Looking to build a "small shed" (8x10) to store excess wood/garden tools.
While I have close to 2 acres, the most likely spots are a bit close to the house.
I have a spot in mind, but as I've gone through a variety of plans, and designs, I find that the overall roof height is a bit imposing for the site I've blocked off. I think I can modify one or more of the designs by reducing the wall height and the pitch. I don't have to worry about snow, just rain.
Most of the 8x10 shed designs seem to have 8x12 or 9x12 pitch. I'm thinking of reducing that to 3x12.
My question, from an aesthetics point of view would that low pitch roof look odd on a 8x10 shed?
I have some boards I put up to give a sense of the heights that are in the plans I have and to be honest, the heights just looks huge. I want something more discrete and not so noticable. Perhaps I should look for another spot?
Sounds like a good excuse to use the SketchUp (free 3-D Modeling program). You could model all of the important features of your yard and move various incarnations of your shed around. You could start with a photo of your yard taken from Google Earth and get everything to scale. This can be done alot faster than you may think. After doing that, there will be few surprises for you. I find it mildly amusing that you can do all of this without even going outside. I can verify my lot size to the inch (maybe a foot, I forget) with Google Earth.
Not a problem unless you're in heavy-snow-load country or local codes prohibit it. I'd go with either composition roofing (glued down) or metal roofing with sealed top flashing.
I have a 3:12 pitch roof on the house and a 1:10 slope on the carport. Works for me.
Howzbout something like a shed roof style?
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Perhaps.
-- The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. --Herbert Spencer
No problem. The planner also has a misc. category tool which you can size to any dimension you want. You can use that to substitute for any planned shed furniture like a potting bench or something similar.
3.12 "shed" roof (no gable, sloped only one way) not in snow country works fine with standard shingles if the prevailing winds are not "up the roof" and if you increase your overlap about 25%. DO NOT forget the roofing felt under the shingles, and the drip edges. BluSeal self stick membrane or ice sheild over the whole roof is never a bad idea either.
As far as code goes, in most places as long as there is no foundation (ot is a "temporary" or "portable" building and under 100 sq feet no code applies and no permit is required. Just make sure it is tied down well enough to withstand the highest foreseeable wind gusts!!!
Nothing like watching your shed roll down the block in a wind storm!
My biggest concern after building just what you suggest was that I found out that I lost a lot of overhead storage room, and a small shed fills up fast enough to make it hard to get much in or out. I had a 10 x 14. I could live with the greater pitch, or even have the two pitches like a barn to get the extra overhead.
That seems really steep, unless you're in heavy snow country.
Shingles are fairly 'iffy' at _that_ low a slope. You're probably looking at rolled roofing, with a need to seal seams -- or maybe metallic (or Fiberglas) sheeting.
At, say, a 5x12 pitch shingles are "no problem".
Authoritative answer: "It depends".
Considered in isolation, that pitch is -not- unreasonable for either a "saltbox", or true "shed" style roof. For conventional gable or hip roof designs (and cousins thereof), it _will_ look tend to look 'squished' or 'stepped on', if it's mimicking a conventional structure.
"Geography" also enters into the situation. What "looks normal" in one territory (because it's what 'everybody' does _there_) will look terribly out of place in a different locale. Snow vs. rain is a _big_ consideration, also the degree of variability in storm (and storm winds) directions. So, 'look around' the territory and see what 'other folks' do. :)
A bigger question is what else will be in the field of view -- where will people see it from, and what else will the see with/around it.
If it's going to be 'commonly seen' in the same view as the house, you will likely want to mimic the house architecture.
I (almost) hate to say it, in _this_ group, but you may well want to consider a metal storage shed. That'll get the low roof profile you are looking for (which will help greatly with the 'more discrete' aspect, and much lower maintenance. Incidentally, the fact that it's "pre- finished" makes an amazing difference in the amount of time/effort to project completion. :)
Aside: I was googling a few things related to writing this reply, and came across "
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" The site is painfully slow to load, and I know -nothing- about them; they have a substantial collection of various kinds of shed kits, wood, vinyl and metal. In their 'best barn' line (wood) is an 'Elm' model, with about a 4:12 pitch. In the 'arrow' models (metal), they've got some that do not look bad, and that have an about 1:12 pitch.
I think you could easily draw that on paper and get a good idea of what it would look like.
On another note, for a few dollars more per sheet you can get radiant barrier decking over standard decking and that will keep you shed considerably cooler in the summer months. Cheap and no more work.
I would avoid a metal shed. Rust and the inability to purchase oil based paint in economical gallons makes it a bad idea in many areas of the USA at least. I live in Pennsylvania and the state government in its infinite wisdom has banned oil based paint sold by the gallon. Best check that out before hand. Oil based spray cans or epoxy are still legal but not very economical/practical.
8 x 10 is really small. Mine is 10 x 12 and with just a 42" lawn tractor, 21" mower, trimmer, edger, and an assortment of garden tools (including two wheel barrows) its stuffed to the gills. The pull behind cart doesn't fit at all and sits outside at the mercy of the weather.
Gather up everything that will go in the shed and arrange it in the yard. Allow a path to get yourself in to get at whatever is in the back of the shed and then measure the needed floor space. You will be amazed at how much room you really need.
That is like all the tin sheds. Also, I have a slighly bigger shed in mybackyard with a very low pitch like that. The roofing on my shed is some sort of corrugated stuff but much heavier than the typical galv or poly type. It is like 4' x 6' sheets, the corrugation is maybe 3" wide each and he stuff is about 1/4" thick. Kind of structural and enclosure all in one. It might be fiberglass or cementious or something. They have it at home depot.
I built one this fall that is slightly larger - 10 x 14. I had some of the same concerns, especially since a smaller shed can end up looking like a church if you use standard studs and such. I wanted it to blend with the house as well as possible and here are a few things I did:
- Used the shorter 86" studs instead of full length. This brought the ridge line down about 6"
- Used the same roof slop as the house - 7:12 in our case. This provided a lot of room for overhead lofts in each end and storage (made shingling fun).
- The house has 2' overhang all around and I used 1' overhang.
- The lower eves of the house have box trim and I copied it.
- Paint scheme is the same.
Even with an 8" door header the shorter studs provide plenty of head clearance for my 5'-11" height. Our 6'-4" son in law will have to duck. Even with the shorter wall heights, the shed looks plenty tall but it is attractive.
There are some heavier, anodized metal sheets out there in a choice of gauges and colors and profiles.They are much pricier than the regular wavy corrugated fiberglass along with being more durable and handsome.
Aside from rain as an expressed design consideration, if other factors allow, the OP might consider a translucent or transparent plastic material on one or both sides of the apex of his roof to allow permanent skylighting. A T-bar ridge of plastic "wood" would protect the joint there as would some of the aluminum ridge material available across a range of greenhouse suppliers.
For plastic panels, Glassteel with a Tedlar coating has an exceptional lifetime. It is available in at least two profiles, the shiplap variety being much more forgiving when it comes to rafter allignment.
Depends on the structure. _long_ ago, had one from Sears, no less, that had close to 7' internal clearance on the high wall -- just under 6' at the back wall. Door opening was only about 5'9", did have to duck stepping in.
Here's one that is minimum 6' at the walls, and is over 7-1/2' at the ridge- pole.
Building codes in most areas allow you to build a shed up to 100 square feet without a building permit (check with your local building department).
It's easy to build a shed with 2x4 studs and plywood siding. Since plywood sheets are usually 4' wide, this normally means a shed that is 8x12 (96 sq/ft), with 8' high walls. Note that the actual inside ceiling height is typically a little lower as the plywood siding laps over the floor framing or concrete slab to keep out wind, rain, and bugs.
I built mine with a 6/12 pitch. Lower pitches look kind of odd on a tall shed, and you start having to worry about leaks below 4/12 or so. Anything steeper than 6/12 is hard to walk on safely, making construction and maintenance more difficult.
My shed is 8x12, with the 6/12 pitch, making it approximately 10' high at the peak. If it was standing alone out in the open somewhere it may look odd, but situated near our house and trees it looks fine. The eaves of our house are higher than 10' and the ridges are upwards of 18', so the shed size fits nicely.
My first shed was 8x12 and it was close to useless. Filled that sucker up in the blink of an eye, and it was a bitch to get stuff out because it was packed to the gills. My 90 year old neighbor yelled at me when I built it, saying a shed can't be too big. I told him because of property lines, that was as big as I could go. He said put some of it on his property, he didn't care. I said what about when your not here... He said "where am I going?" He was 92 and still worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day...
My next shed was 14' long by 16' wide with a second floor. I designed it 25 years ago with Design Cad and it took me 40 hours or more to figure out how to use design cad. I could have done it on paper in an hour. Sketchup would be the way to go today, but that too has a nice learning curve, but well worth it.
I made it so the first floor was 6'2" so I wouldn't have to duck. The roof I made to fit full sheets of plywood. The shed at the peak is 15' because the building guy said if it was over 15' it would be taxed and subject to all the building nonsense governments impose upon. The second floor is GREAT because you can store so much more, and it doesn't cost much more to build.
I tucked mine into some trees in the back of my property. Here's a picture I took last year. Still in perfect shape after 25 years and numerous snows up to 3'. This shed is just right for me, not too big, not too small. I have to say it was one of the most satisfying things I've designed and built. Oh, I remember cruising a local shed dealer for design ideas, some of which I incorporated into mine.
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suggestion is to build it big as you can afford. 2 acres is enough land to accumulate lots of lawn and garden stuff. Before you start designing, go to a place that sells sheds and look them over, see what you like.
If you use sketchup, you can get a really good idea of what it will look like. If you build an eyesore, which many sheds are, hide it. If you make it aesthetically pleasing, you can put it in the open. I would think 2 acres is plenty of room for a rather large shed or small barn.
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