Building a Backyard Garden Shed with Loft - Phase 1: Planning

Primary sketch of the building.

A few years ago we found out that a large piece of forested land behind our property was going to be developed. A large amount of infill was needed to make this possible, which in turn would affect our lot by raising the level from a rather steep and unusable property to a fairly level lot. After much discussion, my wife and I decided that we could finally build a large shed to solve our storage needs. I had flirted with the idea of buying an 8'x10' resin shed from the local bulk warehouse store for $999, and even an 8'x10' wooden kit shed from the local building supply store for $1200.

The problem with these solutions was that on top of the cost of the resin and kit sheds, I would still have to build a solid base, and in the case of the wooden kit shed, also buy the asphalt shingles, siding, and a window if I wanted to. Construction quality and materials was also an issue since I had a family member who bought a resin shed and he told me that they had problems handling any snow load because of the low pitched roof (3/12). His solution to prevent the roof from collapsing in the winter was to prop a 4"x4" in the centre of the shed to support the roof.

A friend of mine also bought a resin shed and complained about the fact that even though he followed the manufacturer's instructions, the roof still leaked when it rained. The quality of wooden kit sheds was not much better either, since the unit itself was built 24" OC and made using wafer board sheathing and twisted knot-filled lumber. I quickly realized that the only option would be to build one myself my way and with quality materials.

The first thing I needed to do was to figure out a floor plan and elevation. I spent weeks combing through the Internet trying to find pictures, example plans, and advice from anyone out there, but what I found was a lack of examples and information. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to build. I knew I wanted more than just a shed, I wanted something that the whole family could use during our long winters when the summer cottage was closed. An idea started to form of a hybrid garden shed and backyard cottage. I knew I wanted a very classic Victorian/Edwardian style building with a loft large enough for me to stand up in. I spent almost a whole year over my lunch time walks at work thinking about and refining designs and plans in my head on how the building would be built and look like. Being that I walk through neighborhoods, I took the opportunity to examine other people's homes and outbuildings to be able to gather ideas and refine my own.

In September of 2013 I finally had the time to start building the shed I thought would never get built. The only problem was that when I staked out the floor area (12'x16'), my wife said it was too big and that I would have to make it smaller. After a bit of grumbling from me, I decided to make it 8'x12', but increase the loft height to accommodate more storage. I knew that our local bylaw prohibits any outbuildings to be taller than 15', so it was going to be tight since I was planning on having an 18/12 pitched roof. No snow load problems there!

Now on to the construction phases...