Building a Shed in Your Backyard: The Simplest Pent Roof Shed Design

How to Build a Shed in Your Backyard: The Simplest Pent Roof Shed Design How to Build a Shed in Your Backyard Download Now!

Materials List
1-2 sheets of OSB (oriented strand board) or plywood to cover your roof area. Approximately 1/8 thick (or less) and 4’x8′ each. You’ll need only 2 sheets if you don’t have any side walls—otherwise, add an extra sheet. It’s usually cheaper to buy slightly larger sheets and cut them down than to buy smaller ones. Buy enough screws (1 1/4-1 1/2) and nails (5d box nails) so that you have about 20 per board foot; that is, if your boards are 10′ long, then you’ll need approximately 200 screws or so.

Tools Needed
An 8-by-10-foot shed requires 225 lineal feet of 2x4s, so you’ll need nine pieces that are each 9 feet long. You’ll also need 12 pieces of material for your roof rafters; each piece will be about 12 feet long. Buy extras because it’s easy to break or damage wood during assembly. If you plan on building a floor, buy enough plywood to cover it (one sheet should be more than enough). All materials can be bought at any home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowe’s and should run anywhere from $500 to $700 depending on where you live and if you’re buying pre-cut wood pieces instead of full logs. Plan well ahead as materials can take some time to order.

Step 1 – Gather materials
To build a shed without prior woodworking experience, you’ll need to invest in some basic tools. While there are more expensive, fancier options out there that can make woodworking easier, you can get by with only two power tools and two manual tools. Power Tools Here are two power tools that will help you get started: Cordless Drill— You’ll need a cordless drill if you’re going to work with wood or metal (not all cordless drills work on both surfaces). Corded drills don’t have enough torque for driving screws into hardwoods or metals. A cordless drill does, so it’s worth investing in one if you want to do any serious woodworking. Sawzall— A sawzall is essentially a cross between a handsaw and an electric reciprocating saw. It has an adjustable blade that lets you cut through just about anything from plywood to sheetrock. In addition to these two power tools, it’s also helpful to have a hammer and screwdriver handy when building your shed as well as clamps for securing boards together while they dry. Manual Tools These are two simple manual tools that will come in handy when building your pent roof shed design: Tape Measure— Every good carpenter knows how important it is to measure twice before cutting once!

Step 2 – Layout the walls
This step is straight forward enough. Lay down slats across your frame, starting from one side and going to other (6-8′ apart). After that, lay out rafters along top of them. I like to use 2x4s for my rafters as they are cheap and pretty strong. You can also use 2×6’s if you want something sturdier or 2×12’s if you want something even sturdier, just make sure you cut off any overhanging pieces with an angle-grinder before moving on to step 4.

Step 3 – Laying down slats and laying out rafters
Once you have all of your studs cut to length and your plywood cut down to size, you’re ready to begin assembling. To lay out your rafters, first lay them out flat on some scrap wood. This will allow you to run your tape measure along both sides of each rafter at once and get them laid out perfectly. Next, set your miter saw up with 45 degree cuts (or use a jig saw) and begin cutting each rafter for those four corners. Make sure that when you’re laying it flat that it’s lining up with one of your top plates from before perfectly. Once they’re all cut and laid out, it’s time to move on!

Step 4 – Attaching Rafters
Use rafters to support your shed’s roof. You can buy these premade at any home improvement store or you can use 2×4’s and cut them to fit your shed design. Add glue to one side of each rafter and then nail into place using a nail gun. Once all of your 2×4’s are up, lay plywood on top and secure with more nails or screws.

Step 5 – Attaching Bottom Sheets
Attach bottom sheets with cleats, nails or screws. How you attach your bottom sheets will depend on what wood you are using. Plywood and other hardwoods can be nailed and stapled just like any other wood, but if your shed is made from softwoods like pine, you will have to use screws instead of nails or staples. Although there are fewer fasteners than you would need for hardwood panels, it’s better to err on having too many fasteners as opposed to too few. These fasteners will keep all of your panels together, which is essential if they don’t stay aligned when building. This can be a common problem when cutting large panels with an electric saw rather than a handsaw.

Step 6 – Attaching Top Sheets
First, layout and tack down each end of one of your 8′-long top sheets. Then, line up and attach its middle section. You’ll repeat these steps with a second top sheet to complete your shed’s roof. (Note: Tack each side of your top sheets at opposite corners.) Once you’ve added both top sheets, measure diagonally from corner to corner at least three times to confirm that all sides are properly aligned; if any are out of whack, adjust as needed before fastening everything together permanently with more 1 nails.

Step 7 – Adding an Overhang (Optional)
To add an overhang to your pent roof shed, measure down from one of your rafters and mark it. Repeat every six feet or so until you reach the end of your main side. Now that you’ve marked where your overhangs will be, it’s time to cut! Measure twice, cut once—take it slow here and make sure you double-check your measurements before cutting anything. Once all of your rafters are properly measured and prepped, attach them with nails and/or screws according to instructions for whatever type of material you’re using (2x4s should require screws). All that’s left now is to finish off your overhangs.

Caulking, Sanding and Staining
Caulking and sanding are important steps when it comes to building a shed. Don’t be cheap with your caulk—go for higher-quality, oil-based caulk. After all, your shed is likely to sit out in all weather conditions. Use coarse-grit sandpaper on all joints and edges; it creates better adhesion between materials and makes them more water resistant. Once everything is caulked and sanded, you can stain or paint your shed any color you want to match your backyard decor!