This post explores the individual steps in building a small Storage or Garden Shed.

Building a storage or garden shed is quite easy and affordable but it will take a some careful planning to get the best possible results.

Build your own Shed – Step 1:

The very first step in the process of building your own shed begins at your local planing office. You will need to ask how your local planing, zoning laws and building codes view the construction of a small buildings like a garden shed.

In short you need to to find out if you need a “building permit” – as these regulations vary widely from location to location it is impossible to make any representations here beyond saying that step 1 and step 2 in this process maybe interchangeable as many areas have different laws for “small buildings” and having your “preferred” shed plans in hand before approaching the planning office may be the best option.

As a side note you may be interested in this download resource that shows the states in the US that have no building codes !

Build your own Shed – Step 2:

Next we need to determine the dimensions and the style of the shed we are going to build to be, there are litterally thousands of options however in my opinion this is the best resource for that

If you don’t yest have your shed plans check it out I promise you will be amazed at what they have on offer.

Build your own Shed – Step 3:

When you are certain that you can build your shed in accordance with all the laws then you will need to decide make a decision about the foundation. The style of foundation you chose will be determined principally by the style and dimension of the shed.

Let assume the shed is a fairly significant structure like in the image below.

This shed was built on a 100mm ( 4 inch ) thick solid concrete slab. This makes very durable and weatherproof floor for your shed however you could also select a wooden framed floor using treated 2 x 6″ timber and plywood decking supported concrete blocks.

Any wooden floor should be constructed from treated lumber that will resist rot and any attack by insects like termites. I prefer to use treated plywood for the floor of my storage sheds as well.

When framing out the walls of your shed you can often just use regular framing timber but I recommend you use a small section of treated timber as a bottom plate. This bottom wall plate will help to resist wood rot if water gets into the shed unexpectantly.

Prefabricated roof trusses are available at low cost today but in truth creating simple roof rafters is just not that hard.

If you would prefer purchasing a Garden Shed Kit and simply assembling the kit on site rather than building a shed step by step then you might like to check on this online supplier that have a good range of shed kits at very reasonable prices.