How to build a shed

Need extra storage in your garden? Then why not build a shed? While this may sound a little daunting at first, building a shed is not as difficult as it sounds. Here is a guide on how to build the basic structure.

The floor frame

You can decide on the exact size you want for your shed so take the measurements here as a rough guide. Cut two pieces of 2 inch by 2 inch timber into 10 ft strips for the sides. Cut a further six pieces of 8 ft in length and make the frame much like the base of a bed. Lay two 10 ft pieces of timber on the ground 6 feet apart and place the frame on top. Fix securely with screws. Cover the frame with 3/4 inch (20mm in metric measurements) plywood.

The walls

Construct the walls 8ft high using 2inch by 4inch lengths of timber. Construct the walls in criss-cross style using four strips for the horizontal beams. For the sides, use five vertical strips. For the back, use three and for the front, use two leaving space for the door.

Fix the wall frames to the base

Now lift the wall frames up and secure them to the floor using screws or nails. Brace each side together using angled joints.

The roof

For the roof, cut 12 rafters of 5 ft each from 2 by 4 timber. Join 6 rafters, cut at an angle at one end, to a 10 ft piece of 2 by 8 (roof beam) at equal intervals. Do the same with the remaining 6 on the other side. Make 2 beams supports using two 14 inch cuts of wood that sandwich an 11 inch piece. Fix the beam supports in the top-middle of both the front and back walls so that the roof frame will sit on the walls at an angle of approximately 20 degrees.

Cover with plywood

You can now cover all the walls and the roof using panels of 12 mm or 1/2 plywood. Cut out a square for a window if so desired on one of the two sides. The hole should be slightly larger than the size of the window you will be using.

Finish the roof

Cover the roof with an appropriate underlay before fixing up the corrugated iron. Fix the iron to the roof frame using appropriate roofing screws.

Finish the walls

You can now finish all the walls in whichever way you wish. You could leave things as they are and simply coat the walls with protective varnish, or you could choose to add cladding for extra protection first. You could even line all the walls with further corrugated iron for total security and strength.