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: