Building a Garden ShedTips for Helping You Build Your Own Garden Shed

Owning your own home,yard and garden can bring you much pleasure and satisfaction. Part of that pleasure comes from the maintenance and care required to keep your place beautiful and tidy, as well as productive. To perform the many different kinds of jobs you need a variety of tools and equipment including garden tools, lawn mower, wheelbarrow and perhaps, even a snow blower. These require a storage shed and therefore, allow room for the car in the garage.

To build a garden shed yourself may seem like a difficult task, but with a good set of detailed plans and instructions, and helpful advice from building suppliers, you should be able to do a first rate job; One that you can be proud off. In fact, planning the garden shed can be almost as much fun as building it. Imagine the compliments you could get from friends and neighbors.

These five things should be considered while you are making your garden shed plans.

1. The location: You want the shed to be conveniently located to get equipment or tools in and out. In cities or towns there may be building codes, such as distance from streets, sidewalks and neighbor’s property lines. In the country, these restrictions may not apply.

2. The size: The shed should be large enough to neatly house the tools and equipment you have, as well as items you plan to store in the future. You also need to check building codes in your city to see if you require a building permit. Some cities require a permit only if it is larger than nine square meters. Be aware of penalties if you violate their regulations.

3. The type and shape: You want the shed designed so it will be easy to get equipment in and out, as well as, blend in with other buildings on your property or neighbors’ buildings nearby. In order to maintain friendly relations with neighbors, you may wish to discuss your plans with them. They may be able to give you a few helpful ideas. Furthermore, the people at the building supply stores are usually eager to show you pictures and brochures of different designs and building plans. Even shape and size of your yard, as well as the number of trees can also affect your decision.

4. Materials and colors: There are a wide variety materials available; steel, wood, plastics and asphalt (for shingles). You should be able to choose the materials to make a durable structure that will last a long time with little maintenance, particularly in areas where there is a wide range of climate conditions such as, hot sun, heavy rainfall, high winds and snowfall. You may want the colors on the shed to blend in or contrast with those of nearby buildings and the general landscape.

5. The cost: Factors, such as how large or how fancy you wish to build the shed and how harsh the weather conditions are in your area, can greatly affect the cost. Windows, skylights or electrical wiring from the house are quite convenient, but add to the cost. Another variation in cost can be the kind of foundation, such as treated wood on gravel, cement block or poured concrete. Therefore, the size of your budget can to a large extend affect your building plans.

While considering these five conditions, you should visit various building suppliers in your area. Browse through the lumber areas and discuss your plans with them. Most places have “how to” books, brochures and pamphlets; Some for free. You can also find valuable information on the internet. After all your reading, organizing and planning, you should be able to build a garden shed with confidence and satisfaction; A structure you can be proud off.

Planning to build a garden shed yourself may seem a bit challenging if you have little building experience, but with adequate research and planning you should handle every task with confidence. One of the first major decisions will be whether to purchase a set of plans to build the shed from scratch or to purchase a shed kit with plans, all materials and instructions included. Each method has its merits. These five tips may help you decide which method to choose.

1. If you choose a shed kit, most or all of the materials are included so there is little choice over the kinds of materials to use. To build from scratch you can choose from a wide variety of different kinds lumber, sheeting, roofing and fasteners that meet your requirements. However, if you have limited building experence, the kit method with all the instructions and materials included could be the easiest plan to build.

2. Building a shed from scratch using your own plans or plans you purchased can make it easier to make changes. If cost is a problem, you could design it so that windows, vinyl siding or electrical wiring from the house can be added later.

3. The cost of building the shed from scratch could be somewhat lower because you have more control over the kinds of material you purchase. Sometimes good quality materials can be purchased at sale or surplus prices. In fact, you could also consider buying good used materials if they are available in your area.

4. Garden sheds built from kits are often displayed outside at building supply stores. Some of these sheds have been outside for several years in adverse weather conditions.. Examine these sheds to see how they stood up to heavy rainfall, snow or hot sun. Sometimes the particle type sheeting on the roof is too thin and sags between rafters over time. With your own plans, waterproof plywood and a size thicker would be a better choice.

5. The foundation and floor of the shed is usually not included in the shed kit and therefore, you will need to choose the kind of foundation that is best suited for its location. In wet areas or where high winds are a problem you may want to consider a concrete or a cement block foundation, but in a drier level area treated lumber on a gravel base may be quite satisfactory.

To help you make an informed decision, these five tips along with plenty of research should help you choose between building the garden shed from scratch or from a shed kit. Remember, the time spend looking at different sheds and gathering all the plans and ideas necessary to make wise choices can give you the confidence to build a structure you will be proud off.

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Shed Building Plans – Building Proper Shed Ramps

By: James Forte

Once you have built your own shed using professional shed building plans, you will need to maneuver your equipment, tools and other items easily into the storage shed without putting a strain on your back. A DIY shed ramp is just what you need and this needs to be built correctly so that your ramp does not collapse under the weight of you and your tools and equipment.

There are many different blueprints for building a shed ramp some of which are free and some that are not. Whatever you decide on, you need to make sure that the plans are descriptive enough and provide step by step instructions. Professionally prepared plans are usually the best way to go because they provide all the information that you need including the materials and tools that you need as well as the size to cut the wood pieces. Free plans are usually not as detailed and usually end up costing you additional time and money.

Building a Proper Shed Ramp

The incline of the roof should be about 3 inches per vertical foot. Anything steeper than this will end up causing problems. It is important to have enough of a slope but one that is not too steep.

The ramp should also be sturdy enough to be able to handle any amount of weight that it shall be subjected to. You do not want to keep fixing the ramp or building a new one because it was not build sturdy enough especially if you have heavy equipment.

A good set of plans should be able to provide you with a on the type wood to use that will be sturdy enough for your purposes.

At a minimum, you can use 4 X 4 inch of pressure treated lumber for the framing of the ramp that is set at no more that 12 inches apart. You would then use 3/4 inch plywood that has been pressure treated for the ramp surface. In order to prevent slipping when the ramp is wet, it is beneficial to either use non skid or real rubber on the surface of the ramp.

You could also purchase metal shed ramps if you prefer but they may be very expensive and it would be cheaper for you to build one made of wood from scratch. A wood ramp is just as effective and safe as a metal shed ramp.

If you will be driving some type of vehicle into the shed, some type of ramp system is needed. In addition, if the foundation lifts the shed more than a foot above the ground, a sloped walkway or ramp will be beneficial to prevent pressure and damage to your knees.

Author Resource:-> To design a proper shed ramp, please visit my website on woodworking for additional resources and tips on how to build a proper shed ramp at http://www.woodworkingdiyplans.info.

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