Building A Shed From Scratch

Building a shed isn’t a completely simple project, but by the same token it’s a pretty good beginner project for someone who wants to get more experience with home handyman projects.  You can’t just toss up some plywood walls and a roof and expect that structure to work as a functional building.  However the good news is that learning how to build a shed doesn’t have to be a long or painful process: there are many great plans to follow online and there are other ways of learning the ins and outs of building a quality storage unit.

There are several aspects to building a shed which you need to learn before jumping head first into a major project.  One good way to think about learning how to build a shed is to see the process as having several important and independent steps that go in order.  This makes it easy to organize each step and to learn the specific skills needed in order to build a brand new shed from the ground up.

Step 1: Learning to Set a Foundation.  The very first step to building any new building is to set up the foundation.  If you want a permanent foundation that means using concrete and learning exactly how to measure out the space where the shed is going to sit, how to dig even holes, and how to pour and smooth out the cement evenly.  If you don’t know how to use a level, you will need to learn as this step is critical to the process.  Another popular option is to dig a 6 to 12 inch hole for the foundation, cover the bottom with gravel, and then have concrete blocks on each corner which keep the shed propped up over the foundation without having to mess with concrete too much.

Step 2: Building the Floors.  Building floors involves several steps in and of itself.  Not only do you need to be able to take the pieces of lumber to create your base frame and floor supports, but you will be attaching plywood to the top to serve as the basis for your actual shed’s floor.  If the supports are too far apart or the nailing/drilling uneven then you are going to lose a lot of quality and have an inferior floor more prone to damage and eventual breaking.  Building the floors properly sets the stage for everything that comes after.

Step 3: Creating the Walls.  The next obvious step is creating the walls.  This sequence is one that many people find the most natural to figure out using instinct and common sense.  However, just because walls go up doesn’t mean they use the optimal design and if you truly want an excellent shed that is built to last the test of time you need to learn how to properly measure and frame the walls, as well as creating even measurements of support beams to provide the most stability and structure.  This can take some time to perfect, especially if you want to add windows.

Step 4: Building and Finishing the Roof.  This might be the last step, but that doesn’t make it any less important.  The exact skills needed and steps you need to take will vary based on the type of roofing you want to do.  Shingles are going to be different than layered sheet metal, for example.  However, setting up the structure of a roof is easy to learn, as the limited options all revolve around support beams followed by plywood and shingles or else layered sheet metal.

What’s This All Mean?

While this isn’t a step by step guide for people who want to learn how to build a shed, it does break down the process into four easy sections which allows you to concentrate on mastering one set of skills before moving on to the next.  For many people, this type of teaching process allows them not only to learn faster, but to master that information and keep their skills sharp for future projects.