Nice build. For those looking for alternatives, the last shed kit I assembled was from Lifetime Products. They're blow-molded plastic, and the shed was 8'x15'. Came with a plastic floor, which we installed on a raised 2x6 and plywood frame. I was skeptical, but it went together like a dream and came out quite sturdy. It's survived several heavy New England snow storms and is maintenance free - just hose it off once a year. IIRC, it cost $1400 or $1500 delivered on sale. A nice bonus is that you can buy extra kits to extend the ends - so you can size it to any length you need. Neat system and sure beats the old metal shed kits.
Building a shed from scratch can be very rewarding. You did a nice job. There's all sorts of reasons to build a shed. I built my insulated 7'.9" x 9'.9" shed from scratch using all wood screws and i'm glad I did. Gave it the Red barn look with small windows on both sides. and added white trim. Built an upper loft shelf for storage but it's big enough for a small mattress as well. Even bought a "new looking" used exterior door from a second hand store, built the frame, and added the hinges. It works and looks nice. Added paneling to the inside walls and I added stained tongue & groove to the ceiling, then I put tile on the floor. I set it up with a small "through the wall" air conditioner, Deep cycle solar batteries, solar panels, charge controllers, LED lighting, and a plug in for an alternative Generator setup as well. I added a wall mounted tv with an outdoor antenna. Three DC to AC inverters, plugs to charge lap tops & cell phones, a Futon that makes into a bed, and a small fridge. The next time a hurricane takes out our power for a week or longer like it did last year we intend to sleep in comfort without the South East humidity.
Excellent video, I bought a package shed several years ago from Home Hardware. I am not the carpenter type but I gave it a go. Same type of treated panels, and lots of treated lumber. My wife was so impressed I had to build a second one.
I have been considering building a shed and was most concerned with how to level the floor joists and frame. Your're idea of getting the blocks close and then using a 4x4 to dial in level is excellent, thank you!!!
I wanted it reinforced so I can store heavy items in there, like a full sized generator, lawnmower, trailer hitch kits etc .. If you use a 2X8 Joists, you can probably get away with less. i just couldn't really build it any taller.
As a retired contractor, having worked in the field for 40 years I say, Thank You Very Much for you HONEST Video and Opinion which I feel are 100% correct. This is what you get if you buy a package. If you have some skill and take your time, I would agree, buy everything from a reputable Lumber dealer and you will get far Superior Material
Thanks Bill! The other option folks can go with is to hire someone to frame everything and build the shed. Certainly an easy weekend job for a professional framer who wants to earn a little extra money.
Thank you for the video. You are correct about the bulk lumber being seconds or just about thirds.I built a shed in 2001 out of sawmill scraps from out of the backwoods of Arkansas. It was about the same size as yours. I never painted or preserved it. It is still sturdy but my family members put v-8 engines and transmissions on the floor and the floor has dropped. The sidewalls and roof are still sturdy. Seconds windows still open and close but the wall sole seals were made out of pressure treated lumber and they have deteriorated over time. When I first put it up I used it as a chicken coop. The tax collector asked me who lived in the building. I told him my chickens. He said my chicken coop was built better than a lot of peoples houses in the backwoods! Ha, ha, ha! Take care.
Great job. Years ago, I bought a metal garden shed for my son and thought it would be easier than wood. Probably was, but a job that should have taken a full day, took a long weekend. The instructions were very good until the end. It never said to anchor the shed to the wood floor and had no screws to do so. After that experience, when I needed a garden shed, I went to the local Mennonites who built, delivered, and installed a 8x12 shed for half the price of my local big box stores just for the kit.
Nice video. I'm a commercial carpenter & everything you said is accurate, especially buying ANY shed or other kits from Lowe's. I don't know if you live in an area with annual bad wind storms or tornadoes, but putting in some anchors from the 4x4s into the ground is highly recommended. I've seen lighter weight sheds like this simply get blown over. Gluing the 4x4 base frame pieces to the concrete blocks could have helped add more weight & wind resistance. You can still buy the large screw in anchors at the 4 corners of the shed. Also install vents at the gable ends to prevent extreme heat build up which will ruin paints & many common liquid home repair products like caulk, some solvents, stains, etc. Vents are very important
The part that wasn't on the video was me attaching the hurricane ties from the floor joists to the 4X4s. We get severe wind storms because we live on an island. Thus far, it's as good as the day I finished building it. But yes, people don't always think about buying all the extras needed to keep it safe from wind storms. There is a brief update (from 2020) on the shed in this video: th-cam.com/video/MRVEDq5as0I/w-d-xo.html
That was a perfect delivery by you Eric Sorenson - not an ego trip, not showy - honest and to the point. AND it helped me finally decide to avoid kits and make one from scratch - then I can decide where the spend needs to go to make it survive winter northerly gales! Cheers Eric...
Thanks Eric for the video. I sell sheds for a major shed manufacture and am always out looking at what others are offering. I too am a do it your self guy and enjoyed watching your video. I actually built my first shed myself many years before I got into the shed business. Now that I'm in the business I see the mistakes I made simply because it was my first shed. My company has built many thousands of sheds thus we have made all the mistakes possible and have learned from those mistakes. Because we never claim to be the cheapest we are always looking for improvements we can make to provide a better product for our customers. With your skills I'm sure you could have built one from scratch which would have been better than that kit. The care you took starting with the foundation layout was impressive which shows you want to do quality work. With those kits that is almost impossible. It's a poor design done with poor quality materials. Thanks again and keep building!!!!!!
I've built many sheds in my time. I appreciate the video. I've always just bought the materials without a deal and just did them as they were requested. I guess you can say, custom. I've always wondered how these kits came. I never bothered looking it up because there was never a need. Now that covid has us locked up, why not look it up! Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.
I built a shed and used them blue barrels to make it float on 2 20 foot poles, when the Mississippi River comes up the shed floats and lands back were it was before the flood. Got tired of moving stuff all the time.
I remember seeing one of those "in the future" type programs that mention when humans have reproduced to the point of no where to go we will start building homes like that that float in the ocean and rise and lower depending on the tide. Same idea as your shed. They have predicted entire cities built like this so a shed is a good start in the flood zone lol
Excellent video! Not just the info it contains but the editing as well; you didn’t waste my time with unnecessary babble and you provided complete information. Kudos!
Nice to see your process and the end result. Looks great. I built a shed last year from scratch following a set of plans. That was a lot of work. It looks good and functions well, but it took more time than I had thought it would. Building the rear wall with the sheathing attached was a smart idea. The shed was going to stand about six inches from my fence when completed. I built the whole shed about 3 feet from the final resting spot so I could put the sheathing on after the wall frame was up. Then I used a handyman jack and pushed the whole shed back into place. I built the shoe on two runners perpendicular to the joists, then used the jack to lift the side and pull the runners out. Building the real wall like you did would have saved that step.
Thanks Matthew Potter :) I assembled the walls with the framing on because that is what the kit called for, however I can't say I would want to do it that way again. It was a little unwieldy when your putting it together yourself. I would have rather built proper frames and put the sheathing on a section at a time.
I got one about 10 years ago and it is still going strong, Like you said, much of the lumber ( the 2x3s ) are crap and I bought 2x4's for the long front and rear. The factory rep was at the store the day I bought mine and strongly recommend I upgrade the flooring so I got exterior grade treated plywood. Built mine on blocks like you did. I used roofing shingles on mine.
Excellent video. I’ve built one shed from scratch. I’ll definitely build the next one from scratch as well. Thanks for the vid, I think it’s cool you sealed all the ends of all the floor framing.
Thank you so much man. I bought the same kind of shed and it's turned out to be a nightmare and I basically have rebuilt the whole thing standing where it's at
I came up with a unique solution. This will not work for most people, but maybe someone will be able to take from it. I live in a trailer court and wanted a 5x8 shed primarily for the mower, snow blower, some garden tools...the basics. I looked at the resin sheds and the wood kits. Of the two; wood is the winner of course. Much like this featured unit, the cost is a little north of $1000.00 plus the pad and your time. I recall for somewhere between 700 and 1000 it would be delivered either built and set or built for you on site..plus the pad cost. I was working way too many hours at this time and built/delivered was my choice as time (winter coming) was an issue and cost was not. I ended up purchasing a DooLittle Bullitt enclosed cargo trailer. Cost was right at $2000.00 (two years ago). I have the shed I needed AND it is completely portable. 20 minutes to take out the lawn gear and I can haul that couch the buddy needs gone. You get the point. Of course the biggest issue with such an arrangement is how/where is it parked. In my case the trailer court has wide lots with plenty of available parking spots. Anyway, just thought I'd share a unique possible alternative.
The best thing to do is download a free shed plan which will include a list of all material needed, then go to all your lumber stores and get quotes on it. Best way to save money. Plus some plans allow you to change something on the plan like add/subtract windows, change door styles, then will change the list of materials. All in all, your build looks great. Nothing like using your own hands to build something.
It's just as easy to work it out yourself to your own specific requirements. I had a 6m x 2.5m area to build my shed. Housing regulations say no shed within 1 metre of the house....... each wall is a digital "8" shaped frame.(type "8" into an old calculator to see what I mean) Design it as strong as you can think of and put short diagonals in all corners top and bottom. work out how many beams you need to make it, then work out how many boards. Add a quarter of each amount as something always goes awry as you'll have to swap timber or adapt for whatever reason. Decide first what shape roof you want.....Mine is having a flat sloping roof so that all my neighbours apples from their tree that used to fall into my garden will hit the roof and roll back and drop over the fence to land back in his garden......I'm sick of going round and picking them up all summer long. So build for a purpose is the point.
Fiberglass in tar paper. 😉 Good show sir. I am a builder myself. I wear many hats. Framers,plumber,roofer,drywall work,tile work,flooring, uncertified plumber,uncertified electrician, windows and doors,Interior trim,Master Applications Expert. Not much of a landscaper. Looks like we have this in common as well. LOL I like how you built your foundation out to accommodate that small deck. Great idea. I will be using that. Thanks again. ✌🏽
I started with a shed but ended up building a 8x10 mini house for my 15 year old daughter. What started out as a $1500 budget is now a $3200 mini house. Things dads do for their kids I tell ya.
Nice job! I built a kit shed with my son when he was about 9 years old as a father-son project. My son is now 31. I treasure the photos from that project and I’m still using the shed. I think I need to rebuild the doors sometime soon, but it’s otherwise in good shape. I customized the kit heavily to add a second door and split the interior between a playhouse and a garden shed. It was a great way to introduce my son to basic woodworking and construction techniques but I agree with others here that having done it once from a kit I would buy the lumber and build from scratch if I did it again. Leveling the foundation blocks and building the platform (which was not part of the kit) was the most time-consuming part. Framing the walls is relatively easy in comparison. But it is, I must say, nice to know when they drop the kit off that you have pretty much all you need. No repeat trips to the store for things you forgot. If you take one weekend to put in the foundation and platform you can pretty much put up the kit shed itself in a second (longish) weekend.
I've built five sheds on my property over the years and the roof is the easy part. The first shed I built was in 1983 when we bought our new home. It was an 8x10 shed from a 'kit'. It didn't have a window so I added one myself. The other four sheds I've built from scratch, and all of them are still standing and being used to this day. Just wear some tight fitting gloves and long-sleeve shirt and you should have no problem with allergic reaction. I've got to say...I have NEVER seen anyone build a shed as fast as you! That was incredible to watch! LOL!!!
Worked in a sawmill for many years, all of the lumber that wouldn't make grade went into a separate bin to be sold for just what you bought. They nearly give that lumber away, it has always been a joke with me, that you build your own stuff so you know what you are getting in the end. I know some persons don't have the tools or the know how, but for those of us who do, buy your own materials, no kits. for those who don't have the required know how, find a contractor that will do the job right. Great video, thank you.
Thanks Ray! I figured as much. Either that or they left this kit out in the sun for a few weeks. For what you get, the kits aren't worth it. This one came together but it took a lot of fiddling and trips to the lumber yard to replace some of the wall studs.
I have built two sheds. one from scratch and one kit. if i ever build a third it will be from scratch. But even then you have to dig through the lumber at a big box because most of it is garbage. yours looks good. nice job.
Thanks Eric, for sharing--I especially appreciate your devoting much of the attention on the deck blocks and pressure-treated lumber and how meticulous you were with the leveling. You've convinced me to assemble my own "kit.". The packaged deals are so cheap at HD and Lowe's that it's tempting sometimes.
I would shop around Phong To. The kits aren't all that good. Browse the web for shed plans and price out what it would cost to build from scratch. I bet it will be the same cost as the kit.
I am in process of building a shed from scratch. I had very little know how and a hammer from 1988. Went and bought a fairly cheap circular saw and a finishing blade drill and a jig saw. Because of a full time job it's taken some time and a lot of homework but I am very happy with the end results. I noticed a lot of the kits had strange stud placements and would be hard to insulate. As well my project was going to basically be a small house because the wife wanted it to have heat/ AC. I knew a custom shed would be expensive, so that was my decision driver. The one you assembled looks good and I think the finagling is going to happen with a most builds. Its just a matter of how much. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Nathen! Sounds more like a tiny house build, which is how I would build it if I were to do this again. I think you definitely took the right approach.
The Shed Kit cost $520 but that doesn't include a floor, roofing materials, foundation extra lumber etc. The whole build cost approx $3000 when it was done , including the Deck blocks, floor timber, flooring, shed kit, roofing materials, hardware and paint.
Cheaper to buy a Amish built one. Mine is 12x16 and it was 3k I believe. $80 worth of blocks and 4x4's and about $300 to have a crane lift it onto the foundation.
Just as another dollar amount for those interested, i built my 8x12 from complete scratch. Nearly identical to yours but with a gambrel roof for additional storage, 7' walls and two windows. About $1800.
Our lowes has a Heartland brand 8x10 for just $700. I get it's not going to be premium quality but some of us don't know much about any of this so a precut kit still is probably best... I'll pretty much just have to get the metal roofing, some paint, and whatever for the flooring... I don't foresee mine costing much over $1,000...
@@ThePackDad I've been curious about the same thing... If someone is handy enough to build their own and everything I say go for it... But I don't know about all of that and all this comes precut so i'm just going this route myself! Lowes sells a Heartland brand one for $700 that's an 8x10 so i'm going that route. Find a couple cheap windows on facebook marketplace- i'm forever seeing them on there.
I built my shed using steel 2x4's for the walls and ceiling. It's held up nicely. Much nicer to work with materials that don't have issues with warping, but screwing the wall boards was a pain since it didn't cinch up nice and tight like dimensional lumber, but it squared up really nice. Kits just don't make sense because you have to rework someone else's plans. I prefer to figure it out as I go. Very nice job on your shed.
A shed a lot more cheaper than a house. If I could ever afford a plot of land I'd buy a nice shed, have electricity supplied to it for the running of appliance, use the restrooms of local gas stations, mcdonald's, etc, take my showers in a gym or public showers. Id have a house paid off in six months!
As an old concrete pour-er I'd say a slab is faster and easier, but if you every wanted to move it , a slab is for ever. Good ideas for leveling etc. I'd put a little square of used asphalt roofing between the bottom of the short 4X4's and the blocks as concrete likes to wick water and I've see lots of treated wood rot, but then I live in Western Washington where it's wet 8 months out of the year.
I found the same issues. I bought one from sears. I saw the quality of lumber and bought regular 2X4's for all the walls and around the door. Only good thing it was all figured out and came with good instructions.
Really great job on your video and explaining the problems you encountered. I wish I would have seen this before I built mine. This is exactly what I experienced and I am not a carpenter at all. I really like your deck and ramp!
I bought a shed on sale because sales were slumping at the time. I negotiated 2x4s better quality and enough for 16" on center like a house build. I had a friend come help build it. We also used 2x10s and thicker wood for flooring as I had heavy items in and out of shed. I ran wiring with many outlets on each wall and several by the door. Light switch at door for main light, light switch at work table for that lighting. Insulated walls. Put up plywood walls, raised peg board over work table wall across that entire wall. I used spare pegboard area to hold lawn mower blades, tool extensions, etc. kept wrenches and small similar tools at work area. Also laid out router bits, grinder blades, buffer, saw blades types etc. section for yard/garden tools. If 1 thing missing I could identify it immediately, lol. I had outside box (in shade) next to building to store gas cans, etc. I bought used small a/c, installed it, small wood heater, recliner, ran cable out to it when I buried power cable out to bldg. 1950's refrigerator that worked awesome. Wife hardly saw me! Lol. I created useful tool add-ons. Always had a project idea. Funny part was their prices were so low I bought the biggest storage they had. After all the upgrades. I still came in way under list price! Pretty much built a house. I had rafters, so I installed light roller storage so I could put items on top at door and roll it back to the end. Filled it up with Christmas boxes etc. rolled them to end when I needed to take them out. I had heavy duty roll out power chord to reach all .75 acres of land in ceiling at door. 200ft airline for compressor in ceiling to use in building or outside. I added these things as I went along over time. It was nice to have everything put up tight and out of the way. Didn't worry about building as I built it strong to begin with.
I built a kit from Home Depot 15 years ago. Still standing except the bottom of the doors have rotted away about 4 inches. And I replaced a few 2"x 3" trim boards.
All you really need are the plans. I built my shed using a set of plans i found off TH-cam. It cost me $20 dollars. The shed came out looking fantastic!
Eric, what an excellent video. Informative, entertaining, easy to watch, relaxing. You should be very proud of this production. Excellent job, I enjoyed it very much.
I built a shed some time back for next to nothing. Got the framing from a hot tub sales place--the pallets the hot tubs come on are usually at least 7' X 7'. I used two pallets for the floor, two each for the front walls, back walls, and roof (1' pitch) and one for each end. I also got some additional ones that i deconstructed for extra floor boards, so ended up with a solid floor, which I added OSB to and had some old carpeting I covered it with. Used barn siding from Lowe's for the external sheathing, and covered the roof with some 3' R-panels and one piece of polycarbonate panels for lighting. It ain't real pretty, but it was cheap.
Great job! You're a best to have done this all by yourself! You made it look easy in the video, but I know it was a lot of hard work! Also, this might sound crazy, but I have to let you know that you're incredibly handsome!
I bought my shed from a local outfit that builds them. It is 10x12 with 8 foot walls and framed correctly. A real roll up door and shingled roof. Delivered it was $2700. Overall it is MUCH better built than what you ended up with and after watching your video I am so glad I didn't get one of those kits. It is good to see you made it work and improved it though.
If you live in an area where someone offers a warehouse build-and-ship shed service, that is the best way to go! Sounds like you got a great price too :)
It was our local lumber yard that built it. Nothing overly fancy except the nice roll up door. But it was built with good studs and framed correctly. Same siding you have. I plan to customize it into a gardening shed. With your skills, you could have easily built it.
My skills are from learning to build cabinets etc. Never built anything big. I didn't want to learn how to build roof trusses. Currently I am adding outside walls to kit shed with some insulation and hooks to hang things like ladders.
I built a shed about 15 years ago (looks very similar to the kit one you used) but just bought the materials and drew it up and built it, cost was just over $1000 and 2 weekends. It's still standing but I did have to replace the roof last year.
Awesome vid, had to subscribe for the dog alone. His pointing out where you missed a spot....priceless. My cousin asked me to assist with his kit purchase build. I already sent him one video to check before he buys it, and I think I need to send him this one! It's just a bit much if you don't have all the tools.Thanks again!
Nice job, very well done. I do agree with you about the quality of lumber. Probably best to buy the materials and hand pick them, even if it costs a little more. Love German shepards, we have one too. Very loyal dogs.
I agree that most shedkits leave something to be desired, especially for the prices they are now asjing. I built one kit shed, and encountered similar problems withthe wood. I then needed a smaller gardening shed, 8x8. I built that from scratch, probably for about a third of what I would have paid for a kit. And the lumber I used was hand picked, so I didn't encounter the bowed door header, or truss.
I have assembled three similar sheds, for friends, from big-box stores, over the years. The plans were poor, the structure weak, and the materials quite substandard. My father scratch-built a shed more than fifty years ago, and it looks brand new, and has survived many heavy-snow winters. The kits look old and weak, and have had to be repaired. Forget the kits. Buy the materials and build a better structure.
I couldn't agree more. The amount of work it took to make a shed out of the kit materials probably took more effort than if I built it from scratch. Lesson learned!
My wife keeps wanting to buy a shed. I see the cost and wonder why they cost so much. I see the "quality" and wonder why anyone with basic carpentry tools would get one. If you get a deal like that, maybe. Thanks for proving my point.
Right you are Tom.It is best not to fall into the trap, especially when they go on sale. Even if the lumber was decent, these sheds ship with a minimum of structural lumber and always meet the bare minimum requirements. One thing I may not have mentioned in the video is that I had to reinforce all four corners with additional framing.
I built an 8x10 10 years ago from scratch that still looks awesome. I used cheap utility shake ( knotty ugly cedar shake) as siding and it still looks great and is very structurally sound. That being said I build massive custom homes along the shore so I have a bit of knowledge on the process but its always better to DIY from scratch.
There are a lot of comments/criticism with regards to NOT pouring a slab. The reasons why a foundation was not poured is because A) it would have cost more. Hiring a cement truck where I live is not cheap. I looked into it. Also, there was no way to get the concrete funnelled into that spot in my back yard. B) pouring it manually would have been a lot more work and also expensive. Because it is uneven ground, the slab would have had to have been 18" at the back and 8" at the front (8" is code here). Doing the math, for that much volume, it would have required well over 100 bags of concrete mix. C) Changing the pitch of my property or pouring a slab on that spot would cause some major flooding in the middle of my back yard. The foundation I currently have allows water to run-off under the shed (which is also why I don't have critters under it - think about it). Finally, 2 years later, this shed has no critters living under it. Why? Because The height allows too much wind in there to make a decent shelter. Secondly, I installed mesh to block any potential critter activity. To learn more about shed foundations, watch the follow up video: th-cam.com/video/-sjKKd9efKo/w-d-xo.html
The BEST roofing paper/underlayment, is “Feltbuster”. It’s a synthetic not tearable roofing membrane that is 10 times better than roofing paper, much more durable, and actually serves as a vapor barrier that is much stronger, 5 times lighter, and cost efficient (about the same cost as conventional roofing paper). The big advantage, besides being lighter than roofing paper, one roll (4’ x 250’) covers 1000 square feet of roof, and not only is it NOT easy to tear, but it doesn’t make you itch (like roofing paper). I have been using this in replacement of roofing paper, and I’ll never use the standard roofing tar paper again. Most DIY stores carry it. What a find!
I did enjoy watching how u build the shed. I like that you elevated the flooring. Since I am no carpenter, I have decided get the shed from Costco. A bit reasonable price. I got some ideas from your video, I hope I can incorporate it while my shed is being built. You are an awesome carpenter. Thank you for sharing.
I have a 12X16 shed and it cost about $1,500.00 and I have electric and AC in it,plus it sits on concrete pillars like the one in this video with the exception that I made a concrete platform for it to sit on.
$1500 for a complete 12' X 16' shed with electric, a/c and insulation sounds too good to be true. I added a 6' X 12' lean-to to the back of my yard barn last year. It's a similar construction to this shed but being a lean-to I only needed to construct 3 walls. With asphalt shingles being the only difference, I spent a little over $1,100. All materials purchased at Home Depot with some materials were on sale. My 12' X 20' yard barn with ramp and 1" thick plywood flooring and an 8' X 12' loft, constructed by Amish builders cost $4500 ten years ago. I had the option to purchase just the materials and construct it myself for $3700.
Yep, I built a 747 out of pallet wood, and it flies, If you don't, believe me, I can show you a picture, and it only cost me $1499!! I believe you, I really do!!
Not sure if it helps I bought a home depot shed a few years ago. It was pretty good. I added a few extra braces to the back wall. Maybe 3 2x4 . I also used decking screws. Not the nails that came with the kit. My kit did not have warped lumber. I might have just been lucky.
we attached a 10 by 20 prebuilt shed to our house as an extra room only because it was way cheaper than hiring a contractor to build a room but looking back I would build it all myself fun project rewarding
you are an experienced carpenter who makes it look easy, most would not have been as good. The job looks very nice, the doors on the piano hinges seem to not have enough clearance off the deck if you have snow or ice that will be a problem also dragging the door will damage it over time. you can't raise the doors so lower the deck if you can it will be a better job and you will get much more life out of it. Cutting down the beams and installing a diamond plate in lieu of 5/4 deck can lower it just fine by 2 to 3 inches..drill water holes in the plate and lower the ramp you have now.I think it would look good with the roof you have and a diamond plate deck.Good luck.
I scratch build sheds and have never really seen the benefit of the larger wooden kits. You end up doing just as much work, throwing away bad materials and having to figure it out on the fly. The shed kit costs three times the material cost from the same retailer. The tiny plastic or metal sheds are OK for their price, but if you know how to frame and cut plywood or roof tin, then just buy materials and start building.
I feel the same way, when I built my 12x8 I considered a kit but figured it's probably easier to just scratch build than to try to read instructions. Men and instructions don't mix. :P I think my shed ended up more expensive than a kit though. Around 2-3k in materials. I didn't keep track... which is probably a good thing. :P
Completely agree. You can buy material in the winter. In the Midwest building materials are cheaper. Just buy the material as things go on sale. Build in spring. This guy did a phenomenal job but it would have been cheaper to lay a pad of concrete and less work. Depending on where you live though, they may tax you on that quite heavily. At least the way he did it, it is movable and not a permanent structure.
Taxes are why lots of people in rural areas erect Shelter Logic sheds and garages. About $500 to $700 on ebay. My brother got one and I have to admit that it looks like it would last as long as a big-box shed. They're just tents on pipe-frames, but well made. Still, I'd prefer a traditional shed or garage, made of real wood. Wooden studs don't just hold the roof up, they're also good for attaching shelves.
Mykel Hardin Exactly. If you take prices of today and do the work yourself you can throw up a shed.. No concrete pad of course, and a 12×12 shed for about $1000. If you plan it out.. and get left over material here and there from jobs that friends have done or just in your neighborhood or big job sites, talk with the big boss.. explain what your doing.. you can drop the price alot. Kits suck.. way over priced, Amish sheds are nice but they put alot of hands on hours in and the cost around$3k for 8×8 to $5 or $6-$8k for a big 10×10 or 12×12 shed. I want a 10×12 or even 12×12. Have no room and no basement so the outdoor space is needed, but also under cover and secured. I could go smaller and just add an attachment off the roof for extra storage for things to protect from the rain.
There are many jurisdictions where a shed with 100 sq feet of area (or less) does not require a building permit. Three 4x8 sheets of plywood equals 12x8 = 96 sq ft. You can usually connect two of these legally with a "breezeway" meaning a connecting roof and a patio floor, but no walls...
Great job on your shed, looks nice and should serve you for a long time ! I would wager a bet that you could build it better and cheaper from scratch. The time you spent fusing w/ poor quality lumber had to be frustrating to say the least : )
I just completed a Heartland 8x8 shed from Lowe's. Similar experience. The finished product looks very good, but the effort required to get it that way was significant. The deciding factor for me was I was building this deck in a remote location at my mother's house. No access to tools other than those I brought from my house 1000 miles away. The kit was complete but the framing materials were inconsistent quality. You do have to provide your own floor and roofing material. Pay close attention to the instructions.
Thanks for your honesty on the quality of the lumber. My thoughts are those sheds are way OVER PRICED for what you get. Also the quality of wood at Lowes or HD is not very good. I have spent way to many hours trying to find a decent piece of lumber in both those stores. Anyway, very nice build and thanks for sharing.
Heartland from lowes screws installers on floor one after that the entire project is a joke...they paid us $75 to drive 1.5 hours and build a shed...they are liars....the product is shit...and you should just keep watching youtube diy...lowes sheds suck big time.
In the process of building my own shed from scratch. Sank 4x4" into the ground and used postcrete with a cement screed over the top and built on that. All wood recycled from pallets. 7x7' pallets. 3x2" lengths nearly all perfectly straight, if a little ragged from use as a pallet. Had to build floor as decking since going to have a 6x3' section under extended roof to sit in if it's raining or just too hot. So far it's cost me about £200 In decking screws, wood treatment, right angle brackets, a new fine cut hand saw, a new level as my old one was a little bit out and a second drill so I don't have to keep swapping drill bits for screwdriver bits. I have a driver but it isn't strong enough. End result will be 16x3' decking with 10x3' shed and a 6x3' sheltered area for me and my better half to relax when it gets too hot indoors. All planks for the sides have a 45° angled edge and overlap to stop water ingress (my own idea) which I cut on my table saw. Dimensions are odd as I have a narrow space to put this thing and have to adhere to building and tendency regulations. Given the choice, I'd probably do it slightly different if I had to do it again, but no way I'm going to buy a kit or a prebuilt shed from anywhere as the build quality just isn't good enough. Mine is pretty much arachnid proof....no little beasties are ever getting in as I will be brewing in there. Highly recommend building from scratch like you would prefer to do yourself. Much more "fun" and a rewarding experience when each part of the build is complete. Of course, if I had the money, someone else would be doing it for me 😁
Great job! I plan to build a shed like yours and this video showed me the correct way to use the concrete footing blocks to build a good structure. Thank you.
Jack Lucas I built one like this too, but I didn’t want my shed so high off the ground, so I dug holes deeper so the concrete deck blocks would be buried 75%. I also just used treated 2x4s in the concrete block channels & reinforced with cross blocks. Topped it with 3/4 decking. It’ll save you having to build a steep ramp.
I built a shed from scratch using lumber from a local one man saw mill 44 yrs. ago. Still standing and looks as good as the day it was built.
Nice build. For those looking for alternatives, the last shed kit I assembled was from Lifetime Products. They're blow-molded plastic, and the shed was 8'x15'. Came with a plastic floor, which we installed on a raised 2x6 and plywood frame. I was skeptical, but it went together like a dream and came out quite sturdy. It's survived several heavy New England snow storms and is maintenance free - just hose it off once a year. IIRC, it cost $1400 or $1500 delivered on sale. A nice bonus is that you can buy extra kits to extend the ends - so you can size it to any length you need. Neat system and sure beats the old metal shed kits.
Building a shed from scratch can be very rewarding. You did a nice job. There's all sorts of reasons to build a shed.
I built my insulated 7'.9" x 9'.9" shed from scratch using all wood screws and i'm glad I did. Gave it the Red barn look with small windows on both sides. and added white trim. Built an upper loft shelf for storage but it's big enough for a small mattress as well. Even bought a "new looking" used exterior door from a second hand store, built the frame, and added the hinges. It works and looks nice. Added paneling to the inside walls and I added stained tongue & groove to the ceiling, then I put tile on the floor. I set it up with a small "through the wall" air conditioner, Deep cycle solar batteries, solar panels, charge controllers, LED lighting, and a plug in for an alternative Generator setup as well. I added a wall mounted tv with an outdoor antenna. Three DC to AC inverters, plugs to charge lap tops & cell phones, a Futon that makes into a bed, and a small fridge. The next time a hurricane takes out our power for a week or longer like it did last year we intend to sleep in comfort without the South East humidity.
Excellent video, I bought a package shed several years ago from Home Hardware. I am not the carpenter type but I gave it a go. Same type of treated panels, and lots of treated lumber. My wife was so impressed I had to build a second one.
I have been considering building a shed and was most concerned with how to level the floor joists and frame. Your're idea of getting the blocks close and then using a 4x4 to dial in level is excellent, thank you!!!
I wanted it reinforced so I can store heavy items in there, like a full sized generator, lawnmower, trailer hitch kits etc .. If you use a 2X8 Joists, you can probably get away with less. i just couldn't really build it any taller.
"A little cheaper than pouring a slab". Understatement of the year. Lol
As a retired contractor, having worked in the field for 40 years I say, Thank You Very Much for you HONEST Video and Opinion which I feel are 100% correct. This is what you get if you buy a package.
If you have some skill and take your time, I would agree, buy everything from a reputable Lumber dealer and you will get far Superior Material
Thanks Bill! The other option folks can go with is to hire someone to frame everything and build the shed. Certainly an easy weekend job for a professional framer who wants to earn a little extra money.
So a lumber dealer would have a kit for a shed ?
Thank you for the video. You are correct about the bulk lumber being seconds or just about thirds.I built a shed in 2001 out of sawmill scraps from out of the backwoods of Arkansas. It was about the same size as yours. I never painted or preserved it. It is still sturdy but my family members put v-8 engines and transmissions on the floor and the floor has dropped. The sidewalls and roof are still sturdy. Seconds windows still open and close but the wall sole seals were made out of pressure treated lumber and they have deteriorated over time. When I first put it up I used it as a chicken coop. The tax collector asked me who lived in the building. I told him my chickens. He said my chicken coop was built better than a lot of peoples houses in the backwoods! Ha, ha, ha! Take care.
Great job. Years ago, I bought a metal garden shed for my son and thought it would be easier than wood. Probably was, but a job that should have taken a full day, took a long weekend. The instructions were very good until the end. It never said to anchor the shed to the wood floor and had no screws to do so. After that experience, when I needed a garden shed, I went to the local Mennonites who built, delivered, and installed a 8x12 shed for half the price of my local big box stores just for the kit.
One thing I've learned from TH-cam: There's more than one way to build a shed.
P
cut-n-seal.com/
Lowes offers a small building for $899. by the time they get finished with it it was over $3000. I told them to keep.
Nice video. I'm a commercial carpenter & everything you said is accurate, especially buying ANY shed or other kits from Lowe's. I don't know if you live in an area with annual bad wind storms or tornadoes, but putting in some anchors from the 4x4s into the ground is highly recommended. I've seen lighter weight sheds like this simply get blown over. Gluing the 4x4 base frame pieces to the concrete blocks could have helped add more weight & wind resistance. You can still buy the large screw in anchors at the 4 corners of the shed. Also install vents at the gable ends to prevent extreme heat build up which will ruin paints & many common liquid home repair products like caulk, some solvents, stains, etc. Vents are very important
The part that wasn't on the video was me attaching the hurricane ties from the floor joists to the 4X4s. We get severe wind storms because we live on an island. Thus far, it's as good as the day I finished building it. But yes, people don't always think about buying all the extras needed to keep it safe from wind storms. There is a brief update (from 2020) on the shed in this video: th-cam.com/video/MRVEDq5as0I/w-d-xo.html
That sub floor is fantastic. You’ve solved my digging into solid rock problem. Thanks.🇦🇺👍
That was a perfect delivery by you Eric Sorenson - not an ego trip, not showy - honest and to the point. AND it helped me finally decide to avoid kits and make one from scratch - then I can decide where the spend needs to go to make it survive winter northerly gales! Cheers Eric...
Thanks John! Cheers🙂🍺
Thanks Eric for the video. I sell sheds for a major shed manufacture and am always out looking at what others are offering. I too am a do it your self guy and enjoyed watching your video. I actually built my first shed myself many years before I got into the shed business. Now that I'm in the business I see the mistakes I made simply because it was my first shed. My company has built many thousands of sheds thus we have made all the mistakes possible and have learned from those mistakes. Because we never claim to be the cheapest we are always looking for improvements we can make to provide a better product for our customers. With your skills I'm sure you could have built one from scratch which would have been better than that kit. The care you took starting with the foundation layout was impressive which shows you want to do quality work. With those kits that is almost impossible. It's a poor design done with poor quality materials. Thanks again and keep building!!!!!!
I've built many sheds in my time. I appreciate the video. I've always just bought the materials without a deal and just did them as they were requested. I guess you can say, custom. I've always wondered how these kits came. I never bothered looking it up because there was never a need. Now that covid has us locked up, why not look it up! Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.
Good job doing this all by yourself! I’m impressed. And the emotional support from Pup was a nice addition.
Thanks Pamela! My puppy was the job site foreman - LOL :)
I built a shed and used them blue barrels to make it float on 2 20 foot poles, when the Mississippi River comes up the shed floats and lands back were it was before the flood. Got tired of moving stuff all the time.
Smart! Nicely Done :)
BRILLIANT!!
I love it!
I remember seeing one of those "in the future" type programs that mention when humans have reproduced to the point of no where to go we will start building homes like that that float in the ocean and rise and lower depending on the tide. Same idea as your shed. They have predicted entire cities built like this so a shed is a good start in the flood zone lol
So you built a house boat
Excellent video! Not just the info it contains but the editing as well; you didn’t waste my time with unnecessary babble and you provided complete information. Kudos!
I agree!
Nice to see your process and the end result. Looks great. I built a shed last year from scratch following a set of plans. That was a lot of work. It looks good and functions well, but it took more time than I had thought it would. Building the rear wall with the sheathing attached was a smart idea. The shed was going to stand about six inches from my fence when completed. I built the whole shed about 3 feet from the final resting spot so I could put the sheathing on after the wall frame was up. Then I used a handyman jack and pushed the whole shed back into place. I built the shoe on two runners perpendicular to the joists, then used the jack to lift the side and pull the runners out. Building the real wall like you did would have saved that step.
Thanks Matthew Potter :) I assembled the walls with the framing on because that is what the kit called for, however I can't say I would want to do it that way again. It was a little unwieldy when your putting it together yourself. I would have rather built proper frames and put the sheathing on a section at a time.
I got one about 10 years ago and it is still going strong, Like you said, much of the lumber ( the 2x3s ) are crap and I bought 2x4's for the long front and rear. The factory rep was at the store the day I bought mine and strongly recommend I upgrade the flooring so I got exterior grade treated plywood. Built mine on blocks like you did. I used roofing shingles on mine.
Nice! Good to get some feedback that indicates the shed will actually last a while. Cheers :)
Suggestion:it is always a good practice to stagger joints between adjacent 4x8 sheets and the planks on your front porch.
Excellent video. I’ve built one shed from scratch. I’ll definitely build the next one from scratch as well. Thanks for the vid, I think it’s cool you sealed all the ends of all the floor framing.
Thank you so much man. I bought the same kind of shed and it's turned out to be a nightmare and I basically have rebuilt the whole thing standing where it's at
I came up with a unique solution. This will not work for most people, but maybe someone will be able to take from it.
I live in a trailer court and wanted a 5x8 shed primarily for the mower, snow blower, some garden tools...the basics.
I looked at the resin sheds and the wood kits. Of the two; wood is the winner of course.
Much like this featured unit, the cost is a little north of $1000.00 plus the pad and your time.
I recall for somewhere between 700 and 1000 it would be delivered either built and set or built for you on site..plus the pad cost.
I was working way too many hours at this time and built/delivered was my choice as time (winter coming) was an issue and cost was not.
I ended up purchasing a DooLittle Bullitt enclosed cargo trailer.
Cost was right at $2000.00 (two years ago).
I have the shed I needed AND it is completely portable.
20 minutes to take out the lawn gear and I can haul that couch the buddy needs gone.
You get the point.
Of course the biggest issue with such an arrangement is how/where is it parked.
In my case the trailer court has wide lots with plenty of available parking spots.
Anyway, just thought I'd share a unique possible alternative.
Thanks for taking the time to do this video... It was very helpful...
The best thing to do is download a free shed plan which will include a list of all material needed, then go to all your lumber stores and get quotes on it. Best way to save money. Plus some plans allow you to change something on the plan like add/subtract windows, change door styles, then will change the list of materials. All in all, your build looks great. Nothing like using your own hands to build something.
Any suggestions on websites with free plans?
It's just as easy to work it out yourself to your own specific requirements. I had a 6m x 2.5m area to build my shed. Housing regulations say no shed within 1 metre of the house....... each wall is a digital "8" shaped frame.(type "8" into an old calculator to see what I mean) Design it as strong as you can think of and put short diagonals in all corners top and bottom. work out how many beams you need to make it, then work out how many boards. Add a quarter of each amount as something always goes awry as you'll have to swap timber or adapt for whatever reason.
Decide first what shape roof you want.....Mine is having a flat sloping roof so that all my neighbours apples from their tree that used to fall into my garden will hit the roof and roll back and drop over the fence to land back in his garden......I'm sick of going round and picking them up all summer long. So build for a purpose is the point.
Dang. You made this look easy. Given a year and a lot of help I might get it kinda close to how you did😆
Fiberglass in tar paper. 😉
Good show sir. I am a builder myself. I wear many hats. Framers,plumber,roofer,drywall work,tile work,flooring, uncertified plumber,uncertified electrician, windows and doors,Interior trim,Master Applications Expert. Not much of a landscaper. Looks like we have this in common as well. LOL I like how you built your foundation out to accommodate that small deck. Great idea. I will be using that. Thanks again. ✌🏽
I started with a shed but ended up building a 8x10 mini house for my 15 year old daughter. What started out as a $1500 budget is now a $3200 mini house. Things dads do for their kids I tell ya.
jacques parent
So she has her own place at age 15? Probably a great hide away for her to hussy with the boys.
that's way too much
Nice job! I built a kit shed with my son when he was about 9 years old as a father-son project. My son is now 31. I treasure the photos from that project and I’m still using the shed. I think I need to rebuild the doors sometime soon, but it’s otherwise in good shape. I customized the kit heavily to add a second door and split the interior between a playhouse and a garden shed. It was a great way to introduce my son to basic woodworking and construction techniques but I agree with others here that having done it once from a kit I would buy the lumber and build from scratch if I did it again. Leveling the foundation blocks and building the platform (which was not part of the kit) was the most time-consuming part. Framing the walls is relatively easy in comparison. But it is, I must say, nice to know when they drop the kit off that you have pretty much all you need. No repeat trips to the store for things you forgot. If you take one weekend to put in the foundation and platform you can pretty much put up the kit shed itself in a second (longish) weekend.
Tim Motz Q
if you can keep the wood dry with good Shingles and paint or siding there is no reason it can't last 50+ years.
Yeah, yeah world traveler. Everywhere is better than the U.S. bye!
I've built five sheds on my property over the years and the roof is the easy part. The first shed I built was in 1983 when we bought our new home. It was an 8x10 shed from a 'kit'. It didn't have a window so I added one myself. The other four sheds I've built from scratch, and all of them are still standing and being used to this day. Just wear some tight fitting gloves and long-sleeve shirt and you should have no problem with allergic reaction. I've got to say...I have NEVER seen anyone build a shed as fast as you! That was incredible to watch! LOL!!!
Worked in a sawmill for many years, all of the lumber that wouldn't make grade went into a separate bin to be sold for just what you bought. They nearly give that lumber away, it has always been a joke with me, that you build your own stuff so you know what you are getting in the end. I know some persons don't have the tools or the know how, but for those of us who do, buy your own materials, no kits. for those who don't have the required know how, find a contractor that will do the job right. Great video, thank you.
Thanks Ray! I figured as much. Either that or they left this kit out in the sun for a few weeks. For what you get, the kits aren't worth it. This one came together but it took a lot of fiddling and trips to the lumber yard to replace some of the wall studs.
That lumber looks rough but it’ll stand up well enough over time, for a shed.
I have built two sheds. one from scratch and one kit. if i ever build a third it will be from scratch. But even then you have to dig through the lumber at a big box because most of it is garbage. yours looks good. nice job.
Thanks Eric, for sharing--I especially appreciate your devoting much of the attention on the deck blocks and pressure-treated lumber and how meticulous you were with the leveling. You've convinced me to assemble my own "kit.". The packaged deals are so cheap at HD and Lowe's that it's tempting sometimes.
I would shop around Phong To. The kits aren't all that good. Browse the web for shed plans and price out what it would cost to build from scratch. I bet it will be the same cost as the kit.
I am in process of building a shed from scratch. I had very little know how and a hammer from 1988. Went and bought a fairly cheap circular saw and a finishing blade drill and a jig saw. Because of a full time job it's taken some time and a lot of homework but I am very happy with the end results. I noticed a lot of the kits had strange stud placements and would be hard to insulate. As well my project was going to basically be a small house because the wife wanted it to have heat/ AC. I knew a custom shed would be expensive, so that was my decision driver. The one you assembled looks good and I think the finagling is going to happen with a most builds. Its just a matter of how much. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Nathen! Sounds more like a tiny house build, which is how I would build it if I were to do this again. I think you definitely took the right approach.
Good job! It's good to see men being able to build things.
And even better when its women building stuff :)
@@MamaMia.... Amen.
I'm sitting here realizing, "Oh wow, I now know how to use all the tools in this video! I can do this!"
DAM!! GIFTED MENTALITY AND HAND'S!!!....THANK YOU!!!!!
The Shed Kit cost $520 but that doesn't include a floor, roofing materials, foundation extra lumber etc. The whole build cost approx $3000 when it was done , including the Deck blocks, floor timber, flooring, shed kit, roofing materials, hardware and paint.
Cheaper to buy a Amish built one. Mine is 12x16 and it was 3k I believe. $80 worth of blocks and 4x4's and about $300 to have a crane lift it onto the foundation.
Just as another dollar amount for those interested, i built my 8x12 from complete scratch. Nearly identical to yours but with a gambrel roof for additional storage, 7' walls and two windows. About $1800.
Curious what the shed kit cost vs purchasing your own materials and painting.
Our lowes has a Heartland brand 8x10 for just $700. I get it's not going to be premium quality but some of us don't know much about any of this so a precut kit still is probably best... I'll pretty much just have to get the metal roofing, some paint, and whatever for the flooring... I don't foresee mine costing much over $1,000...
@@ThePackDad I've been curious about the same thing... If someone is handy enough to build their own and everything I say go for it... But I don't know about all of that and all this comes precut so i'm just going this route myself! Lowes sells a Heartland brand one for $700 that's an 8x10 so i'm going that route. Find a couple cheap windows on facebook marketplace- i'm forever seeing them on there.
I built my shed using steel 2x4's for the walls and ceiling. It's held up nicely. Much nicer to work with materials that don't have issues with warping, but screwing the wall boards was a pain since it didn't cinch up nice and tight like dimensional lumber, but it squared up really nice. Kits just don't make sense because you have to rework someone else's plans. I prefer to figure it out as I go. Very nice job on your shed.
A shed a lot more cheaper than a house. If I could ever afford a plot of land I'd buy a nice shed, have electricity supplied to it for the running of appliance, use the restrooms of local gas stations, mcdonald's, etc, take my showers in a gym or public showers. Id have a house paid off in six months!
As an old concrete pour-er I'd say a slab is faster and easier, but if you every wanted to move it , a slab is for ever. Good ideas for leveling etc. I'd put a little square of used asphalt roofing between the bottom of the short 4X4's and the blocks as concrete likes to wick water and I've see lots of treated wood rot, but then I live in Western Washington where it's wet 8 months out of the year.
Hey, I wished I had this man’s skills or he was my best friend. He did a pretty damn good job building this thing!
I found the same issues. I bought one from sears. I saw the quality of lumber and bought regular 2X4's for all the walls and around the door. Only good thing it was all figured out and came with good instructions.
Really great job on your video and explaining the problems you encountered. I wish I would have seen this before I built mine. This is exactly what I experienced and I am not a carpenter at all. I really like your deck and ramp!
I bought a shed on sale because sales were slumping at the time. I negotiated 2x4s better quality and enough for 16" on center like a house build. I had a friend come help build it. We also used 2x10s and thicker wood for flooring as I had heavy items in and out of shed. I ran wiring with many outlets on each wall and several by the door. Light switch at door for main light, light switch at work table for that lighting. Insulated walls. Put up plywood walls, raised peg board over work table wall across that entire wall. I used spare pegboard area to hold lawn mower blades, tool extensions, etc. kept wrenches and small similar tools at work area. Also laid out router bits, grinder blades, buffer, saw blades types etc. section for yard/garden tools. If 1 thing missing I could identify it immediately, lol. I had outside box (in shade) next to building to store gas cans, etc. I bought used small a/c, installed it, small wood heater, recliner, ran cable out to it when I buried power cable out to bldg. 1950's refrigerator that worked awesome. Wife hardly saw me! Lol. I created useful tool add-ons. Always had a project idea. Funny part was their prices were so low I bought the biggest storage they had. After all the upgrades. I still came in way under list price! Pretty much built a house. I had rafters, so I installed light roller storage so I could put items on top at door and roll it back to the end. Filled it up with Christmas boxes etc. rolled them to end when I needed to take them out. I had heavy duty roll out power chord to reach all .75 acres of land in ceiling at door. 200ft airline for compressor in ceiling to use in building or outside. I added these things as I went along over time. It was nice to have everything put up tight and out of the way. Didn't worry about building as I built it strong to begin with.
Thanks. This was helpful. I had considered buying a shed kit from Home Depot or Lowes but I think I'll try to build it myself.
You are very handy professional simple honest man. THANK YOU
Thank you Eric, this was a very well done video. You recap at the end was truly objective. I thank you again
6:00 the Allergic reaction is fiberglass slivers.
I learned from this same experience to wear LONG SLEEVES AND JEANS while working with fiberglas, tar paper, and similar materials
Would love to hear more about total cost $, to gain perspective.
I built a kit from Home Depot 15 years ago. Still standing except the bottom of the doors have rotted away about 4 inches. And I replaced a few 2"x 3" trim boards.
Impressive amount of work you put into this. I like how you did the "no slab" procedure.
All you really need are the plans. I built my shed using a set of plans i found off TH-cam. It cost me $20 dollars. The shed came out looking fantastic!
Eric, what an excellent video. Informative, entertaining, easy to watch, relaxing. You should be very proud of this production. Excellent job, I enjoyed it very much.
@My Garage Woodshop Thank-you my Friend! Cheers🙂🍺
I built a shed some time back for next to nothing. Got the framing from a hot tub sales place--the pallets the hot tubs come on are usually at least 7' X 7'. I used two pallets for the floor, two each for the front walls, back walls, and roof (1' pitch) and one for each end. I also got some additional ones that i deconstructed for extra floor boards, so ended up with a solid floor, which I added OSB to and had some old carpeting I covered it with. Used barn siding from Lowe's for the external sheathing, and covered the roof with some 3' R-panels and one piece of polycarbonate panels for lighting. It ain't real pretty, but it was cheap.
Seems like no matter what kit you buy from the big box stores, you always have extra expenses to fix the problems with the product. Good video.
The Part with Puppydoggie is Epic!! Super Great Job!! Outstanding Video!!
Thanks Micky! Cheers🍺.🙂
Great job! You're a best to have done this all by yourself! You made it look easy in the video, but I know it was a lot of hard work! Also, this might sound crazy, but I have to let you know that you're incredibly handsome!
Tbh I've never seen a shed on stilts before, always thought your just plonk it on a concrete slab, learn something new every day!
I bought my shed from a local outfit that builds them. It is 10x12 with 8 foot walls and framed correctly. A real roll up door and shingled roof. Delivered it was $2700. Overall it is MUCH better built than what you ended up with and after watching your video I am so glad I didn't get one of those kits. It is good to see you made it work and improved it though.
If you live in an area where someone offers a warehouse build-and-ship shed service, that is the best way to go! Sounds like you got a great price too :)
It was our local lumber yard that built it. Nothing overly fancy except the nice roll up door. But it was built with good studs and framed correctly. Same siding you have. I plan to customize it into a gardening shed. With your skills, you could have easily built it.
My skills are from learning to build cabinets etc. Never built anything big. I didn't want to learn how to build roof trusses. Currently I am adding outside walls to kit shed with some insulation and hooks to hang things like ladders.
Good honest description of your Lowe's shed kit. Once you build one, you will want to build another.
I really enjoyed this video. You really got this project going nicely, and finished nicely also. 5 stars🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I built a shed about 15 years ago (looks very similar to the kit one you used) but just bought the materials and drew it up and built it, cost was just over $1000 and 2 weekends. It's still standing but I did have to replace the roof last year.
Nice job Rich McCool! There is some pride in knowing you built it yourself especially when it's lasted as long as yours has :)
Thanks!
Awesome vid, had to subscribe for the dog alone. His pointing out where you missed a spot....priceless. My cousin asked me to assist with his kit purchase build. I already sent him one video to check before he buys it, and I think I need to send him this one! It's just a bit much if you don't have all the tools.Thanks again!
I love your comments at the end. After building my lowes shed years ago, that was my exact comments too!!
This was so satisfying to watch 😌
Nice job, very well done. I do agree with you about the quality of lumber. Probably best to buy the materials and hand pick them, even if it costs a little more. Love German shepards, we have one too. Very loyal dogs.
Sweet shed. I wish I had a fraction of your construction skills.
I agree that most shedkits leave something to be desired, especially for the prices they are now asjing.
I built one kit shed, and encountered similar problems withthe wood. I then needed a smaller gardening shed, 8x8. I built that from scratch, probably for about a third of what I would have paid for a kit. And the lumber I used was hand picked, so I didn't encounter the bowed door header, or truss.
I have assembled three similar sheds, for friends, from big-box stores, over the years. The plans were poor, the structure weak, and the materials quite substandard. My father scratch-built a shed more than fifty years ago, and it looks brand new, and has survived many heavy-snow winters. The kits look old and weak, and have had to be repaired. Forget the kits. Buy the materials and build a better structure.
I couldn't agree more. The amount of work it took to make a shed out of the kit materials probably took more effort than if I built it from scratch. Lesson learned!
My wife keeps wanting to buy a shed. I see the cost and wonder why they cost so much. I see the "quality" and wonder why anyone with basic carpentry tools would get one. If you get a deal like that, maybe. Thanks for proving my
point.
Right you are Tom.It is best not to fall into the trap, especially when they go on sale. Even if the lumber was decent, these sheds ship with a minimum of structural lumber and always meet the bare minimum requirements. One thing I may not have mentioned in the video is that I had to reinforce all four corners with additional framing.
I built an 8x10 10 years ago from scratch that still looks awesome. I used cheap utility shake ( knotty ugly cedar shake) as siding and it still looks great and is very structurally sound. That being said I build massive custom homes along the shore so I have a bit of knowledge on the process but its always better to DIY from scratch.
I build these sheds everyday for a living and you frankly just don’t know what your talking about sir.
I built one more than 30 years ago. No deck blocks. Just set my 2x8 (treated) floor joists on 8 foot 6x6 treated beams. It's still there.
There are a lot of comments/criticism with regards to NOT pouring a slab. The reasons why a foundation was not poured is because A) it would have cost more. Hiring a cement truck where I live is not cheap. I looked into it. Also, there was no way to get the concrete funnelled into that spot in my back yard. B) pouring it manually would have been a lot more work and also expensive. Because it is uneven ground, the slab would have had to have been 18" at the back and 8" at the front (8" is code here). Doing the math, for that much volume, it would have required well over 100 bags of concrete mix. C) Changing the pitch of my property or pouring a slab on that spot would cause some major flooding in the middle of my back yard. The foundation I currently have allows water to run-off under the shed (which is also why I don't have critters under it - think about it). Finally, 2 years later, this shed has no critters living under it. Why? Because The height allows too much wind in there to make a decent shelter. Secondly, I installed mesh to block any potential critter activity. To learn more about shed foundations, watch the follow up video: th-cam.com/video/-sjKKd9efKo/w-d-xo.html
The BEST roofing paper/underlayment, is “Feltbuster”. It’s a synthetic not tearable roofing membrane that is 10 times better than roofing paper, much more durable, and actually serves as a vapor barrier that is much stronger, 5 times lighter, and cost efficient (about the same cost as conventional roofing paper). The big advantage, besides being lighter than roofing paper, one roll (4’ x 250’) covers 1000 square feet of roof, and not only is it NOT easy to tear, but it doesn’t make you itch (like roofing paper).
I have been using this in replacement of roofing paper, and I’ll never use the standard roofing tar paper again. Most DIY stores carry it. What a find!
I did enjoy watching how u build the shed. I like that you elevated the flooring. Since I am no carpenter, I have decided get the shed from Costco. A bit reasonable price. I got some ideas from your video, I hope I can incorporate it while my shed is being built. You are an awesome carpenter. Thank you for sharing.
Better quality than most new home construction I've seen.
I have a 12X16 shed and it cost about $1,500.00 and I have electric and AC in it,plus it sits on concrete pillars like the one in this video with the exception that I made a concrete platform for it to sit on.
That's incredibly inexpensive! Especially for all the extras you have. Couldn't do it for that price where I am, not even if everything was on sale.
@@EricSorensenCanada It was pricy but necessary.I almost forgot,it's insulated too.
$1500 for a complete 12' X 16' shed with electric, a/c and insulation sounds too good to be true. I added a 6' X 12' lean-to to the back of my yard barn last year. It's a similar construction to this shed but being a lean-to I only needed to construct 3 walls. With asphalt shingles being the only difference, I spent a little over $1,100. All materials purchased at Home Depot with some materials were on sale. My 12' X 20' yard barn with ramp and 1" thick plywood flooring and an 8' X 12' loft, constructed by Amish builders cost $4500 ten years ago. I had the option to purchase just the materials and construct it myself for $3700.
Yep, I built a 747 out of pallet wood, and it flies, If you don't, believe me, I can show you a picture, and it only cost me $1499!! I believe you, I really do!!
Good job man. I built one from scratch and poured the concrete foundation for it.
Not sure if it helps I bought a home depot shed a few years ago. It was pretty good. I added a few extra braces to the back wall. Maybe 3 2x4 . I also used decking screws. Not the nails that came with the kit. My kit did not have warped lumber. I might have just been lucky.
I did add extra studs and corner supports as well at rafter supports to beef it up. It helps but next time, I will start from scratch.
Those screws are sold as decking screws in the UK and our weather is a little more variable over here. If they're painted, they're outdoor screws.
Seen several videos about Tuff Shed at Home Depot seem very good -little on the high side but you get what you pay for. Thanks for the great info
You did a nice job. You're pretty adept at working solo !
we attached a 10 by 20 prebuilt shed to our house as an extra room only because it was way cheaper than hiring a contractor to build a room but looking back I would build it all myself fun project rewarding
Did you have to get a permit from the city or the county?
Love the video, you make it look so easy. I have 2 German Shepherds so I am set with the 'furry helpers". Love your pup.
you are an experienced carpenter who makes it look easy, most would not have been as good. The job looks very nice, the doors on the piano hinges seem to not have enough clearance off the deck if you have snow or ice that will be a problem also dragging the door will damage it over time. you can't raise the doors so lower the deck if you can it will be a better job and you will get much more life out of it. Cutting down the beams and installing a diamond plate in lieu of 5/4 deck can lower it just fine by 2 to 3 inches..drill water holes in the plate and lower the ramp you have now.I think it would look good with the roof you have and a diamond plate deck.Good luck.
I scratch build sheds and have never really seen the benefit of the larger wooden kits. You end up doing just as much work, throwing away bad materials and having to figure it out on the fly. The shed kit costs three times the material cost from the same retailer.
The tiny plastic or metal sheds are OK for their price, but if you know how to frame and cut plywood or roof tin, then just buy materials and start building.
I feel the same way, when I built my 12x8 I considered a kit but figured it's probably easier to just scratch build than to try to read instructions. Men and instructions don't mix. :P I think my shed ended up more expensive than a kit though. Around 2-3k in materials. I didn't keep track... which is probably a good thing. :P
Completely agree. You can buy material in the winter. In the Midwest building materials are cheaper. Just buy the material as things go on sale. Build in spring. This guy did a phenomenal job but it would have been cheaper to lay a pad of concrete and less work. Depending on where you live though, they may tax you on that quite heavily. At least the way he did it, it is movable and not a permanent structure.
Taxes are why lots of people in rural areas erect Shelter Logic sheds and garages. About $500 to $700 on ebay. My brother got one and I have to admit that it looks like it would last as long as a big-box shed. They're just tents on pipe-frames, but well made. Still, I'd prefer a traditional shed or garage, made of real wood. Wooden studs don't just hold the roof up, they're also good for attaching shelves.
Mykel Hardin Exactly. If you take prices of today and do the work yourself you can throw up a shed.. No concrete pad of course, and a 12×12 shed for about $1000. If you plan it out.. and get left over material here and there from jobs that friends have done or just in your neighborhood or big job sites, talk with the big boss.. explain what your doing.. you can drop the price alot. Kits suck.. way over priced, Amish sheds are nice but they put alot of hands on hours in and the cost around$3k for 8×8 to $5 or $6-$8k for a big 10×10 or 12×12 shed. I want a 10×12 or even 12×12. Have no room and no basement so the outdoor space is needed, but also under cover and secured. I could go smaller and just add an attachment off the roof for extra storage for things to protect from the rain.
I would build from scratch and use plywood instead of OSB. I like the roofing material. Lightweight
Thank you for your honesty. I’ll build one with good lumber and materials if I can find them.
You can never go wrong with a German Shepard
NIce build.
Thanks Shawn! You're right, A GSD is all you really need :)
There are many jurisdictions where a shed with 100 sq feet of area (or less) does not require a building permit. Three 4x8 sheets of plywood equals 12x8 = 96 sq ft. You can usually connect two of these legally with a "breezeway" meaning a connecting roof and a patio floor, but no walls...
Great job on your shed, looks nice and should serve you for a long time ! I would wager a bet that you could build it better and cheaper from scratch. The time you spent fusing w/ poor quality lumber had to be frustrating to say the least : )
Built it from scratch I did I got a much bigger shed 12x 15 lower cost same work. More storage room and a sense of pride good luck 👍
Puppy was awesome!
I have this same shed, built it in 2013. Great investment but I agree, needed to use custom cut wood in some areas.
Wow!
What amazing job! Great workmanship and skill. Thank you!
I just completed a Heartland 8x8 shed from Lowe's. Similar experience. The finished product looks very good, but the effort required to get it that way was significant. The deciding factor for me was I was building this deck in a remote location at my mother's house. No access to tools other than those I brought from my house 1000 miles away. The kit was complete but the framing materials were inconsistent quality. You do have to provide your own floor and roofing material. Pay close attention to the instructions.
For sure, it turns into a bigger job than you expect.
Thanks for your honesty on the quality of the lumber. My thoughts are those sheds are way OVER PRICED for what you get. Also the quality of wood at Lowes or HD is not very good.
I have spent way to many hours trying to find a decent piece of lumber in both those stores.
Anyway, very nice build and thanks for sharing.
Thanks Tom! Yes, you really have to shop around to find decent lumber these days. The home stores seem to get some of the worst loads.
What about MG Lumber? Are they pretty decent quality?
@Ricardo Venegas I've never bought lumber at MG, so I have no idea. I think it will depend on their supplier and which region you live in.
Heartland from lowes screws installers on floor one after that the entire project is a joke...they paid us $75 to drive 1.5 hours and build a shed...they are liars....the product is shit...and you should just keep watching youtube diy...lowes sheds suck big time.
I don't think Lowe's carries straight lumber. Lol
In the process of building my own shed from scratch. Sank 4x4" into the ground and used postcrete with a cement screed over the top and built on that. All wood recycled from pallets. 7x7' pallets. 3x2" lengths nearly all perfectly straight, if a little ragged from use as a pallet. Had to build floor as decking since going to have a 6x3' section under extended roof to sit in if it's raining or just too hot. So far it's cost me about £200 In decking screws, wood treatment, right angle brackets, a new fine cut hand saw, a new level as my old one was a little bit out and a second drill so I don't have to keep swapping drill bits for screwdriver bits. I have a driver but it isn't strong enough. End result will be 16x3' decking with 10x3' shed and a 6x3' sheltered area for me and my better half to relax when it gets too hot indoors. All planks for the sides have a 45° angled edge and overlap to stop water ingress (my own idea) which I cut on my table saw. Dimensions are odd as I have a narrow space to put this thing and have to adhere to building and tendency regulations. Given the choice, I'd probably do it slightly different if I had to do it again, but no way I'm going to buy a kit or a prebuilt shed from anywhere as the build quality just isn't good enough. Mine is pretty much arachnid proof....no little beasties are ever getting in as I will be brewing in there.
Highly recommend building from scratch like you would prefer to do yourself. Much more "fun" and a rewarding experience when each part of the build is complete. Of course, if I had the money, someone else would be doing it for me 😁
Great job! I plan to build a shed like yours and this video showed me the correct way to use the concrete footing blocks to build a good structure. Thank you.
Jack Lucas I built one like this too, but I didn’t want my shed so high off the ground, so I dug holes deeper so the concrete deck blocks would be buried 75%. I also just used treated 2x4s in the concrete block channels & reinforced with cross blocks. Topped it with 3/4 decking. It’ll save you having to build a steep ramp.
🙏Thanks Kindly Eric,
For the sepmelisty of your honest profesional hints& advices.👌
German Shepherds = velcro dogs. They're stuck to you wherever you are. Mine's snoring contentedly right next to my bed right now.
Ignore it..or a very strong vacuum of your liking.
David James , undercoat comb. Highly recommend.
@David James
Learn to expect hair in and on everything. It’s the cost of having a best friend. You will even learn to like the taste of it!
I was thinking of getting Tuff Shed, 8x10 and cost $3,000. You did a good job.