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Glastonbury, Connecticut95
 
Notes on construction of Shed

Most people build barns on level ground. Unfortunately, my property slopes just in the area where I wanted to build the shed. A different challenge of sorts since I had to pour concrete piers and cantilever the floor over 2x8s attached to 6x6 pressure treated beams. Shortly after getting the framing in place we were hit by a freak storm and a pine tree crashed right across the entire floor. A perfect karate chop right through the middle. Nothing had fallen in this area for over 20 years until I built there. So back to square one. On the positive side, I had just returned from taking a rough framing course at Yestermorrow in Vermont and had the chance to correct a number of framing errors. It was still a painful experience however.

I chose cedar for the material. I like the smell of it and the maintenance will be lower. I had an ideal place to work the back of my house is well shaded by maples and cool most of the time. I spent the summer working on the project with some help from neighbors when raising the trusses. It was a very rewarding experience to see all the pieces fitting together and feeling it getting stronger with the addition of walls and trusses. If you like working with wood this is a fabulous experience. The plans from Better Barns are excellent and easy to follow. What I didn't know I looked up in books especially details on roofing techniques. I just had a new roof put on my house using architectural shingles so I matched the color and style for the shed. The most difficult part of the construction job was the uneven ground surfaces I worked on. Since the property sloped the rear of the shed was 12 to 15 feet off the ground which made roofing a bit precarious at times. The roof is very steep so forget just sitting up there banging away at nails. You need something to hang on to which means nailing 2x4 supports across the roof. I had to constantly move ladders and rig up platforms to work on an even surface. My advice - build on level ground.

The shed is stained barn red while the doors and trim are a combination of two stains to give it a burnt wood look. The window trim is a mixture of paints. I wanted a light color to offset the red and burnt look. I purchased the four windows from BetterBarns as well as the hardware. They look and feel solid and add that extra touch to make the entire shed look pleasing to the eye. I began the barn in April 2007 and completed it by October to my wife's amazement. I worked mostly on weekends and took my time since I wanted to enjoy the experience. With the shed completed we emptied the garage and there was plenty of storage space. I put 4x8 sheets of plywood on the trusses to form a second floor platform. More space for storage. This summer will be dedicated to landscaping the area around the shed. This was a great experience. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it even hanging on for dear life on the roof at times.