How to build a storage shed and hide your mistakes

I’ve recently had the pleasure of taking on a home renovation project which was a tremendous learning experience.  Because of my limited storage space in my home, it was necessary to build a backyard storage shed to store all my seasonal belongings and out door tools.  I’m calling it the “Dawghouse”.

First thing is first, make sure your wallet is thick enough to handle the material costs.  My first mistake was building a shed that is larger than needed.  Blah, 12X16 is not that big, but wait until you lay it out and start framing it.  How do you hide this mistake?  Simply don’t admit that you wanted something smaller and claim the “go big or go home” attitude!

Second mistake was putting in the post holes by myself.  I should have had help with this and I should have also had a can of mosquito spray.  Being swarmed by mosquitoes and pouring cement for a 4×4x12 foot post (which eventually would be cut off) into a 3 foot hole is not a fun experience.  Because of the swarming mosquitoes and lack of help, I’m inclined to place blame from myself for the posts being “slightly” off square.  haha…  How to hide this mistake?  Unfortunately, your 12X16 foot frame that is now off by a few inches needs to be persuaded into place and framing it with 2X10’s makes it easier to cover up!

Third mistake was framing the walls with no prior knowledge or experience, or even trying to find out how to do it correctly online.  I found out actually how to frame a corner with 2×4 studs when I went into Home Depot and noticed they had a small display of a partially framed wall / corner.  I thankfully was able to correct my problems and cover up my mistakes.  I’m glad I found out how to frame a wall before I started putting up the sheathing or it would be quite difficult to hide that mistake.

Fourth mistake was trying to put the sheathing up by myself.  Since I used a full 8 foot 2×4 for the walls, this made my walls 10 feet high given the 10 inch 2×10’s I used for the foundation/frame.  The OSB sheets are cut 4×8 foot and this meant that each wall (16 foot in length) needed 4 sheets.  Ok, I’m not a professional by any means and if you haven’t already noticed it was a learning experience to say the least.  My walls were not very straight!  How I covered this mistake up though was I lined up my sheets perfectly square at the front of the barn and as you go towards the back you would notice a small over hang.  Out came the skill saw and cut the “wings” off!  Always, always, always work on a corner or location that is less likely to be noticed.

Fifth mistake believe it or not was not the roof.  I made my own trusses and my angle cuts were done quite well.  My final mistake so far has been in two parts while laying roof asphalt shingles.  1) The shingles are shingled from bottom to top and not overlapped from side to side rather lay side by side.   2) Check the weather forecast before you start and make sure you have enough time to finish it before hurricane “Dan” arrives.  Yes, I was shingling in the rain and it was not pleasant.  I’d never do it again without help either, the job can get done faster and you will save your back in the process.

All in all, I’m quite proud of my project, I’ve had very little help and it was a true “Do it yourself” backyard project.  I’ll be posting pictures of this soon!