How to build a wooden shed?

[mikebarker]

Hi all, I am about to build a small wooden garden storage shed (3m wide x 2.4m deep) on a gravel base. I have been soaking up tutorials, reading the various excellent posts on this forum and on wooden framing and feel fairly confident about most stages but there are a few grey areas that I would love the community guidance on (and will likely lean on you for tips along the way!).

I previously prepped the ground and laid a gravel pad. The plan is to put 2 x 6 treated joists directly into TuffBlocks as the base of the shed and build on top of that.

So my questions are:

Flooring

1. I am looking at treated yellow tongue STRUCAflor is this suitable or is there a better alternative? Treated plywood looks very expensive but I don't mind paying if it means increased longevity.

2. Silly question, but given the fact an exposed tongue in these boards will be at one edge of the shed. Do you just cut these off or just fill the gap with sealant?

Walls

1. What options do I have for external wooden wall panels? I would like something that looks nicer than particleboard or OSB. Is there an outdoor option of these slotted panels? I guess I could use weatherboards but curious at alternatives.

2. Should I use building wrap?

Roofing

1. What are my options here? Just colourbond sheets? If yes, should I still put a plywood/OSB roof on and apply the colourbond to that or just attach it straight to the rafters? I assume I would have lots of gaps if I attach directly to the rafters.

2. If colourbond is the way to go, I'm curious to know what you use so that you don't just have sharp raw edges and what to use for the apex of a pitched roof?

Fasteners

I'm going to use screws instead of nails for framing (Personal preference, if I had a nailgun it might be different 😄). So I don't want to have to pre-drill or anything. What gauge is best, 12g? or thicker? Something like these Buildex RapidDrive Treated Pine Screws 12g x 75mm?

I think that's all I need to know at the moment, once I have these answers I can make my materials order and get stuck in!

Thanks so much

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @mikebarker 

Yeah it looks like it at first glance, but the chanel above the door is supposed to carry some of the water away, also there isnt a lot of space above the doors to the roofline so you dont get any direct run down the surface. Also those sheds are vastly different to what you have built, different type, different purpose.

Dave

[mikebarker]

Yeah you're right. Silly to compare.

[Old-gal24]

@mikebarker 

Any chance you have an end result you wouldn't mind sharing Mike?

I am just about to start a very similar project and would love to know how you got on with your shed building? and what options you ended up using.

Many thanks in advance

Old~gal

[EricL]

Hi @Old-gal24 

Let me tag @mikebarker to make them aware of your question. It would be interesting to see how much progress mike has made on the wooden shed. I'm sure our members would love to see it.

Eric

[Old-gal24]

Thank you Eric

@EricL  I did add Mick into my request.  Thank you for the notation anyway.  

I have read through all of the 10 pages of posts associated with @mikebarker  and his request for advice on building a small wooden she, and his original post, but couldn't find anything showing it was finished.  

I certainly don't have the time to mess around with mine.  The hardest thing for me will be standing the walls with the colourbond sheets attached & the very back wall will have a small window, consisting of 6 Glass bricks in a frame as well, to be attached as my little shed 3mt x 3mt snug in the corner of my back yard.  Along with a side wall, that will need to be attached in the same manor.  Moving them clad, will be the hardest thing for me to tackle.

Thanks again  @EricL 

Old~gal

[EricL]

Hi @Old-gal24 

I hope Mikes project has inspired you to keep going with your shed project.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[mikebarker]

Hi @Old-gal24 I'm afraid it hasn't changed much, I had to divert funds to other life stuff but I'm ready to get going again with Colorbond cladding. My design was based on some plans I bought but then I re-did them in some 3D software called SketchUp, mainly to help me really understand how it was put together but I had also been meaning to learn it for other projects. I was very close to just using the plans straight up.

My suggestion would be to download some simple shed plans at least as a starting point, the only issue I had was finding metric plans, here is where I got mine from - https://www.icreatables.com/metric-sheds/metric-garden-shed-plans they have instructions on how to build too which I found helpful.

I also spend hours watching various YouTube videos on how to build a shed, you want to avoid the super fancy ones though. Some great examples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD0_2aO_3so&list=PLSz5m-KXTSM8EiSh7njlvkurO7NOyTo-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLk_CAMmQPc&list=PLLO3yW3SG0-CewhxV3q4v6qRkHVwLjXXR&index=3

I would suggest creating your own post so the awesome folks on here can cater their advice to your specific needs. As you can see on my project post, they are helping me every step of the way, and feel free to tag me in that post if you think I could help in any way.

This is where my shed is at the moment

[Old-gal24]

@mikebarker 

Thank you Mike for taking the time to send me such an informative reply.  Greatly appreciated. 

From your photo above it looks like the hardest part you have already completed.  This was exactly what I had planed to make, but thought the roof would be to difficult for me to manage, mostly on my own.

So I decided to go with the skillion roof line, hoping that all of my back neighbours trees/foliage should slid down the back where I can rake it out each year when the trees have finished dropping all of their leaves.  

I have gathered second hand colourbond sheets, along with a few old windows I have been collecting to make an old fashioned/rustic greenhouse in time. *(next project) Garden shed first as I have not long purchased this home, without a garden shed.  I am in desperate need to get this completed asap. As all of my garden gear is taking up the garage.

I had plan to make all the frames and then find someone to help me stand them. Along with the roof.  As I've been banned from ladders, by my adult children. *(long story)

I wasn't doing too bad, as I had always had my pop for advice and support, with most of the other items I've built over the years, but nothing on this scale, solo.

Like yourself I came on here first to see if I could find other peoples posts to give me a starting point. And guides to use.

What sized timber did you use at each step?  eg. Flooring, Walls then roof and screws did you end up going with the ones you originally mentioned ?  Golly gosh they are pricey. 

I do have a Ryobi nail gun but not one of the bigger ones.  So maybe to small to be of proper support.  I had originally planned to use it, but after reading a few other posts here and there on building in general I'm thinking screws would be the better way to go.. (more stable long term).

I also noted your use of the Tuffblocks did you find them helpful? and how many did you end up using? If you don't mind me asking... 

Once again many thanks for your reply and information.

Much appreciated

Old~gal

[mikebarker]

@Old-gal24  No worries, happy to help. A skillion roof is definitely the way to go, I only did a more complicated gable as this shed is a practice run for a much larger version.

Great idea picking up second hand bits, this build shocked me price wise. My wood order alone was $1200+. Yeah making the frames on a flat surface (I used the floor of the shed) and getting someone to help you lift it into place is a good idea.

I used 90x45 framing timber (you could get away with 90x35 I believe) everywhere except the joists which were 140x45. I used H3 treated wood everywhere with ground contact but also the bottom row of the shed, just in case. I used the flooring mentioned in the original post and painted the underside with bitumen paint. 

I used a combination of 100mm and 75mm screws (the ones I mentioned) and you're right, they are comically expensive. There are cheaper versions like these and you don't need treated ones everywhere, just where you use treated wood.

Avoid the nail gun unless it has similar gauge nails to the screws (10g or 12g screws). I opted for screws because it allowed me to mess things up, which I did a lot! The TuffBlocks are amazing IF you have a level surface, as you will have read, it was a lot of work getting them level on gravel. I think I used 27 all up (3 on each joist, which cost about $457!!) there is a calculator here you can use. The concrete ones are fine though. 

Cheers, Mike

[mikebarker]

Hey everyone! Finally back with an update. I've got all the colorbond cladding on, including the roof and I've just put the window in. I just have the door and ramp left.