There is a Mennonite business here that builds sheds and can deliver at least a 12x16' one on a truck, and nicely made.

If you have a place like that locally, ask about repossessed ones. They may be cheaper than buying the materials and doing it yourself. All you would (likely) have to do is insulate it and add the bits you want.

But don't forget about access, which is my problem. I couldn't get a 12' wide shed through a <10' gate.

Sue

That is a good point.

Another one on that same topic is winter... some places in winter you won't be able to take delivery, and other places it could be near impossible to build.

(I`m rushing to get my projects done prior to winter! Some people won't even drive up here in winter to do work.)

I discovered this tidbit of cold-war nostalgia doing some research a while back. Aside from the obvious intention, it make an excellent hurricane, tornado or earthquake shelter.

See attached .PDF.

I was thinking a small cargo trailer might be a good replacement for a shed. You can store what you need, and in an emergency that requires you to leave, just hook it up to the truck and go.

-john

Unfortunately a lot of urban areas prohibit storage of trailers on one's property. Sure the answer is to move to the country but that can't happen until the kids are out of school now since the area in the country that we have land has a corrupt school system.

I've built a couple of storage sheds, a big one and a smaller one. Here's the big one:



It's 10 X 12 feet and 16 feet high at the peak and is of my own design (no permits were required). The framework is 4" X 6" douglas fir using basically post and beam (Amish barn style) construction. The roof rafters are 4" X 10" douglas fir, and both the roof and floor are 2" X 6" tongue and groove spruce. All joints use galvanized steel brackets and are screwed with deck screws rather than nailed. The shed is built on a post and pier foundation (3 rows with 3 piers each), each pier being 2 X 2 X 2 foot poured concrete to get down below the frostline. There is an additional row of piers out front for the deck. The siding is 10" beveled western red cedar over standard sheets of 5/8" marine grade plywood. Inside, at each end, are 4 X 10 foot lofts (used for storage, sleeping platforms, etc). There is 6 feet of headroom in the lofts at the roof peak. Since the shed is at 8000 feet in the San Bernadino mountains, there is a snow load on the roof in the winter time. Therefore, there is a four foot drop from the peak of the roof to the lower back edge of the shed. The roof faces directly south, and at some point I'll add solar panels to the roof. For now, the sun beats down on the roof and helps reduce the snow load. For security, the door is steel and there are no windows. The exterior has been painted twice with Behr brand cedar stain since I built it in 1992, except for the south facing wall which bears the brunt of the winter weather and has been painted 3 times. It is lit and heated by non-electric means. This shed was expensive to build because of the materials, but it will last more than a lifetime. It can hold a lot of stuff, and could be lived in for a long time if need be.

The smaller shed I built exactly like this big one only about one-third the size. It was much cheaper to build using 2 X 4's and has a plywood roof and floor. The walls are just the standard grooved plywood exterior siding, and they've been shingled over entirely with recycled license plates fastened on with stainless steel screws. This is mostly for decoration but actually protects the plywood and reflects heat admirably. The smaller shed also has a steel door and no windows.

Here's a picture of the small shed:

Sotto - On your large one what did you do for the top edge of the roof to prevent water from going under the shingles? I don't see any caps up there just what appears to be the start of shingles.

Did you just put tar under that last row and call it good or what ?

I have a similar structure and that is what I`m trying to figure out now.

Also, how come you did not do any eves?

More pictures of that inside/out during construction would be awesome if you have them... maybe a new POST or PM me ??

Todd W: There is metal drip edge applied over the shingle edges at the top edge and sides, and underneath the shingles at the bottom edge. You can see the drip edge clearly at the top front of the little shed. The roof is a sandwich with the following layers top to bottom: drip edge as above, shingles, thickish tarpaper (with two layers with roofing tar in between along the bottom edge), 1/2 or 5/8 inch plywood, 2 inch thick styrofoam board insulation, then the 2 X 6" spruce tongue and groove boards for the ceiling of the shed. As I recall, the plywood sheathing covers everything underneath and, although you can't see it, probably overhangs everything by maybe a quarter or half inch, including the red cedar facing boards that you see running around the edge of the roof line.

I didn't want any eaves, thinking that this would basically prevent the formation of any ice dams and icecycles (sp?) caused by melting snow running down the roof and freezing at overhanging eaves. This design prevents that entirely. It hasn't leaked a drop since 1992.

As far as I know, I don't have any digital images of the construction.

Why not a shipping container for the simplicity, and then you can cover it up with paneling or such for aesthetic purposes.

I didn't see where you live in your profile, but if you're near a port or a shipping hub, you may be able to get for cheap.

All metal, large doors, some pre-vented, nearly indestructible I would think.

The 20' containers are quite inexpensive since shipper's want the biggest they can get. There are schools here in the Northwest that use them for cheap earthquake shelters, they are low,stable and offer good protection from falling debris. Placement is a lot easier than you would think.