Backyard

How to Make a DIY Yard Utility Cart

July 30, 2016 by Ash 45 Comments

Whether you need a wagon, a garden cart, or a lawn mower trailer, this simple DIY cart can do it all. This easy tutorial will show you how to build this yard cart complete with simple wagon steering.

Ever since I got a riding lawn mower, I’ve been waiting for the chance to do something really cool with it (other than cut the lawn, of course).

We had recently went to a farm to go strawberry picking, and they shuttled us to the field in a hayride. I joked to Eileen that I should build our own hayride to pull the family around the backyard.

But then I got thinking how useful a DIY wagon cart would be, especially for my yard work (and previous yard work – like the boardwalk we just made).

So, as many great inventions once started with a mere joke, so did my next project.

I was going to build my own lawn tractor cart. The following tutorial will show you exactly how to make a wagon too – complete with simple wagon steering.

Planning the DIY Utility Wagon

I was really excited for my DIY garden cart. Aside from the original purpose of a wagon ride around the yard, it could really help me save time in many other tasks (particularly when refuse pickup day comes, and I had to haul 10 heavy bags of grass clippings to the curb).

I looked at many commercial lawn mower wagons, trailers, and utility carts in the past, so I had a pretty good idea of how to make a wagon.

In the past, I had once considered buying a wagon utility cart, but never got around to it because of the cost and small sizes they came in. If you’re wondering how to make a wagon, keep reading for all of the wooden wagon construction steps. It’s really quite simple.

The actual construction of the DIY wagon was not going to be that hard. It was just a platform with a fence.

Since the DIY wagon was completely custom-made, the wheel system needed to be built from scratch. I had a rough idea of what the wagon steering assembly entailed. But I still how to figure out exactly how to to make an axle for the wagon.

Wheels would need to be mounted to an axle, which would be mounted to the base of the wagon.

Even though I knew this, I still had lots of questions, such as what would prevent the wheels from sliding off the axle, or the axle from flying off the wagon?

How to Make a Yard Utility Cart

I did a lot of research on wheels, axles, and bearings and gained some exceptional knowledge on wheeled machines. I made my list of materials and started my wooden wagon construction.

How to Make an Axle for a Wagon

In learning how to make an axle for a cart, the following steps will show you the materials you need and how to put the wagon axle together. First, each axle consisted of some pillow blocks, washers, shaft collars, end caps, and wheels.

Materials for Building the Wagon Steering Axle

My homemade wagon steering axle system would be comprised of the following:

4 pneumatic tires
4 locking pillow blocks (explained below)
2 axle rods
4 locking shaft collars
4 axle rod plastic caps
a number of spacing washers

Pillow Blocks for Building the Wagon Steering Axle

A pillow block is a support pedestal used to mount a spinning axle to a flat surface. It contains a bearing that lets the axle spin independently of the mount.

The ‘locking’ feature of the pillow block is just a screw that you tighten that prevents the axle from sliding out of the bearing.

The pillow block housing comes with attachment holes to let you bolt it onto a surface (in my case, the underside of the wagon).

Here’s a picture of one of the pillow blocks I used (The bearing on top fits into the blue housing below, and the axle rod slides into the bearing):

Spacing Washers for Building the Wagon Axle

In learning how to make a wagon, it’s essential to understand how the wheel parts go together.

First, the two locking pillow blocks are secured to the wagon. Then the axle is inserted into the pillow blocks and locked into place with the block screws.

Before the wheels can be put on the axle, some spacing washers need to go on first.

It’s generally a good idea anyway to use washers to separate spinning parts, but I needed them specifically to enforce a minimum distance between the pillow blocks and the wheels.

If I didn’t put a small distance between the two, then the pillow block mounting bolts would be too close to the edge of the wagon, and risk splintering the wood, or worse, ripping right out the side during usage.

Wheels, More Spacing Washers, and Shaft Collars for the DIY Wagon

So after the spacing washers were put on, the wheel comes on.

After the wheel comes another spacing washer, and then a locking shaft collar.

This is essentially a fat ring that you slide onto the axle rod and becomes immovable once you tighten a screw on it. It’s a lot like the locking mechanism on the pillow block.

The shaft collar is the key part needed to prevent the wheel from sliding off the axle.

Shaft collars come in a variety of flavors. I chose to go with a 2 piece clamping collar. This type of collar comes with two half circles that screw together to form a ring.

I chose this type because compared to other types of shaft collars, it provided a larger amount of force to the axle to prevent it from moving.

Here’s a picture of the shaft collar I used:

End Caps for Building the Wagon Steering Axle

Finally, after the shaft collar comes the axle rod plastic cap. This is just a cap that you hammer onto the edge of the axle. However, it really has 3 purposes.

First, the axle rod has some sharp edges on both ends, so I didn’t want it digging into things and doing damage.

Second, it provides an additional layer of locking protection to prevent the wheel from sliding off. Albeit the locking shaft collar will do its job just fine, but it never hurts to have something extra to re-enforce it.

Finally, it finishes off the wheel setup giving it a nice aesthetic look.

I did a lot of shopping around online and found the best prices to come from Zoro.com and Amazon.

Also, I got some great deals on Amazon for 10” pneumatic tires and some ⅝” bore pillow blocks.

The rest of the parts came from Zoro. Additionally, I made sure that all the parts fit on the axle size I was using, which was ⅝”

Here is a picture of the assembled wheel structure (see what a nice finishing touch the end plastic caps give):

Here’s a close-up of the pillow block and the spacing washers:

How to Make a Wagon Chassis

With the wheels for the lawn mower trailer completed, I could focus now on the wagon platform.

This step of the DIY wagon was going to be a piece of cake.

Chassis Materials

The lawn mower trailer wheels were going to be mounted on 1 ft blocks of 4 x 4s. Those blocks would be attached to a rectangular frame made of 4 x 4s.

I planned on using pressure-treated wood for these foundational 4 x 4s. They were going to be underneath the DIY wagon and exposed more to insects.

Any structural damage to the foundation would be catastrophic so pressure-treated wood seemed a necessity.

However, knowing that people would be riding in the utility wagon at some point, I didn’t want them in close proximity to the chemicals used in PT wood, so the DIY wagon floor and above would be regular wood.

Also, I did plan on using deck stain on the lawn mower trailer to protect it from water and weathering.

On top of the frame would be some 2 x 8 planks for the floor of the wagon.

Attached to the perimeter of the wagon would be a fence made of 2 x 4s.

Finally, the rear of the garden cart would have a swinging gate to allow easy access into the wagon.

Here’s my TinkerCad design of the vision I had in mind:

Chassis Design

In building your own lawn mower cart, the rectangular frame underneath the DIY wagon needs to be strong, as it will comprise a majority of the foundation.

So I used half lap joints to secure the corners of the frame (see my mailbox post where I used a center lap joint).

I made repeated cuts with my circular saw to get rough cut of the joints.

Then I used my chisel and hammer to clean up the cut, and smoothed it down with a sander.

Here’s a picture of a half lap joint in the process of being made (for efficiency and consistency, I clamped two 4 x 4s side-by-side to get 2 joints cut at the same time):

Here’s a picture of the lap joints completed, and the rectangular frame is ready to come together on the DIY utility cart:

To connect the joints securely on the DIY wagon, I used wood glue and lag bolts.

I also wanted the lag bolt heads flush with the surface of frame, so I used a Forstner bit to carve out smooth holes to countersink the bolts.

Here’s a picture of the completed frame of the diy cart bolted together with glue:

Forstner bits are awesome. I just added them to my tool collection and have been using them in a lot of recent projects.

Here’s a close up the holes they made for the bolts:

To complete the foundation, I attached the 1 ft blocks that the wheel axles would be fastened to.

They needed to be firmly attached, so I used wood glue and two 6” bolts to make a strong connection.

Here’s a picture of one of them:

Making the Wagon Floor

Next up was the floor of the lawn mower trailer. I used 2 pieces of 2 x 8s for the center, and 2 pieces of 2 x 10s for the ends.

I attached them to the 4 x 4 frame with some countersunk deck screws.

Here’s a picture of attached floor while building the wagon:

Attaching the Wheel Axles

In learning how to make a wagon, the moment of truth came.

It was time to attach the wheel axles to the frame of the DIY wagon. I bolted the pillow blocks tightly and flipped the frame over.

Would the frame roll smoothly… (drum roll please).

Yes it did!

Here’s a picture of the attached wheels and frame on the lawn mower trailer:

Here’s an underneath close-up of a pillow block mounting to the frame:

I could stop right now and have a gigantic skateboard, but the fun was only beginning. It was time to build the wagon fence and gate.

Building the Fence and Gate on the Lawn Mower Trailer

This part of the DIY wagon project was really easy.

I just cut a number of 2 x 4s. Some were attached to the 4 x 4 foundation frame to serve as posts, and the rest were used as cross pieces screwed into the posts.

For the swinging gate on the homemade wagon, I used some 1 x 3 wood leftover from a previous project.

I made the wagon’s rectangular gate frame with some pocket holes using my trusty Kreg pocket hole jig, and some wood glue.

Here’s a picture of the wagon gate in progress:

Here’s a picture of the DIY wagon with the finished fence and gate (it looks great, doesn’t it?):

Attaching the Hitch to the Lawn Mower Trailer

Prior to starting work on the utility cart, I had done some research on how to actually connect it to the mower.

I found a contraption that let me attach a 2” diameter hitch ball to the back of the mower.

They’re called universal garden tractor hitches.

I also found an adjustable tow bar that would bolt onto a sturdy metal vehicle bumper (like some Jeeps). This would be perfect for my wagon.

I could bolt the connection to my DIY wagon, and attach the other end to the hitch ball on the mower. In theory it sounded good, so I hoped it worked in practice.

Here’s a picture of the hitch and tow bar linking the utility cart to the riding lawn mower (the tow bar can be easily detached on either end when not in use):

Now it was time to test the riding lawn mower and the DIY wagon together. I started up the riding mower and slowly let the brake go.

It started pulling the DIY trailer without hesitation!

I was worried the engine would struggle, but it did not. I did a few laps around the yard and my lawn mower was pulling the DIY trailer perfectly.

The First Ride on the DIY Wagon

Now, I just needed a test subject.

After all, what’s the fun in pulling around an empty wagon?

Eileen was on the phone, and I was anxious to try out the DIY wagon with someone. Then I looked at the house and who did I see looking out at me but my dog Zeus.

Perfect timing!

Here’s a picture of me testing out the lawn mower trailer with my first test subject:

I later applied some deck stain to the non-pressure treated wood, and the utility cart was completed.

Since learning how to build a wagon, I’ve given many rides in the backyard. I’ve also hauled many bags of refuse to the curb in minutes with this DIY wagon, saving a lot of time.

It does take a few minutes to hook up the wagon to the mower though. So I don’t always use it attached.

Although, it works just fine as a stand alone utility wagon when I don’t feel like hooking up the hitch.

Now for some pictures of the DIY wagon hard at work.

This was was taken when I needed to move a lot of equipment into my storage shed from the garage.

What would have normally taken me several trips, took just one with the utility trailer:

Here is the DIY wagon hauling 10 bags of refuse to the curb.

I used to use my wheelbarrow, but that would only hold 2 bags at a time. It pales in comparison to the wagon. This DIY cart holds so much more, as you can see (below):

Finally, here’s a glamour shot of the DIY cart functioning as it was intended: as a riding lawn mower tractor trailer.

Time and Cost of Building the DIY Garden Cart

The total cost of my DIY wagon project was around $120. The garden cart was one of my most fun projects to date, and best of all, it was completed in just a weekend.

If you are looking for some help with the yard work or a fun fall ride, follow this tutorial on how to make a wagon that functions as a utility cart, wagon, or trailer, and you’ll be up in running in no time!

Utility Cart 3 Year Update

The wagon has held up great. It’s amazing how much the wagon holds, in comparison to my old wheelbarrow. It’s also perfect for loading up things from the garage that need to go out to the shed in the yard.

The tires on the wagon lasted several seasons. However, they started to lose air after last winter and cracked.

Instead of simply replacing them though, I felt like it was a good opportunity to upgrade the wagon.

Since I found myself pushing the wagon around the yard more than I thought I would, I decided to swap out the front wheels with ones that swiveled in the front.

I was thrilled with the upgrade, as it made pushing and turning the wagon by hand very easy. If you are going to push your garden cart around by hand, I definitely recommend starting out with front wheels that swivel.

Building a Picnic Table in One Day

July 7, 2016 by Ash 54 Comments

When we were getting our yard ready for spring, we took a trip to our local landscaping center to look at their plants.

On their patio, they had an array of beautiful outdoor furniture. Eileen sat down at a picnic table she liked, looked at the price (a very high $450), and said to me, “I bet you could make this.”

I nodded, thinking about all of the creative things Eileen and our son do in our yard, like having backyard picnics, bubble-making, and painting.

Having a DIY picnic table in the middle of the backyard would be perfect.

Plus, I’m always up for a good woodworking project.

Researching Picnic Table Plans

I did some research online for how to build a picnic table and ended up choosing the first one that came up – PopularMechanics.com.

It seemed simple to construct and the design plans were of a high caliber. The best part was that this picnic table plan called for using composite decking for the tabletop and seats.

This eliminated any concerns I had about having to use pressure-treated wood in close proximity to foods, or having to spend time staining or sealing the surface of the DIY picnic table.

Cleaning the composite decking on the picnic table would be a cinch too. It was a little more expensive than using real wood, but it was worth it.

The rest of the wooden picnic table (legs and supports) would be regular pressure-treated wood, so costs would still be low overall.

The specifics of how to build a picnic table is outlined pretty well in the source website, so I’ll just recap my picnic table building experience.

Overall, it was quite a fun project to work on, and best of all, I accomplished it all on a Saturday (albeit a long Saturday from morning to night).

DIY Picnic Table Material Order

I printed out the materials list from the website, and then I placed order on Lowes’ website for in-store pickup.

I normally don’t like doing store pickup for lumber because you are at the mercy of whatever employee is selecting your wood.

This usually means a random assortment of quality, with crowning knotty boards.

Money-Saving Tips

However, I found an awesome deal on eBay for multiple $15 off $50 Lowes coupons, and they were valid online only.

Using an Excel spreadsheet, I distributed all the materials across 4 separate orders to total just over $50 each.

Then I purchased 4 of the coupons on eBay for a mere $4 (coupon codes were emailed to me immediately after purchase) and placed four Lowes store pickup orders. Just $4 on eBay saved me $60. Not bad! The Lowes guys didn’t mind when I went to pick up the order either.

Here’s my car full of wood after the lumber excursion to Lowes (ignore the concrete and the pipes – they are for an upcoming shade sail project):

I did have to get some wood cut in the store for the picnic table. I ordered several 12 ft pieces of composite decking and I knew that wouldn’t fit in my car.

So I had an employee cut them in half for me. Having the store cut your wood is convenient, but it’s not always worth it.

Their cuts aren’t that accurate, and sometimes you have to wait a while to get help.

Additionally, there seems to be a trend starting in stores to charge you for too many cuts.

Always thinking of how I can save money, I brought a measuring tape and a handsaw in case I decided to cut the picnic table wood myself in the parking lot.

As it turned out, a thunderstorm appeared out of the blue when I got to Lowes, so that forced my hand and I had to have them cut it for me. They usually charge 75 cents for the cuts, but they waived it.

How to Build a Picnic Table

The first step in my how to build a picnic table project was to cut all the wood. So when I got home, I spent an hour cutting all the wood according to the plans. This hard work resulted in the picture below.

Doesn’t it look like a kit just waiting to be put together?

The next step in building a picnic table is to put together the picnic table’s legs:

Here comes the tabletop support:

Next up was the pair of seat supports for the DIY picnic table:

Here are the five pieces of the picnic table project that would soon come together to form the table’s skeleton:

I clamped some of the pieces together and picnic table project was now three dimensional:

With the seat supports attached, it was starting to look like a picnic table now:

Here I used a diagonal support beam to prevent the picnic table’s legs from shifting inwards:

Here I had to reinforce the structure with some 3.5″ galvanized carriage bolts to support the weight of people and tabletop loads:

It wasn’t too early to take the DIY picnic table for a test drive. Here I am taking a break from the work:

Finally, the crowning moment of the project came when I attached the composite decking on the DIY picnic table.

I highly recommend using a countersinking bit for pre-drilling the holes for the deck. I believe they make special screws for composite wood, but I didn’t have any.

At first, I used regular deck screws, and without a countersink bit, they did not look good after the head penetrated the wood.

Unlike real wood that compresses under the screw head, the composite material made a really ugly blemish on the surface.

After trial and error, I found the countersink bit did a wonderful job carving out a notch for the screws.

I used my router and a round-over bit to smooth/bevel the edges of the deck wood:

Finally I completed the DIY picnic table. Eileen helped me move it into the backyard. It was extremely heavy, but that was just a testament to its quality.

Here’s what the picnic table looks like in its element (notice our garden planter and rain barrel in the background).

The total cost of this professional quality DIY picnic table ran us $140, but that’s after a $60 discount via the $4 eBay coupons.

I estimate a pre-built picnic table of this quality would have cost a few hundred dollars in the store and even more at the landscaping stores!

If you are thinking about buying a new picnic table for your yard, instead learn how to build a picnic table with these plans and tips. We are absolutely loving the DIY picnic table, especially the composite tabletop.

Our DIY picnic table is already getting a lot of use and is sure to be a hit at our next BBQ.

How to Build a Wooden Walkway for the Backyard

June 30, 2016 by Ash 35 Comments

When we moved into our new home, we had an amazing backyard, but it was missing one thing – a clear path from the patio into the backyard.

The patio was somewhat secluded with a row of bushes around its perimeter. To get out to the grass, you had to use a little rock path.

Right away, Eileen mentioned how this “walkway” wouldn’t work for our family. The rocks were uneven and the ground had a sharp decline.

On top of that, the pathway was so narrow, as the bushes had grown bigger than probably anticipated. She was worried about our little one tackling those rocks or our dog scampering through the bushes each time he went out.

Eileen had some solid points, so a new walkway got added to the list.

Pictured below is the best before picture we have. Unfortunately, it doesn’t give much of a picture of the little rock pathway, nor does it give a good feel of how large the bushes had grown and just how narrow the walkway was. Better than no picture?

Planning the New Walkway

The solution we decided on was to relocate one of the bushes to another part of the yard, and to install a boardwalk type pathway into the yard from the patio.

Transplanting the bush was easy.

I just dug around the root system until I was able to lift the plant out of the ground. I dug a comparable hole nearby and plopped the plant in, packing down the dirt and giving it a good watering.

We filled the old hole with dirt, and raked the ground really well to prep it for the new walkway.

I predesigned the walkway on TinkerCad to get a feel for how it would come together and also how much wood we would need to purchase.

The patio was at a higher elevation than the yard, so there was going to be a slope to the walkway.

Here’s a picture of the 3D plan for the walkway (grey part being the patio, and the green being the grass):

With most outdoor projects, the walkway was to be built with all pressure-treated wood.

This was especially important for the walkway as it was going to be in direct contact with the ground allowing easy access to bugs.

For the structure, I planned to bury four 4 x 4 posts at each corner of the walkway.

The upper and lower posts were to be connected with a 2 x 4 support beam which the boardwalk planks would screw right into.

Here’s a picture of underneath the walkway, showing the support beams:

How to Make a Wood Walkway

Construction went smoothly for the walkway. I first cut the corner posts to length. Then using a post hole digger, I dug 2 ft deep holes for each post.

At the bottom of each hole, I packed down a layer of gravel to provide a sturdy foundation for the posts. Then I just dropped in the posts and filled in the surrounding space with dirt.

I also used an 8lb tamper to pack down the dirt really well around the posts.

I then cut the support beams from 2 x 4s and screwed them into the buried posts.

Afterwards, I cut the boardwalk planks from 2 x 6s and screwed them into the support beams.

Finally, to weather-proof the project, we put down two coats of deck stain.

The wooden walkway construction was now complete.

Pictured below is the completed boardwalk, with the family member that uses it most 😉

Here’s another shot, which shows a little more of how the wooden pathway connects the patio to the backyard. It also shows the slope.

Using the Wooden Walkway

A year later, we are still so pleased with how the wooden walkway turned out.

It was the perfect solution to the narrow path problem we once had. It’s perfectly sized, regarding its width and its steepness. Toddlers can handle the slope very well.

It’s very sturdy and it doesn’t get slippery in the rain or the snow. Slipping has not been a concern; however it is down the road, I can always adhere some grip tape to the wood.

Best of all, the boardwalk did not cost much or take very long to make. We spent under $50 and completed the project in one day.

If you are looking to build a wood walkway for your yard, it’s budget-friendly, sturdy, and holds up great. You won’t be disappointed!

How to Install Shed Siding and Roofing (Phase 2)

May 22, 2016 by Ash 11 Comments

Learn how to build your own DIY shed with this tutorial. It will cover how to install shed siding, how to lay the roof, and how to paint and prime the exterior.

Everyone has been asking for the nail-biting continuation of how to build a shed, so here it is – part two of how to build a shed from scratch.

If you missed the first part, check out Shed Project Part 1.

In the first DIY shed post, I went over how I decided upon the shed design (it definitely changed a few times), how I prepared for the shed construction, and how to build the floors and walls.

I started on the shed’s foundation with concrete blocks. Then, I worked my way up through the shed floor and got the wall frame standing firm.

I even shared some tips on how to save money on your DIY shed. So, be sure to check it out if you already haven’t.

In this post, I’ll be sharing how I did the siding, roofing, and priming and painting. And in the last post, I’ll cover how to build shed steps, ramps, and doors.

Back to the DIY Shed

My long-awaited dream of building a shed from scratch has come a long way.

In our first home, I built a metal shed over the weekend, and it did the job.

Yet, it was nothing like the beauty I was working on now. I had sketched out the design on post-it notes, and it was amazing seeing the sketch become a reality.

After a short break to work on some side projects around the house, it was time to continue building the shed so I could move the riding lawn mower out of the garage and finish up building my dream shed form scratch.

How to Build a DIY Shed from Scratch

With the shed wall frame in place, it was time to install the exterior siding part of building the shed. It was getting exciting!

Installing T1-11 Shed Siding

I used T1-11 plywood siding for my DIY shed.

Why T1-11 siding for the DIY shed?

T1-11 siding is very popular wood paneling siding for sheds.

T1-11 plywood is thick enough to be used as the actual wall itself (versus using a thinner plywood sheathing and separate siding).

Also, T1-11 siding (similar to the T&G plywood used for the floor) also has special grooved endings to help the sheets overlap and make a tighter seal at the seams.

Installing the shed siding for your framed structure does more than just enclose it.

At this stage, the framed walls were still wobbly and were not square with each other. The shed siding corrects all of this for you.

When you install the first piece of shed siding onto each wall panel, you use that first piece to align the edge of the wall panel.

Once the wall panel is aligned with the shed siding, you nail them together and that wall panel is squared and locked in place.

Too Soon for L-Brackets

Remember earlier when I said I used L brackets to tightly secure the 4 wall panels together, and it backfired?

Well, prior to installing the shed siding, my shed wall panels were not wobbly. They were held very firmly in place because of the L brackets at the corners.

It took me a few minutes to figure out why the walls were not budging when I tried to line up the edges with the shed siding.

So I had to undo a lot of the L brackets from the corners to get the shed siding to install correctly.

Once the shed siding was up, I reinstalled the L brackets.

As for the window openings, I initially installed shed siding that covered them up completely.

Once the shed siding was securely in place, I used a mini circular saw to cut out the opening.

I highly recommend a compact circular saw for your tool collection.

It’s much more convenient than a full sized circular saw and also very precise.

Spacing & Wall Stud Note

I made another mistake related to the shed siding too. The wall studs in the panels are spaced 16” apart (pretty common construction standard).

The 16” spacing starts at one end of the wall panel.

Yet, depending on the length of the wall panel, it could end abruptly, forcing you to place the ending stud at an arbitrary distance.

When installing the shed siding, you always have to start on the end of the panel where the 16” spacing begins (not where it ended prematurely).

Starting on the correct end of the wall panel ensures that every 4 ft wide shed siding sheet ends on a wall stud.

I luckily did this for the 3 sides of the shed.

However, the right side of the DIY shed, I did not start siding on the correct end.

Because of this error, I had several pieces of overlapping siding that did not have a wall stud behind it.

Lack of a wall stud at the seams meant there was no way to tighten the overlap between the shed siding sheets and left a gap for rain and bugs to come in.

So rather than re-siding that wall panel, I left it as is, and installed some additional wall studs to nail the seams into.

Rain Water Puddling

As I mentioned in the first post, I worked on building the shed all by myself.

Since it was a solo project, it took me longer to finish because it was just me building it, and I have a day job.

During this time, we had our share of rain.

Therefore, I had an issue with heavy rain water causing parts of the shed siding to swell and bulge and pull away from parts of the foundation before I could finish getting everything up.

After it had rained, I noticed that there were 2 slight dips in the flooring around the edges of the shed foundation that caused rain water to puddle and remain there.

In that same area, some of the shed siding was bulging on the outside.

Tip to Prevent Warping

I did some research and found out that unprotected T1-11 plywood siding will start to warp if left exposed to standing water.

So this puddling water was warping my T1-11 siding.

My solution was to drill a few tiny holes into the center of the floor dips to let the water drain.

After the next rainfall, I checked the shed and there was no more water puddles.

My T1-11 plywood siding has never warped since.

As for the existing bulges in the shed siding, I could not leave them like that because it would let bugs in.

So I used a bar clamp to force the shed siding back into place, and secured it with a few nails.

Problem solved – what a great trick, right!?

I’m hoping these tips and tricks help you from making these mistakes when you are building your shed from scratch.

Shed Roof Construction

With the plywood shed walls finally up, I could start working on the shed roof.

This was a big milestone for my DIY shed project as it meant the “drying out” period could start.

his was when water stopped entering the interior, and it could soon become usable space.

It was also a huge milestone for me in the fact that I had been able to build the shed from scratch thus far.

The DIY shed was looking great, and I wasn’t looking back.

How to Build Roof Trusses for a Shed

The shed roof required a number of trusses to be built.

The trusses are the shed roof framing, which are the triangular supports mounted on top of the structure that the roof sheathing or plywood is nailed into.

I had to build thirteen individual shed trusses to span the length of the shed.

Here is what the shed trusses look like up close:

In building trusses for a shed, I followed the directions in the shed plans to construct them.

Tool Tip

My miter saw really came in handy for building the shed roof, as there were lots of angles to cut.

Where each segment of the truss met another segment, I sandwiched that part between two pieces of plywood and nailed it together securely.

I read a great tip online about constructing the shed trusses.

Similar to the framed wall panels, I built them on the floor of the shed.

However, this time I use the shed floor to make a jig for each truss.

I needed each of the trusses to be identical to the next. So I built the first truss carefully on the shed floor.

Once completed, I screwed scrap blocks of wood in the floor at strategic parts around the truss.

I lifted the finished truss up and a perfect jig remained on the floor to construct the next one.

I didn’t have to spend time measuring and aligning the truss segments.

Next, I just placed each segment into the jig and secured them with the sandwiching plywood.

The blocks of wood screwed into the floor meant that the truss would be a perfect replica of the original one.

How to Attach the Shed Trusses

Attaching the shed trusses to the shed structure was not as simple as dropping them onto the top and nailing them.

Because of how they rest on the framed walls, there was not much surface area to work with to nail them down securely.

I did some research online, and a common technique was to just toe-nail the truss to the shed.

The technique is to drive some nails into the truss at an angle to penetrate both the truss and the shed structure.

I tried this, but I was not comfortable with the connection it made. There was too much movement, and it did not feel safe to leave it like that.

So I kept brainstorming what I could use for a better connection.

My solution was to use L brackets on the sides of the trusses and heavy duty 6-inch TimberLok screws driven in from underneath at an angle.

The screws were what really did the job. The L brackets really just held the truss in place so it was easy to drive in the screws.

I love TimberLok screws.

With all the extra TimberLok screws leftover from the shed, I use them in so many projects now.

I used the TimberLok screws in my folding workbench and sliding garage shelves) that require a really strong fastener.

Here is a view of the trusses from outside:

How to Install Roof Sheathing on a Shed

With the shed trusses made, next came the shed roof sheathing.

I used ½” 4×8 OSB (oriented strand board) plywood for the shed roof.

The Hulk

The trickiest part of this shed building step was actually getting the plywood sheets onto the trusses.

I would recommend getting some help for this part of the shed construction.

The shed roof sheathing was very heavy and large to do by yourself.

I was very eager though to get the roof on. Unfortunately no one was around at the time to help.

I went through several failed attempts to get the sheets up by myself.

Eventually the technique that worked for me was to lift each plywood sheet up and in between the trusses. This required quite a bit of strength.

Needless to say, I was very sore afterwards, but it was worth it.

Prior to lifting up the plywood sheets, I had screwed scrap siding into the overhanging part of the trusses.

Doing this gave the lower trusses an edge.

This ensured that when I dropped the sheets onto the trusses, they would not slide off the bottom and fall to the ground.

One by one, I lifted and nailed each sheet down to the trusses in a staggered pattern provided in the plans.

Here’s a picture looking up into the trusses after the plywood sheathing was laid down:

Installing the Drip Edge on a Plywood Shed

With the plywood sheathing nailed down, I installed a drip edge on the overhang of the shed.

A drip edge is specially shaped metal flashing that helps keep water on roof away from your structure, and not run down the side.

Here’s a close up of the metal drip edge on the plywood DIY shed:

Laying the Roof Paper

After the plywood sheathing came roofing felt paper. The roofing paper came in a large roll that I cut into 16 ft segments.

I started at the bottom corner of one side of the shed roof, and worked my way up.

I nailed the roofing paper into the trusses using roofing nails with large plastic caps in the heads.

The caps really gripped the roofing paper without tearing it.

I also liked that the caps for the roof were bright orange.

It helped me locate the trusses after the paper went on.

It’s important to try and keep your weight above the trusses to avoid doing damage to the sheathing.

I covered both sides of the roof with paper and left the apex for last.

There was a little gap between the roofing sheathing at the apex where the two sides of the roof met.

I was a little worried about leaks, so I thickened up the felt paper by applying two layers on the apex.

Here’s a picture of the apex with the extra layer of roofing paper. There are some shingles installed already, but I’m getting to that next:

Installing Shingles on the Shed Roof

After the felt paper, I moved onto the shingles.

I’ve always wanted to work with shingles, so I was really looking forward to this learning opportunity.

After a lot of roofing research, I felt confident to proceed in knowing how to put shingles on a shed.

Coincidentally, part of our home’s roof was being replaced at this time by a roofing contractor due to a leak.

So I talked to the guy for a little bit and he gave me some useful tips and confirmed that my plan for the shed’s roof sounded solid.

This was perfect because I like to be extra sure of myself before embarking on a new task – hence all the research I did for building this shed from scratch.

I bought 25-year asphalt 3-tab charcoal colored shingles from Home Depot.

I estimated I needed about 6 bundles of shingles. They are sold in packs called bundles, and each bundle covers about 33 square.

The individual shingles are rectangular in shape with 3 tabs (as seen in the picture below):

The black line running across the center of the shingle is a tar line.

Shingles overlap one another, and when the sun heats up the roof, the tar line softens enough to adhere to the overlapping shingles.

Applying Starter Shingles on the Shed Roof

To begin installing shingles on the roof, I first had to apply starter shingles.

Some shingle bundles come with special shingle strips called starters. These lack the 3 tabs and are just one continuous strip.

Because shingles always need to overlap each other, the first row of shingles on a roof needs a special starting strip.

Otherwise, the tabs would rest directly on the felt paper below and expose it to the elements.

What if my shingles don’t come with starters?

Actually my shingle bundles did not have any starters, so I just made my own.

I used a utility knife and cut off the tabs from a few shingles. I cut just below the tar line. Very simple!

Nailing Down the Shingles

With the starter strips made, I nailed them to the bottom edge of the roof. I made sure the tar line was on the bottom.

I made sure to extend the shingles about an inch off the edge of the roof. This overhang is important to prevent water from running off the shingles and down the siding.

I know that the metal drip edge was installed below to prevent this. Yet, this was just an extra measure of protection.

Tabbed Shingles

After the starters were installed, I was ready to install the regular tabbed shingles.

I overlapped the starter strip with the tabs from the other shingles.

Then I drove 4 nails per shingle just below the tar line. Two at the ends and two above each tab slit.

I worked my way across the shed roof to complete the first row.

The last shingle in the row needed to be cut. Yet, I left it intact for now, with plans to cut all the excess later.

To start the next row of shingles, I had to offset the first shingle. This way the tab slits rested on the middle of a shingle tab below.

If I did not offset the starting shingle, then the tab slits would line up with the slits in the row below. This would increase the potential of water seeping through the shingles unto the roofing felt.

So using a utility knife, I cut off about 1/6th of the shingle.

I continued this process row-by-row until I got as close as possible to the apex of the roof.

Then I hopped over to the other side of the shed’s roof, and repeated the whole process. (Installed the starter shingles at the bottom and working my way up).

Here’s a picture of the shingles so far:

Finishing with a Ridge Cap on the Shed Roof

The last step to finish installing the shingles on the DIY shed roof was to cover up the apex and form a solid ridge cap.

Once again, I had to cut the shingles to make special pieces for the apex on the shed roof.

Just like the starter strips, I cut off the tabs below the tar line.

Then I nailed each strip across the apex, perpendicular to the rest of the shingles on the sides.

As I worked my way across the apex, I overlapped each strip so each overlapping one covers the tar line on next one.

Here’s a picture of what the apex looked like after installing the shingles:

Here’s a picture after installing the shingles on the roof of the DIY shed (Eileen just put on a coat of primer on the siding too):

Priming and Painting the DIY Shed

Speaking of primer, Eileen took care of all of the painting on the plywood shed – from choosing the color to the last brush stroke.

And, painting the DIY shed was certainly a project by itself.

The shed took a lot of paint which we greatly underestimated.

Here I was thinking how far a gallon of paint went on drywall when repainting a bedroom.

Needless to say, a gallon of primer barely touched the surface of the raw plywood siding on the shed.

The plywood soaked up so much of the paint.

So, we went back and purchased a 5-gallon bucket of Zinnser brand primer.

Eileen ended up painting the shed with 3 coats of primer. It took a really long time. She used both a roller and then a brush to get in the ridges.

After the primer, Eileen went on painting the shed with 2 coats of grey exterior paint.

I definitely recommend using a paint sprayer as it will be a huge-time saver.

Tip for Choosing Exterior Paint

Just a note about choosing exterior paint for any outdoor project.

You definitely want to either get a sample of your paint color and test it, or take the paint chips outside – and make your decision under the light of the sun.

The sun makes the colors look completely different. Outdoor and indoor light are not quite the same.

You’ll notice this if you’ve ever used the same paint indoors and outdoors, so definitely be sure of your color.

The grey paint on the shed really made it pop. Yet more importantly, served as a thick protective barrier for the siding against water.

So in total, the shed required 5 coats of paint (primer and paint), taking about a week or two to complete. She worked in the free time she had too.

It was well worth the time and effort though. Since Eileen did the painting, I could keep working on other shed tasks.

Doesn’t the shed look great?! Eileen and I were so pleased with its progress and was happily working on the next shed tasks.

Next Up on the DIY Shed

With the shed now primed and painted and looking great, next up was building a ramp for the riding lawn mower, building shed steps for the storage entrance, building doors, and installing the windows.

To keep reading and to see how the DIY shed turned out, check out the final post – Shed Project Phase 3 (Building Steps, Ramps, & Doors).

This last post is great because I show you easy ways to build the steps, ramps, and doors! The DIY shed doors were custom built with a pretty cool design.

You can even apply these to other backyard projects too.

How to Easily Make a Beautiful Stone Walkway

February 27, 2016 by Ash 47 Comments

When we bought our first home, we loved the detached deck in the backyard. It was large, well-lit, easy to maintain, and looked like it was going to be great for entertaining guests.

However, as the years went by, we didn’t use it as much as we thought.

It turned out that being detached from the house was more of an inconvenience.

We had to walk through the grass to get to the deck, so when I got behind on the mowing, or after a rain shower, the deck wasn’t as appealing.

Then Eileen came up with the idea to build a stone walkway to the deck, so the deck could be easily accessed no matter the weather or condition of the grass.

So after some online research, we embarked on the stone walkway project.

How to Build a Stone Walkway

First, here’s a picture of the yard before we got too far in. Eileen is hard at work with the shovel, and Zeus is supervising.

Digging the Trench

To build a stone walkway, our first step was to dig a 6-inch deep trench from the backdoor patio to the deck. I outlined the proposed stone walkway by pinning yarn in the ground.

Then, staying within the boundaries of the yarn, we dug out the trench.

This step went by pretty quickly. We used a standard round pointed digging shovel.

There were no large trees nearby, so there were no roots to deal with.

After the trench was dug, we switched to a square pointed shovel and worked along the edge to make a nice flush wall.

Then we used a 8 x 8 steel tamper to compact the dirt, making a solid and level surface for the rocks to follow.

Here’s a picture of the dug-out trench. We were on our way to building a stone path 🙂

Laying the Stone Foundation

Next in building the stone pathway was laying down large crushed stone.

This layer of stone was to provide a sturdy foundation to support whatever weight got carried across the pathway.

Home Depot sold the stone in 0.5 cubic feet bags. In total, we used about 35 of these bags.

To distribute the stone evenly, we found it best to place the sealed bags at intervals, and open them in the pathway.

Then the stones were spread out using a shovel and metal bow rake.

Installing Lawn Edging & Fabric

After the foundation was laid, we had to install lawn edging against the wall of the trench.

The edging was needed to keep the stones inside the pathway, so they wouldn’t wander into the grass.

To install, we ran it along the inside edge of the trench, nailing in metal stakes at regular intervals and at corners.

Afterwards, landscaping fabric was laid down to help keep weeds out of the pathway.

Here’s what the pathway looked like with the edging and fabric. We were definitely getting the hang of building a stone walkway.

Laying the Stones

Next up in our stone walkway project was the second layer of stones.

Unlike the foundational stone layer, this was the topmost layer that was exposed to foot traffic.

The rocks needed to be small so they could compact nicely. We went with about 30 bags of white marble chips.

Prior to starting work on the stone path, our yard had some stepping stones embedded into the ground for access to the deck.

They required constant maintenance as grass would grow over them very quickly. In fact, we did not even know about them for the first year of living there because the grass grew over them.

We wanted to incorporate them, so we scattered them across our path and partially buried them with the marble chips to secure them in place.

This turned out to be a very functional aspect in building the stone path.

It allowed us to get to the deck without having to walk on the marble chips.

Although the marble chips were nice-looking, they tended to get stuck in your sandals/slippers, and were not comfortable to walk on if you were barefoot – so it was great to have the stepping stones.

Here’s a picture with the marble chips and embedded stepping stones:

Adding a Cove to the DIY Stone Walkway

The stone pathway to the deck was now completed.

However, we decided to build a small addition to it – a pathway to the right leading to a little cove.

The idea was actually tossed around at the beginning, but we wanted to see how the path turned out first before digging up that part of the yard.

To the right of the path, there was a small table with 2 seats. However, it was often overgrown with grass and weeds and difficult to maintain.

We wanted to make the little cove a functional aspect of the yard again.

So, repeating the steps we did for the stone path to the deck, we dug out a trench for the addition for layered the necessary stones.

Here’s a picture of the trench dug out:

Finally, here is the completed addition once the stones were added. All that was missing was the table and two chairs:

And, All the Leftover Dirt…

You can also see me stressing out about the big patch of dirt in the middle of the yard, leftover from digging the stone pathway.

I was never good at getting grass to grow, so I wasn’t looking forward to that project.

Prior to the large dirt patch was a giant dirt mound from all the digging. While trying to figure out where to relocate all this dirt, our neighbor asked if he could have it – apparently his dogs left a lot of holes in his yard.

So we shoveled all the dirt right over the fence into his yard (don’t try that without your neighbor’s approval).

Anyway, our hard work on the stone walkway paid off! We had a wonderful looking stone path providing easy access to the deck.

The walkway was very low maintenance, and even our dog used it instead of running through the grass – he hates to get his feet wet – oh Zeus.

Here’s the before and after pictures of the stone walkway:

In just two weekends, Eileen and I made this stone path that connected our patio to our detached deck. If you are looking to build a stone walkway, it’s an easy project with a large payout! And, the total cost was around $250.

Eileen and I, as well as Zeus, used the pathway more than we ever thought, so it was worth every penny.

How to Build a Storage Shed from Scratch (Phase 1)

February 4, 2016 by Ash 48 Comments

Learn how to build a storage shed from the ground up with this easy tutorial. These steps will show you how to create your shed design, prepare for construction, and build the floors and walls – along with some money-saving tips!

With a larger house comes a bigger yard. I knew my little push lawn mower could only do so much with half an acre.

This was proven true after nearly 3 hours mowing the grass, and stopping to empty the bag every 2 minutes. I couldn’t believe how much time it would take me to maintain the lawn each week.

Because of this, I bought a used riding mower that sped things up significantly, as I can now finish cutting the lawn in just over half an hour.

However, the behemoth was taking up half our garage. The riding lawn mower was huge, and we couldn’t get the car into the garage along with it.

I had big plans for our new garage (tons of workbenches and storage ideas).

As much as I loved my new riding mower, its home was not going to be the garage.

This was an excellent opportunity to work on my dream shed project – teaching myself how to build a storage shed.

How to Build a Shed Series

This post is part of a three-part series that I wrote on how I built my shed from the ground up.

I’m including so many details of how I built it, tips and tricks I did, mistakes I made, and all the how-tos.

I’m breaking it into three posts because of the amount of details.

In this post, I will show you the shed design process, how to prepare for construction, how to build the floor and walls, and how to install the doors and window headers.

My next article will show you phase two of the shed building process, which is how to install shed siding and roofing. This is when you really see the shed take shape.

And, my third article will show you phase three of how to build a shed, which covers how to build steps for the shed, a ramp for the shed, and custom shed doors. The doors involve an easy custom design that my wife swooned over.

Storage Shed Plans and Designs

I worked on building the DIY storage shed single-handedly over the summer.

I wasn’t sure that building a shed was in my skill set, especially building it by myself. Never had I done anything like this before.

However, I did a lot of research, watched a lot of videos, and asked some contractor gurus for advice.

The result?

An amazing DIY storage shed that my wife still can’t believe I built.

Did I make mistakes? Of course, but I learned from them and am sharing it all with you – so you can learn too.

If you are wondering how to build a storage shed or if building a shed from scratch is within your skill set, keep reading this DIY shed tutorial.

Choosing a Storage Shed Design

In learning how to build a storage shed, the first thing I had to do was decide on a shed design and plans.

Now if I was going to build a shed, I wanted it to be multi-functional and not just mower storage.

I went over several ideas in my head about how I could use the new storage in the shed.

I initially thought it would be nice to have an area of the DIY shed to store bagged lawn clippings and keep it dry from the rain.

It was annoying trying to handle soaking wet yard waste bags once exposed to the elements all week.

I also wanted to remove some of the bulkier items from the garage (like the wheelbarrow and fertilizer spreader), so the storage shed needed to be large enough to accommodate these things.

After taking measurements of the riding mower, I padded the size to include additional storage. I settled on a 10 x 16 shed plan.

This would give me ample space to park the mower and store gardening equipment and large tools.

Picturing the End Product

When planning things out, I usually like picturing the end product and doing a walk-through in my head to make sure everything makes practical sense.

I envisioned myself driving the mower into the storage shed, stepping off to the left (bagging chute was on the right), and walking out the shed door.

I knew I wanted the mower entrance to be on the far end, and shed storage directly adjacent.

Now if I stepped off to the left of the mower, I didn’t want to be walking into a wall.

I thought it would be a tight squeeze to fit between the mower and the wall, so I wanted to place the mower entrance on the right size of the shed.

Deciding on Storage Shed Plans

With the basic requirements of how to build a storage shed in mind, I started shopping online for storage shed plans.

There are lots of sites online selling plans for custom built storage sheds.

I ended up going with www.icreatables.com.

They had designs more to my personal liking, and they also had a ton of resources (video walk-throughs of storage shed constructions) which I found very helpful.

I found a “Cape Cod” shed design that I liked a lot. It came with a large overhang that would be perfect for keeping rain out of my bagged yard waste.

I just needed to add a deck to make a little porch on the storage shed to elevate my bags off the ground.

First Shed Sketch

Here’s my first sketch of the DIY shed. It’s a rough sketch, but this is how all my projects start, with putting a vision to paper.

As you can see in the picture, I have the mower entrance on the far right, and a porch on the rear for storing bags of lawn clippings.

I also added a smaller door on the side of the shed to easily access the storage area of the shed.

Two windows were sufficient to let in enough lighting. I also factored in a ramp for the mower.

Don’t let the 12 x 16 dimensions fool you. The extra two feet was accounting for the overhang, so the storage shed plan was still 10 x 16.

The shed foundation was going to rest on some 4 x 4 skids, sitting on 18 concrete blocks.

I did look into concrete anchors, but opted for the skid design due to simplicity.

Also a majority of comparable storage sheds in my area were resting on skids, so that gave me confidence that I was making the right decision.

I knew I was not in a flood zone either. If this were the case, I would have had to anchor the DIY shed permanently.

I purchased the storage shed plans for $15 and started going over the material list and putting together a cost estimate.

Preparing for Construction

Moving on to the construction part of how to build a shed!

This part of the storage shed construction took quite some time as I had no experience in construction of this magnitude.

Research

I had to google lots of techniques and terminology while going through the storage shed plans.

Also, I can’t tell you how much of a resource youtube was for me.

With each part of the shed construction process in the plans, I had to picture myself actually doing the work.

This helped me know if it was within my skill set and if I had the correct equipment.

I did have to purchase a number of tools to complete the shed project, but I’ll get to those in a bit.

After mulling over the storage shed plans and materials, I hit a snag.

To accomplish the two feet roof overhang, I needed a 16ft LVL (laminated veneer lumber) beam.

This is essentially a really strong, hard, and heavy piece of wood running across the underside of the overhang.

It needed to be strong enough to handle the weight of the shed’s roof.

Unfortunately, the storage shed plans called for a certain size LVL beam that was really expensive for me and was not available at the local Home Depot.

I considered making my own beam, but abandoned this idea out of lack of experience. The last thing I wanted to do was make something unsafe.

Second Shed Sketch

At this point, I was also getting a little overwhelmed at the construction design of the overhang.

This was a turning point in my shed project.

So teaching myself how to build a storage shed, I ended up abandoning the overhang design and opting for a more traditional shed.

This meant ditching the storage of the yard waste bags.

It wasn’t such a terrible loss. If I really wanted to, I could construct a box with a flap at the top to store the bags in.

So, I browsed through more shed designs and bought a simpler one for another $15.

After some tweaks to the purchased plans, here was the final design I ended up going with:

That sketch needed a bit of explanation as it does look a lot different than my original idea and went against my initial plan of the mower entrance being on the far right.

How to Build a Storage Shed

At this point in the shed project, I had already started doing some of the prep work outside that was not going to change, regardless of the shed design.

Laying Concrete Blocks for the Skids

Specifically, I laid out the 18 concrete blocks for the skids and worked on getting them leveled properly for the storage shed (see pictures below).

Tip for Leveling Skids

Here’s a small tip about leveling the skids for a storage shed.

Even though I tried my best to get the concrete blocks perfectly level, there were a few that were off by a little. This is pretty typical.

This left a gap when the skids were rested on them.

So to fill the gaps, I used scraps of roofing shingles. I read this shed tip online, and it helped me out a lot.
After leveling off the concrete blocks and placing the 4 x 4 skids on them, it became very apparent that as flat as the yard looked, there was a subtle slope.

This made the right side of the shed about a foot higher off the ground than the left side.

This made it very inconvenient to have the shed ramp on the right side.

It meant I would need a much bigger ramp (more materials and expense).

Also, that extra foot of height was making me nervous about driving the mower up it.

How simple it would be to just have the ramp on the left side of the storage shed, where the ground height was minimal.

Adjusting the Shed Design

So, in my DIY shed design, I relocated the mower entrance.

I did some more measurements and decided that the squeeze between the mower and the wall (when exiting the mower on the left) would not be so bad.

Nonetheless, I still kept my fingers crossed it would work out. Also, I had to relocate the storage shed entrance door since that was where the mower was going to park.

I did have to add some steps into my shed design to accommodate the big drop from the door to the ground now.

Additionally, I moved the windows around in my shed plans. The windows are on the front right corner now.

It all worked out for the best as this was the optimal setup to allow the most sunlight in.

My yard has lots of big trees, and most of the storage shed is usually under tree shade.

As you can tell in the picture with the 4 x 4 skids, I get the most sunlight from the right side of the shed so relocating the windows to the right made the most sense.

Happy with the new design, I was excited to my DIY shed project – as I was making some good progress constructing the storage shed.

Ordering the Shed Materials

One of the most exciting and anticipated moments in the project was getting the Home Depot delivery of materials.

For $75 delivery fee, Home Depot dropped off a gigantic pile of lumber for the storage shed on my driveway. It was definitely worth the delivery because it was a ton of materials.

With my wife’s help, it only took a couple of hours to relocate the lumber into my garage to keep it save from the weather.

It was also very fitting that it happened to be our 5th year wedding anniversary, and wood is the appointed gift for 5 years!

So happy anniversary my dear – wood!

Anyway, prior to ordering, I made a saved list called “Storage Shed” on Home Depot’s website, and added all the materials I needed.

Money-Saving Tips for Building Sheds

The total came to around $2000.

I was able to knock off an extra $250 though, and here’s how. Ebay has lots of 10% off coupons for Home Depot (up to $200 off).

I’ve come to realize that these coupons are hard to get a hold of for free. They typically sell for around $35 on ebay.

This was a bargain for me because that $35 that I would spend on the coupon would save me $200 off my storage shed cost.

Incidentally, the day I was going to purchase the coupon on ebay, I checked my mailbox and saw a bright yellow letter from Home Depot.

I knew instantly what it was – a 10% off coupon!

What were the odds? We just moved into our new home a few months prior, and Home Depot sent us a coupon congratulating us on our move.

Well, we saved another $35.

If you aren’t as lucky as me, buy the coupon on ebay for your project, if it makes sense for your budget.

For the other $50 I saved – I used ebay.

I was able to purchase 2 gift cards on ebay worth $500 each, but selling for $475 each.

I hope some of these money-saving tips can help you save with your shed.

How to Build a Shed Foundation

The next step in learning how to build a shed is to work on the shed foundation. I made the skids out of 6 pieces of 4 x 4 x 8 pressure-treated wood.

Safety First

Just a little note about working safely. Pretty much all wood used in the storage shed was pressure treated, by the way.

The wood was treated with a special chemical to keep bugs (and moisture to some degree) out.

When building outdoor structures, you really need pressure-treated wood.

A word of caution though, be careful about splinters and sawdust from cutting.

Splinters on the skin might sting or give a rash because of the chemicals.

Also, wear a dust mask when cutting the wood. You don’t want to be inhaling chemically treated sawdust.

Framing the Floor Joists

For the storage shed skids, I needed each of the 3 rows to be 16 ft long, so I joined 2 of the 8 ft pieces with a mending plate.

With the 4 x 4 skids now in place, I finally had a platform to start erecting the storage shed. I followed the directions in the plans to frame the floor joists (see picture).
Looks awesome, right? After framing the floor joists, I secured it to the 4 x 4 skids with some L brackets.

Why You Need a Framing Nail Gun

Also, do you see my framing nail gun on the right hand side? I could not have built the shed without it.

I highly recommend this framing nail gun for building large structures like this shed.

The specific gun I have is a Paslode gas framing gun. I bought a used one on ebay for $100.

They normally retail for several hundred dollars, so it was a great deal.

I did have to buy a cleaning kit for the framing nail gun though because the nails were starting to jam after repeated use.

Gas framing nail guns are the way to go if you don’t have a pneumatic compressor.

They use a special butane fuel cell (a small cylindrical cartridge you insert into the back) and a rechargeable battery.

The nail gun ignites some of the butane to fire a piston forward and drive the nail in.

The framing nail gun is really powerful (and dangerous if you’re not careful) and makes framing wooden structures a breeze.

This is the one tool that I couldn’t have built my shed without.

Here’s my framing nail gun and me:

How to Build a Shed Floor

In learning how to build a storage shed, the next step was the actual shed floor. I was making progress!

I used several 4 x 8 sheets of ¾” T&G orient strand board, following the sheeting patterns in the plans.

The T&G stands for tongue and groove.

One end of the board has a protruding strip called the tongue, while the other end of the board has a groove.

The tongue of one sheet is meant to be inserted into the groove of the next sheet, interlocking them together.

Once nailed down to the floor joists, the T&G system made a very sturdy floor for my shed.

I also applied a deck finish to the floor to protect it from water.

I knew it was going to be a while before the shed roof was installed, so waterproofing the shed floor was a high-priority (see below picture).

How to Build Shed Walls

After securing the shed floor to the foundation, the next step was to frame and erect the walls.

I followed the plans carefully and cut all the 2 x 4s to proper lengths in preparation for building the shed walls.

First Two Panels

The large shed floor was a perfect platform to build the wall panels on. (You can see I started assembling a wall in the last picture.)

After finishing a wall section, I stood it up, carefully aligned it with the edge of the floor, and nailed it into the floor joists.

The 10 ft side panel went up first and was easy to raise and nail by myself. However, I needed some help raising the long 16 ft panel.

It was very heavy and wobbly to work with by myself.

Once in position, I secured it to the floor and then to the 10 ft panel already standing up.

At this point, I thought it would be a good idea to use L brackets to more securely join the two wall panels.

So I installed 5 brackets.

This held the panels very tightly in place. I repeated this technique for the rest of the panel installation.

However, this idea backfired a little later in the project (I’ll get to that when I tell you about installing the exterior siding).

The L brackets were a good idea, but unfortunately not this early in the project.

I finished the panel installation.

I installed some temporary supports to the open end of the panels to give some rigidity until more panels were installed (see picture).

Last Two Panels

The two remaining wall panels took me more time to build, as they were more complicated in design.

They had openings for windows and doors, which meant building and installing headers.

Remember how I had purchased 2 separate plans in the beginning of the project? It actually worked well for me.

The second plan (which I was basing my shed off) did not include any windows or a small door frame.

However, the first plan (with the overhanging roof) had both of those things.

So I merged the plans to create what I had in mind for my shed.

How to Install Door and Window Headers

Next up in my building a storage shed project was installing the door and window headers.

During the construction of the wall panels, I had to install headers above each door and window opening.

Building Headers

When you have a large opening in your wall frame, there is no vertical support.

So there’s nothing to help bear to load of the roof.

You have to install a strong beam above the opening.

This will transfer the roof load horizontally and then down the sides of your opening. This beam is called a header.

I built my own headers by nailing 3 layers of wood together.

I sandwiched a strip of plywood between two pieces of 2 x 6 and it made a very strong beam.

Here is the shed with all four wall panels up.

Not bad for someone teaching himself how to build a storage shed.
Ignore the windows that are mounted in the frame.

I will install the windows later, but I was eager to see what they would look like mounted.

I removed them shortly afterwards to continue shed construction.

Phase One – Finished!

My shed project was really starting to take shape at this point.

Even though my original design changed a few times and I originally questioned my skills, it was coming along great!

It looked like a professionally-constructed building and I was thrilled with my ability to do this. It took a lot of planning, preparation, and time to get this far, but I was pleased.

If you are wondering how to build a storage shed or if it is within your skill set, this tutorial will definitely set you on your way.

The second part of How to Build a Storage Shed is continued here – Shed Project Part 2. In that post, I’ll show you how I did the shed siding and roofing!

And, the last part of the series will show you how to do the steps, ramps, and custom doors.

Keep following along, so I can show you the end result – a professional-looking shed for a fraction of the cost.

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