subject: Plans For Sheds - What Do I Need to Know Before I Build My Shed? [print this page] Plans For Sheds - What Do I Need to Know Before I Build My Shed?
If you are a home owner and your home has a yard or garden you are going to need somewhere to store your lawn mower, garden tools, firewood and all manner of other items. Best to avoid all that clutter in your garage otherwise, sooner or later you won't be able to park your car in it.A great place for tucking all those items away is a shed, you can even partition it for different uses, one part could be for your tools, lawn mower and all those bits and pieces that you don't want to throw out and another for your log pile.What size shed do you need?Sheds are a bit like houses, as soon as you have one, it's already too small, so if you are going to have a shed, have a BIG one or at least the next size up from the one you have already decided on.What type of shed are you going to have?Well that sort of depends on exactly what you are going to put in it and what you intend to do in it. There are all sorts of sheds - garden sheds, storage sheds, log sheds, lean to sheds, potting sheds and many others.Where are you going to put your shed?Is it going to be tucked away in a corner of your yard, or are you going to make it more of a feature, somewhere to go and pot your plants perhaps or build your wood working projects. To avoid your posessions getting soaked with ground water you need a level surface to put your shed on, somewhere with good drainage.What base will your shed need?If your shed is having a wood floor you can use gravel or road base to sit it on, 3 or 4 inches (75 - 100mm) in depth will be enough, it will provide the drainage you need and it's easily levelled. Of course you can use a concrete base or pavers too.When you have decided what sort of shed you want, how big it's going to be,and where you want to put it, then you need to check with your local authority to see if you need planning or building permission. Check if there any special regulations you need to comply with? Check with your local authority to find out BEFORE you buy or build your shed.Do you need electricity in your shed?A bit more planning is required if that's the case. Where's the power coming from? How are you going to get the power to your shed? For safety you may need to take the power underground, usually about 2 feet (600mm) in conduit. You'll need to check with your power authority as to what requirements you will need to meet, you may need a licenced electrician to install it.Electricity shouldn't be messed with! If you don't know what you are doing, apart from the risk of electrocution, if it isn't installed properly, it could start a fire that could burn down your house and your shed.If you are building a shed as a workshop, a play room, or just somewhere to escape to, before you start putting all your goods inside it's worth the extra time and effort to insulate it.Consider how you are going to make your shed secure if you are going to put items in it that have value, tools, lawnmowers, etc.,.Once you have all this resolved, you then need to decide whether to buy your shed and have it built, buy a kit and put it together yourself or build your own shed.Building a shed is great family project, you can even get the kids to help, it's not too hard especially if you have a good plan with a complete material list and a basic tool kit.Whatever you decide have fun doing it and do it safely.
