If your garage or basement is already running out of space and its walls are cluttered with instruments and garden tools, or if you and your family just need some additional space a garden shed might be an option for you. In this article, we’re going to present you an easy guide on how to build one. You can not only keep your gardening tools in a garden storage shed but also use it for many other purposes, for example, arrange a home office or a playhouse for your kids there.

 

This shed guide describes how to build the least complicated shed, so that every person, even with no relevant experience, could build it on their own. But naturally, you can modify it according to your needs and taste, for example, by adding the windows.

Step 1. Make the plan and prepare the building site

First and foremost, you should determine the exact design and location of your shed. Fortunately, you don’t need a building permit for a tool shed, compared to other larger types of buildings. Take time to think over every detail of the future building before starting out and put down your project plan on the paper.

Plan how much space you will need and how much work you are willing to put into the building process. This seems like an easy target and depending on your garden features, it may be so. However, if you choose an unsuitable location, you risk having a short-lived building.

Pick a point with a flat surface. If you place your tool shed on the flat or, even worse, shallow spots, where water tends to collect pretty fast after rainy days, it can result in rotten wood, mould and blistering between the paint layers.

In addition, you have to decide which type of wood you want to use and which tools you’re going to need. Pine, cedar or spruce suit this type of building pretty well, but you can keep any other type of wood. If you are not sure, consulting a professional might be a good idea. For creating a solid shed foundation you are going to need 10 concrete deck blocks (for this very type of shed foundation described in the article), gravel, gravel, high-quality, impregnated wood, metal angle brackets and of course nails and screws.

In terms of the tools you’re going to need a hammer, drill, saw (preferably a circular saw), carpenter’s square, spirit level, sandpaper. Ideally, you should protect yourself with safety glasses, a dust mask, a hard hat and gloves.

Step 2. Layout the foundation

A shed with no proper foundation won’t last long. Shed foundation can be made of concrete deck blocks or pressure-treated wood. We recommend creating a combination of these methods in a form of a solid floor frame made of impregnated wood that is placed upon concrete blocks.

First of all, you’ll need to dig a trench in the soil for installing the deck blocks later. Use blatter boards and a string to mark the needed size of the shed foundation and start digging the trench. To protect the construction from soil moisture and deformation, fill the trench with a layer of fine gravel, which should be compacted afterwards. Now you can install the foundation blocks like in the picture below:

Step 3.  Setting up a construction frame

With the help of the saw, cut the wooden boards of needed length to form the frame with two parallel cross-beams. Since the frame is placed relatively close to the ground, it is most subjected to the rotting process and wood-boring insects. Therefore it is recommended to build it with pressure-treated wood. Mark the places where the cross beams should be connected to the frame boards and screw the elements together using metal brackets.

Make sure that the frame is perfectly level by using a spirit level and checking the length of the diagonals of the frame with a tape measure. If their lengths are the same, you can start laying the floor. For this purpose, it is recommended choosing water-resistant plywood floor panels.

Ideally, you should also add an insulation layer to your floor. After the floor is constructed, set up together the wall frames, following the example in the picture below. Afterwards set up the panels along the perimeter of the floor and attach the wall frames to the panels. When you set up the front wall frame, form a doorway by adding a header, which is basically just a wooden board to support the structure above the doorway.

Now it’s time to construct the roof truss, which is probably the trickiest step of the building, while you have to make many angled cuts. After the board of needed length and needed cuts are made, assemble the rafters and roof beams together to form a roof truss, and then place it on the walls as a finished construction.

Step 4.  Cover the construction frame

After that, cover the wall frames with wooden panels. You might need a helping hand here. Attaching panels, make sure they are flush with each other.

Now you can lay the roof covering of your choice.

Step 5. The final touches

The final step is to attach a door to the structure. Of course, you can buy one, but building a simple one yourself is not rocket science. When the door is attached, take care of the wooden surfaces and treat them with the wood preservative stain.

 

For help with your gardening projects, get in touch with our partners from PI Gardening.