Lifetime 6446 8x15 Foot Outdoor Storage Shed in Desert Sand | Weather-Resistant Backyard & Garden Storage Solution for Tools, Equipment & Seasonal Items

As with every household, we needed more storage space. Our 3 bedroom bi-level is busting at the seems and our wooden shed (delivered on a flatbed truck) was full too. So it was time for another shed. I looked at a lot of different options but the biggest stumbling block I had was how I was going to get the shed where I wanted it.I needed the shed to be in the back yard. The yard is accessible by small truck but my septic system is in the way for a flatbed to come in. I thought about building one from scratch but with the time for labor and money for materials, it just didn't make sense. I looked at the wooden shed kits from Lowe's and Home Depot but they are really not made all that well (for a wood shed).I reluctantly decided to look at the "plastic" Lifetime sheds. I first thought how good could they be, after all they're made of plastic! My local Lowe's had one and I was surprised how well it was made. The kit is designed so that when it's all together, it's actually pretty solid.Amazon had the 15'x8' foot shed for about the same price the big stores were selling it for. I could have ordered one from Lowe's and had it delivered or picked it up with my truck, but it's pretty heavy. I noticed this shed was Amazon Prime eligible (which I have) and thought how could they possibly ship this thing in 2 days to my house for free. Guess what, they did!I couldn't believe it. A trucking company contacted me to set up a delivery time and a day later they were backing down my driveway.The free, speedy shipping was great, I was however a little annoyed that the trucking company came with only the driver and a dolly. I had to help him offload the shed from his truck at the end of my driveway. So do you think I would get workman's comp if I blew my back unloading it from their truck? ;)I unpacked the boxes one at a time, loaded the parts in my pickup truck and drove around back to the construction site. Easy, easy!Assembly was fairly easy. Some of the directions were a little confusing but if you take your time you can figure it out. This is DEFINITELY a two man(woman to be pc ;) job. You need someone to hold and someone to fasten. My dad and I had the entire shed together in a long 8-9 hour day. I did have to go back the next day to do some finishing touches like slip in the plexi windows and attach the shutters but that took all of 30 minutes.One very important note! The base for the shed needs to be perfectly flat and level. Almost flat or slightly off isn't going to cut it. The included plastic floor of the shed is the base for the entire structure. The wall panels interlock with each other and snap into tabs in the floor. You need quite a bit of pressure and persuasion to get the tabs locked in. Once in though it's a pretty solid structure.In a perfect world you would want to have a concrete base poured that was perfectly level, but for a shed this size at a minimum of 4" thick, that's a lot of concrete. I would not suggest mixing it by hand, the way to go is bring in a truck to pour it. For me concrete wasn't an option because of where it was located.Instead I got a load of QP (Quarry Process) which is basically 3/4" stone with stone dust mixed in that compacts really nicely. They use this stuff for driveways and for retaining wall bases. The secret is you need to spread it in thin layers compacting each layer as you go until you reach a 4" thick base (spraying each layer with water first and then compacting is better). This is a nice solid base that if done properly will never move or frost heave.The QP cost about $160 delivered and you can rent a gas powered compactor for about $50 - $75 per day (which I would recommend. Doing it with a hand compactor is hard work).You could put the shed directly on the QP base but I went one step further and built a wooden base.Back to Lowe's for some pressure treated 2"x4"s and pressure treated plywood. I bought 2 - 16' 2x4s for the front and back and then 8' 2x4s for the sides and in-between. I built the base as if I were building a wall. I cut 3" off the 8' 2x4s and spaced them 16" on center. I actually used 4 saw horses (one on each corner) to make building the base a little easier on the knees. Once built we placed it on the QP base, squared everything up and then dropped 4'x8' full sheets of plywood and screwed down with gray coated deck screws. I actually built my base to be just slightly larger than the base of the shed so I had to cut the last piece of plywood. To make your job easier you could just leave it as a full piece making your overall base dimension 16'w x 8'd.If I had to do the base over again I would probably place the 2x4s 12" on center rather than 16" to give it a little more strength. The floor flexes a little when you walk on it and especially once you start loading it down with heavy stuff. I might also consider using 2x6s for the base structure for added strength.The 2x4s, plywood and screws cost about $200My biggest complaint about the shed itself is the roof panels. The front peak was a real P.I.A. to put together and the panels didn't line up perfectly. I don't think I'm going to have leaking problems but there are a few small gaps. The alignment of the doors is another issue and why it's so important to have a level base. If the base is off even a little bit from left edge to right edge, the doors won't meet properly in the middle. You'll need to shim and tweak to get everything to ling up. Speaking of the doors, the inside door latch barely works (again because of alignment issues) so invest in a good waterproof combination lock ($14 from Lowe's :), to prevent the doors from coming open and of course to help protect your stuff.Even with these few little quirks, I'll give the shed a 5 star as the most bang for the buck.