Garden Shed Plans – Building Your Own Garden Shed

Garden Shed Plans – Building Your Own Garden Shed

You can build a small storage shed on your own in just two weekends with the help of only two people.

A simple 8 x 10 feet shed with a gable roof is easy to build. You can use a plywood sheathing to give a good finishing to the outside walls. If you do not want the shed to be artificially heated, you can use 2 x 4 inch material for framing the walls. On the other hand, if you do wish to have additional heating for the shed, use 2 x 6 inch materials as they will provide space for installing insulation fabric.

You can use pre-fabricated concrete blocks for the footing as the shed will be small in size. Make sure the soil is dry and level and firm enough to give support to the shed. An 8 x 10 shed will need about six to eight piers. Use one pier at each of the four corners and one pier midway along each of the edges.

The floor frames for garden tools and wheelbarrows can be built using 2 x 6 inch floor joists.

If something heavier needs to be stored then you should use 2 x 10 inch floor joists. The floor joists must be built using pressure treated lumber since they will be in contact with the concrete footings. After the floor frame is completed, lay a single row of timber blocks along the center of the floor for further strengthening the floor base and to prevent bouncing of the floor.

If you will be using plywood for flooring, make sure it is pressure treated as it will be in contact with the earth below and will be exposed to moisture. You should use extra thick flooring if you will be storing heavy items in the shed to keep the panels of the floor from sagging with time.

Use good quality adhesive the secure the flooring plywood along with galvanized screws.

 

Frame the walls along with the doors and windows on the ground first and then erect them into place. Cover the walls with sheathing and leave sufficient extra sheathing so that you can nail it to the floor frame later on. This completes the work for one weekend.

 

On the next weekend, start building the roof frame. Keep at least 8 rafters. Determine how much of the roof you want to overhang in the back and front. Fasten a rafter to the front and back walls leaving as much overhang as you decided earlier. Cut a bird’s mouth notch at both ends of the rafter. Make sure the rafter fits tightly on the top plates of the walls.

 

Using this rafter as template cut out the remaining rafters. Install the rafter and then cut out the rafter tails. Install the soffit boards and the fascia. Next, install the plywood roofing followed by the felt paper and then lay down the shingles. Finally add the doors and windows.

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