8×8 ft storage shed 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 and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Miter saw, or circular saw in two passes, for 4×4 posts
• 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. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   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 shed 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 gravel pad. Measure 120″ 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 120″ out along it.

   Measure the last corner from the other two (120″ and 120″) 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 120″ and 120″ and the diagonals match within 1/2″. Spray marking paint along the strings, then pull the stakes you're about to dig around.

5. 5Dig out the pad

   Cut the sod inside the paint lines with a flat spade and peel it off in strips. Then dig the whole area 1″ deep. The border timbers sit on the bottom, so the finished pad stands about 2 1/2″ above the lawn and rain runs off it.

   Find the high corner: lay a straight 2×4 across the hole with a level on it. Dig the high side down to match the low side, rather than filling the low side with loose dirt. Dug soil is firm; added soil sinks.

   Rake out roots and big stones, then tamp the bottom with a hand tamper: lift it waist high and let it drop, overlapping each hit, until your boots don't leave prints.

   • Tip On a slope steeper than about 1″ per foot the low side needs a second row of timbers. Use a flatter spot or ask a landscaper.
   • Tip Keep the sod: it patches bare spots around the pad when you're done.

   ✓ The bottom is firm and level within about 1/2″ end to end. Check in both directions and on both diagonals with the 2×4 and level.

6. 6Set the border timbers

   Lay the long timbers (V) along the long sides and the short ones (W) between them, inside the long ones.

   At each corner, predrill and drive two 6″ timber screws through the long timber into the end of the short one.

   Measure the diagonals and push the frame until they match. Then check level along every side; dig out under the high spots or pack soil under the low spots and tamp it.

   Drill a 1/2″ hole straight down through each timber, about 1 ft from each end and every 4 ft between. Hammer a rebar stake through each hole until it's flush with the top: 10 stakes in all. They stop the frame creeping apart.

   ✓ Diagonals match within 1/2″. A level laid on each timber reads level, and on a straight 2×4 across the frame, both ways.

   STOP. Wear gloves and a dust mask when cutting pressure-treated wood, and don't burn the offcuts.

7. 7Lay landscape fabric

   Roll landscape fabric over the dirt inside the frame. Run it up the inside of the timbers a few inches. Overlap the strips by 12″ where they meet.

   Pin it with a few garden staples, or just hold the corners down with the first shovels of gravel.

   • Tip The fabric keeps the gravel from sinking into the mud over the years and slows weeds. It doesn't need to be perfect.

8. 8Fill and compact the gravel in layers

   You need about 1.5 cubic yards, delivered of crushed gravel. Ask for 3/4″ crushed stone (drains well) or dense-grade aggregate (crusher run, packs hardest). Not pea gravel: round stones roll and never lock together.

   Spread a 2″ layer with a rake. Mist it with a hose so it's damp, not muddy. Damp gravel packs much better than dry.

   Compact it: go over every inch with the hand tamper, overlapping, two or three passes. For a pad bigger than about 8′ × 8′, rent a plate compactor for half a day; it does in minutes what takes an hour by hand.

   Repeat 2″ layers until the gravel is level with the top of the timbers: about 4 1/2″ in all.

   Screed the top: rest a straight 2×4 on two opposite timbers and drag it across in a side-to-side sawing motion, filling low spots and pulling off the extra. Tamp once more.

   • Tip Compacting in thin layers is the whole trick. Six inches tamped at once only packs the top inch, and the rest settles later.
   • Tip If the gravel was delivered, have it tipped on a tarp near the pad and wheel it in.

   ✓ Walking on it leaves no prints. A level on the straight 2×4 reads level in every direction.

9. 9Set the skids

   Lay 2 skids (A) on the gravel, running front to back, 96″ apart outside to outside.

   Set a level on each skid, then lay a long straight 2×4 across the skids with the level on it, at the front and at the back.

   Where a skid is low, lift it and rake a little gravel under it, then tamp. Where it is high, scrape gravel away.

   • Tip Sight down each skid like a rifle barrel. If it bows, turn it so the bow (the crown) points up: the shed's weight will push it flat.

   ✓ All skids are level along their length and level with each other, and both diagonals across the outer skids match.

10. 10Frame the floor

    Lay the two rim joists (B) side by side on edge, ends flush. Hook a tape on one end and make a mark every 16″ along both at once (most tapes highlight the 16″ marks in red). Draw a line across both rims at each mark with a speed square, and put an X on the side of the line where the joist goes. That's 7 joists (C), 15 3/4″ apart on center; the last one sits flush with the end.

    Stand the rims on edge on the outer skids, 96″ apart outside to outside. Set each joist on its X, crown up, top edges flush with the rims, and drive 3 galvanized 3″ nails (or 3″ deck screws) through the rim into the end of the joist.

    Measure both diagonals of the frame. Push the long corner in until the two match, then toe-screw the frame to each skid where they cross: one screw from each side, angled down through the joist into the skid.

    • Tip Nail through the rim while a helper (or a clamp) holds the joist up against it, so the tops stay flush.

    ✓ The frame is 96″ × 96″, its diagonals match within 1/4″, and every joist top is flush with the rims (run your hand across: no ridges).

    STOP. Pressure-treated wood: wear gloves and a dust mask when cutting, wash your hands before eating, and never burn the offcuts.

11. 11Lay the floor

    Snap a chalk line across the frame over the center of every joist, so you can see where to drive screws once the panels cover the joists.

    Run a bead of construction adhesive along the tops of the joists under the first panel. Lay the first floor panel (D) in a corner with its long side across the joists and the groove edge facing out, flush with the rim on two sides.

    Tap the next panel's tongue into the first panel's groove with a scrap block and a hammer (never hit the tongue directly). Stagger the ends: start the second row with a half panel so the end joints don't line up. Every panel end must land on the middle of a joist.

    Drive 2 1/2″ screws every 6″ along the panel edges and every 12″ along the chalk lines in the middle, 3/8″ in from the edges.

    • Tip Leave a 1/8″ gap at panel ends (a nail makes a good spacer) so the plywood can swell in damp weather without buckling.

    ✓ The floor feels solid with no bounce, and no screw head sticks up above the surface.

12. 12Mark the wall plates

    Each wall has a bottom plate and two top plates. Side walls use the long plates (E, 96″); end walls fit between the side walls and use the short plates (F, 89″).

    Lay a wall's bottom plate and its first top plate edge to edge with the ends flush, and mark both at once, just like the floor joists: a line every 16″ with an X for each stud, plus a stud at each end.

    On the door wall, mark the rough opening: 63″ wide, centered. It gets a full-height stud (G) and a shorter jack stud (H) on each side.

    • Tip An X beside each line removes any doubt about which side of the line the stud sits on.

    ✓ The marks on each pair of plates line up exactly, because they were marked together.

13. 13Build the walls flat on the floor

    Build the back wall first, lying flat on the shed floor. Set the plates on edge, 79 1/2″ apart, and stand a stud (G) on each X. Drive two 3″ nails through the plate into each end of every stud.

    Build both side walls the same way. Build the end walls to fit between the side walls.

    Door wall: nail a jack stud (H, 74″) to the face of the full stud on each side of the opening. Nail the two header boards (I) face to face, and set the header on top of the jack studs.

    Leave the bottom plate whole across the door opening for now: it keeps the wall rigid while you lift it. You'll cut it out later.

    Before lifting each wall, measure its diagonals and nudge it square, then tack a 1×4 across the studs at an angle to hold it.

    • Tip Keep each stud's edges flush with the plate's edges as you nail, so the siding lies flat later.

    ✓ Each wall's diagonals match within 1/8″ before it goes up.

14. 14Raise and brace the walls

    With a helper, lift the back wall onto its bottom edge, flush with the back of the floor. Nail the bottom plate to the floor with two 3″ nails between each pair of studs.

    Hold a 4′ level against the end stud. When it reads plumb, screw a long 2×4 brace from the top of the wall down to a block screwed to the floor. Brace both ends.

    Raise the side walls and then the front wall the same way. Nail each corner together through the studs every 16″.

    Nail the second top plates on so they overlap at the corners: the side wall's top plate runs over the end wall's. That overlap locks the walls together.

    Cut the bottom plate out of the door opening with a handsaw, flush with the jack studs.

    ✓ Every wall is plumb at both ends, every corner is tight, and the top plates overlap at all four corners.

    STOP. Raise walls with two people and never on a windy day: a wall that catches the wind can knock you off the floor.

15. 15Cut a pattern rafter

    Pick the straightest rafter board (L). At the top end, mark the plumb cut: lay a speed square on the board with its pivot on the top edge and swing it until the edge of the board lines up with 6 on the COMMON scale. Draw along the square's edge. That line will be vertical once the rafter is on the roof.

    From that line, measure along the board to where it crosses the outside of the wall and mark the bird's-mouth there: a notch with a flat seat that sits on the top plate and a plumb heel against the wall. Keep the seat 3 1/2″ wide and no deeper than 1/3 of the board.

    Leave 6″ past the wall for the overhang and cut the tail on another plumb line.

    Cut with a circular saw, finishing the inside corners of the notch with a handsaw so you don't over-cut. Test it at both ends of the shed: it should sit flat on the plate and meet the middle. Then write PATTERN on it.

    • Tip Trace every other rafter from the pattern, crown up, so they all come out exactly alike.

    ✓ The test rafter sits flat on the wall plate with no rocking, and its top cut reads plumb with a level.

16. 16Raise the ridge and rafters

    Mark the rafter spacing on the top plates and on the ridge board (M): every 24″, the same marks on both, starting from the same end.

    Screw a temporary 2×4 post to the middle of each end wall to hold the ridge 24″ above the top plates, level and centered.

    Set the first pair of rafters at one end: nail each through the ridge (3 nails) and toe-nail the bird's-mouth to the top plate (3 nails). Then the pair at the other end. Fill in the rest in pairs, one each side, so the ridge isn't pushed sideways.

    Nail a rafter tie (N) across each pair at the wall plates, 3 nails each end. The ties stop the roof's weight from pushing the walls apart.

    Fix a hurricane tie at every rafter where it meets the wall, with the nails its label names. They keep wind from lifting the roof.

    Fit gable studs (K) between the end wall's top plate and the end rafters, every 16″, their tops cut to the roof angle.

    ✓ The ridge is level and centered at both ends, and each pair of rafters lines up across the ridge.

    STOP. Use a stable stepladder on the shed floor, not on the gravel, and never stand on the top two steps.

17. 17Sheath the roof

    Start at a bottom corner. Lay a roof panel (O) with its long side across the rafters, bottom edge flush with the rafter tails. Nail it every 6″ along the edges and every 12″ over the middle rafters.

    Work across, then up: 2 rows per side. Stagger the panel ends by at least one rafter, and leave a 1/8″ gap between panels.

    Do the other side the same way. Trim the panels flush at the ridge and the ends.

    ✓ Every panel edge lands on a rafter, and no nail has missed (a miss pokes out underneath).

    STOP. Roof work: don't work alone, in wind, or when the sheathing is wet or frosty. Wear soft-soled shoes.

18. 18Shingle the roof

    Nail drip edge along the bottom edges (the eaves) first, with the lip hanging over the edge.

    Roll underlayment across the roof from the bottom up, each row overlapping the one below by 2″, so water always runs over a lap and never into it. Staple or cap-nail it down.

    Nail drip edge up the sloped ends (the rakes), on top of the underlayment.

    Nail a row of starter shingles along the eave, then the first full row on top. Work up the roof, each row overlapping the one below as the shingle package shows (usually 5 5/8″ showing), four nails per shingle on the printed nail line.

    Cut shingles into squares for the ridge and nail them along the peak, each overlapping the last, facing away from the usual wind.

    • Tip Snap a chalk line every few rows to keep the rows straight.

    ✓ From the ground every row is straight, and no nail heads show except on the last ridge piece (dab those with roof sealant).

19. 19Put up the siding

    Start at a corner of a side wall. Hold the first siding panel (P) plumb, its bottom edge 1″ below the bottom of the floor rim so rain drips past the joint, and nail it every 6″ around the edges and every 12″ into the studs in the middle with galvanized siding nails.

    Lap each next panel's lip over the one before and work around the shed.

    On the front, nail the end panels (Q) right over the door opening. Then, from inside, drill a hole through the panel at each corner of the opening. Outside, join the holes with pencil lines and cut along them with a circular saw set just deeper than the panel. Keep the cut-out in one piece: it becomes the door.

    Fit the triangular gable pieces (R) above the walls, cut to the roof line.

    ✓ Panels are plumb, joints land on studs, and the door cut-out came out in one clean piece.

    STOP. A plunge cut can kick back. Rest the front of the saw's base on the panel with the blade clear, start the saw, then lower the spinning blade slowly. Two hands on the saw.

20. 20Build and hang the door

    Lay the door cut-out face down. Glue and screw three rails (S) across the back: one 3″ from the top, one in the middle, one 3″ from the bottom.

    Fit a diagonal brace (T) between the rails, running from the bottom rail on the hinge side up to the middle rail on the latch side (on a double door the hinge sides are the outside edges). The brace holds the door's weight up; sloped the other way, the door sags.

    Screw 3 strap hinges to each leaf, over the rails. Hold the door in the opening on shims for a 1/8″ gap all round, then screw the hinges into the wall framing. Add the hasp.

    ✓ The door swings freely, closes flush, and the gap is even all round.

21. 21Trim, seal and tie it down

    Nail corner trim (U) up every corner, one board overlapping the other.

    Caulk where trim meets siding. Prime and paint the siding and trim within a few weeks, before the sun greys the wood, including the bottom edges.

    Screw a ground anchor into the soil at each corner, just outside the pad, and fasten its cable to the floor frame, pulled snug. A light shed can slide or tip in a storm.

    ✓ Each anchor cable is tight, and paint covers every bare edge of the siding.

22. 22Finish

    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.