Introduction: Garden/Tool Shed

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Since the old (extremely cheap kit structure placed by former owner of garden) garden shed was on the verge of collapsing, I decided to build a sturdy new one that would last a long while. Rough dimensions: layout 2 x 3 meter, height 2.5 meter.

Step 1: Preparation

- remove (tear down, torch or otherwise) old shed
- Q: where do I leave all my tools during building of new shed?
- A: in temporarily relocated old shed (I managed to save some parts of the old shed, dragged them to another corner of the garden, reassembled and added a makeshift tarp roof) (this will not work if you've torched the old shed).

Also, make a nice sketch/drawing of general dimensions and construction details (I used Autocad to do this, but pencil and paper will work just fine of course).

In the course of building the shed, I altered many things and never looked at the drawing again, but you can solve a lot of problems beforehand if you make a sketch first.

Step 2: Materials

Materials needed:

- Sand: since the floor will be paved and the construction partially rests on paved tiles, about 2 cubic meters of yellow building sand is needed.
- wood: 4 hardwood poles, wxbxh 6x6x300cm, I used hardwood because one third of the poles will be cast in concrete. Less durable wood would rot just above ground level. Of course this is FSC-approved hardwood!
4 hardwood beams, twice 4x6x300cm and twice 4x6x200cm, for the lowest part of the basic frame that rests close to the ground.
For the rest of the frame I used pine, which is commonly used for construction in northern Europe and relatively cheap. 11 Beams of 4x6x200cm, and 7 beams of 4x6x300cm.
The planking is impregnated Pine (made durable in an environmentally-friendly way). It is profiled so the planks interconnect and fewer screws are needed.
- Hardware: about 30 steel corner angles to connect the frame together, many 5cm screws and some 10cm screws,hinges and a lock for the door.
- Enough concrete for the 4 corner poles
- The door was reclaimed from a dumpster, as was the window.
- For the roof I used underlayment plating. Roof covering is not finished yet, I am considering aluminium beercan shingles(!): (https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Shingles-and-Siding-Out-of-Aluminum-Cans-Bee/)
- The floor is paved with 30 by 30cm sidewalk tiles. These can often be picked up for free where I live. You can use any heavy tiles, or bricks.

In all, I probably spent about 800 Euros. You can build it for much less if you can find some cheaper wood that has been used before.

Step 3: Basic Frame

- Dig holes for the corner posts, about 1 meter deep
- Make sure posts are straight (fixate them, see photos)and that the tops of the poles are level (!) and pour concrete.
- Determine floor height and Pave between the posts, together with the concrete this will form the foundation of the shed.
- Fix the 4 hardwood beams between the corner poles using the steel corner angles.

Make sure everything is as level, square and straight as possible!

Step 4: Frame Completion

Complete the frame, using the rest of the beams. Position the upright beams so that you make the door- and windowframes. Add a couple of diagonals to keep the frame square. Screw on the diagonal roof-support beams with the long screws (pre-drill holes!)

Step 5: Planking

Plank the thing! Start at the bottom and work upwards, keep checking if everything is still straight and level, and calculate in advance where the last (highest) plank will end. Saw off all the protruding ends.

Step 6: Roof

Nail or screw on the roof plates, and finish with shingles or any other watertight covering as soon as possible. I haven't done this yet, but am considering the aluminium Beercan shingles solution: https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Shingles-and-Siding-Out-of-Aluminum-Cans-Bee/

Update:

It proves to be a problem to acquire a sufficient amount of beercans in a short period of time (ohh.. the hangovers...) so I decided to use bitumen-based shingles with an underlayer of roofing
paper (-ish stuff) which comes on rolls. I used a stapler to attach the roofing paper. The shingles will be nailed.

Step 7: Finish

Install door, window, door lock, door handle, workbench, tool hooks, jacuzzi, flatscreen TV, bar and other necessities.
Maybe paint the outside.

DONE!

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