As an ear-splitting whistle blasted out, the 68-year-old settled into a captain's chair next to a huge boiler he calls "the beast".McLaughlin credits the shed, a recreation of a ship's boiler room, with "saving my life" after ill health forced him to retire at 50 from his job laying cables.Nearly two decades on, it was one of 38 sheds entered in this year's Shed of the Year competition, now in its 20th year.Long just a place for rusting lawnmowers, broken bicycles and old paint pots -- sheds are enjoying a renaissance as personal sanctuaries, according to competition founder and "head-sheddie" Andrew Wilcox.Amid a growing trend for themed sheds, contest categories included "colourful", "eco haven" and "pub", with this year's crown won by a group of friends' gaming den.At McLaughlin's shed in West Drayton, west London, a strong smell of coal and hot oil hangs in the air.Every inch is crammed with pumps, engines, clocks, pressure gauges and other steam rail and ship memorabilia.Some pieces were picked up online while others came from landmarks such as Battersea Power Station where McLaughlin worked while it was being decommissioned."All these different places I went to I just collected things. They were being thrown away and I just thought 'no, you can't do that'," he said.Such is his dedication; the shed was "the first thing" he asked about after coming round from life-saving surgery a few years ago.Mini-pubsBritain's love affair with the garden shed has a long history.Writers George Bernard Shaw and Roald Dahl both worked from sheds in their gardens.Shaw's shed was famously mounted on a revolving mechanism so he could follow the sun throughout the day.