Constructing your own shed the DIY way with some wooden storage shed plans can be both challenging and exciting. If you have run out of space for storing your lawn tools and equipment, then building a shed will offer you exactly what you need.
Crafting the shed yourself instead of buying it will also help you keep costs low and add any personalization you like.
The major steps involved in building a garden shed are as follows.
Build The Foundation
Any building is only as durable as its foundation. You can construct the shed on skids, a gravel pad, concrete piers, or a concrete slab base.
The concrete slab would be the most expensive foundation, and it is also the sturdiest one.
Begin by digging a 7-inch deep pit for the foundation, about one-foot longer and wider than the shed dimensions.
Compact a layer of gravel into the pit with a shovel and then pour concrete mixture over it. Let the concrete dry for a day.
Assemble The Floor Frame
Scribe a chalk outline on the concrete base as per the floor measurements shown in the shed blueprints.
Lay down pressure-treated 2x6 joists along the base at one-foot intervals. Check each joist for crowning and lay down the board with the arc facing upwards. Secure the joists with stringers using 2-inch galvanized nails.
Verify the corners of the floor frame to check it is accurately square. Lastly, fasten plywood sheathing over the joists by nailing at six-inch intervals.
Construct The Shed Walls
Position the bottom wall plates for all four walls on the floor frame to check they are perfectly level. Shave off any excess wood to remove any imperfections.
Nail the bottom plates into the floor frame at 6-inch intervals.
Assemble each wall frame using 2x4 pressure-treated timber boards. Secure the framing members with 2 1/2 inch galvanized nails.
Raise the side wall frame onto its corresponding bottom plate on the floor. Use temporary bracing to hold the frame in place. Then raise the rear wall frame and brace it similarly.
Check that the corner connecting the two walls is precisely square and that the frame is level with the floor's edge.
Then secure each wall fame by nailing through the bottom plate into the floor. Next, drive nails through the corner framing members and fasten the side wall with the rear wall. Now remove the temporary bracings.
Repeat the same process with the other side wall.
For the front wall, you need to align the door frame exactly over the gap between the bottom plates. Check that the wall corners connecting with the side walls are square, and nail the bottom of the wall frame into the floor.
Craft The Roof Frame
Create a rafter template using a 2x4 board as per the measurements shown in the diagrams. Make the birdsmouth cut and check that it fits correctly over the top wall plate. Craft the rafter length such that it overhangs the wall plate by a few inches.
Now copy the outline of this template over other boards and craft the other rafters for the roof frame.
Secure the rafters on the wall plates at one-foot intervals by driving galvanized nails. Then fasten the rafters with the ridge board.
Use 2x6 boards to craft the fascia and attach them level with the top of the rafters. Install plywood sheathing on the rafter by nailing at 6-inch intervals. Use a 1x2 board to build a drip edge along the fascia.
Attach roofing paper over the sheathing and then cover it with shingles. Cover any visible gaps with trim boards and seal any openings left behind with caulk.
Attach Siding, Doors, and Windows
Secure the stops for the windows with screws and then attach the window panels.
Build the door by fastening two OSB panels to each other with glue and screws. Create a lip in the door's edge so that the inner door fits snugly into the outer door when closed.
Use a sander to smoothen the door's edges and make it look like a single thick panel.
Hang the doors on the door frame with hinges.
Install a doorstop behind the door. Fill all open gaps left around the doors and windows with caulk.
Use weather-proof siding on the shed walls to prevent water damage.
Begin attaching the siding panels on the upper part of the walls and keep it level with the wall plate. Slowly work your way down the wall, taking care that two siding panels always connect over a stud.
Cover the gaps in the wall corners using 1x6 trim.
Set Up Electricity And Ventilation
Run a power line to your shed so you can have a few electric lights inside and outside the shed.
Install ridge vents or an operable skylight to allow airflow into the building when it is closed.
