Shed Time

Posted Jun 10, 2009

Men will spend almost three-and-a-half years of their life ‘pottering around’ in their shed or garage, according to new research.

Each week, the average bloke will ‘be busy’ in an outhouse for a whopping 12 hours and 39 minutes – a total of 27 days and 10 hours a month.

Between the ages of 30 and 76, this means men will spend a staggering 3 years, five months and two weeks tinkering in their workshop.

But more than half admit they only retire to their shed to enjoy some ‘man-time’ away from their partner or family.

And 38 per cent even lie about working on DIY projects when they are actually in there doing nothing.

Sylvia Marshall for DIY & homes website www.cosyhomesonline.com, which carried out the poll, said: ‘’The findings show just how obsessed men are with their sheds – often using them as a means of escapism from the pressures of work or family life.

“Just as women like to have pampering time or watch their favourite soap – men crave time in their shed or workshop.

“Sheds seem to be a refuge for men to while away time away from their partner or kids without having to explain themselves. 

“And having DIY projects on the go tends to mean men can happily tinker away in the sheds guilt free.”

A poll of 2,000 shed or garage owners also revealed half of those sometimes spending the entire the day in the shed, and 46 per cent head straight out there as soon as they get home from work.

Tinkering with tools proved the most popular thing to do, 17 per cent head out there to listen to music.

Another 16 per cent use it as a place to have a quiet beer while one in ten have a sneaky cigarette away from the eyes of their other half.

A quarter of guys have even slept in their shed overnight.

And 38 per cent reckon they are never happier than when they are working on something in their garage.

More than a third of blokes even reckon their shed or garage is the only place in their home they can truly unwind. 

Researchers also discovered that 42 per cent of men love their shed so much they even reckon they would struggle to live without it.

And 42 per cent of guys view the garage as their domain, and more than a quarter would be annoyed if someone else set foot in there.

Almost a third of men even leave it messy to make sure no-one else wants to go in there.

Sylvia Marshall for www.cosyhomesonline.com added: ‘’A man’s relationship with his shed is like a woman’s relationship with her handbag – full of personal things which no one else should touch.

‘’The study shows just how territorial men are with their shed, even leaving it a messy state so no one else would want to enter.”

Top ten things to do in a workshop
1.    Tinker with tools (41%)
2.    Gather junk (37%)
3.    Pot up plants for the garden (30%)
4.    Mend/make furniture (23%)
5.    Work (18%)
6.    Maintain or revamp cars, bikes etc (17%)
7.    Play music (17%)
8.    Drink beer (16%)
9.    Read the paper (13%)
10.    Have a sneaky cigarette (10%)

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