Shed Materials

What Materials Will I Need to Build a Shed?

So you’re gonna build a shed. What do you make it out of? Got any ideas? Well, shed materials can be anything from framed wooden walls covered with a siding such as T-111 or Concrete Board on up to and including concrete block construction. The choice is yours to blend in with the surroundings of the area that the shed is built in.

Shed building materials help shape what the final product will look like and also have a direct bearing upon the final cost of the structure as well as the expertise required to build the shed. The easiest shed to build would be one with conventional 2” x 4” stud walls covered with 1/2” CDX plywood. This type of shed would utilize pre-hung doors and windows as required.

Storage shed materials are the same materials as used in home construction. This allows the do-it-yourself person the opportunity to build a shed that mimics the house. It’s easy to utilize identical siding and roofing materials, identical windows and identical door and window trim. That way the new storage shed would look like it had been built at the same time as the house.

Concrete block storage sheds are a little more difficult to build as the individual blocks are quite heavy to lift and moderately difficult to stack properly. Also, the nominal size of a concrete block rapidly shrinks the amount of interior space utilization available. Framed structures do not have the same width and length constraints as experienced when building with concrete block. The installation of windows and doors is also more complicated due to correct installation of proper lintels.

So a quick run down of materials required for a useful storage shed would include 2” x 4” studs, 2” x 4” boards for top and bottom plates, sheet goods of some type for outer covering, pre-hung doors and windows, 1” x 3” boards for trim at corners and around the windows and door(s), 2” x 6” boards for roof rafters and ceiling joists, 1/2” plywood for roof, asphalt shingles for roof, paint and miscellaneous fasteners such as screws and/or nails. A pretty extensive list for just a simple wooden structure but nonetheless fairly complete.

The one material not mentioned here is what will be used for a floor. If you choose to use framed floor system then you would need 2” x 6” or 8” boards for floor joists and rim joists (size depends upon final size of shed, see individual plans for further specifications), joist hangers such as Teco fasteners, decking material usually 3/4” T&G decking plywood and the appropriate type of fasteners. The other option would be a full concrete slab.

Whatever type or style of a shed you choose the shed materials will be fairly consistent and will only vary according to the size of the structure. In every case, the guiding factor will be what the specific plans call for. There are those plans that allow for special openings, neat features such as fancy dormers or some other cosmetic details. Those plans may call for some special construction techniques and some additional materials not covered here. Always refer to and defer to your set of plans.