herb shed

in one of the sustainable classes I took at CCCC, I designed a small shed 8'x8' with an attached 6'x6' greenhouse. I wrote up a materials list and calculated the cost to be around $1000.00. 

I mention costs and prices a lot on this blog and I do so for a reason. it is very easy to just go out and buy new items. but that can get pretty expensive and if you don't have a lot of money you're not going to be able to afford decent quality. but the main reason I am posting costs and prices is because buying used or repurposing materials is much more sustainable, uses existing materials and very satisfying. and generally the items I build are much more durable and long-lasting. we are consuming enormous amounts of natural resources in the manufacturing of goods. I figure the more we can recycle, re-use and reduce, the better offwe all will be.

I was going to buy the materials for the shed I designed a section at a time. but before I did, I stumbled upon a 8'x10' shed kit in the sale area outside Lowes. it was originally $800 and the store manager told me I could have it for $100 delivered. there was some visible damage to some of the pieces but not significant. I told him I'd take it.

this is what the display model looks like assembled:

not the prettiest shed but for $100 I wasn't complaining. but I decided I would modify it a bit so it would have taller walls and roof eaves that I could attach gutters to. I plan on collecting rain water into 275 gallon IBC totes to irrigate my veggie garden and nursery plants.

a few of the floor boards and roof boards were water damaged so I bought 3/4" subfloor plywood for the floor (which is way better than the OSB that came with the kit). I was planning on using a metal roof so I didn't need the roof boards.

I chose a spot that (I thought) would receive full sun year round. turns out in the winter the area for the attached greenhouse gets shade in the early afternoon. 

I leveled the area as best as I could and used half blocks to level the floor. old shingles work great as shims.

I assembled it according to the plans and then added a foot to the existing walls and reframed the front wall to accommodate a wider and taller door, the east side wall for another door and the back wall for 2 windows.

back wall with openings for 2 small non-opening windows and cedar  shelf windowsills. I ended up reframing this back wall for one window that I trash-picked but was brand new and slides open and has a screen in it. in the summer when it's hot, it will be nice to be able to open the window.

roof rafters with extensions to allow for more overhang of the roof. the kit came with roof trusses and I didn't want to have to buy all new wood to make longer rafters. I used scraps to extend the roof line.

roof rafters in place and 1x4's for metal roof attached. the roof is ready to go on at this point. only problem, I didn't have the metal yet! I was waiting for a friend's new roof to be installed so I could get the scraps but her house was way behind schedule.

they finally finished her roof and I had enough scrap to roof half of the shed. then a fellow student had some left over pieces from her new roof and unbelievably it was the same color and style. there was enough to complete the roof with some useable scraps remaining.

for the observant ones out there, yes the diagonal on the door switched. I had installed it the wrong way the first time. the diagonal should run up from the hinge side to the top of the latch side.

I made a door from 2x4's and tongue and groove cedar flooring scraps. the other door I bought from Habitat's Restore - one of my favorite stores. I usually find most of what I need there. you do have to go somewhat regularly to find everything you need but for me it is a fun place to visit.

getting near completion. still some siding needed on the back and on the west side and some trim work and painted. I was thinking of a cantaloupe color. the little hole at the top is for ventilation but I am looking for a small round glass, like the lens from an older car headlight, to put in the hole instead of the plastic vent that came with the kit.

I didn't keep a record of how much extra I spent on this shed. it didn't come with the floor joists so I bought them and I bought some 2x3's for the extra wall framing, 3 sheets of plywood, the glass door and some decking screws. maybe $200 in materials. not bad for good looking little shed that will last many years. I also didn't keep track of how many hours I've put into this but I love building things so I'm not too worried.

I pretty much taught myself how to build structures and there are some great how-to books out there. I found the Black & Decker series to be really simple to follow and they are available at most libraries. I think I started with the deck building book since my house didn't have a front or back landing and I wanted to build it right myself.