Free Storage Shed Plans
There are many offers of free storage shed plans on the internet.
As with many things in life, however, ‘free’ is not always the answer to your problem.
If you are an expert at preplanning, reading basic plans to produce your own shed designs and working out a comprehensive materials list before you start building, then ‘free’ shed plans will probably suffice to help you make a satisfactory building.
You might like to check out our recommended source of great shed plans, including some good free ones, by clicking the MyShedPlans image on the right.
Many people, however, do not have the time or confidence to do all these steps themselves. And it helps if you are an experienced woodworker as well.
If not, expert advice and guidance is definitely a sensible alternative. Even if you manage to get hold of some free shed blueprints, there is much more to building a shed than a set of plans.
Click here to check out free storage shed plans
The key to building a good shed is careful planning. The basics include:
- Selecting the site
- Determining the right size shed
- Choosing the shape and type of shed (wood, metal, plastic, concrete)
- Selecting the roof shape (apex, pent, Dutch) and cladding
- Deciding on the base or foundation
You also might consider electricity, water and possibly sewage requirements although most simple sheds do not need any of these services.
A good shed needs to be built to a blueprint rather than a general layout drawing. Without proper and complete blueprints you take the risk that you will not achieve a properly-squared building and the result will look unprofessional. Note that ‘free’ garden shed plans are seldom of blueprint quality.
Before you start work you will need to produce a comprehensive materials list, including all hardware such as nails and screws. This is essential, to avoid those inevitable problems during shed building when faced with the need for a particular piece of wood, bracket or fastener that you have overlooked – only to find that the local hardware store is closed for the day! However, planning your materials requirements is quite a difficult task to do properly. It is so much easier (and safer) to let professional shed building plans experts do it for you.
Tools will be needed, of course, but you will likely have most of them in your toolkit. Again, a professional shed plans company will list those you will need, with perhaps some recommendations for using time-saving devices that you might not have but could hire, for instance. Worth a thought, if it saves you time and makes the build more fun? Free plans do not usually give you tool lists or tips on how to use them properly.
Unless you make sheds on a regular basis, you could find some of the work a bit daunting. You will not know how well you have done until you have finished, by which time it could be too late to rectify problems that only then have become apparent. It is certainly worth having professional advice along the way, and usually this comes with the step-by-step instructions provided in the good shed plan kits. Photos and schematic drawings will all help your confidence levels as you progress through building a shed.
We thoroughly recommend MyShedPlans as an excellent source of all the information, step-by-step instructions, drawings, blueprints, materials lists and professional guidance you will need to plan and build your own shed, to avoid the frustrations and mistakes usually made by first-time builders, and to help you achieve the kind of shed you will be proud to show to family and friends.
Good luck and have fun!
Click here to check out free storage shed plans
