As you know I did a whole day of radio interviews on Friday drumming up support for Shed Week, I did 16 interviews in all, so hopefully you will catch me in your region I also did British Forces Radio so hopefully some of our troops station around the globe can share their sheds.
To catch the eye of editors our sponsors Cuprinol Sprayable have done some shed research asking 3000 blokes about their time spent in sheds.. so here is the info plus I have added the regional figures if you are intereste, hopefully they will survey lady sheddies next time!
Men spend almost a year of their life just pottering around in their shed!
The average guy will retreat to their garden shed for three hours and 20 minutes every week – which is more than seven full days per year.
This means that between the ages of 30 and 76, blokes will spend a total of 11 months tinkering in their favourite manspace.
But while the majority of men use their shed to do a spot of DIY or pot plants for the garden, one in ten admitted to seeking solace in the shed to listen to music away from the family.
And more than one in twenty even escape there to have a quiet relaxing beer or a cheeky cigarette!
Other unusual uses of the shed include doing the laundry, exercising and making telephone calls.
A spokesman for Cuprinol Sprayable, sponsors of this year’s Shed of the Year competition, said: ‘’Men and sheds are a part of male folklore and there’s a whiff of mystery about what men get up to in their sheds. We now have the answer…A lot of the time they don’t do anything in particular but just like being in there…”
“Whilst women use shopping as a form of escapism, our research shows that men use sheds as a means to get away from everything and enjoy a relaxing beer or something similarly rebellious.”
Cuprinol has joined forces with National Shed Week, to find The Shed of the Year 2010. The annual competition was set up by Andrew Wilcox, for all sheddie fans, to find the most quirky, flamboyant or themed shed in the UK.
Head Sheddie and creator of National Shed Week, Wilco, says: “Shed Week was launched in 2007 so that ‘sheddies’ all over the country could share their garden escapes with each other. This year we’ve had some brilliant entries into the Shed of the Year competition from ‘The Scriptorium’ in Bristol which is used as a writing shed to ‘The 3 Steps’ from Ayrshire which is a fully blown Pub Shed, showing that British men really are very serious about their garden escapes.”
The study of 3,000 men revealed that more than a third head to their shed as soon as they get home from a long day at work.
And another quarter says their beloved shed is the only place in their home they really feel they can relax.
Almost one in ten men even have a sofa or armchair in their shed so they can sit back and chill out, while another seven per cent have a television set.
But more than half admitted they have used a project in their shed as an excuse to get away from the family and have some ‘man-time’.
Almost 47 per cent of blokes have spent the entire day in hiding out in their shed, with one in ten admitting they do this a lot.
And 23 per cent have even slept in their outhouse, with eight per cent putting it down to having too many alcoholic drinks.
So it’s not surprising that 26 per cent of guys have ended up rowing with their partner about the amount of time they spend out in their shed.
If you think your shed is worthy of this year’s coveted title of ‘Shed of the Year’ sponsored by Cuprinol Sprayable and be in with a chance of winning £1,000, or just to see what weird and wonderful sheds have been entered so far, visit www.readersheds.co.uk to check them out.
There’s also some great tips and advice from Cuprinol Sprayable on the site to help ensure your shed is looking tip top before entering it to the competition.
National
77% of men have a shed
7 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
7% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
47% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
23% of people say they have slept in their shed
25% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
East
74% of men have a shed
5 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
2% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
47% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
11% of people say they have slept in their shed
10% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
London
79% of men have a shed
10 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
19% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
70% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
62% of people say they have slept in their shed
59% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
Midlands
78% of men have a shed
6 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
5% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
42% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
18% of people say they have slept in their shed
19% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
North East
78% of men have a shed
7 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
12% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
53% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
21% of people say they have slept in their shed
24% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
North West
78% of men have a shed
7 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
5% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
44% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
16% of people say they have slept in their shed
21% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
Northern Ireland
71% of men have a shed
9 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
8% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
58% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
33% of people say they have slept in their shed
19% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
Scotland
77% of men have a shed
7 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
4% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
44% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
14% of people say they have slept in their shed
18% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
South East
79% of men have a shed
6 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
7% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
44% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
15% of people say they have slept in their shed
16% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
South West
79% of men have a shed
6 days is the average amount or time a man spends in his shed every year
2% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
39% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
11% of people say they have slept in their shed
13% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
Wales
75% of men have a shed
8 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
5% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
45% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
18% of people say they have slept in their shed
27% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
Yorkshire
77% of men have a shed
6 days is the average amount of time a man spends in his shed every year
3% of men immediately head to the shed every day after they get home from work
30% of men say they’ve spent a whole day in their shed at a time
8% of people say they have slept in their shed
16% of men say their shed is the only place they can relax and unwind in
