12x16 Gable Shed with Roll Up Door

by Bill Todd
(Leadville, Colorado)

Prior to construction I had decided to build the shed on a concrete slab with footings as the shed is located at an elevation of 9700 ft. altitude in Colorado where the ground is frozen for at least 6 months (Nov-April).

I also made some adjustments to the roof installation using Simpson Strong ties (VPA Galvanized Variable Pitch Connectors) which increased the height of the loft/ ceiling joists and allowed for the installation of a standard 8’ wide x 7’ high garage door.

Additionally, the finished exterior is beveled cedar siding. Instead of using the siding in the plan I installed OSB sheets in their place for structural support. Due to the area where the shed is located, I installed a metal roof and covered it with 100% Grace Ice Shield as well as installing ice shield around the perimeter walls as the average snow fall is 12 ft per year.

To match our existing house, the bottom of the roof trusses were cut at 90 deg which saved some angle cuts and the birds eye cuts were not required due to using the Simpson strong ties. Due to using these I did not install the hurricane ties. An additional framing change includes using 2x6 PT lumber for the bottom plates of the walls as this will make it easier for the interior sheathing to be supported during installation. It also provides an edge from the sheathing to the PT bottom plate as I will be using a polyurethane sealant where the internal plywood meets the 2x6 bottom plate.

The OSB was wrapped in Tyvek and Rubberized Asphalt Roll Flashing was used around the windows and doors as well as beneath the PT lumber. Galvanized nails were used at the bottom of the walls with standard nails being used at other framing locations.

The OSB sheathing for the walls and roof were attached using galvanized nails. Stainless steel nails were used to attach all exterior cedar siding as well as the trim and the soffit was attached with stainless steel staples. Anchors were also placed in the cement during the pour so that I did not have to wait 30 days for the concrete to cure so that drill in anchors could be installed.

There is a 1” slope in the slab along the 16’ length to help moisture drain towards the garage door.

Final thoughts: As mentioned on the web site, please modify/edit as needed to meet your online submission guidelines. If I was to suggest and changes it would be to move the “overhang construction” page to being the first page after the “Roof Framing” page. There is little information on attaching the gable end siding and the “Z strip” for those that do use the siding recommended for the plan and any information would be better included in those pages and not exclusive to the “General Building Instructions”.

Overall, it is a good plan and gave me a good materials list that I modified for my specific shed.

Thanks,

Bill Todd, Leadville, Colorado.