. With any kit, ask for the manufacturer's snow-load information before you buy.

A shed floor that stays level keeps doors swinging freely and the walls square. The enemy is frost: wet, poorly drained soil swells as it freezes and lifts whatever sits on it, often unevenly. A floating base, such as gravel or skids, can move slightly with the ground and be re-levelled, while footings that reach below the frost line hold the shed still. The choice depends on the shed's size and weight, the soil and the slope.

Toronto's permit guidance spells out when a shed needs no building permit: it is not more than 15 m² in gross area, not more than one storey, not attached to any building or structure, used only for storage ancillary to the house, and has no plumbing. A shed that misses any of those conditions needs a permit. The page also stresses that the zoning bylaw must be followed even when no building permit is required, so setbacks, height and lot coverage still apply to a small shed.

In Montreal, sheds are outbuildings under borough rules. The city's page on sheds and other outbuildings says a permit may be needed depending on the type or dimensions, that each borough's planning bylaw sets the maximum height, that you must keep specific distances from the house, the lot lines and the street, and that an outbuilding can't go in the front yard except in specific cases. Outbuildings also count toward the share of the lot that buildings may cover, and the city recommends checking with your borough before buying or installing one.

Most shed trouble comes from where it sits rather than how it was built. Within the legal setbacks, pick high, dry ground with room to open the doors, reach every wall and clear snow.

Lights, outlets or a heater in a shed mean a new circuit from the house, usually through buried cable or conduit. That is electrical work for a licensed electrician, not a shed builder, even when the shed is small. Plan it before the base goes in, while a conduit is still easy to lay.

In Ontario, anyone you hire for electrical work in your home must, by law, be a Licensed Electrical Contractor. Almost all electrical work must be reported to the Electrical Safety Authority through a notification of work filed before the work starts, and an installation must be inspected before it is concealed or buried, which includes an underground cable run to a shed. In Quebec, electrical contractors hold a licence and are qualified through the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec.

Health Canada advises storing paints, solvents, gasoline, fuels, varnishes and other products that may release harmful fumes or catch fire outside your home, which often means the shed. It also advises keeping chemical products tightly closed in their original containers, out of sight and reach of children and pets, away from places where temperatures swing, and checking containers regularly for leaks. In a shed, that means a shaded, ventilated corner away from anything that sparks or heats up.