Building a Garden Shed

[yfs1]

I am looking to start work on building a garden shed (similar to this one at Argos). I have done quite a bit of framing before so I'm thinking it will be a fairly straight forward project if I take my time.

Does anyone have a link to some good shed plans? I could probably just build it but its sometimes nice to have something on paper to estimate materials, etc. I have tried searching Google, etc but I seem to go around in circles always ending up at the same site.

Also, If anyone has any tips I would appreciate them. I usually find the "pre-made" assembled on site sheds to be a bit on the cheap side for the money so I was hoping to beef mine up a bit with better quality materials.

Cheers

 

[eddyo]

Use pressure treated timber, it's more expensive but it's the way to go.
It may be worth talking a wander around some garden centres with a tape measure to get an idea of design etc. I've found one or two of these places that are willing to supply the timber they use to make their sheds at a better price than some timber merchants.

 

[Deluks]

http://www.buildeazy.com/shed_1.html

 

[yfs1]

Use pressure treated timber, it's more expensive but it's the way to go.
It may be worth talking a wander around some garden centres with a tape measure to get an idea of design etc. I've found one or two of these places that are willing to supply the timber they use to make their sheds at a better price than some timber merchants.

Should I use it just for the floor or should I be using it for the entire shed? (I was thinking of just treating any of the lumber above ground level)

 

[eddyo]

I'd use it for the whole project if i were you. You should be able to pick it up for about 1.5 x the price of untreated. Using pressure treated timber should also eliminate the need for the annual coat of preservative and give a lifespan of about fifteen years.

 

[David P]

one small tip.
If you are the sort of person that is concerned about the environment, please try not to use outrageous volumes of concrete for your foundations. chances are your shed wont weigh very much, even when its full. most sheds are more in danger of blowing away than they are of sinking, yet people use tonnes of concrete in the strange belief that it will make the shed last.
The reason that I say this is that the cement industry is the unmentioned baddy in the drive to reduce CO2 emmisions. concrete produces its own weight of CO2 gas (thats a lot of CO2 per paving slab) a small shed foundation can be as bad as a flight to the med.
concrete, cannot be recycled (unlike lime mortar), contributes signifigantly to landfill, uses 6% of british energy production in its manufacture, and is the only industry that burns toxic liquid waste without regulation (as the UK is the only EU country to allow this, we get to burn all of the EU's toxic liquid waste in our atmosphere).

when you consider that concrete as we know it was only invented in 1843 (that is the evil sintered stuff that we know and love) people were managing to build structures that are still standing without masses of concrete, yet we seem to have entirely forgotten how.

anyway sorry for the rant. just had to say my bit.

 

[yfs1]

No problem..because the shed will only be an 8'x10' at the biggest I plan to just dig out the footings and use pre cast concrete blocks (Then build a 4x4 timber skid)

 

[oilman]

I used scaffold planks for the floor and the bearers. Really cheap and 1-1/4 inches thick!!! £5.50 for a 4.2m board (that's cheap)

 

[Thermo]

blimey thats expensive, i get them for a £1 a board from my local scaffolders yard. they sell off the ones they wont use anymore for their tea fund!

 

[oilman]

Mine were new, as you might have been able to get an arrangement with our yard. Most yards wont sell them as they might bee seen as liable when someone brings up the elfansaftee crap.