I purchased Tauntons “How to build a shed” several years ago and I really liked the 10×16 cedar sided plan so I looked up Better Barns online and ended up purchasing the 12×16 plywood sided plan. I re designed some of the wall structure and I eliminated two windows and made one of the doors a single 36″ wide door. I am a professional CAD drafter by trade so of course I had to do a full Sketchup model of the barn based on the plans to use as a construction guide, and just so I could see my changes and make sure they worked for me.

The book turned out to be a real godsend, even though it was a different plan they built in the book. Allot of the construction methods were the same and I saved a ton of time and stress by following Mr. Truinis tips on things like assembly, truss construction, and materials selection. I did 80% of the construction myself, and it took the better part of three months to complete. I used T1-11 siding, and western red cedar for the doors, and trim. The window sill, and the transom window are made from Spanish cedar. It was allot cheaper than western red and it moves allot less as well and I like the look of it.

I finished it off with Sherwin Williams true color stain to match my house, and I also painted the floor with high wearing floor paint with sand added. I cut out the center bottom truss chord, framed off the opening and decked the trusses with some plywood and created a loft that nearly doubled my storage space. I considered building a ramp to get my Cub Cadet lawn tractor inside but I thought it would ruin the whole look of the barn. I ended up making removable ramps out of 2×10’s and store them out of sight under the barn.