Shed Building 101... part 1

I thought I would share the shed building process with you. I learned SO much today!

We picked out a prebuilt framing kit from Menards. It was a big load of stuff, so we had it delivered. When having the materials placed, it is very handy to have them set close to the site you will be building on. I would advise you not to put it right where you plan to build your shed, or you'll add a whole lot of extra work for yourselves!



Look at our shed material pile. Are we EVER going to finish this shed???

So, without further ado, here are the important steps of shed building.

1. Pick a level spot to place your shed. Would you like a hint? Just because it LOOKS level, does NOT mean that it is! Look at the wood pieces on the ground to the left of the pile photo above. They sure aren't level, are they?

2. Since you probably won't find a perfectly level spot, you will probably have to do some prep work. This was my job, so there are no pictures of this process! To level the spot, use a flat shovel to scrape/dig the dirt evenly. We used a header board to make sure that the foundation beams are even. Make sure any wood that is in contact with the ground are green treated wood. Cheesehead also had the level out constantly to make sure it was level both front to back AND side to side.



3. As our foundation, we used 4x4 green treated wood. We joined the pieces together with 2 foot green treated wood. as you'll see in the photo above.



4. You can scape all of the dirt out OR you can build the ground up. We chose option 2. These patio blocks worked great to help us make the foundation more secure. Luckily we had a block cutter to cut off the parts of the patio block that threw off the level. We had the blocks that looked like four blocks joined together. It was quite easy to break them apart on the lines that were already on the blocks.



5. Okay, this part is EXTREMELY important! Enlist some help. This is not a job to work on by yourself from here on out. Cheesehead was fortunate to have a friend from work and his wife volunteer to come out and help us with this part. Thanks guys, your help was VERY much appreciated!

6. Our frames came pre-built, so we just unfolded them, laid them out, and nailed boards to keep them straight. We fit the frames onto green treat that was the length we wanted to build the shed. It was neccessary to put in temporary braces as well.



7. If it starts to rain, make sure to take the neccessary precautions to preserve yoursleves and any equipment you are using. I don't know if we would have taken a lunch break if it weren't for this lovley down pour. It was almost 2 at the time. No one but me would admit they were hungry. I suppose they didn't want to take a break or something. Breaks are rejuvenating and MUCH needed!



8. When working, make sure you have a comfortable work area. Eliminate bending as much as possible. Do you like our "table"? Another important point to make here would be make sure you have a sharp saw blade. I had a replacement all ready, but since I wasn't sure how long it would take to switch the blade we just burned our way through the boards. I wouldn't advise that!



9. As you put up the siding, remove the temporary braces.



10. Once the sides are properly reinforced, it is time to worry about the back of our shed. We ran support beams on the back, middle, and front frames. To keep the supports in place (since we didn't have two ladders that were tall enough) we used wood blocks to help hold it in place temporarily, until we got the studs in place.



11. When installing the supports, it is good to keep the measurements of your siding in mind for proper placements to attatch said siding to.



Okay, we're not even close to being done yet, but this is as far as we got in a 13 hour work day. I suppose it would have gone much quicker if we had more than 4 people doing this work, but I am pretty satisfied with our day's work. Tomorrow there's just the two of us. We are hoping to get the floor installed!
Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy