In order to build your own wooden shed in your backyard, just what skills do you need? Well, this is certainly the perfect project to learn basic carpentry skills if you don’t consider yourself handy with tools. By far, the easiest way is to purchase a precut wooden shed kit. A precut kit comes with instructions and all the pieces necessary to simplify and speed up the process. And because all the pieces are already cut, assembly is as simple as laying the sections out flat on the ground and putting them together.

Building the foundation, setting the walls and putting on the roof can all be done with no help because of the shed’s relatively small size. For example, when you set up the walls, just nail on temporary braces to help you hold them up while you attach them to each other.

You will mostly need a few basic tools to do the job such as, a drill, a hammer, a level, a measuring tape and a saw (it will still be necessary to make a few cuts even though you purchased a precut kit). The tape measure is used to measure the walls for square. To do this, measure the distance of opposite corners (for example, top right and bottom left). Now measure the other two. The measurements will be the same if it is square.

Screwing all the boards together instead of hammering them with nails would be my recommendation. Its not only easier to screw together but its also makes the connections much stronger and if you mess up simply put the drill in reverse and back the screws out.

Perhaps one of the most important tools you will be using is the level. In general, you will get better results from longer levels than shorter ones. A 12-inch level will work fine for building this shed. Using the level, check to make sure the foundation is level. If not, add or subtract sand or dirt under each of the cinder blocks that need to be adjusted. You should check both directions – North/South and East/West.

Once you add the walls, check that they are level vertically (also known as “plumb”). This is really important. If the walls aren’t level, square and plumb then you will have major problems when you start working on the roof.

Don’t forget, building a shed yourself should be a fun and great learning experience. Knowing that you built it with your own two hands is the real reward.

Dan Reiling has built garden sheds for over 20 years and consults other with how to build their own. Before you start building your own wooden shed, be sure to visit his web site: BestWoodenSheds.com for information on plans, materials and construction tips.

Tags: backyard structures, cabanas, DIY, gardening, gazebos, home-improvement, playhouses, storage sheds, wooden sheds

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 3:25 am and is filed under garden sheds, gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.