June 16, 2011

The Great Versatility of Modern Wood Shed Plans

by: Brad Appleton

You have a few choices in materials when building a shed to use in your yard and your decision should be based on the type and size of shed you need as well as your location. Older sheds were mostly built from wood but newer sheds are now available in both steel and molded plastic but both of these styles offer less flexibility in design than a wooden shed.

Because of this, most homeowners that build a shed themselves still choose wood over other options since it allows them to build a shed that perfectly matches their needs and their yard. There are a number of places that you can find a great set of wood shed plans for your project that will provide you with a wide universe of choices.

Using wood to build your shed offers several advantages over most other steel and plastic options. First, other types of sheds are less flexible in design since all of the pieces of the shed are precut before they arrive. This means you are simply assembling these sheds onsite and can change very little of their design.

This can be a problem if you have a need to move the door or window somewhere else in the shed and will be forced to compromise. Using wood instead will give you the option to make these types of changes easily since you are building the shed from individual lumber. In fact most wood shed plans will provide options for a number of changes you can make the basic design to fit your needs.

There are a lot of great places to find great wood shed plans, which enables you find the shed that’s right for you. In years past you could buy a set of plans from a lumber supplier that gave you a blueprint for a specific floor plan. While these were fine for most experienced builders, the average homeowner needed a little more detail to be successful.

With the advent of the internet, you now have the ability to preview thousands of wood shed plans on the web before deciding on a layout. Many of the sites that offer these plans will also provide pictures of the completed shed, so you know exactly how it will look when you finish it. Some of these sites will also show you what the plans include so you know the information provided is complete enough for your needs.

In addition to purchasing individual plans from a website, some sites sell a collection of wood shed plans as part of a complete package. This can be a great way to buy your plans since you will have other important details you’ll need to install the shed properly. Some of the other guides in these sets might include roofing techniques and materials, foundations and weatherproofing. While these are not technically part of a shed plan they can help you complete the larger project.

Most of these shed plan packages will also provide details on other woodworking projects you might like to try. In addition to the wood shed plans they might also include basic furniture plans, smaller shed plans, boathouse or pool house plans as well as a collection of other blueprints.

Even though you might only choose to build one shed from the set, seeing the plans for these other projects can give you ideas you might want to include in your shed. Buying your wood shed plans as part of a larger package like this is a great way for the average homeowner to find all the information they need in one place to help them complete their shed and help with the installation as well.