In celebration of Nation Shed Week we thought we'd take a look at the basic steps of making your own storage space. Having a shed comes with loads of benefits including removing clutter from the house, storing outdoor tools and equipment safely and it’s also an excellent place for work projects.

 

Before you get started, there are a few things to consider first such as location, materials, size, structure and also permits. Please check that you don’t need a permit to construct a shed on your property. Most of the time sheds come under permitted development however in certain areas (such as conservation areas) you must seek permission from your local planning department.

 

Building a shed has the same basic principles a small house but is much less complex and can be completed in as little as a few hours or a day or two depending on the size. Quite often you will find that it is cheaper to make your own shed than to buy one so what better time to give it a go than Nation Shed Week?

 

All you need to begin building the new edition to your property is:

 

 

Let’s start your construction by making sure the ground is level and installing deck piers or concrete block/bicks along a grid to create a secure foundation which will support the shed. The piers or blocks allow you to now string support beams across the deck. This supports your floor joists running in the opposite direct. Attach the joists to the support beams and separate them with blocking by first attaching a rim joist along the outer edge of each outermost beam which all need to be the same length as the beam underneath. Next you need to install the floor joists across the whole length of the support beams. These need to fit between the rim joints. Install a piece of blocking between each pair of floor joists along the center support beam to stop the floor joists from moving.

 

Form the floor using plywood sheeting and nailing these to the joists. This flooring can also be screwed down with deck screws but please note that you should misalign the plywood pieces intentionally to remove any single seams from running across the entire area as this will be a huge weakness to the structural integrity of your shed.

 

Build the framework for all four walls. Remember that the back, front and side walls are all differently shaped to account for a door and sloped roof. It’s easiest to begin with the back wall first, then the front and finally the sides.

 

To build the back wall, make the top and the bottom beams the same length as the floor where the wall will sit.
Building the framework for the front wall will be similar to the back but make sure to include space for a door frame.
Finally, to build the framework for the side walls you need to ensure that both side walls are the same length as the distance between the front and back in order to fit correctly. You also must ensure that the top of both side walls is at an angle to allow for the roof to be sloped.

 

Now that your walls are built you can assemble the four wall structures. These are normally nailed to the underlying support from the bottom up. If this method isn’t possible then you can drive the nails downwards at an angle or nail them downwards through the plywood and joists.

 

Build rafters to go across you roof. For extra protection against the weather we advise that your rafters should overhang pass the walls of you shed. When attaching the rafters you should insert blocking between each along the top plate and finish forming the roof by nailing plywood sheeting to the rafters.

 

Next step is to cover your walls using any material of your choosing which gives the shed a more polished look. We suggest textured plywood.

 

Add Felt to the roof from the lower end of the slope and working upwards. To avoid rain from seeping through your roof you must ensure that each level of felt overlaps the previous.

 

Good luck and enjoy making your shed!


If you used this blog to assist you in your endeavor please share you progress with us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

If you on the other hand are a more seasoned carpenter and have already been there done that then we hope you look forward to our next post about some of the most impressive shed conversions we have found on the web to maybe inspire you for a revamp.