How to Build a Garden Shed
Most people think that building a garden shed is a difficult undertaking which is why they seldom seem interested in investing the time and money on such a project. That being said even newbie DIY people with little knowledge of building equipment and power tools can build incredible garden sheds thanks to an array of kits available both online and offline. There is also no shortage of garden shed plans which make the process of building these sheds a lot easier.
What Will You Need?
While every garden shed that you chose to build will require slightly different materials and tools but generally the list below is what 90% of the plans will require.
€ A hammer
€ Grinder
€ Hand saw
€ Skill saw
€ Angle
€ Cordless drill
€ Concrete trowel
€ Measuring tape
Materials You Will Need:
€ Around 3.5m of sawn 50mm by 25mm good quality timber
€ 50 x 50 mm framing timber
€ 7.5m of untreated boxing timber
€ Some concrete mix
€ Corrugated iron measuring around 730mm
€ Some PVC
€ Two large hinges for your door and a latch
€ A window
€ Some cladding materials
€ Nails, jolt head nails and some roofing nails
The Foundation For Your Shed
There are really two choices when laying the foundation of your shed. You can either choose a concrete slab which will give it a solid foundation or you can build a wooden floor.
Preparing The Site
Depending on what type of site you need to build on you can start by removing around 20 to 30 mm of the top soil. You then place the flooring slab in the place where you've removed the top soil. Ideally, you will want your shed to be around 30mm above soil level so that the surrounding ground water does not damage it.
Wooden Floor
A good alternative to a concrete floor is a wooden one that has skids. In order to lay out a wooden floor simply put a few lengths of 100mm x 75 mm timber on the flat site you've created. You then need to treat the timber so that it can handle ground water contact or you can use pretreated timber. This will form the platform on which the floor boards are nailed on to.
The Side Walls
For the side walls you will have to build 2 identical frames. The measurement of which will depend on the shed plans that you use.
The Front Wall
This part of the frame holds the window and the door. However, the window is not a big part of the structure so it can be left out of the frame if you don't need one. Again this will depend on the shed plans you use. In most cases if there is a window you will need to cut out a 500mm by 500 mm section.
The Rear Wall
The rear wall is very simple since it does not have doors and windows. You just stagger the horizontal support and nail them.
The Roof Trusses
In most garden shed kits the roof is something you can easily lay down on the shed and then secure with a screw. You can use a corrugated metal sheet or even chose a wooden roof depending on what the plans call for.
What Will You Need?
While every garden shed that you chose to build will require slightly different materials and tools but generally the list below is what 90% of the plans will require.
€ A hammer
€ Grinder
€ Hand saw
€ Skill saw
€ Angle
€ Cordless drill
€ Concrete trowel
€ Measuring tape
Materials You Will Need:
€ Around 3.5m of sawn 50mm by 25mm good quality timber
€ 50 x 50 mm framing timber
€ 7.5m of untreated boxing timber
€ Some concrete mix
€ Corrugated iron measuring around 730mm
€ Some PVC
€ Two large hinges for your door and a latch
€ A window
€ Some cladding materials
€ Nails, jolt head nails and some roofing nails
The Foundation For Your Shed
There are really two choices when laying the foundation of your shed. You can either choose a concrete slab which will give it a solid foundation or you can build a wooden floor.
Preparing The Site
Depending on what type of site you need to build on you can start by removing around 20 to 30 mm of the top soil. You then place the flooring slab in the place where you've removed the top soil. Ideally, you will want your shed to be around 30mm above soil level so that the surrounding ground water does not damage it.
Wooden Floor
A good alternative to a concrete floor is a wooden one that has skids. In order to lay out a wooden floor simply put a few lengths of 100mm x 75 mm timber on the flat site you've created. You then need to treat the timber so that it can handle ground water contact or you can use pretreated timber. This will form the platform on which the floor boards are nailed on to.
The Side Walls
For the side walls you will have to build 2 identical frames. The measurement of which will depend on the shed plans that you use.
The Front Wall
This part of the frame holds the window and the door. However, the window is not a big part of the structure so it can be left out of the frame if you don't need one. Again this will depend on the shed plans you use. In most cases if there is a window you will need to cut out a 500mm by 500 mm section.
The Rear Wall
The rear wall is very simple since it does not have doors and windows. You just stagger the horizontal support and nail them.
The Roof Trusses
In most garden shed kits the roof is something you can easily lay down on the shed and then secure with a screw. You can use a corrugated metal sheet or even chose a wooden roof depending on what the plans call for.