Building a Shed from Scratch

In David's original plans for the front yard, he wanted to add a shed that hid the trash can and recycling bin. Our trash and recycling is collected out front and therefore we keep them in our front yard like the rest of our neighborhood, but it's a bit of eye sore. This little shed would help make the yard look a little nicer and provide a bit of storage.

Garden blueprint.

Trash and Recycling Bins.

Of course, you can always just buy a shed, but they were about $250 and not the correct size we needed, so the Handyman Hubby decided to tackle building one himself. David's philosophy is that projects are always worth a shot to try yourself. The worse case scenario is that you lose some money in materials, but you will learn something from the experience. If it doesn't work out, well, you would have had to hire someone/buy something anyway. You just need the confidence to attempt it!

This was David's first time building a structure from scratch. He used 2 x 4s to build the frame.

Frame being built.

David used fence pickets for the walls and roof because they are pretty cheap. They are not meant to touch the ground, which they do in some areas, so hopefully they will hold up okay!

Roof being put together.

Structure coming together.

To make the roof look nicer and to protect it from water, David added shingles to the roof which he got from a pile that was at his parent's house.

Adding the shingles.

The shed is designed with hinges so the roof can lift up, if you want to throw something in the trash can, but the front has two doors which open out if you want to take the bins out. Because this was built with wood, the roof is pretty heavy to lift! David is thinking of adding a stand that will support it when it is ajar.

Roof Attached.

Doors Attached.

David added a metal drip edge to make the shed look nicer. He painted the shed with the paint that we also plan to use on the window trim outside.

Painting the shed with exterior paint.

The total cost of materials was around $100, half of which was the exterior paint we bought. The shed is a little bigger than needed so we will use the extra space to store some garden tools. The nice thing about the shed is that it's about the height of the fence and so it doesn't stand out too much.

Here's the finished shed. The Amish have nothing on the Handyman Hubby!

White metal drip edge and latch added.

The custom made shed was far down on the list of projects that we need to do to our house, so this means we are making progress!

Finished shed!