How we chose
We began with the shed firms Google Maps shows across Telford, then matched each at Companies House and read its own website for services, areas and terms. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. Three firms met all three. What customers say counts most toward the score; trading history counts next, followed by pricing clarity and website detail. Industry qualifications count too, but none could be sourced for any firm in this round. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the firm to the job before you compare prices. A shed installer supplies and assembles timber buildings — sheds, summerhouses, cabins and garden rooms — which is a different brief from a landscaper reshaping the garden around it or an electrician running cable for lights and sockets. Decide first what the building is for: dry storage, a workshop with a bench, or a room you will sit in through winter. The answer points at Shed City or Bespoke for storage and shelters, and at Noah where insulation and all-year use lead the brief.
Expect a straightforward sequence: an enquiry with measurements and photos, a visit or a firm price from the quote form, a written quote naming the base, then delivery, assembly and a final walk-round. Wellington terraces and Ironbridge cottages often mean carrying panels through the house, so measure every gate, path and doorway and say so up front. On Lawley new-build estates, check the deeds for management-company rules on outbuildings before you order. Dawley and Madeley semis usually give easier side access, but confirm where the lorry and the materials will sit.
Settle the base before you settle the building. A concrete slab suits larger sheds and workshops, paving slabs suit mid-size sheds if they are truly level, and timber or plastic-grid frames suit smaller sheds on sound ground. Agree in writing who builds it — you, the installer, or a separate groundworker — and what happens if the dig finds rock, roots or a slope. A shed that starts life out of level only gets worse, and doors that stick in the first month usually trace back to the base.
Most sheds need no planning permission, but the limits are exact: single storey, height caps that tighten within two metres of a boundary, and no more than half the garden covered by buildings, while the curtilage of a listed building always needs consent [1]. Telford and Wrekin has eight conservation areas, including Wellington and the Severn Gorge, where some rights fall away [3]. Inside the Gorge an Article 4 direction removes further rights, so Ironbridge buyers should use the council pre-application advice service before ordering [3]. When in doubt, ask the council rather than the seller.
Building regulations will not normally touch a small shed, with floor-area and boundary rules deciding when approval enters the picture [2]. Power is the stricter question: running armoured cable and a small consumer unit to the shed is notifiable work, so agree who does it and confirm the electrician belongs to a competent person scheme rather than accepting a favour from a general handyman [11]. Agree the cable route, trenching and socket positions in the same written scope as the shed, not as an afterthought.
There is no trade register for shed installers, so your checks are practical ones. Look the limited company up by name at Companies House and confirm it is active [10]. Read TrustMark hiring guidance on quotes, paperwork and staged payments before you agree anything [8]. Anyone taking the old shed away must sit on the public waste carriers register — search the name yourself [9]. Industry qualifications cannot be sourced for any firm in this round, so treat the written quote, the guarantee and the review record as the evidence instead.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same scope and compare them line by line. Each should name the building and size, the base and who builds it, delivery and assembly, extras such as guttering, treatment and electrics, the VAT position on top or inside the figure, the start date and lead time, payment stages tied to finished work, and the guarantee length with what it covers. A deposit for materials is normal; full payment before the panels arrive is not. Keep every quote, invoice and guarantee together with the house papers.
On the day, check the base is level before panels go up, then check doors swing clean, the roof covering is dressed properly and fixings are all home before you sign anything off. Pay the balance only when the walk-round is done and the written guarantee is in your hand. If the build fails or the firm stops answering, write down dates, photos and what was agreed, then follow Citizens Advice consumer guidance on putting it right [12].
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford ranges run like this: a small shed supplied, based and built lands around £700–£1,300, while the commonest job — a mid-size timber shed on a concrete base, assembled — lands around £1,200–£2,300 [4]. The shed itself is the smaller half of either figure: the base and the build decide the total. Telford usually sits near the middle of national guides rather than at capital-city prices [4]. Cladding grade moves the building figure: overlap at the bottom, shiplap and tongue-and-groove above it [5].
Price the base as its own job. A professionally laid concrete base typically runs £500–£1,500 at roughly £100 per square metre, timber and plastic-grid bases £50–£500, and flat-pack assembly alone £100–£300 [4]. Paving slabs sit between the two where the ground is kind [5]. If your quote says nothing about the base, it is not a complete quote. Published base prices assume reasonable access; carrying concrete through the house or around a long side passage adds labour [4].
Workshops and premium timber move the range up: a large workshop shed built lands around £2,000–£3,500, and larger premium or pressure-treated builds run higher still [4][5]. Bespoke sizes to your measurements come through a free quote rather than a list price, since access, ground and specification move every figure. Dismantling and disposing of an old shed typically adds around £100–£250 [4]. Judge summerhouses and log cabins against premium sheds of equal size: glazing and roof covering decide where the figure lands [5].
An insulated garden office is a different budget. Off-the-shelf mini rooms start around £2,500 for self-assembly kits, with professional assembly adding around £1,250, in a guide updated in spring 2026 [6]. Running power to any shed typically adds £300–£900 for armoured cable and a small consumer unit [4]. Decorating and finishing time on a fitted room is typically charged by the hour on top of the kit price [6].
Ask whether VAT sits inside or on top of each figure: the standard rate is twenty per cent [7]. Only one firm in this round prices its buildings per model, so treat any single fixed price for a large job with no breakdown as a question, not an answer. Get the building, base, extras, VAT position, start date and guarantee in writing before work starts, with payment stages tied to finished work.
Red flags
Quotes a supply-and-fit price without asking about the base or seeing the ground.
Will not say who builds the base or whether it sits inside the quoted price.
Gives one fixed figure with no breakdown of building, base, delivery and extras [4].
Asks for full payment in cash before the panels arrive, with nothing in writing.
Dismisses boundary height rules or tells you permission never matters for sheds [1].
Offers to wire sockets and lights while naming no registered electrician [11].
Takes the old shed away with no waste carrier registration you can check [9].
Will not put the guarantee length and what it covers in writing.
Leans on you to decide on the spot or dodges start dates and lead times.
Gives no business address or company record you can check [10].
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.