# My first Construction Project - Shed



## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

Building the Base:


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

Framed it up in the rain:



















http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp87/michmela44/IMG_0313.jpg


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

Finished Framing and Partially Roofed:


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

Making Progress:


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

All finished except Paint and Cleanup:













For anyone interested, the shed I was replacing is the little metal building in the front of some of the pictures.

All in all, I thought the shed came out pretty good, and I saved a ton of money building it myself instead of buying one of those Tuff Shed or Redi-Built ones.

Also, I am by no means a professional, so I welcome any comments or suggestions or anything anybody wants to point out that I might have screwed up on.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

That looks great, nice job
T-111 siding over OSB? That's extra coverage
My pool cabana only has the T-111


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

Looks good. The only thing I would have added are window(s) for light and ventilation.

Good idea to make use of your vertical space for storage.


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

Scuba_Dave said:


> That looks great, nice job
> T-111 siding over OSB? That's extra coverage
> My pool cabana only has the T-111


Thanks.

That's actually Sierra 8 HardiPanel. I didn't trust the HardiPanel since it tended to crumble on the edges, so I added the 7/16 OSB for stability.


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

47_47 said:


> Looks good. The only thing I would have added are window(s) for light and ventilation.
> 
> Good idea to make use of your vertical space for storage.


Thanks.

I had originally planned for a window or two, but decided against it since I was already overbudget on my project due to the addition of the overhangs on the front and back.

I am also running electricity to the shed for light.

I'm also in a Hurricane area, so I thought it would be better to leave them out so I wouldn't come home to broken windows.

I may add some in later.

The attic space idea stems from the fact that my attic is about 2 foot tall at it's tallest point, so I really needed to clear up some space in the house.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

They don't require the shed be secured to the ground in a hurricane area? Someone building a pergola had to go thru all sorts of things for proof of footing & attachment - they were in Florida
I put a 2x4 smoked acrylic skylight in mine, lets in lots of light
Of course I alos have double glass French doors that open, 9'x4' jalousie window....so I have lots of light :laughing:


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## lmholmes11 (Jul 18, 2008)

I am looking to build a similar shed to yours. Do you by chance have the schematics of it, ie. measurments, angles, etc? This will be my first real construction project also. Any help would be helpful. Thank you!


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## jackie treehorn (Jan 27, 2009)

looks awesome good job!


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

lmholmes11 said:


> I am looking to build a similar shed to yours. Do you by chance have the schematics of it, ie. measurments, angles, etc? This will be my first real construction project also. Any help would be helpful. Thank you!


I'm not sure if i have anything that would be too useful. I made a couple drawings, but in the end, I didn't really follow them too closely. I mostly used them just work out a few decisions I needed to make before I started building.

I made it exactly 12' x 16' to the outsides. The angles for the roof are 67.5 and 22.5 degrees. I made my lower portion of the roof a little longer than the top portion to get a little more storage room. Originally, my plan was to have them equal lengths, which I had to refresh myself on some trigonometry to figure out.

I used AutoCAD to draw the roof how I wanted it and to figure out exactly how to cut the rafters for it to have an overhang.

A word of advice from me would be to build it without the overhang on the front and back. You'll save a lot of time and material.

I'll be glad to help you any way that I can.


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## johndeerefan (Jul 29, 2009)

Nice outbuilding. I am glad to see I am not the only one who uses autocad to draw things before I cut. It saves a world of time trying to do the math. By the way, I use autocad daily as an engineer and it has shot my math skills. I can't even hardly do basic geometry anymore without having to draw it. Go figure.


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## RYANINMICHIGAN (Jan 20, 2006)

Scuba_Dave said:


> They don't require the shed be secured to the ground in a hurricane area? Someone building a pergola had to go thru all sorts of things for proof of footing & attachment - they were in Florida
> I put a 2x4 smoked acrylic skylight in mine, lets in lots of light
> Of course I alos have double glass French doors that open, 9'x4' jalousie window....so I have lots of light :laughing:


 
Do you have to secure your car to the ground?:no:


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

RYANINMICHIGAN said:


> Do you have to secure your car to the ground?:no:


Don't be a :jester:
A car is not a permanent structure nor does it fall under building codes


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## UpComingBuilder (Dec 9, 2008)

You sure you never framed before? lol. For someone that doesn't do it at a profession I'm surprised you did the gambrel style roof. Very nice


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## Jason W (Aug 1, 2009)

michmela44 said:


> Thanks.
> 
> That's actually Sierra 8 HardiPanel. I didn't trust the HardiPanel since it tended to crumble on the edges, so *I added the 7/16 OSB for stability.*


Wise decision. Looks like a great project there. You should feel good about doing it yourself:thumbup:

In about a year it will be all filled up and you'll wonder why you didn't build a bigger one:yes:

Don't ask me how I know:whistling2:


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Imholmes11, don't forget the horses: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonl...DD9BC4D265/14400/6262HorseBarnGambrelRoof.pdf

Be safe, G


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## zadroj1 (Sep 5, 2009)

*new to building*

This looks great! :thumbup:
I am looking to build a much smaller shed, 6' x 7', but the same design. I need help with determining the height of the structure. I have limited space to place the shed but need the extra storage. Any suggestions?:confused1:


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

UpComingBuilder said:


> You sure you never framed before? lol. For someone that doesn't do it at a profession I'm surprised you did the gambrel style roof. Very nice


 
I've done some minor indoors renovations, but his was my first job involving any kind of framing.

The gambrel roof was a hard decision to make, but I had to do it for the storage.

I bought a book at Home Depot about framing, and I took about 10 trips to Home Depot to look at their sheds for ideas. It took me quite a few weeks to get a final plan and get started.

Then, of course, I didn't follow it and it came out different. Big surprise, huh?

Actually, I am an Computer Engineer/Programmer by profession.


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

Jason W said:


> Wise decision. Looks like a great project there. You should feel good about doing it yourself:thumbup:
> 
> In about a year it will be all filled up and you'll wonder why you didn't build a bigger one:yes:
> 
> Don't ask me how I know:whistling2:


 
I wish it would have lasted a year before it filled up. Mine was full in about 3 weeks.


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## michmela44 (Mar 30, 2009)

zadroj1 said:


> This looks great! :thumbup:
> I am looking to build a much smaller shed, 6' x 7', but the same design. I need help with determining the height of the structure. I have limited space to place the shed but need the extra storage. Any suggestions?:confused1:


It took me lots of Trigonometry to figure that out.

The first decision I made was to make my walls 7' instead of 8'. I had to cut all of my studs down to make my wall exactly 7' at the top of the top plate. 7' was high enough for me. I ended up being glad i did it because with the 8" joists as the floor to my loft, my 8' ladder is the perfect height for access.

Some sheds at Home Depot when I was looking were only using 6' walls, but I thought that was too short, and it didn't cost me any extra to do the 7'. I just had 1' less waste on everything.

If your shed is only 6' or 7' wide, your roof is still going to be pretty short, I'm guessing about 3.25' off the top plate(if using the same calcs as mine). That's plenty for storing a few boxes, but I was basically building a replacement for my attic in my house.

For something that small, I would probably go with a 6' wall. A 7' or 8' wall plus 3'-5' of roof seems like it would be pretty tall for a 6'x7' base. Bu I'm no architect, so don't take my word for it.


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## zadroj1 (Sep 5, 2009)

Thanks! I have looked around and notice there are so many variations for a roof. I am not sure if it really matters as long as it keeps the rain and snow from piling up .... am I correct? I like the idea of having a little space in the roof area to store boxes and other small items. I could probably use that for seasonal items.


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