I needed a small shed to store water hoses, rakes, gardening tools etc. about 7 1/2 wide x 3 1/2 ft deep, So I can reach inside to fetch stuff quickly without having to step into the shed. This stuff was cluttering up my big storage building.
Found one at Sears for less than $400. Hardest job was pouring the concrete pad. Lugging 16 bags of quikrete and the mixer I rented.
The rest was like putting together a giant lego set. There were less than 10 short screws in the whole thing Six held together the floor panels. The rest were door hardware screws. Everything else snaps together. Theres one pipe supporting the roof ridge. Everything else is plastic.
The concrete pad is a must to properly anchor the shed. Otherwise a gust of wind would send it into the next yard.
My wife and I assembled it in three hours. A second set of hands is a must. Those panels will flop around until snapped together. It was so, flimsy that I had my doubts. Plan B was to toss the plastic shed and build a stud & plywood shed myself on that same concrete pad.
Three years later, it look just like it did when I assembled it. Works great, does what I needed. Heres the one I got. The level of details really surprised. That attic vent above the door? Real. Not decorative.
HD , Sams Club, Walmart etc. sell Suncast and other similar brands. The size sheds (models) varies from store to store.
By contrast do you remember the aluminum panel sheds from Sears in the 1970’s? Same idea in factory painted aluminum. Much harder job. Took my dad and me a whole spring day in 1977 to assemble. Both of us had small cuts on our hands. Panels required sheet metal screws to hold them together. Rust spots appeared within 6 years on the rivets and screws. Lawn mower threw rocks and dented it in several places. IIRC dad’s shed was more square. 6x8? maybe?
Plastic is the way to go for cheap, flimsy storage.
One tip. It comes in one giant box. Sears loaded it into my pickup with a forklift. yes a forklift. The box barely fit in my truck bed.
you and a friend won’t be able to handle the box. No way. Leave it in the truck. I cut open the end and carried the panels into the backyard. Took about 15 to 20 minutes to tote everything back there. I walked slow. There’s nothing nothing heavy. It’s Bulky, like carrying sheets of plywood.
I have one, Lifetime or some brand like that. Got it from Amazon for a very good price and yeah, it has to be delivered freight.
Built my own frame floor, set it on nine pilings.
The only caveat was that it’s not rated for much snow and has a lightweight tubing roof truss. So I put a brace in the center when we pack it up for winter and keep an eye on the snow load.
Four years, looks like new, dry inside.
Oh, and I assembled it singlehandedly… which the manual says can’t be done.
Nice job Amateur Barbarian. Must have been tough assembling it by yourself. I recall my panels were a bit trick getting them lined up. They wouldn’t snap together if they were slightly off. Second person makes all the difference.
The hardest (on the shed I bought) is the roof panels. They form a support pocket the horizontal metal pipe fits into. But you can’t put the pipe in after they are snapped together. Its designed that the pipe fits in the pocket before snapping them together. That way it can’t get dislodged and fall on anybody. Holding both roof panels and the pipe up in the air was lots of fun. I recall we dropped the pipe a couple times. Gotta hold everything steady and aligned before it will snap together. My arms were over my head and going to sleep after awhile. LOL The manual has good drawings and instructions. We got it done. The pipe helps strengthen the roof. I guess in case somebody rests their arm or leg on it. You can’t stand on the roof safely. It would collapse.
Amateur Barbarian mentioned it can’t take much snow load either.
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By contrast do you remember the aluminum panel sheds from Sears in the 1970’s? Same idea in factory painted aluminum.
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Sadistic people still sell those. They try to sucker you in with “Free Foundation Kit!” or similar offers, and hope you don’t realize that you’re buying a box of 560 needle-pointy sharp “self-tapping” screws, 51 inscrutable frame pieces that all look the same, and 75 razor-edged siding panels. One year later, it’s covered in rust streaks from the screws and the sliding door jams every time you try to open it enough to extract the lawn mower.
Thank you, Mister Grace.
Has anyone constructed a wood shed kit, maybe something like this, or at that point is building it yourself just as simple? (What? Stain I can understand, but shingles are NOT included in that kit :mad:)
Yup. Left one of those in California, still surrounded by bloodstains. :rolleyes:
I tend to be very handy and have built a lot of things single-handed, but anyone planning to put up one of these things really, really will do well to have at least one other tallish, moderately enduring helper. There were two or three steps that involved something a lot like spinning plates on sticks.
Theres a company, Morgan Buildings Spas Pools in Little Rock that constructs wood sheds. They send 4 guys out and put together the kit. My neighbor got a big 12x16 building. I happened to be off work and watched them. They had it up in about 3 hours. They get so much practice putting these kit buildings together day after day. They can do them fast.
I’m sure similar companies offer the same service in all the bigger cities.
I got one very similar to that last year, except smaller (53" wide x 31" deep) and no windows in the door. Small enough that I could do most of it by myself, and the box fit (barely) into my small suv. Weighted wooden base instead of concrete. I keep manual gardening tools and supplies in it (no lawn). Still looks great and I expect it to last for years - it’s protected from wind and most rain, and we don’t get snow here (SF).
I too was worried about the apparent flimsiness, but once it was together the doors fit very well, and now it seems quite sturdy, at least for what I use it for.
I think blow-molded plastic is a nearly ideal material for these sheds. It’s cheap, durable, sturdy, easy to manufacture, lighter than most equivalents, and has no razor edges for assembly-time entertainment value.
All such lightly-built structures share the same key design issue and problem: the pieces separately are quite flimsy, and in the case of “interlocked” designs like the plastic ones, one failed joint will lead to rapid non-explosive disassembly. They’re only full strength when assembled and structurally intact. But in general, the fewer pieces and strong interlocking of the plastic components represents more durability - in little things like doors remaining functional, and big ones like remaining standing - than the metal ones where any of fifty key junctions could compromise the whole thing.
I’m curious, as my shed my needs replacing in a couple of years, are you residing in a climate that sees much snow?
I don’t mind how they look, but I have my suspicions that the slightest knock when it’s 20-30 below zero, will cause it to crack or shatter. Any experience with such weather?
This gave me a flashback to last Sunday, when at a friend’s I saw an episode of the Shed of the Year annual competition — yes, British TV is that dull ( and the advertisments are unbelievably crass and vulgar ) — My People take Sheds Very Seriously Indeed.
I would have woken up screaming had I not been awake already.
A flavour from these two sites, [ Warning: both in Flat Style ]:
Hand built over several years, The Bikers shed consists of six rooms filled with pub and motorcycle memorabilia. There’s a large workshop for building and repairing bikes, a room for home brewery, a bar, a smoking room and an eating room.
An admirable Up Yours to the wowsers and bluenoses.
Made using raw materials, mainly earth, the sustainable Rammed Earth shed took 2,700 hours to build and is used as a joinery workshop in which to make wooden bicycles. Backs away slowly
Built over a period of 20 years, Dream City Railway contains one of the largest and most complex standard gauge 0 model railway layouts in the UK. 30 trains run simultaneously through 17 stations automatically controlled from a central control room with the aid of closed circuit televisions. The layout covers 2,000 square feet and contains more than a 100 locomotives and 400 coaches and wagons. Backs away fast
I built one a while ago, bought from Home Depot. Had to build my own floor (pressure-treated joists on pier blocks). Went together just fine. I added a couple windows I had left over from something. I’ll tell you, there wasn’t six inches of extra siding in the kit; they knew exactly how much it should take and gave you exactly that much.
We get snow in bunches… had to clear the roof three times in two weeks this year. Temps down to zero haven’t seem to have been a problem. Not sure what another twenty would do, but I suspect it would be okay if you didn’t bang it too hard. It’s very tough stuff.
Not decorative.
There’s nothing nothing heavy. It’s Bulky, like carrying sheets of plywood.
