Keeping Busy? Or Fending off Madness!

DIY
Written By S W

January 13, 2023

I have been accused of suffering from a disorder called OCD. In my case, that stands for - Obsessive Construction Disorder.

It was, in fact, close to after I published my second book and the start of my creating this website that my retired husband and I decided it was time to build a shed for our Deere lawn tractor and other garden tools. After finding that most shed kits available did not fit into the aesthetic we had in mind, we decided to build our shed from scratch—another splendid idea.

Once we found plans that suited our needs, with a bit of tweaking, we started early in spring and completed building a 16’ x 12’ shed by early fall. What began as an adventure ended as our trying to find our way to the end of a significant project while hoping we would be able to salvage as much of what was left of our sanity as possible.

Some have questioned our motives for taking on a project of such proportion. Our answer? It had to be done. That is the story we are sticking to.

After my husband built a retaining wall using stack stones, we filled the area with 16 yards of fill dirt and gravel and leveled and tamped it down.

DIY wood framing for a 16x12 homemade shed sitting on a roman stack stone retaining wall

The beginning of the shed after the floor was down and the walls were framed.

After setting up the end rafters and putting up the OSB sheeting, we were pretty pleased with ourselves and encouraged by our accomplishments. The first window opening only added to our excitement. It was beginning to take form.

OSB wall siding up on a 16 x12 DIY garden shed

The upper window header is in place, and we’re off and running!

image of DIY 16 x 12 garden shed with OSB wall siding up and second story window header in place

The second-story window frame is in place. Most of the roof framing is complete. The wrap on the bottom is almost done - next is the second story. There is a light somewhere - if only I could remember where the tunnel was!

image of DIY 16 x 12 garden shed with roof framing up and some tyvek wrap on the siding

Ready to put the roof shingles on. The doors were two separate front doors, and with some unique tweaks my husband made, they are now double doors to the front of the shed. We were still waiting for our special order windows to arrive. AMAZING!

DIY 16 x 12 garden shed with new double doors and tyvek wrap all done and roof sheeting done ready for roof shingles

Welcome to your new home, Deere. Your garden tool friends have been awaiting your arrival. Come inside.

DIY 16 x 12 garden shed with James Hardy Artic White siding and black shutters around windows and John Deere lawn tractor driving in

Fall arrived, and the temperatures dropped. There was still enough light to activate the solar lights while all the garden tools were tucked safely inside.

DIY 16 x 12 white shed with black shutters around windows with grids and solar lights lit up and

Our shed experiences its first snow. Deere and his garden buddies won’t be coming out for a few months now. 

DIY 16 x 12 white shed with black shutters around windows with grids in the first snow

If you are wondering what adventure is next? Creating this website is enough for me at this point. As for hubby? He is making guitars, which I will be posting several blogs about shortly.

The question remains:

Are we

Keeping Busy or Fending off Madness?

Take your pick

and

Stay Tuned

S W
Previous

Making Guitars and Ukuleles