A potting shed is sort of a halfway house between a greenhouse and a storage shed. It needs space to hold flower pots and other utensils, garden trowels, rakes and other implements and various types of potting soil, fertilizers and pesticides. It also needs enough space to work, preferably with a bench along one wall where plants can be potted and worked on at a comfortable height. A potting shed should be placed close to a flower or vegetable garden. It also should have space for winter storage of some plants. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Locate the shed in a convenient space with solid soil and good drainage. Avoid any areas where water stands or flows heavily in a rain or places with big tree roots and other obstructions. Check for any underground lines or other obstacles. Use a shaded area if you want, but keep away from any low-lying limbs which might brush against or fall on the shed.
2. Outline the 4-by-4-foot shed area with wood stakes and builder's twine. Measure diagonally with a tape measure to make sure corners are square; if those dimensions are the same, the shed will be square. Level the area with a rake and remove any small rocks or debris like leaves. Lay a sheet of landscape fabric or plastic to cover the area and block any weeds or grass under the shed.
3. Set 4-by-8-by-16-inch solid concrete blocks at the four corners. Level blocks individually and across the sides and corners. Put a 2-by-4-inch board across the blocks with a level on it and adjust the soil under the blocks until all are level. Use diagonal measurements again to square the corners of the blocks.
4. Build a bottom frame of 2-by-4-inch pressure-treated boards, set flat on the blocks; trim the ends of two side boards to fit between the other side boards so the outside of the frame is 4-feet-by-4-feet. Secure this frame to the blocks with 3- or 4-inch concrete nails driven through the boards into the blocks with a hammer. Cover it with 5/8-inch plywood; cut sheets in half with a circular saw to fit the 4-by-4 dimension.
5. Make four walls with base plates, top plates and studs between set 16 inches apart. Make the base plates on two walls the same length as the shorter pressure-treated boards; set these walls to overlap the joints of that bottom frame. Nail outside studs first with a hammer and framing nails and check them for square then place interior studs. Leave one wall open to frame a door.
6. Raise three walls. Brace them plumb with 2-by-4s nailed to the walls and to stakes in the ground outside. Nail base plates to the floor and bottom frame and corners together with framing nails.
7. Frame a door in the fourth wall. Build a frame with base and top plates and corner studs then mark an opening for a pre-hung door. Put a full stud on each side of the door opening. Measure the height of the opening and cut a 2-by-6-inch header board to fit between the studs. Nail it in place from the sides. Cut shorter studs to fit between the bottom of the header and the base plate and nail them to the header, the full studs on the side and the base plate. Use a reciprocal saw to cut that base plate outside the short studs.
8. Add short studs if needed between the top of the header and the top plate of the wall. Add studs on each side of the door opening if there is room; this will depend on the size of the door ordered. Raise the front wall, set it plumb and nail it to the bottom frame and the side walls.
9. Put wall cap boards on top of the top plates and cut so they overlap the corners of the top plates. Nail them in place from the top. Add a second cap board on the top of one wall to make a roof slope.
10. Install 1/2-inch exterior-grade plywood on the walls; 4-by-8 sheets should fit exactly on two walls Cut sheets to fit with a circular saw where needed and around the door opening. Nail the plywood to the wall studs. Cut and nail vertical 1-by-4-inch overlapping trim boards on the corners.
11. Cut a 4-by-8-foot sheet of 5/8-inch plywood 6-feet long. Nail it on top of the wall caps for a roof. Let it hang over a foot on each end; it should be flush on the other two sides. Add shingles on top of the plywood, starting from the bottom and working up, overlapping according to shingle directions.
12. Install the pre-hung door in the opening. Follow directions with the door to get it square and place any latches or hardware needed. Add 1-by-4 trim around the door, either with mitered corners or Craftsman-style with the top board flush with the tops of the side trim.
Tags: base plates, bottom frame, door opening, base plate, blocks with, 8-inch plywood