A shed in Jefferson County will be found by something. Mice in the fall, wasps in the spring, and moisture all year. None of it is a defect and all of it is preventable, mostly with decisions you make when you order and where you set it.
Mice get in at the floor line
A mouse needs a gap the width of a pencil. They almost never come through the walls; they come in at the bottom of the door, at the corner where the skirt meets the floor, or up through a gap around a utility penetration. Three things help. First, a tight, well built floor system, which is where a quality AdvanTech deck with a lifetime warranty beats a soft OSB floor that eventually opens up at the seams. Second, a door sweep. Third, and biggest: do not store bird seed, pet food, grass seed or fertilizer in bags. Put them in sealed metal or hard plastic bins. A shed with nothing to eat in it is a shed mice leave.
Keep the grass cut back a couple feet around the building. Mice will not cross open ground as readily as they will run a weed line straight to your door.
Wasps build under the eave
Every spring, under the overhang and inside the gable vents. Knock down nests early when they are the size of a quarter and it is a five second job. A quick spray of a residual product under the eave line in April prevents most of the season. Keep the vents screened, because a wasp nest inside a gable vent is unpleasant to discover in July.
Moisture comes from three places
Below, from the ground. Above, from condensation on the roof deck. And inside, from wet things you put in there. Fix them in that order.
Below: build a level gravel pad about a foot larger than the building on all sides, standing slightly above the surrounding grade, so water sheets away instead of soaking in under the skids. This is the single highest-value thing you can do for the life of the building. Concrete is the ultimate base and the most expensive; good gravel is what we recommend for most people.
Above: ventilation. Gable or ridge vents let humid air out. If you want to be done with it entirely, spray foam insulation on the roof deck stops condensation from forming at all.
Inside: do not put a wet mower deck, a wet tarp or a wet boat cover in and close the door. Let things dry first, or accept that you have built a humidor.
Trim the trees
Overhanging limbs drop debris that holds water on the roof, provide a highway for squirrels, and eventually drop something heavy. Trimming them before delivery is also required for the truck, since we need roughly 13 feet of overhead clearance. See the prep guide.
If something does go wrong
Every Cardinal building carries a 10 year guarantee covering acts of nature such as storm damage and settling as well as our craftsmanship, repaired or replaced. LP SmartSide siding carries a 50 year warranty and AdvanTech flooring a lifetime warranty, and we handle those claims for you instead of pointing you at a manufacturer. Sizes run 6×8 to 16×60, starting at $1,900 for a C+ Utility 6×8. Rent-to-own has no credit check, 24 to 60 months, from $75.44 a month, first two months down, no early payoff fee.
Get Started on Your De Soto Building
You do not have to drive to a lot to get moving. Use our 3D Shed Builder to pick your size, siding, colors, doors, windows and add-ons and see the building take shape on screen. When it looks right, send it to us and we will confirm pricing and a delivery date for De Soto.
Prefer to talk it through? Call our main office at 618-518-5578. We will walk you through building styles, custom options and rent-to-own and financing, and answer anything on our FAQ page. You can also see what we serve nearby on our location page.
