18 Shed Building Tips I Learned the Hard Way

Pre-made shed doors are expensive. And half the time they don't fit your opening anyway.

Build your own by laminating two layers of 3/4-inch boards together. Make the front layer slightly wider so you get a lip for inset panels. Use plywood or tongue-and-groove for the panels.

Glue and screw the layers together, let it dry, plane the edges smooth. Nobody will know it's two layers. And you just saved yourself $200+.

You don't need fancy double-hung windows in a shed. Order barn sash (just the glass part) and build a simple wood frame around it.

Add a couple hinges and a hold-open latch, and you've got a window that looks good, lets in light, and cost you maybe $40 instead of $150.

I put three of these in my workshop shed. They've been through six winters and they still work fine.

So a lot of you have been asking me about powering your shed. Workshop lights, a fan in the summer, charging batteries for your cordless tools.

I looked into solar panels a while back. Not for my whole house, just for the shed and the garage. I found this guide called Solar Innovator that walks you through building a simple solar setup without hiring an electrician.

I'm not saying I'm gonna go off-grid. But having a couple panels on the shed roof that power my lights and my radio? That was a fun weekend project. And my electric bill went down a few bucks too.

If you're curious about adding power to your shed without running a line from the house, take a look:

[Check out Solar Innovator at this link]

Same deal, that's my referral link. Small commission for me, no extra cost for you. And I've done this one myself.

You CAN cut steel roofing with a circular saw and a carbide blade. But you'll be picking metal shavings out of your arms for a week.

Order the panels cut to length instead. You'll get more color options too. Just remember to order a few weeks early since custom panels take time.

And measure your overhangs before you order. The panels need to stick out past the fascia just a little bit. An inch or so.

If you're gonna paint your shed, there's no reason to buy expensive plywood siding. OSB panel siding like LP SmartSide costs about half as much, holds paint better, and will probably last longer.

I've used it on my last four builds. Not a single callback. Not a single issue.

Ask at your lumberyard. They'll have a few options in different thicknesses and profiles.

Heavy-duty galvanized track for a sliding shed door? Overkill.

Get heavy-duty closet door hardware instead. Johnson Hardware makes a track (model 111) and ball-bearing hangers (model 1025) that work great. They're not technically rated for outdoor use, but under an overhang they hold up fine.

And if a roller goes bad in a few years, you replace the hanger for about $8. Try that with farm hardware.

I used to do everything from a ladder. Moving it every three minutes, climbing up and down, dropping screws...

Then I rented a 5-foot scaffold section with wheels and planks. About $110 for the week.

Changed my life. Stable platform, room for your tools, and you're not risking your neck every time you reach for something. If you're doing any roof work at all, rent the scaffolding. It's the best $110 you'll spend on the whole project.

Nothing makes a shed look more finished than brackets under the gable overhang.

You can build them from 4x4s or by laminating a couple 2-by boards together. Make a full-scale drawing first so you get the angles right. Then attach them tight to the underside of the overhang and notch the fascia to fit over them.

Takes about an hour to make a pair. And suddenly your shed looks like it came out of a magazine.

Real wood and paint don't get along. The paint peels, the wood rots, and you're repainting every two years.

Use one of these instead:

PVC trim (Azek makes a good one). You can paint it or leave it white. You can even shape it with a router. Just don't use dark paint colors.

Fiber cement (HardieTrim). Cheaper than PVC, holds paint like a champ. Just seal the cut ends so moisture doesn't get in.

Engineered wood trim (MiraTEC). Somewhere between the two. Good value.

Any of these will outlast real wood by a decade. Easy choice.

That's it. 18 tips and about 30 years of mistakes crammed into one page.

One more thing before you go.

If you've been thinking about doing more with your property beyond the shed, there's a book I picked up last year called Self Sufficient Backyard.

It covers everything from raised bed gardens to rainwater collection to building chicken coops and root cellars.

I'm not saying you need to become a homesteader. But if you're the kind of person who likes building things and working with your hands (and if you're reading this page, you probably are), you'll get a kick out of it.

[Check it out at this link]

Referral link again. You know the drill by now.