Makeovers and more...

Build a Storage Shed and Give the Garage More Space

Storage is the main reason most of us want a shed.

Unloading the preassembled Palmerston.

We adorn them, landscape around them, and sometimes use them as workshops, but mostly we build them to contain our stuff. Ben and Mary had their secondary reasons but, like most people, this was the first.

"My garage was getting cluttered," says Ben. A master of understatement, he added, "I wanted to get my lawn tools out of the garage. To make room for walking in there!" He didn't need for the new shed to have plumbing or electricity, just storage.

Quality Lasts

What did matter a lot to Ben and Mary, though, was the quality of sheds available at his local big box home improvement center and even online. They wanted something that would last and increase the value of their home. He said Summerwood was, bar none, the best he could find. He and Mary ordered a 5' x 7' Palmerston shed. Borrowing tools from a neighbor (and, frankly, borrowing the neighbor too) Tom was able - with the exception of the roofing - to construct the shed completely without professional help.

"Most pre-fab sheds are crummy," he observed. Then he volunteered without being prompted, "I did a ton of research on this … You can't touch this (Summerwood Palmerston) shed compared to what's out there."

Organizing the project by sections.

A Significant Project for a Self-Confessed Novice

Looking back, Ben was impressed with the size of the construction job. "It was a big project to take on," he said. "It was just me and my son." He didn't have a lot of experience building around the home. "You could say that I'm a novice … Years ago I semi-renovated a house I bought, but I haven't done much in the last 15 years."

They had opted for a pre-assembled kit. As the name suggests, most of the work is done by Summerwood for a small charge. You assemble the larger pieces. (The other option is "pre-cut" which costs less but requires more labor on your part.) Despite being preassembled, there is still a lot of nailing and screwing to be done. If you don't own a nail gun, Ben suggests that you rent one. He was glad that he did.

A Firm Foundation For the Framed Flooring

Ben rents an additional ladder for installing the roof.

Before starting, Ben and his son were apprehensive about the foundation. After all, if you don't get it right, the rest suffers. "I thought that was going to be the hardest part but it was the easiest."

Fortunately they had a flat area to begin with, which didn't require much leveling. They followed the advice from Summerwood's site, purchasing 2" thick concrete patio stones from their local home improvement center. From there it was a matter of stacking the patio stones by degrees. "I stacked them till I got a fairly level area."

The next stage of construction was the flooring. At this point, Ben was glad he'd ordered the pre-assembled kit. "That (the flooring) was not too hard. You sent a box frame." It simplifies the potentially complicated assembly of floor joists and runners. Their main task from here was fit the tongue and groove plywood sheets together and nail them to the top of the frame.

Careful With that Construction, Folks!

At the next stages, Ben had to be cautious. "I had a little trouble getting the skirt pieces to fit. I had to shove them in." He managed to make fit but not after redoing things a couple of times. He warns other home projecteers: "When you can't get them square, that affects things later on. (At first) the thing was out of kilter. You don't realize the ramifications until later on. That to me is extremely important."

Another stage of construction he found challenging was the roof. His pre-assembled kit came with 5 trusses. Ben and his son carried them up but "I didn't have a good ladder." He advises others to rent or borrow several decent ladders for this stage of construction. And if you choose not to? "Well, I built the roof twice," he admits. Nonetheless, shaky ladder and all, Ben and his son connected the trusses with the 2" x 4" ridge blocking and nailed in the plywood roof board.

Piecing it All Together

Ben learned a lot during the construction. It rained constantly and took "the better part of three days." But now he's very pleased with the product. He's also pleased with himself and his son for making it happen. At the time of this article's posting, he is just finishing the details and grace notes.

Ben and Mary had ordered the optional Canexel siding for their Palmerston shed. It comes colored in a shade almost identical to their home. "It virtually matches the siding of my house." To complete the effect, Ben will paint the doors on the shed to match those on their house. "We think it'll increase the value of the home because they look like they were built together."

So now we see why they wanted such a high quality shed as their Palmerston. Sure, everyone's first reason for constructing one is storage, but never far behind is that old favorite, property value!

Before and After - The Photos

 

		The truck arrives.			Unloading the materials.
		Laying out all the shed sections.			Flipping the constructed floor section.
		Placing the floor on the concrete patio stones.			The floor is in place.
		The walls go up quickly.			Sheathing the roof with plywood.
		Final touches to the roof.			With the roof complete, the window is installed.
		Small shrubs are planted to cover the raised foundation.			The completed shed.

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