Sheds are relatively simple structures. That doesn’t mean you should just build one ad hoc though. The plans for building a shed are an important thing to set down before starting the build, otherwise you may find yourself in a real mess down the road.
Another reason to look for shed plans before you start is that there are a lot of interesting design styles and functionality that can be included in a shed. Understanding which ones are going to be right for your situation means looking around and considering what is possible.
Once you know what you want, you can design your own plans if you wish. Looking at existing plans can simply help make that process much quicker and more comprehensive.
What Type of Purpose will the Shed Serve?
The types of tasks you will be asking your shed to cover is perhaps the most important aspect to consider when designing a shed or looking for plans on how to build one. A simple storage shed just needs to provide some space in which to store your items. Shelves, racks, and perhaps cupboards are going to be integral. Other than that, a light is about all that needs to be provided.
With other types of sheds, some other ammenities should be provided. In some cases these can be rather complex and require that the entire shed plan be built to accomodate them. A sink in a potting shed for instance. You need water supply lines, drains, and in some cases may even want a disposal. This adds quite a lot of complexity to the design of the shed. If you are not comfortable with running plumbing or electricity yourself, it could be a good reason to go with a contractor instead.
What Environmental Interactions Will There Be?
The way the components of the shed interact with each other is just one concern. How the shed will interact with the rest of your home and garden is another big one.
Footpaths should be considered when placing your shed. Will the orientation of the door(s) be such that if facilitates easy movement throughout your yard? Are there more than one routes by which the shed would be accessed, and would providing multiple doors be useful towards making this movement more efficient?
For instance, you may have the shed out on the lawn, with the garden behind it. Storing your lawn mower in the shed means you’d want a large door facing the lawn. However, bringing tools out of the shed to go work in the garden would be much more efficient if there were a back door. This door wouldn’t need to be large in most cases, but would definitely cut out a lot of unnecessary walking.
How to Leave Your Options Open
The future always brings unexpected events, and when planning a new building for your yard it’s a good idea to try to accomodate them whenever possible. You may not need plumbing in your shed now, but what if at some point in the future you want to turn it into a potting shed? Well, you don’t have to run the water pipes now, but realizing it’s a possiblity in the future can help you to build the shed in such a way as to make doing so easier. This way, if and when you wish to complete such a project, you won’t have to go through a bunch of unnecessary hurdles to do so.
Would You Be Better off With a Prefabricated Shed?
While sheds are pretty simple structures, not everyone has the tools, time, or expertise to build them right. You can save some money on DIY sheds by cutting out the labor costs, but you need to ask yourself if your time is more valuable?
Generally speaking, prefabricated sheds can be made for less total expense than DIY ones. This is due to the assembly line type production. So if you value your time, it may make a lot of sense to simply bite the bullet and buy a manufactured shed.
There is an option inbetween these two possibilities, and that is to go with a prefabricated shed kit. This is a kit which has been designed to be constructed easily, but the labor is left up to you. This way you benefit from some of the efficieny that mass production of the various components can bring; such as uniform components and less expense. However, you can handle the labor of construction yourself. The shed plans are very straightforward in this case, and not a lot of tools or skill is required.
Whichever route you choose, remember to take the time to plan your shed build before beginning. Even with a shed kit the plans are very useful towards ensuring that the shed you end up with is sturdy and will serve you well for years to come.
