Designing a garden shed

It became clear several weeks ago that our garage can no longer contain the garden tools. So, Willie and I went looking at the local big box hardware stores for pre-built sheds that would meet my needs. They were so expensive that building a shed began to look very tempting.

We already had two shed books at home: Building a Shed by Joseph Truini and Sheds: The Do-It-Yourself Guilde for Backyard Builders by David Stiles. The first book is much more practical and step-by-step oriented than the second, but the second is good for ideas and inspiration.

I started reading through the Truini book and he strongly suggests making a detailed plan of the entire shed before starting anything. This is contrary to my nature: I usually just plow ahead and learn as I go. But since I've never done any wood working of any kind, I decided it might be a good idea to follow that advice.

As it usually turns out, planning ahead was a great idea. Not only did it help me decide on sizes and placements of everything, it also highlighted some problems I would certainly have encountered in the field. For example, the plywood siding will have to extend beyond the end of the wall stud by the thickness of the plywood in order for it to be flush with the other piece of siding (see below).

It also taught me that I'm not very good at drawing to scale or drafting. But, having completed the exercise, I now have a starting materials list. Here's where the advice to plan everything ahead of time isn't perfect. If I compile an entire materials list, 1) I have to know what sizes of materials are available (which I don't), and 2) I can't easily take into account the use of leftover materials.

For example, I'm planning to put "cripple" studs above the door and around the window opening. These are short pieces of 2"x4" boards, ranging from about 4" for the door and 12" for the window. I don't need to buy another 2"x4" board for those pieces because there will almost certainly be pieces that big left over from other parts of the framing. (The lesson of useful leftovers I learned from sewing.) So, the materials list will be approximate at best, at least for me.

Armed with these drawings, a materials list, and the infamous question "how hard could it be?", I'm ready to start my shed. But for me, starting the shed means moving the garlic, cutting down grass, and leveling some earth. Not exactly wood working yet, but I'll get there.