6 Tips for Building Your Garden Storage Shed
Adding a garden shed to your backyard needn’t be an expensive venture. There are plenty of ways you can build a storage shed cheaply and effectively. However if you want to have a shed that will last for years to come, it’s important to know how to frame your shed correctly.
Here’s our 6 tips for building a garden shed economically and effectively.
1. Get permission from your local council
Depending on your local rules and regulations, you may need to get permission from your local council before building your shed. If you are only building a small storage space, you may not need to.
To make sure you don’t run into any issues, be sure to check with your local council before you start building. This will also be a good opportunity to determine what your needs are and how big of a shed you require. Once you have an idea of what you’d like to store, you’ll have a clearer picture of what you hope to build.
2. Have a solid foundation
Before you begin constructing your new storage shed, it’s important to understand that a solid foundation is required. Without a foundation that is solid, safe and secure, you won’t have a long-lasting shed. The foundation is the solid base of your shed, and will ultimately determine how long your shed lasts. Whether you opt for a concrete slab foundation or a pier-style foundation, ensure that it is level, secure and hardy.
3. Build the back and front wall frame
Your back wall frame will be the first to be constructed. It will consist of same length vertical beams, with a main beam at the top of the wall to support your roofing. Your front wall will basically be the same, except for a couple of minor changes. Because the back wall will want to be slightly lower than the front (in order to have a slanted roof), make sure you use beams that are slightly taller. This will allow rainwater to fall off the back of the shed. You will also need to include a frame for the front door.
4. Build the side wall frames
Because the roof is slightly slanted to allow for rainwater to run off the back of the shed, your side wall frames will need to reflect that change in their design. Create the outermost beams for the frame first, to ensure the wall will match the heights of the front wall and the back wall. Adjust the middle beams to fit the slant of the roof. Repeat this for your other side wall, and complete each one with a top beam, connected with nails. You may need to get some help from an assistant to connect your wall frames to your foundation.
Once you have the walls connected to your foundation, you can then connect all the walls to each other. Depending on the size of your shed and your complete design, in some cases you may find that connecting the walls together first, and then to your foundation, may work better for you.
5. Add the roof and siding
Next, you’ll need to create some rafters for your roof. After your select your beams and other roofing material, make sure you measure their length so your roof will outstretch further than the width of your shed size. This is to protect the walls from the weather and rainwater.
Depending on your design and what you hope to achieve, you may want to use different coloured wood or materials for your shed edges, to make it a little more aesthetically pleasing.
Complete the design by nailing sheets of your chosen roofing material to the rafter frame to cover the roof. Do the same with your walls by using sheets of plywood, wood or other siding material. Choose a material for your roof that is appropriately suited to typical weather conditions experienced in your local area.
6. Finish off the project
Depending on what materials you use, you may want to opt to paint the shed your favourite colour, or a colour that will go well with your home and garden. Finish off your new shed by adding a door, and don’t forget to incorporate security measures such as a lock. This will ensure you can keep all of your belongings safe, even when you’re not at home.
Building a shed doesn’t have to cost a fortune. If you’re a little nervous about building your frame from scratch, there are plenty of shed kits on the market to help you build your shed with ease.
Purchasing materials and completing construction yourself will often cost substantially less than getting a professional to build your shed from the ground up. With a little work during your spare time on the weekend, you can create a brand new storage shed in your backyard in no time.