Storage Shed.

[MGP]

I helped a friend and his wife re-side their "shed" about a year ago. I say "shed" because it's 18' x 30'. The main area of the shed (there are really 3 sections) is 18' x 18'. I joked with my friend that if the wife ever kicked him out he could just live in the shed.

We also built new doors for it and cleaned up a bit of framing work. When we were going through and inspecting/making a materials list I figured out real quick that we didn't want to be hand nailing anything. I bought a framing nailer and coil siding nailer. It ended up being a wise choice as we drove over 2000 siding nails alone.

What I did was to buy a framing nailer from Harbor Freight Tools. I also had a 4 gal. pancake compressor from them and it worked great for both the siding nailer and framing nailer. Best of all it was highly portable and cheap (I think I paid $89 for the compressor a couple years ago). The Constructors Series of air tools from Harbor Freight are pretty decent and reasonably priced. I paid $79 for the framing nailer, on sale. I paid more for the siding nailer, it's a Porter Cable and I bought it online. At the time, Harbor Freight didn't sell a siding nailer but they have them now and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. I already had a brad nailer (which we used when we made the doors) and a finish nailer.

Anyway, I have a nice array of air nailers now so I can do almost any construction job.

I think if you look around you'll be able to find some decent air tools for a reasonable price.

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by Slingblade61

Yes.....3 studs.
You can use 3 but the blocks are a way to use up some of the scraps.

This gives you a finished dimension of 4 1/2 inches. This also gives you an inside corner to nail sheet rock, plywood, shelving ledger or whatever.

yup - this was my plan. I thought also of putting a brace along the top as well, but thought that might be overkill. Thanks

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by MGP

I think if you look around you'll be able to find some decent air tools for a reasonable price.

Thanks for the info. If I decide to get contruction grade nailers I'll look at harbor freight. I'm trying to stay away from the rough projects however and get into some more fine woodworking. This shed is the last one hopefully

[MGP]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

Thanks for the info. If I decide to get contruction grade nailers I'll look at harbor freight. I'm trying to stay away from the rough projects however and get into some more fine woodworking. This shed is the last one hopefully

Oh yeah, i hear that! I spent about a month of weekends and a few odd days doing that project. It was fun and I had a nice feeling of accomplishment when it was done but I really don't want a project that big for some time again.

It made me think of Sgt. Hulka in the movie "Stripes"... "I'm getting too old for this S**t!!!"

[VtDivot]

Well I got all the framing finished this weekend, and have the 2 windows and a door on order. The door was a PIA since I don not have 82 1/2 inches of clearance for a standard 80 inch door. I had to have one custom ordered (36 * 74) and it cost twice as much.

Notice I also had to taper the 2 2X6 inch headers above the door to account for the pitch that I engineered into the roof for rain drainage thru the deck boards. My bandsaw has come in handy on this project.

[VtDivot]

And finally the sheathing. Once the windows and door arrive I'll be able to put those in, install the siding??? that should be interesting...

Then there will need to be some trim and sofit work, stairs/ramp etc and some rough shelving inside the unit.

The Mrs is staining the deck a nice redwood color, so it should look OK once the siding gets on there.

[Clugnut]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

I had to have one custom ordered (36 * 74) and it cost twice as much.

Screw that. Just cut down a standard pre-hung. I've done that a couple of time. Its a bite paying twice a much for a smaller door.

BTW, looks pretty good, VT. If you are a homeowner DIY'er, than kudos

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by Clugnut

Screw that. Just cut down a standard pre-hung. I've done that a couple of time. Its a bite paying twice a much for a smaller door.

BTW, looks pretty good, VT. If you are a homeowner DIY'er, than kudos

Cutting down hollow core MDF is one thing, Insulated Steel is an entirely different matter, not like I can run it thru my table saw. I suppose I could clamp a straight edge to the door and rifle thru it with a steel cutting blade using a circ saw. It would look kinda ghetto tho, leave 2 unfinished edges.

PS - I never would have imagined being able to build this by myself 5 years ago.

[Bravo]

Are you going to insulate it?

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by Bravo

Are you going to insulate it?

No, it will be chilly in there in the winter

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

Cutting down hollow core MDF is one thing, Insulated Steel is an entirely different matter, not like I can run it thru my table saw. I suppose I could clamp a straight edge to the door and rifle thru it with a steel cutting blade using a circ saw. It would look kinda ghetto tho, leave 2 unfinished edges.

PS - I never would have imagined being able to build this by myself 5 years ago.

You can buy finish cut blades for your circ saw that will make the edge cut cleaner. They're about 60 bucks. Then, you can just cap whatever cuts you make.

R35

[Clugnut]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

Cutting down hollow core MDF is one thing, Insulated Steel is an entirely different matter, not like I can run it thru my table saw. I suppose I could clamp a straight edge to the door and rifle thru it with a steel cutting blade using a circ saw. It would look kinda ghetto tho, leave 2 unfinished edges..

You can use the carbide blade that Rock mentioned, or a small tooth plywood blade turned backwards. Then you need to buy a kit that has a new sweep for the bottom of the door. It clamps around the bottom and covers about two inches.

Or you can order a custom door.

[ecooke21]

Why install the window/door headers? they arent supporting any weight... you could have gotten away with 2x4's ..Its kind of like putting headers in a partition wall

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by ecooke21

Why install the window/door headers? they arent supporting any weight... you could have gotten away with 2x4's ..Its kind of like putting headers in a partition wall

I know, didn't really have a good reason, just wanted to do it cookie cutter style.

On a side note the windows arrived today. I'll be putting them in sometime this week.

[VtDivot]

Well I took the summer off (from shed construction). I recently got back into it and finally got around to finishing this shed. All that is left now is to paint the door, build a small ramp and maybe put some lattice around the bottom to keep out the critters.