Beyond the Basic Shed

By: Joseph Truini (Page 4 of 5)

Photo: Smith/Baer

This handsome garden shed features a post-and-beam frame made with 6x6 timbers.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

Massive red-pine logs and an overhanging gable frame a side window trimmed in mahogany.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

Long screws are used to fasten the log frame together. The large logs are precut and notched at the mill.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

A little muscle — and a large sledgehammer — help coax a stubborn log into place atop an end wall.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

The exterior walls are framed with 4x4s, sided in cedar ,and then slid into place within the log frame.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

The preassembled roof trusses are carefully lifted up and screwed to the red-pine log frame.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

Short 2x6 rafters form a 5-in-12-pitch shed roof over the shed entryway. The main roof has a 12-in-12 pitch.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

Evenly spaced 1x4s are nailed to the rafters. From inside, the roof resembles a traditional shingle roof.

Photo: Jerry Kolesar

This is no garden-variety shed. The Phoenix Solar Shed comes in a kit and features four 70-inch-long roof windows.

Photo: Jerry Kolesar

The plywood sub-floor is nailed down to the joists after the floor frame is assembled.

Photo: Jerry Kolestar

The wall panels are tilted up into place, nailed to the floor and fastened together at each corner.

Photo: Jerry Kolesar

Four 20x70-in. windows, which fit between the rafters, flood the interior with light.

Photo: Smith/Baer

A half-lap joint forms a strong, interlocking corner for the pressure-treated 6x6 mudsill.

Photo: Smith/Baer

A waist-high 6x6 is set between the corner posts; it connects to the short, center post with a mortise-and-tenon joint.

Photo: Smith/Baer

The rear wall is raised first. A tenon on the bottom of each post drops into a mortise cut in the sill.

Photo: Smith/Baer

The roof trusses are made using 4x4s for the rafters and 2x6s for the collar ties and ceiling joists.

Photo: Geoffrey Gross

Understated Elegance: This Adirondack-style cabin features a log frame and Japanese-inspired design.

Photo: Jerry Kolesar

The roof trusses are assembled on the ground and then leifted up into place on top of the walls.

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Timber-Frame Garden Shed

This 10x14-foot Timber-Frame Garden Shed has a rugged, yet charming style that will complement any yard or garden. Designed by New York-based architect Ira Grandberg, it features a post-and-beam frame, pine siding, dual sliding doors, and a brick-in-sand floor. However, the most interesting characteristic is that you can fill any of the bays within the timber frame with a choice of materials. We enclosed the frame with tongue-and-groove pine boards and barn-sash windows. Other options include: a recessed box for firewood storage; tilt-out bins for bags of seed or fertilizer; and a hutch for trash cans.

The materials to build this shed cost $2,500, including the shingles and brick pavers. Plans are available for $50.

Construction details. The framework is built of pressure-treated pine timbers: 6x6s for the walls, and 4x4s for the roof rafters. The 6x6 posts and beams were joined with mortise-and-tenon joints, but you can save time by joining the 6x6s with metal timber-framing hardware.

Our shed was built on a sloping lot, so the foundation was made by stacking three 6x6s on top of a bed of gravel. The top course of timbers served as the mudsill. Mortises were cut into the sill to accept tenons that were milled into the bottom ends of the posts.

The only angle cuts in the entire frame were made on the roof. The 4x4 rafters are mitered to 40 degrees where they meet the 2x6 ridge board, and the collar ties, which are screwed across the rafters, are cut at 50 degrees.
by Michael Morris