The Shed Finally Gets Built, or “When will the wind quit sweeping down the plains?”

Saturday saw us inside re-caulking our shower while 35+mph winds blew outside.  Lyrics from “Oklahoma” float through my head, and I wonder when we’ve had a windier spring.  This is getting to be ridiculous! 

By Saturday evening after supper it was mostly calm, so we headed outside to get the floor frame and structural beams and supports put together.  We finished all that in a couple of hours, and were wrapping up by dark.  After checking the weather forecast and seeing that Sunday’s forecast called for another day of strong winds (when will this quit already?), we seriously considered putting some lights up and just working through the night to finish construction.  After all, the winds weren’t supposed to start up again until late morning.

But we decided to call it quits for the night and just get up early Sunday morning and get to work.  We were up with the sun and quickly headed outside to begin construction.  I have zero photos of the construction process, because we were working at a fast and furious pace to get everything finished.  We had the walls up by 8 am, and were feeling pretty good.  But as soon as we started attaching roof panels the wind decided to rear its ugly head again and we were fighting it the rest of the day.  Fortunately, Jason’s dad came to help us when he got up Sunday morning, and with his assistance we were finished by 4:30.  Even with the wind.  (Jas said it probably added at least two hours to our construction time, because all three of us had to work on one piece at a time.)  Those big metal pieces were like sails as soon as you picked them up, so you can imagine how much fun that was.  :)

 

We lucked out in the fact that almost every single one of our holes lined up perfectly.  We were also fortunate that Jason and his dad work so well together, and each could anticipate what the other was thinking, which made the process much smoother.  It was a long exhausting day, but it feels good to be able to cross yet another project off the list. 

Jason plans to anchor the shed even more with some lag bolts this week, as well as build a ramp to get the lawnmower in and out.  The floor kit we got for free from Sears (in the box in the above photo) is going to be used for extra bracing and to make some shelves.  Depending on the weather this coming week, we can hopefully get all that finished.

After that, landscaping is all that’s left!

Shed – Part One

 

We’re building the floor for our new shed today.  In 50+ mph winds.  40+ sustained most of the day.  Not the best weather to be working in, but you work when you can.  The last two weekends have not been construction-friendly, so we’re working today.  Wind or no wind.  The floor was obviously all we could accomplish today, because there’s no way we could assemble a metal building without the pieces ended up five counties over.  :)

We built this floor frame similar to the deck a few weeks ago.  The construction is also similar to the platform bed frame Jas made for our bed before we moved.  It’s essentially a giant platform (or stage, as the kids like to refer to it!), leveled by concrete blocks.  I don’t have any step-by-step photos, mainly because of the wind.  There wasn’t really a chance for me to stop and take shots, so I’ll just describe the process.

Our first order of business was to cut all the perimeter pieces to length.  We used treated lumber for the perimeter, since that will be exposed.  We cut all four pieces and then assembled them in the rough location we had chosen for the shed.  After assembling them we added 2x4s to the inside of the front and back.  These sit a little lower than the exterior boards so that the plywood sheets end up sitting flush with the exterior boards around them.  We checked for square after that, and then leveled the whole thing.  I figured leveling it would take a really long time, but surprisingly it did not.  We cut all the joists to length next, and then attached them to the frame.  Jas added 2x4 braces down the center between the joists to prevent any sagging down the road.  Next up was the plywood sheathing for the floor.  We have two courses of plywood for an extra sturdy floor, and they sit nicely inside the treated frame.  We had to cover it with a tarp, however, because rain was coming. 

You should have seen us attempting to cover this floor frame in the outrageous winds.  The tarp was very difficult to control, but fortunately we covered it (with Connor’s help) and everything was safe from the impending weather.  As soon as the weekend rolls around (provided the weather holds), we will attach the shed to the floor.  Wish us luck! :)

The Storage Shed Situation

As with everything else we do, plans for the storage building have revolved around tons of research, discussion, and drawings.  We have been back and forth on size, materials, location, and just about anything else that could be an option.  For the last few months, however, we had pretty much narrowed it down to what we wanted.

Our first decision was on size.  We knew we needed at least an 8x12 to house all that we planned to store in it.  For those who are interested, we plan to keep the lawnmower, weed eater, garden tools, bicycles, Connor’s large collection of outdoor Tonka toys, and the patio furniture cushions in the shed, as well as the flower pots and outdoor toys when not in use.  After measuring and discussing, we were confident we could fit all of that in an 8x12 building without overcrowding and making it impossible to find anything.  We discussed the possibility of going larger, but just like with our storage room downstairs we knew we’d fill any size shed up with extra junk if we had the room, and we don’t want lots of extra junk.  So just like the storage room, we planned for what we needed along with some extra room, but didn’t go crazy with the size.  :) 

Second was location.  We had pretty much decided to place the building next to the LP tank.  Of all the spots in our massive yard, that place made the most sense.  Which way it will face is still up for grabs.  Aesthetically, it would look nicest if the doors opened toward the yard.  But that would be facing north which we’d rather avoid.  We’d like the doors to open to the east for minimal rain issues, which will probably be the way it faces. 

The issue giving us the most fits has been materials to construct it out of, particularly the exterior.  Jas figured up several months ago that he could build the floor and interior framing for around $250, but the roof and exterior sheathing were not figured in that price.  The roof was not as big of a deal, but the sheathing options were not cheap.  Our 8x12 building was going to be at least $650, and that wasn’t including the roofing materials. We really didn’t want to spend that much if we could avoid it, so for the last couple of weeks we’ve been looking at metal storage barns and sheds.  We’ve looked at Lowe’s, Menard’s, Home Depot, Sears, and any other place we could think of.  Nobody’s had a good deal on anything in the size that we’re looking for (and with good reviews). 

That all changed yesterday (Saturday) morning, when Jas checked out Sears’ website and discovered that (this weekend only) they had a 10x12 metal storage building with a barn-style roof for $399.  It even came with a free floor kit.  After some discussion on floor frame options, Jas discovered that he could build the platform for the building to sit on for less than $100.  So we bought it online (they had one left in stock) and picked it up yesterday afternoon.  Yay! 

This means that for less than $500, we will have a bigger shed than we had planned (10x12 vs 8x12) with a taller roof for more interior height.  It also means that we’re getting it for $150 less than if we’d built it ourselves out of wood.  More than $150, actually, because that price of $650 hadn’t included the roof.  Double yay!

We checked reviews from plenty of people who’d purchased and set up this building, and almost every single one was a great review.  That’s always a good sign as well.  About the only real issue was from a man in the northeast who said he had snow load issues with the shed after several storms with 16+ feet of snow.  That’s not a pressing issue for us here in Southeast Missouri, so we threw that one out.  :)  He hadn’t bothered to purchase the extra snow load support kit, though, so . . .

Plans to build this building are up in the air right now.  Obviously with the atrocious winds today we’re not working on it.  They’re tentatively calling for rain this weekend so I’m not sure if we’ll be able to do it then or not.  I promise pictures, though, as soon as we get started.  :)