3 Lessons I Learned Building My Own Shed

Today I am going to let you know the mistakes that I made in deciding to build my own shed and hopefully help you to avoid potential disaster. I will look at where I went wrong and the most common mistakes that a newbie makes when it comes to building a shed.

Lesson 1-Shed plans
I took for granted, being a fairly decent handyman, that building a shed would be a breeze and did not take much planning or preparation. It was only a shed after all..not a block of apartments.

But the absence of a good set of plans and most importantly, a bill of materials, left me chasing my tail and driving to the store for nails, screws, timber, felt and so on all weekend.

Don’t let your own confidence let you overlook the fact that if you want to build a shed to last and one that you can be proud of, you will need some type of shed plan or blueprint to help you get from start to finish and a detailed bill of materials which will reflect accurately the dimensions and scale of the shed you propose building.

Lesson 2-Lack of focus
My project went of for what seemed like ages. My overconfidence meant that I took the whole thing for granted because “it was just a shed”. I had in my mind’s eye visions of a beautiful saltbox shed..what I ended up with looked more like a chicken coop.
So don’t take it for granted. Prepare properly and organise your plans and materials and any help you might need well in advance.

Lesson 3-Decide at the outset the purpose of your shed
While I had these great visions in my mind of what sort of shed I wanted, I had no real idea what purpose I wanted it to serve and consequently had no fixed idea in my mind of the outcome.
As a result, I ended up with a hen house..in which I store my timber for the winter.

The next time I build my own shed, I will buy a good set of shed plans and designs and make absolutely I have a bill of materials.