Easy DIY Tips to Build your Own Garden Shed

Building a garden shed is a fairly simple affair and doesn’t require all that much in the way of tools. As far as materials go, that really depends on the size of the shed that you want to build. If you are simply storing garden tools, a smaller shed would work fine and fewer materials are needed. But if you need to store larger equipment, you may need to build a metal barn which requires more materials. If you choose to use wood, the important thing is to use a naturally rot-resistant wood such as cedar and coat it with a weather resistant paint or treatment so as to keep your tools clean and rust free.

Garden Shed Materials:

1×2 wood

1×3’s wood

2×4’s wood

2×6 wood

Cedar boards

Plywood

Ring shank siding nails

Screws

Hinges

Garden Shed Tools Needed:

Hammer

Saw (preferably a jig saw or circular saw)

Drill

Step 1: Design

The very first thing that you should do before purchasing wood or even touching a tools is put together a blueprint of your garden shed. Our shed is fairly modest with dimensions of 6’x 6’x 2’ and two doors, one door opens to a space with 3 shelves and the other open for longer garden tools such as shovels and rakes. Make sure that the roof is pitched forward to allow rain and snow to run off.

If you don’t have shed plans consider these helpful garden shed design ideas.

Step 2: Garden Shed Tips: The Frame

Start your project with the frame. Using 2×4’s construct your shed’s frame. If you are making a simple shed with one door then you will need two identical frames. If you are going to go with two compartments, as I did, then you will need to construct three identical frames. Next, use 2×4’s to connect the frames at the front and back, both on the top and the bottom. If you have two compartments to your shed with two doors then separate the two compartments with a 1×2 running down the center front of the shed frame. Finish off the frame with a nice 2×6 as a header along the top, front of the frame.

Step 3: Fashion And Fit Floor And Shelves

Cut a piece of plywood to fit as the floor of the shed. Cut the plywood so that the floor rests comfortably on top of the 2×4’s on the bottom of the structure and make sure that it fits correctly around all of the pieces of the frame. Once the floor rests comfortably in the correct position, screw it in place. Next, use 2×4’s to make crosspieces in the middle and right frames in order to support the shelves. Cut the shelves out of plywood and screw them in place.

Step 4: Fashion And Fit Sides And Back

Cut your cedar boards to the correct length and nail them into place along the back and sides of the framing structure.

Step 5: Fashion And Fit The Roof

Cut cedar boards to the correct length and nail them into place on the top of the framing structure. Make sure to leave an overhang along the sides and front.

Step 6: Fashion And Fit The Doors

Cut cedar boards to the required length for your doors and fit them in place with strips of 1×3’s at the top, middle and bottom of the back side of the door. Use 4 1×3’s to frame the front of each door. Screw in a door handle, secure them into the frame with heavy-duty hinges.

Daniel lives outside of Calgary with his wife and two children. He works for FC Locksmith and is a regular contributor to their blog. FC Locksmith offers a full range of locksmith products and services to customers in cities throughout Canada; including, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Ontario.

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