2 guys try to build a shed

6 years ago
3.49K

They said it would take 1 day. Yeah right. This is a sped up video. 4 days of building a shed down to a little over a minute. After a recent downsizing move to a smaller house, it was quickly realized that we had a lot of stuff collected over the years! The small rusted metal shed that was there wouldn't do the job so I got the bright idea of building a new wood shed. My carpentry skills are minimal at best so I recruited a relative and our kids. All of us together might make half of a carpenter.
I had looked around for a few weeks getting an idea of cost. Prefabricated models were real pricey. These were ready build models that could be delivered. Easily 3-5 times the cost of building one myself.
After getting my hand on coupon codes and using the box store credit card, the unassembled price was about $900 including delivery. When the truck showed up I was excited to see the size of the skid on the truck but was quickly let down to learn that my shed kit was behind the large skid.
Other materials that had to be bought that were not included were roof shingles, nails, glue, caulk, lumber and blocks needed for the floor. Building the foundation and floor actually turned into more of a bigger project to build than I had realized, even before starting on the shed. Digging and leveling ended up being a 2 day labor intensive task. Which isn't shown in the video. Each block had to be leveled individually and with each other. Then pressure treated lumber for the base and floor needed to be attached and squared perfectly.
The finished foundation and floor became the work area for building of the shed starting with the walls. Walls were built section by section until all four could be lifted up and attached. That is where the muscle came into play. Then rafters and roofing frame were next and finally all the way to the plywood, shingles and drip guard.
The kids helped out with a lot of the heavy lifting. Especially raising up the walls. Instructions said it was a 2 man job but even 2 men would have trouble. In between, the kids entertained themselves coming and going, rope lassoing, sword fighting etc. I had no idea that this was going on as I was busy hammering. Not until I started editing that I saw this comic relief going on. It is probably not that apparent in this super sped up video but if the request is there, I will make a longer, slower version highlighting some of the antics.
So the shed is complete except for the paint. Perhaps barn red in the spring! Now it is full of all the stuff I keep telling myself I will use one day.
If I can give any advice for any weekend carpenter, it would be to make sure the floor is level and square. The floor ended up being slightly off that made it a little difficult to put together but with a little determination, we made it work.

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