How to Build a Woodshed
(Page 7 of 8)
August/September 1995
By John Vivian
Where siding extends above the angled rafters at each end, snap a chalk line and trim even with the rafter line … unless you plan to fasten shingles to strapping or furring strips. If so, fasten strips before you attach siding (see “Roofing” below). Then, trim siding even with upper edge of strips — so shingles fastened atop them will come to the edge at sides and back.
Fasten a length of 1-inch lumber trimmed as needed to cover the front and rear faces of the roof beams. Nail on with two siding nails per beam-end.
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Roofing
You can nail on plywood and cover it with asphalt shingles or attach a tin roof or a translucent roof of corrugated fiberglass, though wood shingles look best. Cheapest and easiest is to figure out how much shingle you want to expose or “leave to weather;” then nail on furring strips to act as nailers for each row. A bundle of standard 16-inch shingles, with 5 inches left to weather, will cover 25 square feet of roof. The shed has something a bit over 50 square feet of area. Get two bundles and plan to leave 6 inches to weather. Nail 1-inch-by-3-inch furring strips across the rafters at peak and eaves, and every 6 inches in between. For best waterproofing, nail a sheet of thick plastic or roofing felt (a more genteel name for “tarpaper”) over the furring.
Shingles snap easily. Lay two overlapping courses of shingles at the front, with ends of shingles jutting out an inch beyond the nailer below. Then fasten shingles in odd widths with sides just touching, and so each upper layer covers all seams in the layer below. Even when leaving 4 inches of 16-inch shingles to weather, I like to bed them in a bead of roofing cement laid from a caulking gun some seven inches above the edge — so it will be covered by a topping course of shingles if some oozes out. And, with the glue, I prefer to fasten with an electric stapler and the longest staples I can get into the furring — 2 staples per shingle. Without glue, use 7/8-inch galvanized roofing nails. Leave 1/2 inch of shingle extending beyond each side. Use a sharp utility knife to trim edges even.
Use a saw to trim shingle ends even along the roofpeak as you finish each shed. Cap the roof with an 8-foot length of 8-inch-wide roofing felt or aluminum sheathing bent over the peak and held on by a pair of 1-inch-by-4-inch-by-8-foot boards — with one overlapping the end of the other to form a sharp edge along the roof line.
Trim
Roof’s on and you can finish off the shed as you wish. Lengths of 1-inch-by-3-inch or -4-inch lumber under the eaves will dress it up. Thin strips along the eaves will seem to support the edges of the shingles (but be sure to leave enough shingle jutting beyond the edges). Odd leftover boards can go to trim seams inside the shed. If you want an old-style look, cover the seams between vertical-board siding with 1-inch-by-2-inch wood strip “battens.”
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