Building a wood shed....quick question

[trailrated]

Greetings,

I am about to build a 12x16 wood shed. Basically 3 closed sides with the front open. Simple one direction pitched roof from front to back. My question is this......I was figuring on 10 foot tall posts in the front and 9 foot in the back. Giving me a foot slope over 12 feet. Is this a decent slope choice? I just want enough for adequate rain and snow run off.

 

[gzecc]

Fine

 

[warno]

As far as slope goes 1/4" per foot will flow water. That's our minimum for drain pans at work.

 

[mitchell721]

what kind of roofing do you plan on using?

 

[trailrated]

Metal roof sheeting

 

[mitchell721]

I don't do this for a living so take this for a grain of salt but unless its specially designed metal roofing for low pitched roofs the minimum on the basic stuff is supposed to be 3/12. with that being said its a wood shed not your house. me personally I would go 10 front/8 back, or 11 front/9 back, basically to get another foot of drop just because I would be worried about snow load and it would stay in the back of my mind everytime in stormed, however as I said before its a wood shed and 1 foot would probably be fine.

 

[trailrated]

I don't have a problem doing 10 in the front and 8 in the back. I'm trying to get a visual on that pitch. I don't like the look of super steep pitches.

 

[mitchell721]

take a tape measure and get a general idea of 2 foot from floor like on a wall then run the tape out 12 foot and hold it at that mark and let the end hit it floor 2 feet over 12 feet is not too steep when you look at it, that's a 2/12 pitch most ranches you know with the low pitch roofs are 4/12

 

[firefighterjake]

I had to bring our foster dog out to do his "business" so I measured out my woodshed since I couldn't quite remember the dimensions.

I did a 12 x 20 woodshed . . . although when you figure in the 2 x 4 wall construction it is obviously a bit smaller than those dimensions. Back of the shed to the bottom stringer of the roof is 8 feet. Front of the shed to the bottom stringer is 9 feet 6 inches . . . so only a 1 1/2 foot pitch. It's not much and I don't have a metal roof which would allow a lot of snow to slide off it . . . instead it accumulates there until it melts or I rake it off. That said, I think I over engineered this woodshed so it will take a lot of weight -- both from the weight of the wood on the floor and the weight of snow on the roof.

Personal opinion . . . depending on the construction . . . I think a 1 foot drop might work . . . but going with a bit steeper pitch would work much better.

Pics show my original woodshed before it was filled . . . front and side . . . and the later addition my brother in law and I added for his two sleds.

 

[trailrated]

Firefighterjake - thanks for the visual, its helps. I'm basically starting tomorrow. I just realized I made a mistake in materials and the 6x6's I have on hand will make the shed 10' front and 8' rear. I originally was gonna have a wood floor but changed my mind. Now I'm going to sink 6x6's in the ground and build off of those, like a pole barn.

I'm doing 3 poles across the front and back. I'll take pics as a go along and post to this thread if anyone is interested. It is going to be a part time project so no telling on time when it will be finished. I'm sure I may have questions along the way. I'm no carpenter but I can do basic framing and trim work so I should be fine lol.

 

[trailrated]

Another question lol, I haven't decided if I'm going to notch the trusses (bird's beak) to sit on the header or just lay them on the header. Is there a bracket made that ties the truss to the header if you just lay the truss on top?

 

[Haven]

Firefighterjake - thanks for the visual, its helps. I'm basically starting tomorrow. I just realized I made a mistake in materials and the 6x6's I have on hand will make the shed 10' front and 8' rear. I originally was gonna have a wood floor but changed my mind. Now I'm going to sink 6x6's in the ground and build off of those, like a pole barn.

I'm doing 3 poles across the front and back. I'll take pics as a go along and post to this thread if anyone is interested. It is going to be a part time project so no telling on time when it will be finished. I'm sure I may have questions along the way. I'm no carpenter but I can do basic framing and trim work so I should be fine lol.

This sounds kinda like how we did ours. Took way longer than I wanted. But, once finished I was glad we took our time for the little details. Good luck and have fun!
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/started-new-wood-shed.147534/

 

[Poindexter]

As above, as long as you build strong enough for your snow load 0.25:12 is fine.

I have to build for 50 #/sqft up here. I have an 8x12 tool shed with 2x4 rafters on 24 inch centers, 3 purlins on each half of the roof with metal roofing on the purlins. Pitch is 3:12, it holds the weight fine the snow slumps off all at once around about March.

 

[trailrated]

Outstanding Job Haven. I missed that thread, haven't been on in a while.

 

[firefighterjake]

Another question lol, I haven't decided if I'm going to notch the trusses (bird's beak) to sit on the header or just lay them on the header. Is there a bracket made that ties the truss to the header if you just lay the truss on top?

I'm no builder and I have no idea if there is a bracket you can buy . . . if not . . . definitely do the bird's beak as it will "lock" things in place a bit better.

 

[Longstreet]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Hurricane+Straps+and+Ties&FORM=RESTAB

I've always seen them used with birds mouth cut but I don't see any reason you would have too. Even better are TimberLOK structural screws. A 6" TimberLOK is a code compliant method to attached rafters even in hurricane country I believe. Home Depot sells them. Of course for a shed, you could get away with probably a 4".

While water will drain even at crazy low pitches, that's not really applicable to any roof other than a flat roof designed for it. Think rubber roofs and such. It may work for a shower pan, but then again a shower pan isn't full of holes like a roof is. There's no reason to design a shed with less than 2:12. Will a 1:12 work? It will certainly drain water. But as the rubber gaskets on yours screws age, 2:12 is so much better.

Some people will tell you it's just a shed. I consider it a reflection of your craftsmanship and property.

 

[FTG-05]

Another question lol, I haven't decided if I'm going to notch the trusses (bird's beak) to sit on the header or just lay them on the header. Is there a bracket made that ties the truss to the header if you just lay the truss on top?

When I built my woodshed, I didn't notch the 2x6 joists, I just laid them on the twinned 2x8's then tied them onto them using one of these for each joist:



Have no idea if that's "code" or not. But for our location (middle TN) and enviroment, it should work.

Good luck!

 

[hamslam42]

When I built my woodshed, I didn't notch the 2x6 joists, I just laid them on the twinned 2x8's then tied them onto them using one of these for each joist:

View attachment 168852

Have no idea if that's "code" or not. But for our location (middle TN) and enviroment, it should work.

Good luck!

I was going to reply with a similar thing. I did end up notching my 2x6 joists, but there are a few Simpson strong-tie connections that can be used without making the birdsmouth cut. There's so many different types of connectors out there it will make your head spin. Here's one I found from the Simpson site that specifically states the rafters don't need to be notched.
(broken link removed)

 

[Oldman47]

When I built my woodshed, I didn't notch the 2x6 joists, I just laid them on the twinned 2x8's then tied them onto them using one of these for each joist:

View attachment 168852

Have no idea if that's "code" or not. But for our location (middle TN) and enviroment, it should work.

Good luck!

That hurricane tie should be all you need in a typical build.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

I had to bring our foster dog out to do his "business" so I measured out my woodshed since I couldn't quite remember the dimensions.

I did a 12 x 20 woodshed . . . although when you figure in the 2 x 4 wall construction it is obviously a bit smaller than those dimensions. Back of the shed to the bottom stringer of the roof is 8 feet. Front of the shed to the bottom stringer is 9 feet 6 inches . . . so only a 1 1/2 foot pitch. It's not much and I don't have a metal roof which would allow a lot of snow to slide off it . . . instead it accumulates there until it melts or I rake it off. That said, I think I over engineered this woodshed so it will take a lot of weight -- both from the weight of the wood on the floor and the weight of snow on the roof.

Personal opinion . . . depending on the construction . . . I think a 1 foot drop might work . . . but going with a bit steeper pitch would work much better.

Pics show my original woodshed before it was filled . . . front and side . . . and the later addition my brother in law and I added for his two sleds.

How wide are the gaps between the boards? I assume that's for wind/air access to keep it breezy?

 

[FTG-05]

That hurricane tie should be all you need in a typical build.

That's what the building supply place in Fayetteville told me when I said I didn't want to have to notch my joists. So that's what I did. Good to hear it confirmed!! Thanks,

 

[trailrated]

Sweet, thanks for the remarks on the joist connectors. I will look for them.

Now, I wasn't going to do twin header beams and I chose a single 2x6 for the header and joists. I feel twin beams is not necessary for this design but someone correct if I'm wrong.

 

[English BoB]

I used the hurricane hangers when I built, roof is still there and we get our share of wind and storms.

bob

 

[FTG-05]

Sweet, thanks for the remarks on the joist connectors. I will look for them.

Now, I wasn't going to do twin header beams and I chose a single 2x6 for the header and joists. I feel twin beams is not necessary for this design but someone correct if I'm wrong.

I don't know if it's necessary from a structural standpoint (probably is due to snow load perhaps) but I did it anyway since I wanted it the header beam to fill the top of the 4x4 posts.

 

[firefighterjake]

How wide are the gaps between the boards? I assume that's for wind/air access to keep it breezy?

About 3/4 of an inch ... and yes ... the gap is to allow the wood to continue to receive the benefit of the wind although to be fair it is seasoned for at least a year previously and when the shed is fully loaded only the exterior stacks are getting much of the wind.