How to Build a Trash Shed

By: Jennifer Stimpson

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

2x4 to frame the shed and build the doors. Get eleven 8-foot boards.

1x6 tongue-and-groove siding. Pick up prestained boards or stain them yourself before installation. Get enough to cover about 75 square feet.

1 ¼x6 pressure-treated decking to frame the doors and lid. Get seven 8-foot boards.

Construction adhesive to glue the sheathing.

4-inch door hinges to attach each lid and the bifold doors to the framing. Get 10.

Continuous (piano) hinges to create the bifold doors. Get two stainless steel 30-inch hinges.

3½-inch stainless-steel deck screws

2½-inch stainless-steel deck screws

1 5/8-inch stainless-steel deck screws

1 5⁄8-inch stainless-steel siding nails

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Framing square
- Speed Square
- Jigsaw
- Drill/driver
- Hammer with nailset
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Mark Powers checking the size of his trash shed's framing using a 32-gallon trash can

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Photo: Kolin Smith

Introduction
Overview
Steps:
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14: Install the Front Doors

1. Size the framing

This shed can house up to three 32-gallon trash cans (24 inches wide by 33 inches high), but you can adjust it for any size container by setting the container on its side and laying out the framing around it.

For the base, cut a 2x4 to 36 inches with a jigsaw.

Set two 2x4s on the ground, parallel to each other and ends butted against the base. These are the legs of the side frame. Square up the corners. Mark the front leg at 42 inches from the base and the back leg at 48 inches.

Lay another 2x4 on edge across the legs at the marks. This represents the shed roof, which will have just under a 10-degree pitch to direct water away from the house. Transfer the angle to the legs.