Build Like a Pro: Building a Shed

Once youve enjoyed the extra space a shed provides, youll wonder how you managed without the backyard addition. Joe Truini provides complete step-by-step instructions and plans for building four popular shed projects: A Saltbox Potting Shed, Garden Storage Shed, Storage Barn and Lean-To Tool Locker. You will learn how to design the right structure for you and build it from the ground up. Sound construction techniques and time-saving tips will help you build your structure quickly and efficiently. With plenty of pro-level advice, youll get the details you want in an outbuilding that youll enjoy for years to come.

Whats inside:

• Designing a shed to match your storage needs
• Selecting framing and finish materials for economy and durability
• Constructing different shed foundations
• Completing floor, wall, and roof framing quickly and accurately
• Building stairways and ramps
• Installing windows and doors

About the author:
Before writing about carpentry, Joe Truini worked as a remodeling contractor, cabinetmaker, and union carpenter. He has written extensively for magazine like Todays Homeowner, This Old House and Popular Mechanics. Joe lives in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Contents

Introduction

How to Use This Book

1. BeforeYou Build
Evaluating Your Storage Needs
Design Considerations
A Working Plan
Finishing School
Siting the Structure
Code Concerns
Hiring Help

2. Construction Methods
Choosing a Foundation
On-Grade Foundations
Frost-Proof Foundations
Wall-Framing Techniques
Shed Floors
Roof Framing
Stair and Ramp Construction

3. Building Materials
Siding
Roofing
Doors
Windows

4. Lean-to Shed Locker
Timber-Frame Foundation
Wall Framing
Roof Framing
Siding and Trim
Roofing
Doors
Interior Shelves

5. Saltbox Potting Shed
Solid-Block Foundation
Wall Framing
Roof Framing
Roofing
Dutch Door
Entry Deck
Potting Bench

6. Colonial-Style Shed
Skid Foundation
Flooring
Gable-End Trusses
Walls
Roof Framing
Roofing
Windows and Exterior Trim

7. Gambrel Storage Barn
Site Prep and Footings
Wall Framing
Roof Framing
Roofing
Windows and Exterior Trim
Door Installation

Resources

Index

As the son of a carpenter, I had no choice but to learn my father's craft. It was passed down to me through the same complex genetic code that gave me his dark eyes and stubborn nature. My apprenticeship began at the tender, clueless age of 12, when my father woke me early one summer morning (much to my surprise) and announced that it was time to go to work. As I climbed into his truck, sleepy-eyed and silent, I had no idea that I was embarking on a journey of discovery and purpose that would guide me through life to this very day.

During that summer, and subsequent summers for the next several years, I worked alongside my dad and learned a lot about carpentry, electrical wiring, plumbing, and life. Later, as a young adult, I used those skills to earn a living as a remodeling contractor, union carpenter, cabinetmaker, and, eventually, writer.

For the past 20 years, I've written about homebuilding, remodeling, and woodworking for nearly every possible medium: books, newspapers, websites, television, radio, and several magazines, including Popular Mechanics, Today's Homeowner, Country Living, Handy, Home Mechanix, and This Old House. It was during my years as a magazine editor that I first began writing about backyard outbuildings and discovered that nearly every homeowner -- regardless of the size of his or her house -- needed a storage shed. Over the years, I've written articles about and built more than a dozen sheds. Therefore, when the fine folks at The Taunton Press asked me to write this book, I was confident that my experiences in the building and publishing fields would prove invaluable. I hope you think so, too.

From the very beginning, the goal of this book has been to provide you with the information, inspiration, and confidence to build your own backyard storage shed. And not just one of the structures shown in this book, but any shed at all. Like most other shed books, this one has a lot of photos of attractive outbuildings and many construction drawings, but that's where the similarities end. This book gives specific information on what you need to know before you build a shed, including design considerations, building code issues, and evaluating your storage needs. A chapter devoted to shed-building techniques covers everything from foundations to roof framing. Another chapter explains the wide variety of shed-building materials, including siding, roofing, doors, and windows.

However, what makes this book truly unique is that each of the final four chapters shows how to build a particular shed from scratch. These structures were specifically designed and constructed for this book and include an easy-to-build 2-ft. by 6-ft. Shed Locker that's perfect for storing lawn and garden tools; a charming 8-ft. by 12-ft. Saltbox Potting Shed, which features a cedar-shingle roof and traditional Dutch door; a 10-ft. by 16-ft. Colonial-Style Garden Shed that combines classical design with beautiful vertical-board cedar siding; and a spacious 12-ft. by 20-ft. Gambrel Storage Barn, which has double-wide sliding doors and an interior storage loft.

For each shed, there are dozens of step-by-step photos and precise drawings to guide you through each phase of the construction process. However, if you need additional information, mail-order plans are available for each of the four sheds.

Finally, it took about a year to produce the book you now hold in your hands, but it -- and all that I am today -- really started early one summer morning more than 35 years ago.