The "Hunting Gear" storage shed project

[Ron]

Now that we are back from our 4th of July trip it’s time to start a storage shed project that been on the back burner for a while. My son and I are building the shed. Its time to take the garage back which has become the manufacturing area for Innovative Outdoorsman products and we need a better storage area for all the ladder and chain on tree stands and climbing sticks and deer decoys and other hunting gear and yard tools. We designed the shed and gathered all the supplies before the holiday. Its going to be a 12 x 12 shed with a roofed overhang on one side. The shed will have 8 foot walls and a couple windows. It will have double doors, a ramp for the riding mower and a roof vent because sheds can get pretty hot inside. The plan is to work on the shed in the afternoon/evenings after work each day as weather allows. I’ll use this space to detail the project as we make progress. Here is a drawing of the shed we designed and used to generate the bill of materials.

[Ron]

Step one is sight prep. The shed will be tucked along the edge of some trees in the yard so branch trimming needs to be done to make room for the shed. The building permit is issued and digger’s hotline has marked the area. Each weekday after work (weather permitting) I should get about 5 hours to work on the project. More on the weekends.

[Ron]

I dug away the topsoil and backfilled with crushed paver base and tamped it down and leveled all the pavers. Then the treated 4 x 4’s were laid on the pavers and the floor joists on top of that. The sun went away and the mosquitos came out in full force but it’s a good start.

[Ron]

The next step is nailing in all the floor joist braces which provide support/spacing and nailing for the floor decking. The floor is ¾ plywood with tongue and groove edging to lock it all together. The big flat deck is the perfect place to build the trusses needed for the roof. There was still daylight so I built a jig for the 7 trusses and had time to build the first truss. 6 more to go but that’s for another day as I’m out of light.

[Ron]

All 7 trusses are finished and will be set aside waiting for the walls to go up.



Then it was time to build and raise the walls

[Ron]

Because the roofed overhang on the west side will make it challenging to raise the fiber/cement siding, we installed those 3 sheets before raising the trusses. The Fiber Cement siding sheets are heavy (80 Lbs each).





Then we were good to go raising the 7 trusses. That used up the rest of the daylight. We still need to brace all the trusses but that is for another day.

[Ron]

All the trusses are braced and reinforced.





In order to work safe while installing the roof decking and later shingling, we built a temporary scaffolding. (Ladders suck) Then it was time to trim the truss tails and install sub facia. Having scaffolding helps in doing a straight and square job that shows up when viewed from the ground.

[Ron]

Time to raise most (but not all) of the roof sheeting (1/2” OSB) 4 Full sheets and 4 half sheets were nailed in place. The two sheets at the bottom of the overhung “lean to” portion of the roof were not installed so that the 3 support posts and header could be installed. (They needed to be raised above the roof line in order to be dropped down into the holes that were dug)



The last sheets of roofing we not installed with the rest so there would be room to raise the 3 treated 4 x 4’s and their header to support the roofed overhang. Holes were dug (Through mostly rocky ground with some clay soil around them. This dirt really sucks for digging) Since there is not enough suitable soil to put back in the hole the support post holes are backfilled with paver base and tamped and settled with water. Then all three posts all were trimmed to the same height and the 4 x 4 header beam raised and installed. All the truss tails were then nailed to the header beam and trimmed and the sub facia installed. Then the last sheets of roof decking installed.

[Ron]

Before we can shingle we have to install the metal drip edge. Before the metal drip edge is the final trim, before the final trim is the facia and soffit trim and none of that can be installed until more siding is installed so that where we focused our efforts next. Aside from hot dip galvanized nails, the sheets of fiber cement siding are also attached with construction adhesive. Then the first trim boards were installed along the roof line and all the seams between the sheets of cement board siding were caulked. While we were in trim mode we added some of the vert. corner trim and final roof edge trim pieces. Then all the trim was given two coats of exterior paint.

[Ron]

The metal drip edge is installed which means we are ready to start shingling the roof.



We look forward to the weekends because it affords a lot of time to work on the shed. The weather doesn’t care so we suffered a rain delay.



We looked out the window and saw the local inspector checking out the progress.



When everything dried up we build more temporary scaffolding so we can safely work on the roofing.





The hole in the roof for the vent.



The back side is complete.



Nice straight lines.

[Ron]

With the exception of the ridge cap, the front side of the roof is complete as the sun sets on another day.



The ridge cap is added the next morning and completes the roofing job.



Now that the roofing is complete the scaffolding is removed so the final wall can be closed in. The windows are the first thing to go in.





Then the last sheets of cement siding.



It’s starting to look like a shed now.

[Ron]

The fiber cement siding is very heavy which means the doors need to be stout so they won’t sag over time. The door framing is finished.



Tight joints, construction adhesive and long decking screws should keep the doors from sagging as time goes by.



To make the doors really strong and to tie it all together, the fiber cement siding is attached to the frames with construction adhesive and nails. The door frames are spaced and shimmed and held in place with big clamps so the siding can be added right in place to better control gaps and clearances.



The clean up crew grabbed the camera while we added the cement siding to one of the doors.



Then the entire door is removed and painted before the trim and hinges are added. The trim is painted too.

[Ron]

When the paint dried the Heavy duty hinges are added and the doors hung. Each door weighs about 90 Lbs.







Lastly, all the trim is added and caulked and painted again.

[Ron]

Before the big storm hit, the windows got trimmed.



And we closed in the short side eaves to keep out the birds, bats and bees. Vents were included and the last pieces of corner trim were added.

[Ron]

Spent the weekend up north so not much shed work was done. Did however manage to work on the ramp. The ramp is made from a 8 ft, 2 x 12 that is cut in half and then the two halves cut diagonally to create 4 tapered ramp stringers. The 4 stringers were screwed to the shed floor so everything would be square and flat and then treated decking was screwed to the top.







The ground is leveled and the ramp is attached to the shed with 4 inch deck screws.

[Ron]

Dang this oppressive heat and humidity and rocky ground.

The shed is surrounded by treated timbers and then another double high row 22 inches away. Long sections of rebar pounded into the rocky ground to hold the timbers in place.

[Ron]

A double layer of weed barrier was laid inside the frame



Then a little over a yard of river stone is spread inside the timber frame. All of this should discourage any critter from taking up residence under the new shed.





Then it was time to begin the rain gutter portion of the project but cruel irony had a rain shower end our progress as soon as we began.

[Ron]

The front rain gutters are finished.







The eaves on the lean-to side are closed in, caulked and painted.



The rear gutters include a longer than usual run-off due to the landscape angle.







I dug a trench to direct the water away from the shed and down hill.

[Ron]

It was suggested that because we so completely enclosed the bottom of the shed to keep animals from living underneath that we also starved the underside of the shed of the flow of fresh air. The moisture trapped could pose a threat to the floor so we added 10 vents around the perimeter. The vents are 2” in diameter.





To keep wind driven rain and snow from getting in above the doors we added a aluminum drip edge above the door.



We added thin ply to the bottoms of both doors.



While walking through home depot, there was a display of water damaged MDF that is 1/8” thick. The water damage only left stains along one edge that could be seen on the white side of the 4 x 8 sheets so they marked them down to $6 a sheet. The white color will brighten the inside of the shed and make good backing before shelves are added. 2 ½ walls are covered. The back wall will be covered only half way up so small shelves can be added between the studs in the upper wall half.





Trim was added around the window.

[Ron]

There is a possibility of putting vinyl flooring in the shed thanks to a relative in the flooring biz that can get me the flooring for free so we put down a layer of ¼” thick underlayment. Why add vinyl flooring to a shed?? If its free and if we would care to butcher animals inside, it will be easier to clean the floor without having to paint the floor to protect it from blood, etc. Any spills, drips, etc will be easier to clean up and that way we don’t have to paint the floor to protect it.

Also, we got the underlayment from Home Depot from their cull wood area (purple wood) which is 70% off due to edge damage of the 4 x 8 sheets but since the inside of the shed is 11 ft 5” x 11 ft 5”, trimming the damaged edges of 4 x 8 sheets makes it a good option.



Then we started adding shelving around the west wall (more will be added to other walls). Since the shed has 8 foot high walls a 13 inch deep shelf was added and a 9 inch deep shelf below that. This will save floor space.

[Ron]

The doors is now trimmed to match the windows.



The back wall was covered with sheeting only half way up so small shelves can be added between the studs (still needs to be done) but the first row of shelves was added just above the edge of the sheeting.



Double shelves were added between the windows. Like the opposite wall, the upper shelf is 13” deep and the lower is 9” deep.



Next up will be adding tracks for storage bins that will be suspended from the ceiling (floor space is at a premium so maximizing ceiling and wall space comes first.

[Ron]

We added tracks/rails above the windows that will accept large plastic bins. This is done to save floor space. We selected clear bins so we can see whats inside without having to take them down.





With the inside finished it was time to put the hunting gear in to see if it fits. It does. LOL



Right now, all the stands except this one are already set up for the upcoming season. Once season closes, all the gear will have a place to call home rather than overflowing the garage.

[Ron]

We cleaned up the entire job site last night so That marks the completion of the project.

Here are the before and after pics