# New England Style saltbox roof shed (Lots of WIP Piccies)



## RogerM (26 Aug 2009)

We've been needing a shed for some time, and the brief I got from my client (SWMBO) was that it needed to be large enough for all the garden equipment and that she didn't want to have to look at it from the kitchen window. Given that this looks over the back garden, and that I wasn't going to put it underground, and that I had put my "Harry Potter invisibility cloak" down somewhere and couldn't find it, this presented a problem. 

The compromise solution was that it shouldn't look like a warehouse, and so the New England style salt box roof style shed was conceived. This is an adaption from the one shown in the Taunton Book on sheds. 

Working on the basis that if you build it twice as big as you think you'll need, it will turn out to at least half the size you actually need, I settled on 12' x 8' which would make the best use of sheet materials, and would also be the maximum size that would fit between the hedge and the trees in the preferred location. 

The back garden slopes down to the house somewhat, and this gives a clue as to how much earth was needed to be dug out. The diagonal piece of 6 x 2 is horizontal. 







Having established the footprint, it became clear that it would need an additional 2' all the way round. 






Six concrete block supports were layed on a bed of cement approx one block below ground level, on a firm, undisturbed substrate. The final prepared area was framed with gravel boards, lined with a weedproof membrane and covered with about 2" of gravel. And yes, that is a tree root you can see on the far side. I didn't want to cut through it, and it will be well below the bottom of the floor joists. 






The frame for the floor rests on some DPC on the piers, and was built from 6" x 2", resting on an "L" shaped front and back beam, and with short lengths of 6" x 2" in between to stop twisting and to act as support for the edge of the 18mm ply floor panels. 






Now comes a cock-up. I studiously took WIP photos of the roof joists and walls under construction, and somehow deleted them from the camera before downloading them! But here is the sequence. Having made the floor, I treated it with 2 coats of decking oil to protect it from the elements whilst it was still open to the weather, and then used it as a platform on which to build the walls and joists. 

I marked out the roof trusses on the floor, and then screwed small blocks down to it to form a jig. This meant that all 8 roof trusses were identical. I then marked out one gable end on the floor, and used one of the trusses to mark out the shape of the roof on the floor. Blocks were screwed to the floor to form a jig so that both gables would be identical, and also that they would match the trusses. The frame was set out in 3" x 2", covered in 11mm OSB, and then clad in shiplap, which I had already painted with Cuprinol Heritage cream so that there should be no lines showing following any shrinkage. The gables are asymmetrical so having made one gable, the 2nd gable was set out on exactly the same jig, but then turned over before it was clad in OSB and shiplap - so I didn't have 2 left ends! Finally, I ran up a couple of louvred vents to set in the gables to aid ventilation. 

Having made the gables, they weighed an absolute b***** ton, and I pulled a muscle in my back shifting them off the floor onto the garden to make way for the next wall - so out of action for 3 weeks! 

The front and back walls were made in a similar way. Here is the front wall on the floor jig. I've used blocks of 3" x 2" as side blocks which will ensure that the finished wall will fit nicely between the gables. Having learned the hard way how heavy the end result would be, I elected to leave the front and back walls unclad to make them lighter to manoeuvre into position, and just put a temporary diagonal brace across them to keep them square. 






Next job, buy some beers and get the neighbours in. Up goes the first gable. The cladding overhangs the bottom of the wall by 7" so that it covers the floor joists. Ropes attached to the bottom corners and made fast to a tree ensured that the gable didn't slip off the floor as we lifted it into position. 






The back wall goes up next. 






Followed by 2nd gable, and last of all, the front. The frames were screwed together at the corners and through the frames into the floor. The vertical pieces on the gable ends are temporary to stop the shiplap curling, as they are not yet nailed down the sides, as I will be slipping some DPC underneath and wrapping it around the corners to help weather proof the joins. 






On goes the front cladding and the first of the roof trusses. I found it easier to line them up after I had attached two pieces of 4" x 1" along the ridge to form a "V" for the top of the joists to locate in to. 










Discussions next about roofing. Initial plan had been for felt shingles, but SWMBO decided she wanted cedar shingles. This meant that the roof would have to be covered with battens rather than a sheet material (which I had already bought). We also decided, as an after thought, that we'd like the lower courses to have a "kick" to them, and that the front and back should show sprockets instead of being boxed in. This was covered in a separate thread. 






Never having laid shingles before, I decided to start on the back slope which couldn't be seen from the house, and hoped that by the time I got to the front I would have made all the mistakes I was going to make. I'm using a piece of left over battening, clamped at each end to ensure that each row is straight, and using stainless steel ring shank nails. There was a howling gale blowing throughout the roofing stage and loose shingles from my pile were blowing all over the garden. 






For the ridge, I've taken the shingles to the top, covered the ridge with a strip of 8" DPC, and then added the final row of shingles. For each row, by running a square along the supporting batten, I've ensured that they don't develope a slant, and a piece of tape on the square shows where the nails should go. 






The ridge was finally covered by shingles laid with the grain along the roof line, starting from both ends and meeting in the middle. 






Final touches were to run up a brace and ledge t/g stable door, and cover over the corners. As an after-thought I've treated the shingle roof with Osmo UV Protection which claims to reduce the rate at which the shingles will weather to grey by a factor of 12, as well as inhibiting the growth of moss and algae, which I thought would be a good idea bearing mind it is partially under trees. 














I'm quite pleased with the result. This was not a budget job - overall cost was about £1,300, which I think is a lot for a shed! But it is way more robust than anything from the DIY sheds, and hopefully different to what anyone else has. Costs could have been cut by going for a felt roof - the shingles alone were £350, plus £32 for the stainless steel nails, and £45 for the UV protection - so over £400 for the roof covering alone. I think the cost of something similar from a manufacturer would have been nearer £3,500, and that not including the considerable work in preparing the base. And it could double up as a studio, garden office or summerhouse.


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## gwaithcoed (26 Aug 2009)

Excellent job Roger, So when's the wife moving in? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 

Alan


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## Paul Chapman (26 Aug 2009)

Very nice, Roger.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## lurker (26 Aug 2009)

Lovely job =D> 

Where did you get the shingles from???


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## woodbloke (26 Aug 2009)

Roger - very nice build =D> - Rob


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## wizer (26 Aug 2009)

It's beautiful. Well done indeed. Knocks spots off the shed I just built for under £100! :shock: :wink:


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## Woodmagnet (26 Aug 2009)

10/10 Roger, now it just needs a lathe installed :lol:


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## CNC Paul (26 Aug 2009)

Roger,

That is a lovely job, it's a shame to put all that junk in it 8)


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## OLD (26 Aug 2009)

This is very impressive lots of thought planning and sound engineering in this 'shed' and obviously its been put together very well.
my own efforts are on my web page and i like the colours also.


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## Imperial (26 Aug 2009)

Well worth the extra cash you spent and thanks for taking the time to photograph the project, only wish I had the space to do similar an move in :lol: Any electrics fitted?


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## Mattty (26 Aug 2009)

Thats a lovely project Roger. It has a really nice 'sea-side' look to it also. 

The shingles look great.

Thanks,

Matt


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## Chrisp (26 Aug 2009)

Roger, very nice, that would take my garden at the mo, Wizer do you have a WIP of your creation?.....
Chris.


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## kingcod (26 Aug 2009)

Thats a lovely job. So if you did the whole thing again I guess you would have erected the gable ends first then clad them with OSB and shiplap?

And another question - with six blocks to support you have been happy with no sag along the gable end line? did a dampproof membrane go anywhere near the base frame or blocks?


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## ProShop (26 Aug 2009)

Very nice, the best looking shed on here so far by a mile.



=D> =D> =D> 

=D> =D> =D>


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## RogerM (26 Aug 2009)

Thanks for all your kind comments.



wizer":1fr0007j said:


> It's beautiful. Well done indeed. Knocks spots off the shed I just built for under £100! :shock: :wink:



Yeh - but you would have built an airship hanger for the same price as I paid! 



Bloonose":1fr0007j said:


> Well worth the extra cash you spent and thanks for taking the time to photograph the project, only wish I had the space to do similar an move in :lol: Any electrics fitted?



No electrics, but I could easily run an extension cable up the garden. The main aim was to clear the double garage of mowers, barbecues, etc so that I can use it as my workshop without having to limit work to fine weather when i can work on the drive! Oh - and of course to do it all in a way that pleases "the client"! 



lurker":1fr0007j said:


> Where did you get the shingles from???



Southern Timber at Ipplepen, Newton Abbot, Devon. They are about 15 miles from where I live, and found them very helpful. The project took 7 bundles at £50 per bundle.



kingcod":1fr0007j said:


> Thats a lovely job. So if you did the whole thing again I guess you would have erected the gable ends first then clad them with OSB and shiplap?



I think I may have clad the gables in OSB before erecting them because the shape would have been more awkward to clad with the walls erected, but I would have left the shiplap until the walls were up. You wouldn't believe how heavy those completed gables were to move between SWMBO and myself. Basically, we couldn't lift them ( and SWMBO doesn't usually take prisoners) so used some 3 x 2s as rails and slid them down the garden. Cladding the rectangular front and back walls in situ worked well tho'.



kingcod":1fr0007j said:


> another question - with six blocks to support you have been happy with no sag along the gable end line? did a dampproof membrane go anywhere near the base frame or blocks?



The unsupported spread under the gable is only 6' 6", (8ft joists resting on 2 x 9" block piers. The 6" x 2" joists are pretty rigid and the same dimensions as support our bedroom floors with a greater spread. In addition, there is the 3" x2" frame to the gable, with a cladding of 11mm OSB to hold it rigid. I don't think there is any danger of sag. 

The joists sit on 8" DPC which is sandwiched between the block piers and the 6 x2 beam along the front and back on which the joists sit. There is no DPC to stop moisture rising up the piers - this is only a shed! 

Other things that I'd maybe do differently is that I would purpose build the trusses to take sprockets which would reduce the height of the roof and the front and rear walls by about 3" without reducing the headroom inside. In this case, the trusses were already built when I spotted the idea on another thread. Thanks to Mike Garnham for his help in that area. Also I think I'd have more "kick" in the roof. I've used 10 degrees here, but it's barely noticeable so maybe increase it to 15 degrees? Also the "brace and Ledge" stable doors were quite time consuming to make and probably only saved about £30 on what they would have cost to buy. The window was £29 from Wickes as an "end of line" so the opening was adjusted to fit the window rather than the other way round.


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## lurker (27 Aug 2009)

Chrisp":jb7ee705 said:


> Wizer do you have a WIP of your creation?.....
> Chris.



Yeah! and a finished photo - quick, before we have some light gales :twisted: :lol:


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## Blister (27 Aug 2009)

N I C E 8)


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## wizer (27 Aug 2009)

Chrisp":3gyz7v87 said:


> Roger, very nice, that would take my garden at the mo, Wizer do you have a WIP of your creation?.....
> Chris.



No fear. It took months and is barely water tight 

I might put a pic on later.


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## mahking51 (29 Aug 2009)

Hi Roger,
Great build, really nice looking shed.
Any chance of a couple of pics showing the inside and outside of the stable doors in more detail please?
Cheers,
Martin


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## Fergus (29 Aug 2009)

I really like that -well done 8)


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## OPJ (29 Aug 2009)

That's a beautiful shed, Roger, very nicely done.


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## RogerM (30 Aug 2009)

mahking51":22xr62sm said:


> .......
> Any chance of a couple of pics showing the inside and outside of the stable doors in more detail please?
> Cheers,
> Martin



Your wish etc! 







Yes - I know the cross bracing is going in the wrong direction on the bottom door, but I didn't realise until it was too late, and having secretly nailed the t&g to the frame and cross brace I didn't feel inclined to muck it up further. I don't think it's going to move, and if it does, I'll add a cross brace in the other direction and half lap it with the existing one in the centre.


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## mahking51 (30 Aug 2009)

Roger,
Perfect, many thanks indeed.
Martin


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## BradNaylor (31 Aug 2009)

I love the shed, Roger. It puts me in mind of the one JonnyD built earlier this year






Between the two of you you've given me some great inspration for a shed project for next year!

Cheers
Brad


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## Mr Ed (31 Aug 2009)

Roger

Looks excellent. Mind you, you've caused me some trouble as my wife was walking past as I looked at the thread...another one on the list.

Cheers, Ed


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## Graham Orm (9 Jun 2013)

Lovely job. Love the roof.


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## Roughcut (9 Jun 2013)

If Carlsberg made SHEDS!................. it would be a New England Style saltbox roof shed just like this one. :lol:


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## cutter12 (7 Feb 2019)

Hi roger. I know its an old thread but have you any pics of the window installation detail? 

Great shed BTW


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## RogerM (7 Feb 2019)

Thanx. I can take some piccies tomorrow. Any particular detail you need?


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## cutter12 (8 Feb 2019)

HI Roger, I am just curious as to how the windows were fitted to achieve water tightness where they butt up against the cladding. I am planning on building a a greenhouse/shed (not going to be as pro as yours  ) and am trying to gather as much insight as possible. My construction will differ as the shiplap will by fixed directly to the studs as I am not sheathing it with board first.


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## RogerM (8 Feb 2019)

I treated it in exactly the same way as the door. In my case, the window was screwed to the frame with the front flush with the cladding. I then attached a piece of DPC down each side, which overlaps the window frame, and another piece over the window which overlaps the DPC down the sides. This was tacked in place with a staple gun and then sealed down the side next to the window with some sealant. No need to bother with sealant above the window. The timber that frames the window externally is narrower than the DPC (150mm from memory over a 200mmDPC) and then the shiplap just butts up to it.






In your case, as there is no OSB sheathing, the window frame would be flush with the internal frame and you might want to take the shiplap right up to the edge of the DPC where it overlaps the window, and then attach the external frame over the top of the shiplap. You could always run a narrow batten/bead around end of the shiplap to cover the end grain. HTH


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## autotrans (8 Feb 2019)

lovely job!


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## cutter12 (11 Feb 2019)

HI Roger. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Very helpful, it makes a lot of sense.


Thanks again


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