A flat, level, firm base that's at least as big as the shed's footprint. The usual options are a concrete slab, paving slabs on a compacted sub-base, or a pressure-treated timber frame on gravel.

This matters more than anything else in the build. A shed on uneven ground racks out of square, and once that happens the door won't close and the roof panels won't line up. Get the base right and the rest goes together easily.

It depends entirely on where you live. Many areas allow a shed under a certain floor area and height without a permit, but setback rules from boundaries, easements and HOA restrictions often apply regardless.

Check with your local building department before you order. It's a short phone call, and it's much cheaper than moving a shed you've already built.

People almost always wish they'd gone bigger. A rough guide:

• Small (up to 6×4): garden tools, a mower, bikes
• Medium (8×6 to 10×8): the above plus a workbench and storage
• Large (10×12 and up): a workshop you can move around in

Also leave clearance around the outside — you need room to treat the timber and clear the gutters.

For a small to medium shed, most people take a day with two people, assuming the base is already down and level. Larger sheds and workshop sizes take a weekend.

Don't attempt it alone — wall panels are awkward rather than heavy, and holding one square while you fix it is a two-person job.

Pressure-treated timber resists rot from the outset but still benefits from a coat of preservative or stain, particularly on cut ends. Untreated timber needs treating before or immediately after the build.

After that, a re-coat every two or three years is normal, more often on the weather side.

A gazebo has a solid roof, so it gives shade and keeps rain off. A pergola has open slats, so it gives dappled shade and defines a space without being weatherproof.

If you want to sit outside during a shower, you want a gazebo.

Yes, always. A gazebo roof is a large surface and wind gets under it. Anchoring isn't optional even on a heavy structure.

How you anchor depends on the surface — concrete anchors into a slab, ground anchors or footings into soil. The manual specifies the method for your model.

A level base — a patio, a concrete pad, or decking that's solid enough to take the anchor fixings. Grass is possible with proper footings, but the posts need something firm to bolt to.

Level matters here as much as with a shed. An out-of-level gazebo puts the roof out of square and the panels stop meeting cleanly.

Permanent hard-top gazebos are designed to, but check the snow load rating in the manual if you get heavy winter snow — that's the figure that matters, not wind.

Soft-top and fabric-canopy models generally need the canopy taken down for winter. Leaving it up is how canopies tear.

Dappled shade, not full cover. The slats block part of the sun and the amount depends on slat spacing and the time of day.

For more shade, people add a retractable canopy, shade cloth, or train a climbing plant over the top. Louvred pergolas let you angle the slats to control it directly.

Attached pergolas fix to the house wall on one side, which uses less space and works well over a patio door. They need a sound wall and correct flashing where they meet it.

Freestanding pergolas sit on four or more posts anywhere in the garden. More flexible, more footings.

Posts need to be fixed to something solid — post anchors bolted into a concrete patio, or concrete footings dug below the frost line if you're going into soil.

Footing depth depends on your local frost depth. Too shallow and frost heave lifts the posts over a winter or two.

Timber pergolas want a coat of stain or preservative every two or three years, and an eye kept on where the posts meet the ground.

Aluminium and vinyl are close to maintenance free — a wash down is about it. They cost more up front and look less warm than timber, which is the trade.

Deck width against lot size decides most of it:

• Up to ½ acre: a 22-inch walk-behind, self-propelled
• ½ to 1 acre: a 30-inch walk-behind
• 1 to 2 acres: a rear-engine rider
• 2 acres and up: a zero-turn

A half-acre with a steep bank and lots of trees behaves like a bigger lawn, so treat these as guides. Call with the acreage, the slope and your narrowest gate and we'll narrow it down.

Measure your narrowest gate at its tightest point before ordering. This catches more people than anything else.

Roughly: a 22-inch walk-behind clears almost anything, a 30-inch needs a standard gate, and a 54-inch zero-turn needs a driveway or double gate.

Mowers are assembled, filled with oil and test-started before they ship. You unbox it, add fuel and mow.

Engines carry a 3-year manufacturer warranty, which we register for you at checkout. Deck and drivetrain terms vary by model — the operator's manual is definitive.

Wear items aren't covered: blades, belts, filters, plugs and tyres. We stock all of them.

Nine times out of ten it's the fuel. Petrol degrades in a few months and gums up the carburettor. Drain the old fuel, put fresh in, and try again.

After that, check the spark plug and air filter. Between them they account for most of the rest.

Not grass, and not concrete or asphalt. Falls are the main injury risk on play equipment, and the surface underneath is what decides how bad one is.

Use a loose-fill material at proper depth — engineered wood fibre, play-grade wood chips, sand or pea gravel — or rubber safety tiles. The required depth increases with the height of the equipment, and it's specified in your manual.

Loose fill compacts and scatters over time, so top it up each season.

Plan on a fall zone extending well beyond the structure on every side, and more in front of and behind swings, where a child can travel a long way.

Keep fences, walls, trees, washing lines and paving out of that zone. The manual gives the exact clearances for your model — they're not a suggestion.

Yes. Swinging puts a lot of force through the frame, and an unanchored set can lift or walk across the ground. Ground anchors or concrete footings are specified in every manual for a reason.

This is the step people skip, and it's the one that matters most.

Age ranges are on each product page and in the manual, and they reflect the height of the platforms and the type of activity, not just size.

Equipment designed for older children isn't suitable for toddlers — the fall heights are greater and the gaps are sized differently.

Check it at the start of every season and periodically through it:

• Tighten bolts and fixings — vibration loosens them
• Check swing chains, ropes and S-hooks for wear
• Look for splinters, cracks and protruding hardware
• Top up the safety surfacing where it's thinned out
• Re-treat timber every couple of years