Lifetime 6418 Outdoor Storage Shed, 8 by 5 Feet

This unit took me about 3 afternoons to build but did most of it by myself. You will need help for the roof at least, but it’s minimal. However, I am 6,4” so most may need more help. You do have to manhandle the pieces but it is hard plastic. The doors were the most difficult but watching the videos for assembly is key! Once it was all together I was very impressed. Looks great, sturdy construction! Wish I had enough funds to buy another one, should have gotten a larger size. Had it for about 6 months now and will probably be the best shed I’ve owned. Love the tall ceiling.

This shed so far (only had it built for a little while) seems absolutely fine, and just what we wanted. I was a little worried about the plastic construction of most of it, but it's actually fairly robust. Every panel is hollow plastic with embedded ridging reinforcing the structure, and once constructed there's very little flex. I was also concerned about how water tight it would be, but I conveniently got it constructed just before a few weeks of near constant storms and was checking it every day, and I haven't seen any evidence of any water getting in. The interior size is good - unlike every other shed we could find the internal width of this shed is actually large enough for adult bikes (all sheds like this lose maybe 4-6" from their external dimensions, which caught us out initially). The "skylights" are actually fairly opaque so it's not super easy to see inside, we just got some battery powered led puck lights to mitigate it, but you should be aware that that may be an issue. It's very nearly possible for a single person to build this. There are just a two steps where you absolutely need someone to hold a piece in place for the first two screws, and there are a few places where I think I had a slight twist or warp in the assembly so the roof wasn't sitting absolutely flush with the screw points and I had to have my partner (gently - no force needed) hold the panel in place to get the screw started. The instructions are mostly clear, and explicitly call out places to watch out for when there are similar looking pieces, or pieces that appear to fit in multiple orientations. There are a number of different sized screws and washers, but each step includes to scale illustrations of each part. The instructions are split into what I'd call "stages", where a stage might be something like the floor, pre-assembling some components, the walls, etc. Each stage is then split into steps. All the components (screws, washers, smaller components) for each stage are group in their own separately labeled bags, each step in a stage then lists which parts you'll need from that stage's bag, and as I said above, includes true size drawings of them. There are also instructions included on how to construct an appropriate wood foundation for the shed. I'd already constructed a paver based one, but in hindsight I might have chosen the wood if I'd realized that was viable, so that's something to consider if you don't already have an existing concrete or wood foundation. There are a few steps to the construction that weren't super great - they worked, but I feel it would be possible to improve them. The most annoying was the connection from the wall sections to the floor panels, they are largely clipped into place, but while many of the clips just worked, there were a number where the floor panel would simply flex in response to the pressure. It might be possible for the manufacturer to improve this by reinforcing the edge of the floors a bit to make the area around the clip points more rigid. My solution to this issue was to push a strip of 1/4" (or there abouts) plywood under the reluctant clip so that it was raised above the rest of the clips and so couldn't flex as much, and then as gently as possible (the walls are hollow plastic) whack the top of the wall section with a rubber mallet to jolt it into place. That's not a great construction experience, but it's also not the worst I've ever encountered :D The other overly challenging part of construction is insertion of a split pin on the base of the doors, I think this is one part where I'm not sure if the instructions were not great, or the actual step required it flawed. Certainly I think it's the worst part. As far as I could make out at that point you're expected to be lifting up the base of a half completed shed while also holding two doors in place that aren't supported at the top yet, so you can try to get a split pin through a hole in a metal pipe (the "hinge") but the pipe can't actually rotate so you have to move the entire door to find the hole for the split pin. In the end I simply did not bother trying for the second door panel, and I'll update this review if anything does go wrong down the line. But again, other than those two specific issues, everything else in the construction was easy and clearly explained.

It works great as a plastic shed. I haven't had any issues with leaking or structural problems. We get a fair amount of wind and it holds up just fine. I would definitely recommend building a sturdy base, as it makes all the difference because the floor is extremely flimsy. I agree, the shed can be quite difficult to install, especially the tabs at the bottoms of the wall panels that go into the floor. Hit is with a little WD40 and push hard! Also, the screws can be stripped quite easily, so be very cautious to not over-tighten the hundreds of screws(there's a lot!). Overall, it's a great shed for the price and ease of installation. I would definitely buy another! If you want a bombproof shed that will hold up to anything, build a wood one, because plastic will never be as strong.

Yup, plastic shed. Here's what I did to make it better: I built a base out of pressure treated 2x4s and plywood with metal drip edge around the perimeter. I built the shed on top of it. It makes it a lot easier to move the shed by prying up the base and putting pvc pipes under it to roll it around. The shed itself is too flimsy to really move it without a base. I also caulked all the seems and joints. Don't screw the shed to the base too close to the edges, because you will need to shim it to make the doors fit right. (see all the youtube vids for help with this.) I had a struggle getting the roof to finish-fit,(see the pic) and ended up using a couple of extra screws to make it right. They give you plenty of screws, so no problem with that. I also foam-filled the holes in the doorway floor and added a plastic threshold under the doors to narrow the gap, hoping to keep critters from nesting in my stored cushions inside. (see pic) My doors almost seem to be a little bit too wide for the shed, but I am hoping they will settle in with a couple of shims adjusting them and a VERY careful blast of a heat gun to soften the plastic around the metal post-hinges. We've weathered a couple of storms, and so far so good. I do like this shed, and you probably will too as long as you are willing to do a little tweaking. Maybe I'm a little too picky...

Love this storage shed. I had someone who works for lifetime put this together. Looks great and works great.