Are your lawn and garden accessories taking over the garage? Is your back patio getting cluttered with shovels, buckets, or fertilizer bags? It might be time to invest a little extra time to build your own backyard shed, so that all those tools and gardening supplies have their own home.
Go with Free Online Blueprints for a DIY Shed
Great with the measuring tape and a table saw? Then you can print out your own DIY shed plans from an online how-to source and make a professional looking storage building all on your own. This particular plan gives you a list of all tools and supplies that you’ll need, not to mention the building material measurements. There are plenty of design sites out there that offer free shed plans for beginners who have never even touched a woodworking tool.
https://www.rona.ca/en/projects/Build-a-backyard-shed
Small is OK!
Another site with multiple DIY shed plans includes micro-shed options that are easy to build onto or just outside of one of your home’s exterior walls. If you’re not storing any large equipment (such as a lawnmower) and just need a place to keep things organized, or even an area to store firewood, it’s a great option.
https://www.thebalance.com/free-shed-plans-1357751
Light it Up
One thing you have to consider when building a shed is running electricity out to it so that you have ample lighting. If that’s not an option, you might want to use plastic corrugated roofing panels to let natural sunlight flow right through the roof. During the day, you’ll have plenty of light to see where everything is.
Start Out With a Good Foundation
Even though it’s smaller than a big brick building, your home built shed is going to need a great foundation in order for the rest of the building to come out right. Prep yourself by watching plenty of DIY videos on how to build a shed foundation properly, so that you don’t make a common beginners mistake and have to start over again from scratch.
Off the Ground Shed? Keep Rodents Out
If your shed is up off the ground and not on a slab, use skirting around the base to help keep mice, rabbits, rats, and other types of critters away. It’s best to do it right after you finish up your project, before a little family of animals can camp out and make it their new home.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/786441153649771828/
Opt for an Open Air Tractor Shed
An open air shed is great for pulling in your mower, small tractor, or just shielding everyday tools from the outside elements. For some people, it’s also less intimidating than building a shed with four walls, windows, and a door.
Get Your Shed to Serve a Dual-Purpose
Consider building your shed closer to the house (or pool, if you have one) and adding a drop down window for an enclosed serving area or bar. It’s perfect for entertaining and can be dressed up as much as you like. Nobody even has to know if you’re storing extra stuff inside, as long as it’s hidden from view.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/772508142303596084/
Make Modifications and Convert Those Shed Plans into a Greenhouse
Are you looking up DIY shed plans to try to find something that can be an adequately sized greenhouse? Change the walls out with transparent plastic or screen between the beams, and you’re left with the perfect greenhouse for year-long use.
Your blog is amazing…I wish I could afford to buy your equipment …I’m a 62 yr old engineer semi retired and find every project I have read so far is applicable to things I want to do around my cottage… believe me I would be a good test pilot for your equipment
Thanks for the compliments Gary, we will forward along your nice comments to our writers! – We appreciate your feedback and kind words.