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If you’re a gardener, you’ll love this 12 x 16-ft. shed. (And even if you don’t garden, I bet you could put all this space to work.) There’s plenty of room for all your tools and a planting bench under the windows. You can easily drive your riding mower through the huge sliding doors, or just open them wide for plenty of light and ventilation. Dormer windows provide overhead light, and a bank of end wall windows opens for even more fresh air. To reduce maintenance, we used solid PVC to trim the shed and build the sliding doors, and we covered the walls with fiber cement siding. The custom-size aluminum combination windows won’t require anything but occasional cleaning.
Long-Lasting and Low-Maintenance
We chose exterior materials that’ll keep this shed looking great for decades. First, we covered the walls with 4 x 8 sheets of 5/16-in.-thick fiber cement. If you plan ahead, you can order this James Hardie stucco-look HardiePanel prefinished. We chose to paint ours on-site. Fiber cement is known for its superior paint-holding ability, so we expect the paint job to last a long time.
All the exterior trim, as well as the door frames, are solid PVC by Azek. The 18-ft. lengths mean you don’t have to splice the fascia boards. And you don’t have to search through the lumber for straight, good-looking pieces—all of it is straight and good looking. PVC trim is a little spendy, but you’ll never have to replace it.
Money, time and tools
You can find most of the materials for this shed at home centers or lumberyards. However, the solid PVC trim boards may have to be special-ordered. We spent about $4,800 on the materials for this shed (not including the concrete slab), and the PVC trim accounts for a big chunk of that cost. If you substitute wood or composite trim, you could save about $1,000.
To build this shed, you’ll need standard carpentry tools, including a circular saw and drill. A framing nail gun, miter saw and table saw will save you some time and effort but aren’t necessary. We used a special Ridgid dust-collecting saw to cut the fiber cement siding, but a circular saw will also work.
If you’ve built a deck or other large construction project, you shouldn’t have any trouble with this shed. The framing is straightforward, and with a few helpers you should be able to get the shell up in a weekend. Then expect to spend three or four busy weekends completing the project.
Growing Gardeners
Tom Benson, principal of Pilot Knob Elementary School in Eagan, MN, couldn’t be happier. His magnet school for science, technology, engineering and math just started a raised bed gardening project for the kids and community. We were so impressed with the school’s program that we donated this shed to the cause.
Getting Started
In most areas, you’ll need a building permit for a shed of this size. Check with your local building department to find out what’s required. You’ll probably have to locate the side and back lot lines so you can mark the spot for the new shed. For this you’ll need a survey or plot plan. Ask at city hall—there may be a plot plan on file. To avoid delays, start this process at least a month before you plan to build. After the plans are approved, take them, along with a materials list, to the lumberyard or home center to order materials and work out a delivery schedule.
When you’ve staked out the location of the shed on your lot, you’re ready to pour the concrete slab. We hired a contractor for this, but if you want to do it yourself, go to familyhandyman.com and search for “concrete slab” for complete instructions. A few days before you plan to dig, call 811 for instructions on how to locate buried utility lines.
How to Build a Shed on the Cheap
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