A Beautiful garden shed, DIY
My customer’s shed had seen better days. Mother Nature reached up and swallowed it down. As I get older, I realize more clearly that will be the fate of us all. Just Sayin! The customer wanted to avoid rolling over their irrigation system with trucks and a store bought shed, so they asked me to build them a new one on site. I want to give all the credit for this design to The Family Handyman for some great plans and their beautiful pictures on their site to entice us into this journey.
But believe it or not, the pictures you are looking at are my customers new shed. I think you can see what is so appealing.
If your yard prevents rolling in a store-bought shed, or if you want a different design, want to customize your own look or materials list, you can consider building your own shed too. It is a great opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family- or away from them, depending on your outlook and employee relations skills! And of course you will have some bragging rights when you are done. I was able to build this shed 95% myself, reaching out to my son to help lift some walls and his friends and him to raise the roof. The plans are so well designed that an able-bodied person need only reach out for help at a couple of points in the construction if they so desire.
The first step on this design was to dig trenches and back fill with gravel as a foundation base. A shout out to Uncle Bob's in Middlefield for a spot on delivery! I won’t go into all the details as the Family Handyman gives you the specs. But order a little more gravel than you think you need.
The next step is to build the foundation with significant pressure treated skids.
This keeps it off the ground to prevent moisture from accessing from below. A set of floor joists and deck is also pressure treated.
Then using your floor as your layout table, you assemble each of the walls, dragging them to the side until you have built the four.
Then you can build your roof panels on the same foundation.
Oh, let me mention that in your home shop you will build the decorative corbels, the arched windows and the super attractive door! You can do that when it rains or snows!
Once you have the panels manufactured, bring in the crew to lift the walls, nail them together and raise the roof!
The design calls for a fiberboard covered plywood siding that gets painted. My customer asked instead for vinyl siding so we used exterior grade osb. I gladly agreed as it is one more way to keep water from eating the siding. I used pvc trim molding, again to avoid water damage and reduce maintenance. When the walls are up, you can install your doors and windows and then corbels and roof shingles.
Thanks for sharing this journey. If you are inspired to make one yourself, join in! Between my affirming storyboard and the plans I referenced, this is a job you can tackle. If you you need a shed but can’t roll one in and you are not inclined to build one yourself, don’t have the time or patience to, or just want me to, A Home And Garden Handyman can build you a little slice of gardening heaven too. Spring is a great time to get started! I am taking orders now! Visit https://www.ahomeandgardenhandyman.com/
A Home and Garden Handyman LLC offers a full range of home maintenance and improvement services to your specifications or better. Don't see what you need on our lists? Just ask. Looking for ideas, check out my blog, or pictures , click An Idea of what We Can Do tab under menu. While primarily serving the Durham, Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown, North Haven, Wallingford areas, we can travel too.
Mike Turecek's Background: Before deciding to pursue my own business as a handyman, I worked in the corporate world for 24 years, most recently in technical support customer service at a large wireless provider. I grew up whittling and working with wood and tools well before I should have had sharp things. I practiced my home maintenance and remodeling skills under the guidance of my father and grandfather in their homes and then for the last twenty years in my own home and yard, occasionally lending a hand to friends and family too. If mother nature is working against you and your home, Mike will work with you to bring it back to new.
Why Choose A Home and Garden Handyman? Based in Middlefield CT, we are a locally owned CT registered Home Improvement Contractor HIC 0649283 and Insured. All work is done by Mike unless otherwise agreed upon. Your home will be improved, restored or updated to the condition you expect without having to set aside a weekend of your own time. A Home and Garden Handyman takes pride in communicating effectively, being there on time, and getting the task done well.
