My father, brother and myself would like to build a simple shed to store a small riding mower and a few garden tools. Can anyone recommend a book of plans?
Finally, we are DIY’s, so we arent going to be pouring any forms or anything, this will probably be on cinderblocks etc…my question is, what is better to use nails, or screws?
Thanks for your answers.
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Replies
I did a search once on shed plans. Google.com will get you tons of hits. There're even quite a few good plans out there for no cost.
Unfortunately, that was about 3 years ago, and offhand I don't remember any specific sites. But, http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=102
has a list of free plans. Do a search of free shed plans. Look at some of these, you'll also see tons of plans you can buy, then build the shed you like best. The free plans are to give you ideas, some are quite good, some contain almost no infor.
I'd use nails for most of it. Key if you're going to set it on blocks is to build a good solid square floor to put your walls on. I like to build the floor with some blocking where the blocks will sit, then sit the floor on the blocks and level it, then frame the walls and roof.
Just helped a friend finish a shed that he cobbled together. Took tons and tons of time to shore things up solid so his swinging door was stable because the floor was cobbled together and just sitting on the ground. Not a shed I'd want to lay claim to, but in the end it was solid enough. Still, it took lots more time then if he'd put a real floor under it to start with.
There are a number of good books on the subject. I have a small collection...
One is "Sheds: The Do-It-Yourself Guide for Backyard Builders" by David Stiles"
ISBN: 1552092925
You can get good results with nails or screws. As with most things you build, it's really the design detailing that counts.
Water shedding details in particular should be considered carefully. Many sheds are built with little or no roof overhang, which works against them. Another watery concern for sheds low to the ground and without masonry foundations is splashback, which is not usually thought of until the siding is muddy, and the sheathing or floor starts to rot. Water sometimes goes up as well as down!
Many screws are not structural, and have a very little shear strength. In particular, most generic galvanized deck screws are very brittle, and weak under shear.
Some companies offer special steel brackets for building sheds, which allows shed to be built with mostly square cuts. Both strong and low-skill. Pretty cool invention.
Best of luck.
thank you for that book tip, I will have a look.
I built a decent shed about a year ago. It is ~140 sq ft and has 16" overhangs. The large overhang allows me to hang ladders on the back and they don't get hit by rain (and collect water and breed mosquitos). it has a concrete floor, but instead of building forms, I had a mason lay up some brick until it was the level I wanted, then I used the brick as the form. Then the mason veneered another 18" of brick after I built the wood frame of the shed on the concrete pad. Let me know if you want to see pictures of it. I can take some pictures that you can use as your "plans" (FOC of course).
There isn't a nail in the whole shed.
I would post those pics just to brag! What kind of money are you talking to have a foundation poured? That would be the preferred method.
I think a wood floor built with treated wood will be moor expensive then a 4" pored slab.
you still have to square up either the wood floor or concrete one.
Not to mention you have to level both floors. With time you will have to re-level the wood floor as the blocks settle.
YOu will want to haul in enough fill so what ever floor you use is 4 to 6 inch above the surrounding land for at least 20' out so water will not run into the shed in a heavy rain.
I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them. I paid a mason about $700 to lay all the brick (I bought the brick) and I paid $425 to pour the slab (two yards of concrete). I placed all the gravel (4") under the slab myself and the gravel was on top of undisturbed soil. If you bring in fill you will want to compact it with a plate compactor or just use some piers that are on undisturbed ground.
All told the shed ran me about $3k. I did all the carpentry myself, I only paid for the mason and concrete guy (would have done the concrete myself, but it only cost me about $150 in labor to have the guy run the concrete, including the 50 ft wheel barrow run he had to make - 2 yds of concrete!).
For a riding mower, any floor that is not flush with the ground will make it hard to drive the mower inside. The simplest construction is a pole barn. Dig post holes around the outside every 4 feet or so. Leave at least one larger space if your mower deck is wider. Set 10 or 12 foot posts in the holes, depending on how tall you want it. 10 footers on one side and 12 footers on the other will give you an instant shed roof. Before pouring concrete or compacting, bolt on a skirt board to set the post spacing exactly. Plumb the corners and brace temporarily. Bolt on a top board and cut the posts to match. Now you can firmly set the posts. Nail on siding between the posts and put on a roof. The same general concept will work if you want something with more style. Lay concrete pavers inside for a nice flush floor. With pressure treated lumber, this should last a good 20 years.
You might check your local library for do-it-yourself magazines such as Handyman, Workbench, or similar titles. I think Handyman (could be thinking of one of the others, however) usually has at least one do-it-yourself shed each year and the directions are pretty thorough and written for neophytes. Most of their sheds are pretty substantial and some are downright elaborate.
I downloaded a shed plan from workbench for 9.95 at plansnow.com so far it doesnt seem to difficult, except the cuts for the rafters called "birdsmouths", that looks difficult.
Once you figure out the angles, you can 'gang-cut' the bird's mouths all at once on the ground with a circular saw.
Just clamp all the rafters together with pipe clamps, set up a fence, and make your 2 cuts. May want to do the first rafter alone and test it out, just in case!
What's your climate like? If it freezes, your blocks may move. At the minimum, put a bed of gravel under them for drainage. Better yet, dig down below frost and pour a concrete post base and use pressure-treated posts up from there.
Keep it simple. Design it in multiples of 4': the width of plywood. T1-11 plywood is a little expensive, but looks decent as siding when stained.
Don't over-build. It's a shed. 24" stud spacing with single top and bottom plates is fine. Don't worry about 'bird mouths.' Use those steel rafter fasteners. It might be easier to build 'trusses' on the ground and lift them into place as units.
Use pressure treated lumber for the floor frame, and design a roof with a little overhang to keep rain off the walls. Even a simple shed will last a very long time if you keep it dry.
Build it bigger than you need. The stuff inside tends to multiply.
Have fun!
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
You might check out the wolmanized lumber website. They have a free plan for a 10 by 12 shed on the site. Details are a bit sketchy, but it's easy enough to build ( I just finished one). One tip, if you decide to build to this plan, use hurricane clips for the connection of rafter tails to top plate and hangers for the ridge to rafter connection.
Yea work bench has a couple of shed plans in there mags. I got one which uses a truss system. There are also a couple of good books out on the subj
Darkworksite4:
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You should check with your city on zone requirements and also C&R's if you have a homeowners association.
They often have some strange limits on "sheds". One place will only allow you to make it temporary (setting on blocks) unless you want to go the fill permit, approval, and inspection route.
The next will only allow permanate structures, ie foundation.
And there is often size limitions.
Thanks everyone.
I went to workbench and downloaded plans from plansnow.com for 9.95
The shed will be replacing an old rotten shed at a country home on the Patuxent River (it is for my dad). The old shed was rotten through and through so we tore it down (sawzall baby) and hauled it away to the city dump. Now we are ready to build anew. The previous shed was on cinderblocks and it lasted about 40 years so I figure I will do something similar. The plans call for 2" cement slabs, however I have seen those pyramid shaped one that look sturdier. Of course all materials will be pressure treated. The two details that concern me are making sure the structure is square using nylon and batten blocks ( i think that is the term) and of course the birdsmouths, but I can skip that detail using plates instead?