Multiple Municipal Shed Phenomena

Sometimes I think I spend too much time thinking about sheds. But there are some things you just can't help but think about.

Take a look at the three sheds in the photo above. It illustrates a plague that has swept across our land. In one town after another, multiple municipal shed phenomena has taken hold.

It may have already happened in your town. An outcropping of sheds might have sprung up next to the board of education building or may have taken root in a public works compound. A rash of sheds may have overtaken the sports complex or flooded the water works.

Tucked away from the public eye, they might cause no harm. But set out where all can see? You can almost hear the echoes of trashy bungalow motels of a bygone era ...

In the old days, a town would have had a barn raising, where everyone pitched in to cost-efficiently build a structure able to meet the communities needs as it grew. In today's age, paperwork is passed through, invoices are cut, and a prefab shed is carted over on a flatbed truck and dropped off.

One after another.

Permit avoidance might be part of the reasoning ... the town will get by with three 8 x 12 sheds, none of which requires a permit. Never mind that a 24 x 24 barn could fit in a smaller width footprint, nor that a loft could help store the gear that would fill a fourth, fifth, and sixth shed.

Municipal sheds fill a purpose, but form should follow function. Eyesores have been created with little thought towards common sense, much less aesthetics. There's truly nothing wrong with a nice prefab shed, when it sits by itself.

But the visual effect of one prefab after another? That speaks volumes.