How to Build a Shed
12.08.09
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Hello and welcome to the beginning of a series of blogs where I will be taking you on a journey on how to build a shed right from the start.
You might be building a shed for the very first time and you want to get a better understanding of how to undertake such a project, or you might be in the middle of building a shed, but want some extra tips and hints to make your shed spectacular.
Well then this series will help you no matter what you want to achieve.
What I will be covering is siting and planning a shed, building shed foundations, building materials to use and common building practices when constructing a storage shed. It’s going to be fun, so I hope you enjoy the ride!
Most of us finally settle into a home that we are fully comfortable with. It has the number of bedrooms and bathrooms we want, but no matter how big it is, we always want or need extra storage space.
Attics and basements are fine to store extra clothing, furniture and Christmas decorations, but a separate outdoor building is the sensible solution to store gardening tools, lawn mowers, bicycles, camping gear, ladders, wood and so on.
So with this in mind it’s not a matter of just building a shed, the key is to build the right shed, and this takes a little thought and planning which will determine which size and style of shed will suit your household situation.
You begin by asking yourself, what are you specifically going to use the shed for?
The first thing to consider is how the shed will be used and what you want to store in it. It’s very easy to be tempted to just jump in and get some storage shed plans and start building your shed, or even purchasing one without thinking about the items to be stored.
This can only lead to a cluttered mess because you may construct a shed that’s too small for all the items you want to store. A shed should be a place that’s well organised and all the items in the shed should be easy to get to.
Now that you have considered what you want to store in it, you have determine the size of the shed. Sheds range from 2ft to 4ft all the way up to 16 ft. by 20 ft. or even bigger. The best way to work out what size shed you require is by asking yourself some simple questions:
• How much space do I have in my back yard?
• Are their size restrictions imposed by the local building department, zoning board or homeowners association?
• How far from the property line must the shed be built ?
• Will you be storing long items such as a ladder or lumber?
• How much money do you have to put into the shed?
A really good tip is to make a list of all the items you want to store in the shed, then measure the largest items and that will determine what size shed you need to consider building.
Another thing to consider is just because you have the available space to build the shed, doesn’t mean you should build the largest shed possible. It has to fit in with the look and feel of your house and you don’t want it overpowering your home and looking odd.
Another good tip is to look at building your shed to even number dimensions. Eg. 8 ft. by 10 ft., 10 ft by 12 ft. The reason for this is that common building materials such as lumber and plywood come in even numbered sizing. This will prevent you having to cut the materials to size and will reduce waste.
The next step is to contact your local building department and they will be able to tell you about the restrictions on the sheds minimum and maximum square footage as well as the maximum height. Also ask the building inspector for the documents you will need to apply for a building permit.
Now that you have taken careful consideration and thought into the size of your shed and what you want to store in it, in the next post we will look at different shed designs and how to decide on the one that suits your needs and style.
Photo Credit: geocam20000
Best,
PS. After reading this, you may feel inspired to check out some shed plans, so you can start organizing to build your next shed. Check out my product reviews page to see comprehensive video reviews of some shed plan products.
There are a lot of plans out there to build standard sized sheds for your backyard, but perhaps you are looking for 
Most plans that you find on a website might not be the size you are looking for, and also a lot of the time the plans are all mixed up and it’s hard to find the one you want. Also the quality of the plans are usually pretty bad.
