Shed Framing Help

Build a Floor First

• Build the foundation or floor first, either a concrete slab or a wood-framed floor set on concrete piers. This is essential for a solid shed, and it will give you a level place to work while building walls. Mark the wall locations on the slab or floor with a chalk line 3 1/2 inches in from the edge all the way around, to help position the walls when they are erected.

Lay Out Walls

• Use a framing square to lay out stud locations on top and bottom wall plates. You'll have to cut the plates to the exact length of the wall first. Set two pairs of plates, top and bottom, on edge with the ends even, so you lay out two walls at a time. The thin tongue of a framing square can be used to mark all studs. It is 16 inches long, the spacing between studs, and 1 1/2 inches wide, the width of studs.

Mark One Stud Short

• Place the outside edge of the second stud 15 1/4 inches from the wall end to allow for a 4-foot panel of sheathing to start at the end and finish in the middle of a stud. You measure the stud spacing with the tongue, then turn it sideways to mark both sides of a stud location. You must do this with plates on all four walls, but do two sides at a time because the plate length will vary. One pair of walls will fit inside the other pair.

Square the Walls

• Square the walls by nailing end studs to the plates and measuring diagonally and adjusting corners until those measurements are the same. Once the wall is square, add intervening studs, then set that wall aside and make another wall. Avoid using studs that have bows or big knots in them, which will throw the wall off. Use the best and straightest lumber you can get.

Make Trusses on the Floor

• Make roof trusses before you raise the walls, so you still have a place to work. Calculate the rafter angles using the framing square, cut the rafters and cross braces and lay the pieces on the shed floor. Connect the joints with metal gussets. Once all the pieces are made, erect the walls and set the trusses on the roof. Use a cap board to tie the walls together. This is a board that goes across the top plates of the walls; if the side walls sit inside the end walls at corners, the cap board goes the full shed width to connect the walls at the top.

Check Building Codes

• Check local building codes to see if double studs are required at corners. If you need double studs, make them by cutting four 6-inch pieces of 2-by-4 stud and nailing them between two studs, spaced at the top and bottom and in between those spacers. Also use codes to determine the size of headers, top boards across door and window openings.

Framing Doors

• Frame doors with a header board at the top of the rough door opening (the height of the door, plus space for a frame to hold the door). This height will vary with the type of door used. Put the header level horizontally between two full studs and add two short studs between the bottom of the header and the bottom plate. Cut out the bottom plate between those studs.