How to Frame a Saltbox Shed

Excavate the foundations of your shed. Examine the plans for your saltbox shed and determine the shed's physical footprint. Then measure out the space required on your lawn or grass and dig it out to a depth of 6 inches. Fill this 6-inch foundation with gravel until it meets the level of the surrounding turf. This foundation will prevent damp and leaks.

Build the base frame of your shed. This will match the size of the foundations you dug, as per your shed building instructions. You will frame the base of the shed with timber beams, normally 6-by-6, then attach them with nails. To provide rigidity, frame the floor of your shed with internal timber frames. These are normally 2-by-6 timbers nailed perpendicular to your exterior beams, at intervals of about 16 inches. These measurements may vary depending on the blueprints or design you're using. Finish the base by nailing the 3/4" plywood boards to the top as a floor.

Use timber beams to frame out the two side walls of your shed. As with the base, you will use larger beams to build the outer frame, then add rigidity with thinner timber framework studs inside those beams at intervals of 16 inches. Build these walls on the ground, then lift them up when completed and attach them to your base with nails. Follow the blueprints to build a framework for any doors or windows you plan to install.

Frame out the two side walls with larger timber beams as the exterior framework, and smaller beam studs adding rigidity inside, at intervals of 16 inches. These are the walls that will form the lop-sided A-shape of your shed's saltbox roof. Make sure you measure accurately as you build these walls and lift them upright into position. Connect them to the two walls you built in the previous step. You will now have a floor base and four framework walls.

Run timber beams as rafters between each A-shaped roof wall. These should be at intervals of no more than 24 inches. Once you have finished installing these rafters, you will have the "frame" of your saltbox shed ready for roofing and siding.