Bike storage and bin storage for front garden

[Gusthetheatrecat]

I am trying to get some prices together for 'doing' our front garden, and want to include somewhere secure to lock bikes, and also a place for our wheelie bins.

So I thought I'd ask the wisdom of Mumsnet about both.

Bike storage: should I get a small, shallow shed? Are some kinds more secure or better than others? Should it be metal?

Wheelie bins: should I pave a small area (I am planning large beds, gravel, and a paved path for the rest)? Is a little 'cover' or shelter for wheelie bins useful, or a bit twee?

Very grateful for any advice.

Just giving this an optimistic bump...

You can hide bins behind a simple fence panel, easily obtained at most DIY sheds. It need be no taller than the bin. You could have an "L" shape or train plants up it. Any wooden posts in the ground will go rotten in a couple of years, but you can bracket them to a wall.

Cycles are prone to theft. You can put a really big steel chain in the ground, preferably where the point of attachment is out of site, for example buried in poured concrete, rather than being bolted to a wall or paving where it can be ripped out, and buy a really huge padlock. If you feel the weight of chains and locks sold for motorcycles, you will get an idea. Sheds and Wilko sometimes have budget versions. The square section chains are harder to cut. I live near the coast, and scrapyards sometimes have anchor chain. It is harder to rip a padlock if it is not on something hard and firm. Brass padlocks, and those with plastic or aluminium shrouds, are laughable. At the same price, Lever Padlocks with an old-fashioned key tend to be more secure than locks with a yale-type key. Locks with a tubular key can be opened with a biro-cap. Disk-type padlocks are more difficult to force than U-shaped ones.

Plastic and metal cabins will keep the rain out, but not a thief.

Thanks, Pigletjohn - really helpful.

btw if you want a big strong padlock, this is the best buy I can find at the moment. Don't drop it on your foot.

and a chain big enough for several bikes. You can usually push an oval link through another link, then padlock it, so you don't need both ends.

Neither will fit in your pocket.

The Asgard bike shed is supposed to be very good