Shed Plans
Are you a do-it-yourselfer? I receive a lot of satisfaction of a job well done. One of the most useful things a do it yourselfer can do is construct a shed. Sheds are fantastic for storing supplies and tools, and helping you save space in the garage to park a car or store more junk. But before starting construction, you should have your shed plans in hand.
Step #1 Your first big decision is the dimensions of your shed. Several factors go into this decision, such as the amount of space you have, your budget, what you want to store in the shed, etc. Another factor is that some building departments may require a permit if you're building a structure of more than 110 square feet. You'll just have to call the building department and see what the limitations are. You must have shed plans to match the dimensions you choose. |
Step #2
Closely related to the first step is choosing the site and building the foundation. Choose a site where you know there are no drainage problems. One of the most popular ways of building the foundation is to put the floor joists on concrete blocks. They even have special blocks for this purpose that (when looking from above) look like a + sign. The joists fit right into the slots. Then, you can put OSB plywood down on the joists and the floor is complete. Of course, the most awesome option would be to pour a slab for your foundation, but you almost certainly would require a permit for that. My jurisdiction requires a permit for that so that they can increase my storm water fee, because there is less permeable ground for the water to run into and I'm contributing more to storm water run off.
Step #3
The next step is the walls. When building a house, they put the 2x4 studs every 16 inches. You don't have to do that with a shed if you don't want, especially if you're using 4x8 sheet siding. The siding will square and strengthen the walls tremendously. You'll need a good set of shed plans to know what you can do.
Step #4
Building the rafters for the roof can be the challenging woodworking step. But it doesn't have to be anything fancy. You can use other scrap pieces of wood to help strengthen the rafters, and again, the plywood will help stabilize and strengthen the roof. Then, shingling the roof can be laborious, but very important, and relatively simple. When you buy the shingles, you will need 3 bundles per 100 square feet of roof area. And you probably need 1 bundle of 3-tab shingles to put along the ridge.
Step #5
The final details are what makes all the difference in appearance. Things like paint and the type of hinges and windows you put in are what can make a utilitarian structure look almost like a doll house. Only you can decide if you want a doll house in your back yard, but a nice shed can beautify the yard tremendously.
If you're looking for more detailed instructions, which include diagrams for the framing and roofing and different ideas and plans and pictures and ideas, check out these shed plans.
Closely related to the first step is choosing the site and building the foundation. Choose a site where you know there are no drainage problems. One of the most popular ways of building the foundation is to put the floor joists on concrete blocks. They even have special blocks for this purpose that (when looking from above) look like a + sign. The joists fit right into the slots. Then, you can put OSB plywood down on the joists and the floor is complete. Of course, the most awesome option would be to pour a slab for your foundation, but you almost certainly would require a permit for that. My jurisdiction requires a permit for that so that they can increase my storm water fee, because there is less permeable ground for the water to run into and I'm contributing more to storm water run off.
Step #3
The next step is the walls. When building a house, they put the 2x4 studs every 16 inches. You don't have to do that with a shed if you don't want, especially if you're using 4x8 sheet siding. The siding will square and strengthen the walls tremendously. You'll need a good set of shed plans to know what you can do.
Step #4
Building the rafters for the roof can be the challenging woodworking step. But it doesn't have to be anything fancy. You can use other scrap pieces of wood to help strengthen the rafters, and again, the plywood will help stabilize and strengthen the roof. Then, shingling the roof can be laborious, but very important, and relatively simple. When you buy the shingles, you will need 3 bundles per 100 square feet of roof area. And you probably need 1 bundle of 3-tab shingles to put along the ridge.
Step #5
The final details are what makes all the difference in appearance. Things like paint and the type of hinges and windows you put in are what can make a utilitarian structure look almost like a doll house. Only you can decide if you want a doll house in your back yard, but a nice shed can beautify the yard tremendously.
If you're looking for more detailed instructions, which include diagrams for the framing and roofing and different ideas and plans and pictures and ideas, check out these shed plans.