6 bikes bike shelter plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Miter saw, or circular saw in two passes, for 4×4 posts
• Circular saw
• 4 ft level
• Line level
• Stepladders (two)
• Socket wrench for the carriage bolts
• Drill with a long 1/2″ bit
• Tin snips or metal-cutting blade
• Post-hole digger
• Wheelbarrow and hoe
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Call 811 and check the spot

   At least 3 working days before you dig, call 811 (or use call811.com). It's free. They send people to paint or flag buried gas, electric, water and cable lines near where the shelter posts will go.

   Check your property line on your survey or plot plan, and ask your town about setbacks, easements and whether this needs a permit.

   Pick ground that drains: not a low spot where puddles sit after rain, and not over a septic field.

   STOP. Don't dig until the marks are down. Hitting a gas or power line can kill you and is expensive to repair.

4. 4Mark out a square rectangle

   Hammer a stake at one corner of the post centres. Measure 152 1/2″ along the long side and hammer a second stake. Tie mason's line tight between them, a few inches off the ground.

   For the first square corner, use the 3-4-5 rule: from the first stake, mark 3 ft along the string. Run a tape 4 ft out roughly at 90°. Swing it until the 3 ft mark and the 4 ft point are exactly 5 ft apart. That direction is square: set a stake 68 1/2″ out along it.

   Measure the last corner from the other two (152 1/2″ and 68 1/2″) and set the fourth stake. Run string around all four.

   Measure both diagonals, corner to corner. Nudge the stakes until the two numbers match.

   • Tip For bigger layouts use 6-8-10 instead of 3-4-5: the bigger the triangle, the more exact the corner.
   • Tip Batter boards (two stakes with a crosspiece set 2 ft outside each corner) let you take the strings down to dig and put them back in exactly the same place.

   ✓ Sides are 152 1/2″ and 68 1/2″ and the diagonals match within 1/2″. Spray marking paint along the strings, then pull the stakes you're about to dig around.

5. 5Mark the middle posts

   Along the front and back strings, mark post centres every 76 1/4″ between the corners. Drive a stake at each.

   ✓ The middle stakes sit on the strings, evenly spaced.

6. 6Dig the post holes

   Dig 6 holes 10″ wide and 36″ deep with a post-hole digger (rent a powered auger for this many, or for rocky soil).

   That depth is 30″ for the post plus 6″ of gravel underneath so water drains away from the post end.

   Make the holes slightly wider at the bottom than the top, like a bell. Frost then can't grip the concrete and lift it.

   Pour 6″ of gravel in each hole and tamp it with the end of a 2×4 or the post itself.

   • Tip Your town knows the frost depth: it's how deep footings must go so winter frost can't push them up. Enter it in the options and the holes will be dug deep enough.

   ✓ Every hole is 36″ deep before the gravel and 30″ deep after it.

7. 7Set the posts plumb

   Stand a post in each hole. Run a string between the end posts at the height you want, to line up the ones in between.

   Hold a level against one face of a post until the bubble is centred: that face is plumb. Then check the face around the corner. Both faces must read plumb.

   Brace each post with two 1×4 or 2×4 boards: screw one end to the post and the other to a stake hammered into the ground, one brace on each of two sides at right angles.

   ✓ Every post is plumb on two faces, in line with the string, and the braces hold it there when you let go.

8. 8Mix the concrete

   You'll use 13 bags of 80 lb concrete mix for the 6 post holes. Mix one or two bags at a time in a wheelbarrow: concrete starts to stiffen in about 30–45 minutes (faster on a hot day), so only mix what you can place right away.

   Pour about 2 quarts of clean water into the wheelbarrow first, then empty one bag on top. (Each 80 lb bag needs about 3 quarts in total.)

   Mix with a hoe or square shovel: pull the dry powder from the corners and bottom into the wet middle and chop through it. Keep going until there are no dry pockets.

   Add the last of the water a cup at a time, mixing between each.

   Get the thickness right. It should look and feel like thick oatmeal or stiff peanut butter. A hoe dragged through leaves ridges that stand up, and a handful squeezed in a gloved hand holds its shape. Too dry: it crumbles and won't stick together, so add a little water. Too wet: it flows flat, water pools on top, and the concrete will be weak and crack. Then add some dry mix from a spare bag.

   • Tip More water makes concrete easier to push around and much weaker. Resist the urge.
   • Tip Rinse the wheelbarrow, hoe and shovel before the concrete sets on them. Don't wash concrete into drains or onto the lawn: let leftovers harden in a scrap box and throw them out.
   • Tip Buy one more bag than you need. Running out halfway through a pour is the most common mistake.

   ✓ Even grey colour throughout, no dry powder, no puddles of water on top; a ridge made with the hoe stands up.

   STOP. Wet concrete is caustic and burns skin. Wear waterproof gloves, safety glasses, long sleeves and long pants. Open bags slowly and wear a dust mask: the dust has silica. Rinse any concrete off your skin right away.

9. 9Fill the holes

   Shovel concrete into each hole around the post. Every 6″ or so, poke it hard with a stick or a piece of rebar to work out air pockets.

   Fill to about 1″ above the ground and shape the top into a little mound with a trowel, sloping away from the post so rain runs off.

   Check plumb again on both faces while it's still wet, and adjust the braces if needed.

   ✓ Posts are still plumb and in line after the concrete is in.

10. 10Let the concrete cure

    Concrete hardens by reacting with water, not by drying out, so keep the concrete around the shelter posts damp for the first 7 days: mist it with a hose morning and evening, or cover it with plastic sheeting held down at the edges.

    Keep it from freezing for the first week. Don't pour when it's below 40°F (5°C) or frost is forecast in the next two days. On hot days, pour in the early morning and shade it.

    You can walk on it or remove braces after 1–2 days. Wait 3 days before putting real weight on it. It reaches full strength in about 4 weeks.

    ✓ The surface is hard and grey-white when dry, with no powder when you rub it.

11. 11Trim the posts to height

    The posts went in 3″ long on purpose: holes are never dug to the exact depth. Now cut them level. Front posts finish 89 1/2″ above the ground, back posts 72 3/8″.

    Measure 89 1/2″ up one front corner post and mark it. Stretch a mason's line from that mark to the other front corner post, hang a line level in the middle and move the far end until the bubble centres. Mark every front post where the line crosses it. Do the back row the same way at 72 3/8″.

    Square each mark all round the post with a speed square. Cut with a circular saw from two opposite sides, then finish the middle with a handsaw.

    ✓ A level laid across the tops of neighbouring posts on a straight board reads level in each row.

    STOP. Cut from a stable stepladder, never from a ladder leaned against the post you are cutting.

12. 12Bolt on the beams

    Each row of posts carries a beam made of two 2×6 plies (C), one on each face of the posts, tops flush with the post tops. Sight each 2×6 for its crown and put the hump up.

    Clamp both plies of the front beam in place with a level on top, flush with the outside of the end posts.

    At every post drill two 1/2″ holes through ply, post and ply, one above the other, and fit 8″ carriage bolts. Do the back row the same way.

    ✓ Both beams read level along their length. The diagonal from front-left to back-right matches the other diagonal.

    STOP. The beams are overhead work: two people, two stepladders.

13. 13Fit the knee braces

    The front is open, so nothing stops the frame leaning sideways except these short diagonal braces. Each sits between the two front beam plies at 45°, from a post up to the beam.

    Fit one on each side of every front post (except the outside of the end posts): long points 12 3/4″ down the post and 12 3/4″ along the beam. Drive one 6″ structural screw through each end, predrilled.

    ✓ Remove the temporary post braces and push a front post sideways hard: the frame doesn't lean.

14. 14Cut and set the rafters

    Rafters are the sloped boards that hold up the roof. This roof slopes 3 in 12: the roof rises 3″ for every 12″ it runs sideways, so rain runs off the low side. Each of the 8 rafters is a 2x4 93 3/8″ long.

    Sight down each rafter's edge to find its crown (the slight hump). Mark it with an arrow: every rafter goes crown up, so the roof's weight flattens it instead of making it sag more.

    Make a pattern rafter: lay one across the front and back beams where it will sit, with 12″ hanging past the high side and 6″ past the low side. That overhang keeps rain off the walls below. Mark both ends with a vertical line (a plumb cut) using a speed square set to 3 on its "common" scale.

    Test the pattern at both ends of the building and the middle. When it fits everywhere, use it to mark the rest, crown up each time.

    Set the rafters 24″ apart on center, the two end rafters flush with the outside of the frame. Fix each end with a hurricane tie (16 in all) using the short galvanized nails or screws named on the tie's package.

    • Tip Mark the rafter positions on both plates (or headers) with a tape and pencil before lifting any rafters, so you can set each one to its marks.
    • Tip If a rafter is badly twisted or cracked across, set it aside and use it for short blocks instead.

    ✓ Sight along the rafter tails from one end: they form a straight line. Measure the spacing at the top and the bottom; it matches.

    STOP. Lifting rafters overhead takes two people and stable ladders or a step platform. Don't climb on the walls.

15. 15Screw the purlins across the rafters

    Purlins are 2×4s laid flat across the rafters. The roof panels screw into them, so they need to be straight and in one flat plane. You have 5, each 162″ long.

    Set the lowest purlin flush with the low ends of the rafters and the highest flush with the high ends. Space the rest evenly between, about 22 5/16″ apart on center. Let each one stick out 3″ past the end rafters on both sides.

    At every rafter, drive two 3″ screws down through the purlin into the rafter. Stretch a string along the purlin first and screw it straight to the string, not to a wavy rafter edge.

    • Tip Put a purlin's crown (the slight bow along its edge) facing up the slope, and pick the straightest 2×4s for the lowest and highest rows: those are the edges people see.

    ✓ Lay a long straight board up the slope across the purlins at a few places: it touches every purlin, with no gaps over 1/8″.

16. 16Fasten the metal roof panels

    The roof is galvanized steel corrugated panels: wavy sheets 26″ wide. Each one laps over the next by one wave, so it covers 24″. You need 7 panel widths, each cut to 94 7/8″ long.

    Cut steel with tin snips, or a circular saw with a metal-cutting blade. Wear safety glasses, gloves and hearing protection; the saw throws hot sparks, so cut on bare ground away from dry grass.

    Lay a foam closure strip along the top of the lowest purlin and the highest purlin. Each panel sits on them, and they plug the gaps under the waves so wasps, birds and blown rain stay out.

    Start at the end of the roof away from the prevailing wind, so every lap faces downwind and rain isn't blown into it. Set the first panel 1″ past the end rafter's outside face and with its low end 1″ past the lowest purlin. That overhang is your drip edge: water drips off the panel, clear of the wood.

    Screw through the panel into each purlin with the sealing-washer roofing screws, following the screw pattern in the panel maker's instructions (usually beside every second wave on the middle purlins and every wave on the lowest and highest purlins). Put one screw through both panels at every lap on every purlin.

    Drive each screw straight and stop when the rubber washer just squashes flat. Loose screws leak; overtightened ones split the washer and dent the panel.

    Lay each next panel overlapping the last by one full wave. Before screwing it, measure from the panel edge to the end of the roof at the top and at the bottom; the two numbers must match, or the panels fan out across the roof.

    • Tip Practice the screw depth on an offcut screwed to a scrap of 2×4 before you start on the roof.
    • Tip Sweep the metal shavings off the panels the same day. Left there, they rust and leave orange streaks.

    ✓ The low edges form one straight line, every lap is a full wave, and every washer is snug but not bulging. Spray the roof with a hose and look underneath: no drips at the screws.

    STOP. Cut panel edges are as sharp as a knife: wear gloves the whole time. Never stand on the panels or the purlins between rafters; work from a ladder at the ends, or a plank laid across several rafters.

17. 17Slat the back

    The back is 9 rows of cedar 1×6 slats screwed to the back face of the back posts with 1″ gaps between rows: they stop rain blowing in but let air through so the bikes dry.

    Start the bottom row 8″ above the ground, so it never sits in wet grass. Use a 1″ scrap as a spacer between rows.

    Drive two 2 1/2″ screws through each slat into every post, 3/4″ in from the slat edges. Predrill near the slat ends: cedar splits easily. Each row is two slats joined over the middle post; leave a 1/8″ gap at the joint.

    ✓ The rows are level and the gaps even. Sight along each row: no slat bows out between posts.

18. 18Slat the sides

    Slat each end the same way: 9 rows of 72″ slats on the outside faces of the end posts, at the same heights as the back slats so the rows line up around the corner.

    Two 2 1/2″ screws into each post. The side slats also brace the frame front to back.

    ✓ The rows line up with the back rows at each corner.

19. 19Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Outdoors, use an exterior finish: a penetrating deck oil or exterior stain, or primer and exterior paint. Leave cedar bare to weather silver if you like. If it holds soil for food plants, leave the inside unfinished.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.