How to Frame a Shed Entrance

Place a shed entrance at a convenient location, either on one side of the front wall or in the middle of that wall. Locate it so one side is along a full wall stud between the top and bottom plates of the shed wall; an entrance needs verticals supports on each side to hold door hinges and latches and support the frame top.

Determine the opening required for the entrance door, which will vary with the type of door; standard doors are 30 inches wide, but double shed-style doors may be double that or more. Base the opening for the rough outline of the shed entrance on the size of the door to be installed. Install a second full stud at the other end of that opening; that should be the width of the finished door plus 3 inches.

Build a header beam of 2-by-4-inch or 2-by-6-inch lumber, depending on the size of the shed and width of the entrance; most sheds can use 2-by-4, but a very wide entrance will require 2-by-6. Make the header with two boards, set with their wide faces together. Cut a 1/2-inch plywood strip with a circular saw to the depth of the framing, 3 1/2 inches for a 2-by-4, 5 1/2 for a 2-by-6.

Nail the plywood spacer between the header boards with 2 1/2-inch nails and a hammer to make it 3 1/2 inches thick to conform to 2-by-4-inch wall framing. Place the header at the desired height, based on the height of the door to be installed, between the two full studs on either side. Use a level to level it, and nail it in place with 16d framing nails driven through the full studs. Put two nails into each board on the header.

Measure with a tape measure from the bottom of the header to the top of the bottom wall plate. Cut studs to fit and nail them to the full studs on the side; toenail them to the header with nails driven diagonally. Use one such stud on each side for a standard door, double studs for a double door or wider entrance frame. Measure between the top of the header and the bottom of the top wall plate, and install short studs at 16-inch intervals to fill that gap.