(1) I have one solitary rafter tie in the middle of the shed right now. My intention is to build out a loft at 7.5' across the body of most of shed, and I'm hoping that the "joists" of the loft will provide some of the structure that would normally be provided by rafter ties or collar ties. So far that one board is a champ, though. I didn't feel the budge with my weight at any point.

(2) The 5/8 OSB on the roof provides a lot of strength through tension as well, it's screwed down into both the rafters and the blocking. I worked a lot while sitting and standing on the roof, and didn't feel any movement when putting weight on the eaves. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm not sure if there are better ways, but I've also seen people put the last regular rafter offset from the wall and then have the blocking out to the fly rafter cross over the wall, like this:

https://images.app.goo.gl/oJ2vw4sG1f5tKc3w5

In my head that seems like it would be stronger, especially for distributed loads like snow, but I believe that would not be an issue for an overhang this small.

It cost $35.09.

Good point -- I looked up that exact model on amazon and it's 179.99. I had no idea they were less than $200.

Me too!

You know that thing where you see something for sale and go "I can build that, and for only twice the price!"

It’s crazy how even the small stuff adds up, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep track of all the purchases. Here’s everything from the caulk category:

2 tubes of “big stretch” caulk which were used in the installation of the man door and windows for $18

1 tube of APOC roofing cement for $11

5 tubes of OSI Quad Max for all the seams between the siding panels, $62

5 tubes of Lexel for in and around all the trim pieces, $64

It was satisfying to build, too. Thanks for the kind words!

You got it! 😉

Also: thanks!

Thank you for the insight!

Yes! And it was such a valuable learning experience for many different skills -- framing, shingling, doors and windows, all sorts of stuff. It really was like learning how to build a house in miniature. I feel so much more comfortable tackling something like finishing a basement.

Yes! The bottom plates are pressure treated #2 pine, and there is still foam between the plates and the concrete.

The requirement where I live is 5' away from the lot line and easement, and our utility easement is actually positioned behind that rear fence. The pad was poured at 6.5' off the property line and easement so that the eaves didn't cross the boundary.

Thanks for the feedback!

• Yes, in hindsight, I wish I had poured the concrete a little bit taller. It's sitting about an inch and a half above the soil on the uphill side. At the time, my logic was to try and make it convenient for a riding lawn mower to drive in and out, but I could have made it taller and made a ramp...
• Yes, the bottom plate is pressure treated #2 pine, and there is sill foam between it and the concrete
• I had no idea that flashing should be put around the bottom of the wall osb. Today I learned! We're planning on landscaping around the shed summer, my backup plan if water becomes an issue is to make a trench around the shed first, filling it with stone, then covering it with landscaping fabric and some wood chips or pea gravel.

The cost in food was definitely worth it, and you're right that I should have included that in my breakdown. Honestly I was just happy they gave up a corner of their yard for me to work in :)

From their perspective, I dug a giant litterbox, built a giant cat tree, then covered it all up and took it away :(

Definitely.

First of all, I paid a lot more for the lumber in June/July than I would if it were happening now. Lumber prices came down a lot from 2021 into 2022, but they're continuing to drop. I was paying about $6 per 2x4 and $25 for 7/16 OSB, and I think that's more like $4 and $15 now.

Secondly, I think a little bit of cost could be saved by buying in bulk. I was kind of figuring each step as I went, so I really only bought things one step at a time. If were to make a list of everything beforehand and order it at once, I think there'd be a discount there.

As for making design changes:

I think the easiest first step would be simplifying the framing. I could have built the walls with studs at 24" instead of 16", used a single top plate on the walls, and put the rafters directly on top of studs. I probably didn't need to use two king studs on each side of the double door, I probably didn't need a solid sandwich header above the door and window on the load bearing walls. Making all those changes would probably cut the framing step costs by 25-30%, and I imagine it would still be plenty strong for the size that it is.

I chose to sheath the walls with OSB, then use a vapor barrier, then put on siding, but a person could also just put the siding directly onto the studs, especially if they weren't planning on heating or cooling it. I think most people would consider that good enough for a shed.

On the subject of choosing not to heat or cool the shed -- if a person decided up front they didn't were never going to heat it, that would save money on roof vents and the ice and water shield on the roof.

Removing the windows would save a lot of cost -- first, there's the cost of the windows themselves, but there's also costs from extra framing, extra trim, all the flashing tape, etc.

The double door could be simplified a lot. A 2x4 box with just a piece of siding on it would probably be good enough. Maybe one cross support in the center, and a turnbuckle diagonally to prevent sagging. Plus those hinges I used cost about $30 each, and I needed 6 of them. I could have just used regular shed door hinges -- I think those cost closer to $30 for a complete set.

One relatively small thing that would have saved me money is nails vs screws -- I chose to do all the framing and sheathing and everything using #9 "GRK Multipurpose Screws". Those are special screws that are approved for use in framing, and cost like 15 cents a pop as a result. I wanted to do screws because it gave me the chance to take things apart and redo things. All the pros use nails, which are cheaper and probably better suited to framing anyway. Heck, I probably could have bought a framing nailer and used framing nails and still ended up paying less than how much I paid for screws.

There are probably other things I'm not thinking of, but those are the things that spring to mind.

If you're talking about the picture when I was plumbing up the framed walls -- that was the very last corner, and I couldn't get it any more plumb than that without throwing off one of my other walls. I was just happy it was within the lines, even if it wasn't perfectly centered haha

"This shed has been brought to you by the cleaning power of ShamWow. When I need to clean a surface, I reach for the convenient and powerful ShamWow..."

Yeah I definitely need to figure out a solution to that before springtime. I'm thinking a couple pieces of aluminum tucked behind the sheathing, sticking out in such a way that they cover the top and bottom gaps. Either that or I feed the cats less, and let them sort the mice out :/

Yeah most of the supplies were bought in June/July. I was paying about $6 per 2x4 and $25 for OSB. :(

I appreciate that!

Thanks! At the time, my logic was to keep the uphill side of the slab low enough that a riding lawnmower could conveniently drive in and out. In hindsight, I wish I had gone just a little bit higher. My backup plan if water becomes an issue is to make a trench around the slab with crushed stone, put some landscaping fabric over that and some wood chips or pea gravel?

Thanks, and hope it helps!

thanks!

Hahaha, thank you

Thanks!

Thank you! I have a mechanical engineering background, but no construction experience. Anything that looks like it was a good idea either came from watching youtube videos, or was a suggestion from my father (who is a retired teacher but was/is an unpaid volunteer handyman on nights and weekends).

The solar light is a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion!