More Shed Questions...

[Dougryan]

I know, that shed guy again... humor me for a few more questions.

So I was thinking about a 14 x 20 shed and stared to design and price out lumber. This will be a stick build 2x4 walls with rafters made from 2x6. I plan to use collar ties on every rafter and a ceiling joist on every other. They will be spaced at 24' OC.

Question 1 - When looking at the boards for the ceiling joists (14') I found that my local lumber supply typically has 8', 10', 12', and 16' boards. No 14'. So I would need to buy 16 footers and cut off two feet.
Hmmmm... would it be better to just plan a 16x20 shed? 40 more square feet of space. Small extra cost of a couple of wall studs...
So 14x20 or 16x20? I'm leaning toward 16x20.

Question 2 - Floor material... wooden platform on skids or concrete?

Thanks,
Doug

 

[Citydude]

16x20 with concrete.

 

[atsah]

16x20.. Concrete if you can, skids with PT flooring if you can't..

 

[EddieWalker]

I like to plan a building around the materials that I will finish it in. Metal roof panels are 3 feet wide. Plywood or OSB is 4x8. Hardie lap siding is 12 feet long. For me, the ideal size for a shed would be 12x24, but if you want to go wider, then 16 is a pretty good width.

Are you going to have an overhang? Will your soffits be vented and what will you use? Hardi and Smart make soffits that are pre drilled for venting that are very nice. I think that they are 18 inches, but I would double check for sure. So you would want to add that to the outside measurement of your walls if you are wanting to span your ceiling joists with one continuous board. My lumber yard sells 2x6's up to 28 feet long and I can get them in every length from 8 to 28 in two foot increments.

Lowes sells 2x6x14 boards here.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Top-Choice...Common-1-5-in-x-5-5-in-x-14-ft-Actual/4082910

 

[jaxs]

16x20 and floor based on other considerations. Some jurisdictions consider portable buildings to be personal property thereby not subject to property tax. Some jurisdictions tax personal as well as real property but at different rates. Also ask your agent what it cost to insure each. No way I would try and build it protable if zero turn,atv or other wheeled equipment is to be stored. If you go with concrete,have you priced material and labor for pole barn construction with metal siding?

 

[KennyG]

I'm not sure what roof slope you are working with, but I would go as wide as possible using 12 foot long lumber for the rafters, spaced as required for roof loads. Keep in mind that your ties don't have to be at the top of the wall. You can raise them and use shorter lumber.

 

[RNeumann]

So OP is planning a flat roof with no eaves!?!? Otherwise 16’ rafters with the original footprint sounds like the right length.

Letting the size of lumber dictate the building size and or your needs is bass acwords.

 

[jaxs]

So OP is planning a flat roof with no eaves!?!?
Letting the size of lumber dictate the building size and or your needs is bass acwords.

I once hired a guy to build a shed to store my garden hose. When I returned,I had a 1'x1'x50' building.:confused3:

 

[Thomas]

16'x20' on concrete PT for plate nice looking metal roof plus good ventilation.

 

[KennyG]

So OP is planning a flat roof with no eaves!?!? Otherwise 16’ rafters with the original footprint sounds like the right length.

Letting the size of lumber dictate the building size and or your needs is bass acwords.

???? 16 foot rafters would result in a building about 28 feet wide. In planning buildings, I have usually taken the approximate size and fine tuned it to match standard lumber sizes.

 

[RNeumann]

???? 16 foot rafters would result in a building about 28 feet wide. In planning buildings, I have usually taken the approximate size and fine tuned it to match standard lumber sizes.

My bad- I assumed one had a saw and math skills and the ability to use both.

So a 4/12 gable roof on a 14’ wide building with 4-6” eaves is a little under an 8’ rafter (16’ cut in half). A shed or flat roof with 1’ or under eves on a 14’ building would also take a 16’ rafter.

But if one wanted a gable roof but didn’t want to cut 16’ boards in half then a 28-29’ wide building would be ideal- you do have a point there.

 

[Dougryan]

Here is some additional detail on my Rafter Design. I mentioned a 16' rafter... I intended that to be the full width of the building.



Using the full length 16' ceiling joist with a 6/12 pitch will allow me to use 10' rafter boards. All good with little wasted cut-offs.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here is some additional detail on my Rafter Design. I mentioned a 16' rafter... I intended that to be the full width of the building.

View attachment 603902

Using the full length 16' ceiling joist with a 6/12 pitch will allow me to use 10' rafter boards. All good with little wasted cut-offs.

I would increase the strength of your rafter by making it into a truss. A simple M design will give you tremendous strength and its super easy to do yourself.

 

[TractorNH]

I know, that shed guy again... humor me for a few more questions.

So I was thinking about a 14 x 20 shed and stared to design and price out lumber. This will be a stick build 2x4 walls with rafters made from 2x6. I plan to use collar ties on every rafter and a ceiling joist on every other. They will be spaced at 24' OC.

Sorry, you lost me at 14x20 shed stick built with 2x4 walls and 2x6 rafters spaced 24" OC. I have a 12x18 shed built with 2x6 walls and a 6 pitch roof using 2x8 rafters, all 16" OC. Do I overbuild? Probably, but we also get a lot of snow load on our roofs and I never have to worry about the shed roof.

2x6 walls also give a nice advantage of being able to build in shelves between the studs to put all of those shed-like items like cans of WD-40 or partial quart bottles of oil for the lawnmower. I also have turned some wall bays into storage for things like plow stakes for the driveway or long handled yard tools.

My shed is built on 6 sono tubes with bigfoot bases. The floor is framed with doubled 2x8's 16" OC and 2x6 as decking, all PT. Wanted to be able to park the 800 lb Harley in the center of the floor and not have it feel like it was going to fall through. I also have an 8' wide, 7' tall garage door on the end for easy access, with a garage door opener of course.