How to Make a Lawn Shed

Find a suitable location, a flat, fairly level area with good drainage in all directions and no utility lines, tree roots or other impediments. Rake the area clear of any leaves or other debris. Pick a size -- a 6-by-8-foot shed is a convenient small size -- and mark the basic outline with wood stakes and builder's twine. Square this outline by measuring corner to corner with a tape measure and adjusting stakes until those diagonals are equal.

Place 4-inch thick solid concrete blocks for a foundation. Put one block in each corner, one in the middle of each wall and one in the middle of the shed. Lay a long board with a level on it across the tops of the blocks and adjust the dirt under them until the tops are level in all directions, length, width and diagonally.

Build a frame of 2-by-4-inch framing lumber. Use 6-foot boards for the end bands, but use a circular saw to cut the side bands to 7 feet, 9 inches to allow for the end boards. Nail the frame at the corners with 16d framing nails and a hammer. Use a framing square to get the corners square. Lay the frame on the blocks and test the square and level of both blocks and frame.

Cut five 2-by-4s 5-feet, 9-inches long to make joists across the width of the shed. Nail those through the side bands with 16d framing nails or use metal joist hangers, nailed to the side bands, to hold the 2-by-4s nailed into the hangers. Space each end joist 23 1/4 inches in from the end and the other joists 24 inches apart. Use a square to set joists square.

Cover the floor with 5/8- or 3/4-inch plywood, depending on the weight of material to be stored. Lay plywood with the top grain running across the joists. Use one full 4-by-8-foot sheet and one sheet cut in half lengthwise with a circular saw. Fasten the plywood to the frame bands and the joists with 8d framing nails, about every foot.

Make four walls with 2-by-4 framing lumber, with top and bottom plates and vertical studs 16 inches apart. Make side walls 8 feet long, and end walls 5 feet, 5 inches. Build walls on a flat surface like a driveway; mark stud locations on both plates for each wall and nail studs through the plates with 16d nails. Assemble both side walls and one end wall.

Install a door opening in one end wall. Build the door frame with a full stud on each side and a 2-by-6-inch header board at the top of the required rough opening. Nail the header with 16d nails through the studs; use a tape measure and level to make sure it is level. Cut short studs to fit from the top of the header board to the bottom of the wall plate. Set that frame into the basic end wall frame and nail it in place through side studs.

Cut short studs to fit between the top of the header and the top plate of the wall. Add full studs in the opening between the inside of the door frame and the other end of the wall.

Erect the walls one at a time. Brace them plumb with boards nailed to studs and to stakes in the ground outside. Fasten the walls with 16d nails through the bottom plates into the bands and joists, and nail corner studs together. Double-check corners for squareness before securing the walls. Remove the braces and add wall caps, 2-by-4s on top of the top plates, 6 feet long on the ends to overlap the side wall tops and 7 feet, 5 inches on the side walls.

Frame the roof with cross-tie trusses. Cut rafters to any desired pitch and make a cross brace, or tie, to fit between the rafters about 1/3 of the way down from the peak. Secure truss joints with gussets cut from 1/2-inch plywood. Make rectangular gussets to overlap the joints of cross ties and rafters. Cut peak joints horizontally to go across both truss boards with a top angled to the slope of the roof. Fasten gussets on both sides of each truss with 1 1/4-inch galvanized screws and a screw gun.

Lift rafters to the roof one at a time and set them plumb. Toenail rafter ends to the wall caps with 16d nails, two nails on one side of each truss end, one on the other, driven diagonally. Brace end trusses with 2-by-4s nailed to the trusses and to stakes in the ground to hold them plumb.

Deck the trusses with 1/2- or 5/8-inch oriented strand board, or OSB, fastened with 8d galvanized nails to each truss. Place full 4-by-8-foot panels on the bottom edge of each roof side, with the rough side of the OSB up. Set another full panel atop that to reach the peak and fasten it, then use a circular saw to cut it off at the peak. Have the second side of OSB overlap the cut edge of the first side.

Roll on roofing paper and fasten it to the OSB with a construction stapler. Overlap paper by at least 6 inches from the top and overlap the peak with a layer of paper that covers the peak and is stapled on both sides of the roof. Install metal drip edge flashing on all roof edges, under the roofing paper on the sides and over it on the gable slopes.

Cut the tabs off one row of three-tab shingles with a utility knife. Lay those shingles along the bottom edge of the roof, with the cut side up and the factory side straight along the OSB. Drive shingle nails into the top edge, at least four nails per shingle. Cut a shingle the width of one tab to start the second row to prevent seams from aligning; place the cut edge to the inside. Add shingles to the peak, then cover the other roof slope.

Finish the peak with cap shingles, if provided with the shingles, or use the cut tabs. Bend the tabs across the peak of the roof, working in the direction of any prevailing wind. Nail peak shingles on both sides of the roof at the inside edge, so the next shingle covers the nails. Seal the nails on the last cap with roofing cement.

Use 1/2-inch plywood for wall siding. Install 4-by-8-foot panels horizontally on each side, so two panels will cover the side. Cut end panels to fit both the width and the angle of the gable ends and around the door opening on the front wall. Fasten panels with 8d galvanized nails. Use tongue-and-groove panels if possible, to avoid open seams.

Finish the walls with 1-by-4-inch trim boards, set vertically on each corner with board sides overlapped. Install a pre-hung door and trim it with 1-by-4s, one on each side at the height of the door and one across the ends of the vertical trim. Add diagonal trim down the slopes on the gable ends. Seal the seams of plywood on the gables with clear paintable caulk.