While shed siding comes in all types, I was able to gather some free
materials for mine. I did some work with a local handyman for a year or
so who worked with a Realtor. One time we replaced about ten square of
cedar lap siding that had been warped a little by the sun. when I
asked him what we were going to do with it all, he told me that I was
going to cut it up into four foot pieces for the dumpster. The ideas in
my head began to turn, and I told him that we could just load it up and
put it in my backyard. He was happy with that, and so was I. My wife
wasn’t too thrilled though when I piled up two stacks of variable sized
cedar siding in the back yard, but she is thrifty too, and saw that it
would be worth something in the end.
A few months later, that same handyman was putting up plywood window
coverings on rental houses because of a hurricane threat. He called me
when it was over to ask if I had put sheathing on the outside of my shed
yet, and if I wanted all this plywood. More free stuff. This was
getting too good to be true. There are many ways to sheath your shed,
but plywood is great for strength and for being able to nail siding in
any location.
After installing the sheathing by putting it up horizontally, I
started with trimming the corners and along the underside of the roofing
with 1 X 4 inch boards. The cedar boards were lap siding, and they were
warped outward from sun exposure. I turned them to put the warp
inside. It actually made my shed look like a log cabin.
Most of them were 8 to 12 feet in length, so I did not have very many
seams. I think there were only three, and I put those on the back, so
they wouldn’t be seen. The cedar siding was cut to length fitting
inside the rim boards, and the top pieces were angle cut on the top to
fit along the angled roof line. Lap siding gets nailed where the siding
overlaps. It commonly overlaps by about 1 1/4 inches. There it was;
my cedar, log cabin looking shed made with nearly all salvaged
materials. I was happy.
Monday, February 20, 2017
My Shed Door Installation
I had saved the old front door from my house when I replaced it with a
new one so I could install it on my shed. It was rustic and solid
wood, why not?
The lintel or header was built when I built the front wall. Headers are made by cutting two 2 X 4s the same length as the width of your door opening plus 3 inches for the header supports (Don’t forget to make the opening about 5/8 inch bigger than your door). When nailing the 2 X 4s together you put a 1/2 inch piece of plywood, cut the same size as the 2 X 4s, in between the 2 X 4s. Doing this makes the lintel the same width as the 2 X 4 studs in the wall.
The header supports are 2 X 4s that are nailed to the wall studs in the door opening to hold up the header. I ended up putting some 1/2 trim onto the header supports for a jamb against the door. I even used the threshold from the front door as well. You need to add that into the door opening as you build it.
The lintel or header was built when I built the front wall. Headers are made by cutting two 2 X 4s the same length as the width of your door opening plus 3 inches for the header supports (Don’t forget to make the opening about 5/8 inch bigger than your door). When nailing the 2 X 4s together you put a 1/2 inch piece of plywood, cut the same size as the 2 X 4s, in between the 2 X 4s. Doing this makes the lintel the same width as the 2 X 4 studs in the wall.
The header supports are 2 X 4s that are nailed to the wall studs in the door opening to hold up the header. I ended up putting some 1/2 trim onto the header supports for a jamb against the door. I even used the threshold from the front door as well. You need to add that into the door opening as you build it.
My Shed Roof Construction
Honestly, roof construction has always intimidated me. Trusses,
angles and spans seemed to be very complicated. In this case, however, I
had a flat roof already put together on a frame. It was a strange set
up. When it was a patio awning connected to my house it had the frame
on top. My thought was to just flip it over and screw it to the top
plate of my walls. The I learned differently.
When my friend came over to help me lift it and place it on the walls, he said, “This is interesting material.” He proceeded to inform me that it was material used to cover semi-trailers, and that if I turned it over it would actually catch water which would then flood my shed. that was helpful information. but he would help.
As it turned out he had enough aluminum pans (not cookware, but pans that are connected to make aluminum awnings) to cover my shed. He wanted the material that we were discussing and I wanted the pans, so we traded.
The pans turned out to be 18 inches short, but had put up a few awnings of this style. With a little overlapping and lots of caulking, we screwed the pans around the walls. I added two cross beams for support in the middle. One of them is where I put the overlap for the extension pieces.
So without too much work my shed roof was on. It had a 10 inch drop from front to back for the water to run off. I even made it fancy by adding some fascia and a gutter on the back (that was free too from another friend). Sometime I’d like to build trusses for a shed roof, but I think I’ll read up on that before I try it. That’s another reason to get a shed plan. It has the dimensions for roof construction too.
When my friend came over to help me lift it and place it on the walls, he said, “This is interesting material.” He proceeded to inform me that it was material used to cover semi-trailers, and that if I turned it over it would actually catch water which would then flood my shed. that was helpful information. but he would help.
As it turned out he had enough aluminum pans (not cookware, but pans that are connected to make aluminum awnings) to cover my shed. He wanted the material that we were discussing and I wanted the pans, so we traded.
The pans turned out to be 18 inches short, but had put up a few awnings of this style. With a little overlapping and lots of caulking, we screwed the pans around the walls. I added two cross beams for support in the middle. One of them is where I put the overlap for the extension pieces.
So without too much work my shed roof was on. It had a 10 inch drop from front to back for the water to run off. I even made it fancy by adding some fascia and a gutter on the back (that was free too from another friend). Sometime I’d like to build trusses for a shed roof, but I think I’ll read up on that before I try it. That’s another reason to get a shed plan. It has the dimensions for roof construction too.
My Shed Construction Project- The Walls Go up
After the decking was nailed down, I began to complete the walls for
my shed construction project. Where the door was going to be and how
tall they would be was important in my estimation.
I worked for a contractor for awhile, but I wasn’t experienced myself. Whenever we built sheds on the job I would see them do something that I had never seen before, so I would ask questions as to why they were doing things the way they were.
There were two important things for me to learn:
1) Building headers and corners- When building the header for the door I put a 5/8 inch plywood strip between the 2 X 4s to make it the same width as the stud uprights. The corners are done the same way. The corner studs have the plywood between them so that you can nail things to either side of the corner. ( I know pictures would really help here.)
2) The 16 inch on center rule- The studs need to start from one side or the other and be 16 inches on center from each other. The last one might be less than that depending on the length of the wall. If this rule isn’t followed, it becomes very difficult when putting up the sheathing on the outside. I know this from experience (the hard way)!
I got all the walls to my shed project up over an afternoon and the next morning. The first wall I did twice.
My creative roof was next on the list.
I worked for a contractor for awhile, but I wasn’t experienced myself. Whenever we built sheds on the job I would see them do something that I had never seen before, so I would ask questions as to why they were doing things the way they were.
There were two important things for me to learn:
1) Building headers and corners- When building the header for the door I put a 5/8 inch plywood strip between the 2 X 4s to make it the same width as the stud uprights. The corners are done the same way. The corner studs have the plywood between them so that you can nail things to either side of the corner. ( I know pictures would really help here.)
2) The 16 inch on center rule- The studs need to start from one side or the other and be 16 inches on center from each other. The last one might be less than that depending on the length of the wall. If this rule isn’t followed, it becomes very difficult when putting up the sheathing on the outside. I know this from experience (the hard way)!
I got all the walls to my shed project up over an afternoon and the next morning. The first wall I did twice.
My creative roof was next on the list.
Building The Shed From The Ground Up
With the floor joist frame in the basic spot that I wanted it to be, I
put some flat blocks under the corners and in the middle all the way
around the outside of the frame. Blocks were placed every other joist
under the ones that ran across the middle.
Thinking back I would have done two things different here.
1) I would have checked the county codes for proper distance from the fence to the shed. While most people’s sheds were against their fence, I found out later that it had to be so many feet from the property line.
2) I would have put some gravel under the blocks because we lived in Florida where the ground is sandy and sinks alot.
After the whole frame was leveled with wooden shims between the blocks and joists the plywood was nailed to them. Being careful to stagger the pieces, I nailed the 3/4 inch plywood pieces every 12 inches onto the floor joists. Liquid nails was used on every board.
There, the floor looked pretty good. Oh, and I bought the plywood, nails and 2 X 4s at Home Depot. That was about all the cash that I put into it.
Thinking back I would have done two things different here.
1) I would have checked the county codes for proper distance from the fence to the shed. While most people’s sheds were against their fence, I found out later that it had to be so many feet from the property line.
2) I would have put some gravel under the blocks because we lived in Florida where the ground is sandy and sinks alot.
After the whole frame was leveled with wooden shims between the blocks and joists the plywood was nailed to them. Being careful to stagger the pieces, I nailed the 3/4 inch plywood pieces every 12 inches onto the floor joists. Liquid nails was used on every board.
There, the floor looked pretty good. Oh, and I bought the plywood, nails and 2 X 4s at Home Depot. That was about all the cash that I put into it.
Shed Floor Idea
Ok, so I had a junkie awning and no shed. I had an idea in my mind of how I could use it.
One day we tore the old awning that I was going to use for the shed roof construction down. It was a weird structure that was built upside down. The framework was on top. Later a friend revealed to me that it looked like the old metal stripping that used they used to make trailers for semis.
A week later, we pulled the decking boards off of the deck. It was about ten by ten, and the floor joists were made from 2 X 12 lumber.
My wife and I dragged the deck joists in one piece about 30 feet across the yard. Actually, now that I remember, we rolled it to the shed site end over end.
I had in my possession free floor joists, a roof and old cedar siding from a commercial building. As I began to piece it together, I wished I had a plan. In my mind I saw plywood decking on the joists, 2 X 4 studs for walls and my old used awning laying frame down on top. I learned that there was more to it than I figured on.
A plan with all the elements laid out and the order of progress would have been nice. My advice is that if you are going to build anything, get a plan even for a shed.
One day we tore the old awning that I was going to use for the shed roof construction down. It was a weird structure that was built upside down. The framework was on top. Later a friend revealed to me that it looked like the old metal stripping that used they used to make trailers for semis.
A week later, we pulled the decking boards off of the deck. It was about ten by ten, and the floor joists were made from 2 X 12 lumber.
My wife and I dragged the deck joists in one piece about 30 feet across the yard. Actually, now that I remember, we rolled it to the shed site end over end.
I had in my possession free floor joists, a roof and old cedar siding from a commercial building. As I began to piece it together, I wished I had a plan. In my mind I saw plywood decking on the joists, 2 X 4 studs for walls and my old used awning laying frame down on top. I learned that there was more to it than I figured on.
A plan with all the elements laid out and the order of progress would have been nice. My advice is that if you are going to build anything, get a plan even for a shed.
First Shed Building
I’m not a genius when it comes to shed construction, but I have had a
little experience when it comes to building a shed. It was a fun and
sometimes frustrating DIY project. The whole family got involved, and
we got it done. This is just the beginning of the story.
A few years ago, I bought a house and there were two problems that I wanted to take on that were also interrelated. 1) I had no shed in the backyard, and 2) there was a horrible looking throw-together awning and deck on the back.
Being a fairly thrifty person, or maybe I should say “cheap,” I decided to dismantle the awning and deck to use the materials for my new shed. On other job sites that I helped a contractor on, I acquired some old cedar siding. When I replaced my front door I saved the old one for the shed, too. After a hurricane I inherited the window plywood from three houses. It seemed I had almost everything that I needed to begin.
The supplies were piling up, but I still needed the studs for the walls. With some “encouragement” from my wife, who was sick of the piles stacking up in the yard we finally brought out the saws and hammers and began the building.
A few years ago, I bought a house and there were two problems that I wanted to take on that were also interrelated. 1) I had no shed in the backyard, and 2) there was a horrible looking throw-together awning and deck on the back.
Being a fairly thrifty person, or maybe I should say “cheap,” I decided to dismantle the awning and deck to use the materials for my new shed. On other job sites that I helped a contractor on, I acquired some old cedar siding. When I replaced my front door I saved the old one for the shed, too. After a hurricane I inherited the window plywood from three houses. It seemed I had almost everything that I needed to begin.
The supplies were piling up, but I still needed the studs for the walls. With some “encouragement” from my wife, who was sick of the piles stacking up in the yard we finally brought out the saws and hammers and began the building.
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