Sunday DIY: Ahead with a woodshed

Ensure the structure is spacious and has good ventilation. Photo / Doug Sherring

Stash firewood for this winter - and the next - in a shed, says Greig Morgan.

Our friends Anthony and Sally came round and were saying how they had to buy their firewood as needed because of a lack of somewhere to store it. After mulling over a few ideas we came up with a design for a woodshed. It needs to be large enough and with good ventilation to hold at least two winters' worth of wood, as it's best to give next season's time to dry out. The structure should blend into your landscape and complement the house. Use the right materials and it should last a lifetime, and add value to your property.

Step 1

Flooring: Fix the two 1.8m lengths of floor framing using the 150mm nails to the outer ends of the 2.250mm lengths (this will give you your shed's outside measurement of 2.4 x 1.8). Then evenly space and fix the joists in between the framing. Place and nail the 2.4 palings using 60mm nails, trimming paling ends if necessary.

Step 2

Back wall: Nail together a frame measuring 2.4 x 1.9 using 75x50mm framing. Cut and nail in a middle stud for extra support. While the frame is still lying down, start from the bottom and nail the first 2.4 paling horizontally, overlapping subsequent palings by an average of 30mm to create a weatherboard look. Make sure the final paling is flush with the top of the frame. Stand up the frame in place, flush with floor, and nail frame to the floor using 90mm nails.

Step 3

Side wall: With the side frames, we'll be creating the angle for the roof. Cut the bottom plate 1725mm, creating a slant declining from 2m high at the front to 1.9m at the back to allow for water run-off. You will need to cut an angle. Nail on the top plate. Starting from the bottom, nail on palings as you did for the back wall to create a weatherboard look, matching up the ends with the back wall. You will need to trim the top paling to follow the slanting roof angle. Repeat the same steps for the other side. Nail each side frame to the back wall and floor. Finish by cutting and fitting fascia pieces to the front corners.

Step 4

Roof: Cut three lengths at 2.6m. Place for back, middle and front of frame, allowing enough overhang for 100mm on each end. Use a level to ensure the side walls are plum before nailing down the roof frame. Cut and nail on the 75x50 ends. Fix roofing iron to the frame with roofing nails or screws. Finish by covering the outside of the framing with fascia.

Step 5

Doors: Measure the inside opening where the doors will fit and find the halfway point. With the first door, allow for the opening then take off 15mm from the top and bottom.

Using those measurements, cut, glue and screw the two door frames. Add a diagonal brace as a support on each (make sure the diagonals oppose each other between the two doors). Add a further middle cross piece to stop doors from dropping. Once framed, nail on the palings and hang your first door in place, allowing an even gap top and bottom. Then hang the other door. If you want to keep one door fixed in place, use a pad bolt top and bottom. Finally, fix a gate latch.

You can paint or stain your new woodshed to suit. I painted this one for Sally to save her the job, because I know she's going to be busy chopping firewood while Ant and I are out fishing.

Materials

100x75 H4 R/sawn post x 2 @ 2.4m (front & back floor frame, cut to 2.25m)
100x75 H4 R/sawn post x 5 @ 1.8m (2 ends, plus 3 floor joists cut to 1.65m)
75x50 H3 R/sawn x 12 @ 6m (framing, roofing & bracing)
150x19 H3 fence paling x 32@ 2.4m (flooring, back wall weatherboards)
150x19 H3 fence paling x 32 @ 1.8m (weatherboards for side walls)
150x19 H3 fence paling x 20 @ 2.1m (doors, fascia for roof & corners)
Corrugated iron x 5 @ 2m (for roof)
Roofing nails/screws
150mm nails galvanised (floor framing)
90mm nails galvanised (wall framing)
60mm nails galvanised (flooring & weatherboards)
T-Hinge 200mm galvanised x 4 (to hang doors) with 60mm screws
Long shot pad bolt 100mm x 2 (to hold one door in place) with 32mm screws
Gate latch with 32mm screws
Exterior wood glue
Paint

Tools

Sharp handsaw /skill saw
Hammer
Tape measure
Combo square
Level
Screw gun & 4mm drill bit
Paint brush