Storage Information

The need for storage space

Almost everyone needs storage space at one time or another. The nature of modern life is that we need some things periodically, and temporarily, and between those times, they have to be placed somewhere for safe keeping. This is true of our tools, our recreation equipment, and even our documents.

Renting or owning my storage space

If you have a location, buying is always better than renting. In the end, you have a product that has value, and belongs to you. This product can be used for continued storage purposes, re tooled for other purpose, or even sold if the need for it is gone. There are more reasons. A building on your own property is more convenient than one across town. If you own the building it can be used any time you get ready to use it, day or night. Because it is near your back door, you will save on fuel as well. See also: Buy A Storage Building Instead of Renting Space

The hallmarks of high quality storage buildings

Good material, and solid construction will mean long life, and easy maintenance. In most instances this will mean wooden framed structures with metal siding. These buildings represent the best long term value. Wooden , or composition siding with composition roofing requires quite a bit of maintenance. If such a building is not periodically cleaned, sealed, and painted, the material will degrade quickly. Steel clad buildings are almost maintenance free. Buying The Right Storage Building

Determining the size of the building you need

Deciding your buildings size, will require deciding the buildings intended use, and by available space. If the building is to be used for the purpose of storage, the number of cubic feet of the material to be stored can be determined by some simple measurements, and some simple math.  For workshop use, size should be determined by design and usability. The need for 200 square feet of space to be placed into an area no wider than 10 feet will require the building to be longer than it is wide. Whatever your buildings intended use, add at least 10 percent to the final size. Most people need more space than they initially expected. See: Buying The Right Storage Building

Deciding where to locate the building

The building should be placed where it can be reached easily, and where it does not interfere with lawn and landscape practices. we also need to think about the irrigation system, and how it will interact with the building. Some irrigation adjustments may be needed. See also: Storage Placement

Financing a storage building

Portable utility building producers and dealers want to sell buildings. That is why they are in the business. For that reason, most will have several financing options available. Of course, everyone loves cash. Most will help you to locate a loan source, and there is also the rent to own option, and some dealers offer ’90 days same as cash”. See: Storage Building Finance Rent To Own.

Buying online is also possible. See: How To Buy A Storage Building Safely And Securely Online

Getting your building to you

Most buildings are built at a factory like facility, and then delivered to the locations where they are to be displayed and sold. When a building is sold on a lot, it will be picked up at that lot, and hauled to it’s new home. That is not the only way it can be done though. Buildings can be built to meet your specific needs, and hauled directly to your place, or they can be built on site. On site building normally requires an on site fee, but this will probably be offset by omitting the cost of a delivery fee. There is always a cost for delivery. When a dealer tells you that they do not charge for delivery, that simply means that they have figured the cost into the building in other places. Free delivery is a gimmick. Look at the quality, and the final cost, and that will determine the buildings true value. See also: Storage Building Delivery

Uses of utility buildings

How you choose to use your utility building is limited only by your imagination and creativity. They serve well for the purpose of storage, but can also be used for work and hobby shops, offices, game rooms, and entertainment rooms. See: Storage Buildings Who Needs Them?

Maintaining your storage building

Utility building maintenance needs are determined by the type of materials and the quality of workmanship in the building. A well built steel clad building will be almost free of upkeep. A building built with other materials will require cleaning, sealing and painting on a regular basis to maintain looks and structural integrity. Read more in Storage Building Maintenance.

A row of metal storage buildings

One of the few companies we recommend for storage buildings, and steel buildings in the North East Texas area is "Alternative Canopy" in Lindale Texas. Alternative Canopy supplies "Winslow's Custom Buildings" portable storage sheds in the East Texas area. The folks at Winslow's have let it be known that they are now in the business of providing pole structures like pole barns as well as storage sheds and carports. Alternative Canopy can provide help in the pole barn area as well as T-N-T buildings and Winslow's portables. Alternative Canopy also offers a selection of wooden sided buildings made with pressure treated plywood. I spoke with a representative of Winslow's about pricing, but the only answer he would give is that it would be "the best in the industry". Call 903.504.3938 for more information.

Rent to own, in spite of what you may have heard is a very good way to own some things. A storage building is one of those things. Renting to own something that will save you money is much better than continuing to pay rent at the end of which you will have nothing. There is no interest involved in renting to own. When you buy in this way, you are renting something until the agreement is paid, at which time the product becomes yours. Most companies take about one half of each payment for rent, and the other half goes toward paying for the product.

Your building suppliers will be able to help guide you through your financing options. If you decide that renting to own is the best route for you, you will have a little paperwork ahead of you. It may take some time, but there are some things that you can do to speed things up.

Things you will need to process a rent to own agreement:

• A photo copy of your drivers license

• Your social security number

• Your home phone number

• Home address

• Employer information

Things that will help:

• Phone numbers for spouse

• Phone numbers for immediate relatives

• Addresses for relatives

Some of these things may not be needed, but if the application calls for them, it will be better to have them ready rather than spending extra time looking for them.

Shed with offset door and window

What do storage buildings and granite counter tops have in common? To be honest with you, not a lot, but there is at least one way they are alike. They can both help you sell your home! There are a lot of things that can help to sell a house, and they are not all granite counter tops! There are few things that can add value to the home without gutting the kitchen and bathrooms. The idea of curb appeal, is the landscaped qualities that are the qualities that make people want to take a look inside as they drive or walk by. The curb appeal will help to get them in. A great kitchen with, yes, you guessed it, granite counter tops will increase the homes value, as will a nice elegant bath, but you may need a little something to help seal the deal in these tough economic times, perhaps something a little more practical, something that will add value above it's cost, and might just mean the difference between a sale and no sale. A storage building in the back yard may not add much curb appeal, since it is in the back yard, but it may be the final nail for the sale! Adding a storage building, adds intrinsic value to the property. It adds practical value to the property, and it adds perceived value to the property. Think about it. Your potential buyer is not just thinking about the cost, or the counter tops, he or she is thinking about moving in, possibly because of a need to down size, and is wondering where to put all that extra stuff. If they see a place to put their extra belongings, sitting neatly in the back yard, it might just be the deciding factor between your offering and someone else's down the block! Time and time again, in case after case, we have seen an investment ranging from a few hundred dollars, to a few thousand dollars, add double the cost to the final selling price, and, perhaps more importantly, speed up and increase sales. If speeding up the process and increasing the chances for sale were the only effects, that in itself would be great. If you spent 5,000.00 and only gained 5,000.00 on the final price, but were able to sell, or sell more quickly, wouldn't that be worth the effort? This will work for individuals trying to sell a home, and for real estate agencies and property management companies with properties that may be languishing in the current market. The addition of a little storage space might create just enough added interest to convert. They add value to the home above the cost of the investment. They help to sell the home because they provide a place for movers in transition. They help to speed up the decision making process, since alternative storage is no longer a factor.

Outdoor Storage Shed

Sometimes, someone will ask me what I think about using a storage building kit to get the building they want, and what kits might best suit their needs. I have an answer based on years of my own experiences, and the experiences of others who have taken that road. My recommendation for buying a storage building kit? Simple. Don’t do it! Just turn around and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction! Don’t lolly gag, or piddle around with the idea, just run away! Follow that advice, and you will save yourself a lot of frustration! If you are still planning to do it despite my advice, fine, just make sure that you have everything properly laid out before hand, including all the tools and materials that they didn’t tell you that you would need, and any adult beverages that you may need to reduce stress and frustration. Then, just follow the sequence listed bellow:

Your building kit should come with directions.

• Dig all the way through the boxes of material until you locate them.

• Try to determine which parts fell out of bag “a”, and which came out of box “24 d”. You will need to know this for proper assembly. Follow the directions to a “t”. Do not alter from this course in any way. Continue to do this until you know for certain that the wrong directions were included in the package.

• Call the manufacturer to get the proper directions which will come several weeks, or maybe several months later, from some country you have never heard of, and in broken, incorrect English, if you are lucky!

• Start over!

• Get more adult beverages.

• Realize that all the parts were not included in the package.

• Order them, wait 4 more weeks.

• Try to believe your neighbors are laughing with you, not at you.

• Find out what programs may be available for your rehabilitation after all the frustration.

• Start again.

• Realize that “tab a” will never fit into “slot b”.

• Go for more adult beverages.

• Start thinking about the rehabilitation thing in earnest.

• Admit that you have a problem. That is the first step they say.

• Box the whole thing up.

• Take it back to the supplier.

• Drive to your local storage building dealer.

• Find a nice wood framed steel covered building.

• Buy it.

• Have it delivered to your back yard.

• Rest easy! Now you have the building you wanted to begin with!

Factory Built Storage Shed

Are you looking for a place to buy storage buy a storage building? The world is a pretty big place! We want to help you sort through the big old world, and find the storage building that meets your need.

To start with, if what you need is a small basic storage shed, we invite you to search through our online store at: Storage Master Marketplace

If you need something a little bigger, and prefer to buy locally, let me tell you what is local to us. This blog originates in the pine woods of East Texas, near a little town called Tyler. As with most situations, we are familiar with our native area, so we know more about the products available in this area than we do about other parts of the country.The material on this blog is based on data gleaned in the North East Texas area, but the principles and information it contains are applicable in almost any part of the globe.

If you are preparing to buy a storage building, utility building, carport, garage, or storage shed and you live in East Texas or North Texas including the Dallas area, and the area extending into Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, we can make specific recommendations for the best places to buy. You can phone Jim at 903.504.3938 for details.

Some of the towns and cities in this local area are:

Tyler, Jacksonville, Whitehouse, Bullard, Lindale, Winona, Longview, Mineola, Kilgore, Emory, Winsboro, Quitman, Alba, Kemp Maybank, Canton, Ennis, Kaufman, East Tawakoni, Quinlan, Van, Grand Saline, Edgewood, Forney, Fruitvalle, Garland, Mesquite, Dallas, Rockwall, Royce City, Saxe, Rowlet, Greenville, Paris, Bonham, Farmersville, Wills Point, Terrel, Sulphur Springs, and, well, okay, the list is really pretty long, and there are many more, but you get the idea. If you live in or near any of these areas, give us a call. For those outside this area, see the note below.

Buying storage buildings in the wider Texas area, and  everywhere else

If you are residing in most parts of Oklahoma, Louisiana, or Arkansas, we can now make specific recommendations as well as in Texas. If you live in another area of the country, even if it is outside the Texas area, we will be happy to try to locate companies in your area that follow the principles,  practices, and standards we believe to be the most consistent with the quality building materials, and the best construction practices to help you with your long term needs. Please email jim@storagemasterblog.com for details.

Storage building with standard door

The accessories you need with your storage building are determined by your buildings use.

• If you are planning to store heavy equipment on on side of the building, parameter blocking is recommended for stability.

• If you plan to work inside the building during extreme weather conditions, insulation, ventilation, or an air conditioning cut out might be needed.

• Ramps can be purchased at most dealerships for mowing equipment and atv's.

• Lofts and shelves for extra storage space off the floor can add versatility to the building.

• Work benches and peg boards will provide work space for crafts, woodworking or other projects such as maintenance on small engines.

• Extra windows and doors of various sizes can add extra entry size, extra access, and more visibility for space to be used for work and office space are also available.

There is a bit of confusion about some of the terms used in the world of storage, so we thought we might try to define some of these terms, and cut down on the haze.

Utility buildings

A utility building is a multi purpose building. Such buildings can be used to meet a variety of differing needs, of which storage, is most common. Besides storage, they are often used as workshops, offices, hobby shops, game rooms, equipment maintenance buildings, wood working shops, and many other purposes, limited only by the individuals imagination. "Utility building" is the most general, and most accurate description for such buildings.

Portable buildings

Portable buildings are, of course, portable. They can be moved from one place to another with relative ease. They are movable because of their size, and the fact that they are not bolted or otherwise connected to a slab or other type of permanent  foundation. They are portable by virtue of the fact that they are single self contained buildings. You may here or see the term in conjunction with other terms such as "portable utility buildings, portable storage buildings", and "portable storage sheds".

Storage buildings

Storage buildings are generally utility buildings used for the purpose of storing something. These buildings are often portable buildings, but not always. They can be anything from a pole barn used to store inventory, to a warehouse, to an 8 by 10 building moved on to the property to store Christmas decorations or documents.

Storage sheds

This term is often used as a synonym for storage building. Technically, it is a shed used for storing something. A shed is most often a "lean to" type building, such as the type of open sided building built in conjunction with another building, or a free standing building on poles which has a roof oriented to "shed" water in one direction. These types of buildings are often used to store farm equipment. A typical shed type structure is the common carport connected to the end of a home, which is usually connected to the home at an angle proceeding down and away from the home.

Carports

Carports are often sheds attached to the side of a home, in a more or less permanent form. With the introduction of modular building technology however, they have now become widely used as un connected individual structures. A carport differs from a garage because a carport has at least one open side. Garages are  enclosed structures, carports are open structures. Modern modular building systems will allow for the building of a garage on the frame of a carport, increasing the buildings utility.

Garages

Garages, like carports are often built directly into, or onto homes. This has changed a good deal with the steel building industries use of modular, pre fab type structures. which allow for more flexibility in placement, and function. Now, many garages are built separately from the home as free standing structures.

Steel buildings

The term "steel building" is commonly used to refer to carports or garages of the modular type built from steel frames, and coated steel siding. The term really refers to any building built from steel.

Metal buildings

Metal buildings are, of course buildings made of metal. This term is usually used in reference to garages, carports or other similar buildings, of which the primary metal would be steel. There are also buildings made from other metals, particularly, aluminum. in actuality, it can refer to any building built from any type of metal.

Public storage

This is a term for storage rental space. Typically, it is a compound full of buildings with storage areas rented for individual storage. The term mini storage is also used for this type of storage rental.

Self storage

Self storage is commonly used as a synonym for public and mini storage. The terminology is a little confusing. It is self storage because the system is somewhat automated, and therefore, you can use this facility to store things yourself.

Steel Garden Shed

There are two types of storage. That which you own yourself, and that which you rent from someone else. Self storage and mini storage or two forms of public storage, which is the type you pay your hard earned cash to rent. Storage sheds, or storage buildings are utility buildings which are most often used for private storage, which is the type of storage you pay for once, and then own forever. Let us show you why owning your own storage is better than renting public storage.

Peace of mind.

• You can rest easier knowing that your cherished belongings are tucked away safely within the confines of your own property, and within easy reach.

It’s green.

• In these days of environmental awareness, we have become aware, that it makes more sense to store your items closer to your home to avoid wasting energy and adding pollution to the atmosphere. What better way of reducing your carbon footprint than to avoid extra, and unneeded trips?

Fuel cost.

• You have to pay rent to someone else to get them to allow you to put your stuff in their building located miles from your own home. Fuel prices are in a state of flux, but wasting money on fuel is always out of style. All those extra trips to get boxes from some “self storage” place 10 miles away can wind up costing you a lot of money.

Rent cost.

• If you buy a building, you are paying for something that is yours, so instead of perpetual rent, you have something to show for your money, and it can be used in many other ways, and for many other purposes if the need to store something is over. What you have left after paying rent, is more rent! When you stop renting, you have nothing!

Your safety in transit.

• Any time you drive, you take risks. That is part of our everyday lives, but why take more chances than you have to?

Your safety on site.

• Most storage places are somewhat remote, and while there are usually security systems in place, (whether they are working or not is another story entirely) the very layout of the buildings present safety issues. Besides, having a nice video of you being robbed outside your self storage unit will help the police to catch your mugger, but that is, after all, "after the fact."

Your convenience.

• The ability to grab what you want from your own building at any time of the day or night, without having to leave your premises, waste any time, or fight any traffic will go a long way toward stress reduction, and that is one thing that most of us would prefer. In that regard, buying instead of renting is good for your mental and physical health, and consequently, your longevity!

Your time is important.

• Even if buying instead of renting won't increase your longevity, it might just increase the amount of time available for doing the things you want to be doing.Time is our greatest asset, wasting it just might be our greatest failure. You have soccer, and baseball, and piano, and school activities, and shopping and...! It is much less time consuming to step into your back yard than to make a trip across town.

There is a great deal of debate about the use of pesticides in our country and around the world. No matter which side of this issue you come down on, the current laws allow for the use of certain chemicals by the homeowner for the purpose of eliminating insects and weedy vegetation, and the safe storage of such chemicals is of vital importance to the safety and well being of your family and pets. In point of fact, most of the problems that cause sickness and even death, involve the storing, mixing, and disposal, not the application of these agents.

When storing your homes chemicals, it is best to store them outside the structure of the home, in a cool dry place, with appropriate ventilation, and under lock and key. Your storage building should have the capacity to shelve the chemical containers, and should be equipped with enough absorbing materials to soak up a large quantity of liquid in case of a spill.

Of course, you should always avoid extremes in temperatures, Freezing, or over heating can be bad for the chemicals, and bad for you. You should always read and follow label directions for the mixing, application, storage, and disposal of chemicals, and make appropriate adjustments in your storage building to accommodate these needs.

Most portable building manufacturers offer options such as vents, air conditioner cutouts, shelves, and other options that might make your chemical storage more successful, and most will work with you to customize your building to meet your specific storage needs.