Building a shed from scratch
This project, like the basement project, started in 2004 when I began digging out the dirt from my basement. I realized I had no place to store everything that was in the basement and the old 8′x6′ shed in my backyard was already full of stuff (and not very organized I might add), so I really had no where to store anything. Since I started purchasing investment properties and maintaining them myself, my collection of tools grew. I realized I needed a nice big area in which to organize and store everything. As usual, I looked into what I could build to fix that problem.
What really slowed down this project is when I dislocated my ankle (again) while I was building the floor of the shed. That put me out of commission for at least a month. And by the time I was ready to start building again, it was the middle of the winter and there was snow everywhere. Postponing the shed project also postponed the basement project from 2004 until 2005.
To create a solid base in which to build the 12′x16′ shed floor, I dug six holes, 1′ in diameter and about 3′ deep. I then used the circle cardboard forms and poured high strength concrete inside each one. Now the most difficult part about this process was making sure each of the six footings were level with each other. The site was slightly sloped, so this process was even more important. If you look at some of the pictures (looking at the front of the shed), you can see the left footing sticks out from the ground about 12″ and the right footing is level with the ground. That shows how much the land sloped. I used a laser level to make the footings as level as I could and then shimmed the joists on the footings where it was needed to make it level.
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8 Comments, Comment or Ping
rA
excellent job…now lets build it on a bigger scale with garage doors = D
Mar 3rd, 2006
DJT
Awesome job there… I too built my shed. Purchased at Home Depot and screwed it together (vinyl shed) :p I wish I had the time and know-how to do something like that.
Mar 4th, 2006
YO MAMA
WOW WOW WOW — I CANT DECIED WHAT I LIKE BETTER — THE SHED — OR THE FANTASTIC BLOG OF THE SHED–
KIP LENIX AND START WRITING–
IF I TELL YOU SOME STORIES WE CAN START DOING NOVELS–
I THINK WE COULD GET THE WHOLE FAMILY INVOVED AND HAVE A FANTASTIC NEW CAREER –HOBBY — LIFE STYLE —
PS… I AM NOT DOING THE SPELL CHECKING !!!!!
Mar 26th, 2006
tom
fvckin awesome
Jun 21st, 2006
Zip
Great job Raam !!! I got one question, how did you finish the outside facing your neighbor’s shed?
Aug 18th, 2008
Raam
Thanks Zip!
I left about 3′ of space between the fence and the shed on the neighbors side, so it was easy to get access to that side (though it was difficult to get on a ladder with only 3′ of space!).
If you’re building a shed this big, I wouldn’t recommend trying to put it right on the property line — you should at least be able to walk all the way around it.
You’ll notice I did build the shed a few inches from the smaller, older shed that was already on the property. To do this, I needed to finish that entire exterior wall BEFORE putting the wall up. Finishing the wall nearly tripled its weight and it was a lot more difficult to stand up.
Aug 18th, 2008
Linda
Wow! This is an amazing shed! Wonderful description of how you achieved this as well. Thank you!
Oct 23rd, 2008
Raam
Thanks Linda! It was quite the learning experience (especially the roof trusses!).
Oct 23rd, 2008
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