[erainn]

We have got ourselves an oldish shed, it's a metal one, flat roofed, central sliding (well with effort) doors.

When we bought it, our Allotment secretary warned us about it blowing away, it is fairly light, and advised using angle-irons on the corners and into the ground to secure it. Problem is we have not been able to find any locally and are wondering what other methods may help secure this shed from the sometimes windy days here in Sussex. Any tips or help most welcome

[JayG]

I've bought angle iron, in all sizes, both new and recycled, from a steel stockholder/recycler in Sheffield.

You might think Sheffield has one of those on every street corner but things have changed a lot over the last 40 years - other possibilities in your area could be reclamation yards or old-fashioned scrap yards.

If push comes to shove you can buy short lengths in DIY stores such as B+Q but be prepared to come out minus an arm and a leg!

[toasted]

you could just get some fence posts, concrete them in and screw the shed to them

[noshed]

I used Metposts on my greenhouse. I bought 4 and some treated timber to fit. I pushed about 1' into the metpost and fixed the greenhouse to the stump. I also ran some more timber between the posts, flat on the ground (on some gravel for drainage) and screwed the walls to those.
The metal shed we bought for our site shop suffers badly with condensation so it's worthwhile lining the roof at least with polystyrene sheets (you can get these from most DIY places).
These sheds are quite flimsy so if you can build some shelves inside out of scrap wood it helps to brace it, if you can fix the shelf frames to the corners of the shed in some way - big washers help to stop the bolts pulling through the metal.
I'd go to a timber yard and get a few lengths of rough, treated 2x2 or some such and use that for the main bits - cheaper than B&Q.
The main thing is not to worry too much, it's surprising what you can do with a bit of bodging.

[erainn]

Thanks to all for the kind and helpful advice. Was thinking about using a heavy duty plastic netting over the shed and pegging that into the ground, what do you think? A goer?

[JayG]

Can't see that being strong or durable enough (also unsightly?)

I'd suggest taking your pick from the suggestions so far ("bodge" and "cheap" are a good starting point, and after all you're not trying to secure the Eiffel Tower!) 

[RichardA]

is there a ledge at floor level inside that could have paving slabs put on it as weights??

[erainn]

  Thanks for the suggestions, shall try those out

[noshed]

A bit of debris netting over the whole thing might work - as long as you can anchor it in some way.

[jrko]

does it have a floor?  If yes heavy concrete blocks or slabs will do

if not you really need to bolt it to something like a concreted in stake. 

I wouldn't take any chances by tying it down.  It must be immovable.  The damage the shed could do in hi winds could be very serious, annoying fellow plot holders and even hurting someone. 

[Rangerkris]

If your after some thing free you might be able to pop to your nearest country park and ask for some tree log lengths about the size of post, we would give people a few as long as they asked