Without a doubt our tool shed brings more visitors to our humble little blog than any other project we’ve done.
About 500 – 600 visitors a day, seriously.
…..and then each one of them asks where we bought it without bothering to read the post. (insert eye roll)
Skymall Magazine, 10 years ago… Sorry, they don’t make them anymore.
Well, our sad little shed has seen better days. (same with that potting bench).
It’s cute,
…but not very functional.
In fact, it’s too short to fit standard garden tools in.
I’d always planned on building a bigger, better shed; just haven’t had the time.
When I heard that I wouldn’t be working for the month of July, I knew exactly what project I would tackle next.
Started with a new base – I reused the concrete pavers from the path as the floor; I plan on replacing all the small ones with 24 inch squares – I just set them inside a frame made of preasure-treated 2X4s.
Like so…
It should be noted here that my construction skills are akin to a 10-year-old building a tree house; not a lot of premeasuring, or planning of any kind really, I just start screwing boards together.
(Always use screws for projects like this. They make it easier to go backwards.)
I knew that the whole structure needed to be tall enough to accommodate tools, so I started the back wall at seven feet.
Now it will easily hold…. a standard garden rake.
I’ve been replacing the aged boards on the cedar fence for the past few weeks and had a stockpile of the old stained cedar that I just couldn’t bare to toss.
Jamie used a power sander to sand the stain off of most of them…
And what was underneath was just too beautiful to not use somewhere.
So I used them to line the inside of my shed.
Or the back wall, anyway.
Then I built the 2X4 frames for the sides…
…and added a roof support.
Yes, I realize that I’m shaking up the proper order of construction… Most people would build the whole frame first before worrying about the inside walls.
But I got so excited seeing the progress.
Isn’t it just beautiful?
It rained the night after I took this picture….
So I should probably figure out the roof.
We had the whole roof replaced on the house about 2 years ago, it was leaking in several spots, and they left us a couple boxes of shingles.
Easy peasy, I just nailed a couple rows on top of a sheet of plywood.
I do love consistency.
Miss the old tin roof.…. but I LOVE consistency even more.
Then I added new cedar trim to the outside of the shed with rough fencing cedar.
….and stained everything – except the inside – Behr “Russet” semi-transparent stain.
To match the fence of course.
Consistency.
The doors were next. I actually made door frames from some scrap wood we had in the garage.
I filled them with cedar slats just like…. wait a minute.
I missed a step.
Let’s back up a few weeks.
I’ve never been too thrilled with seeing our air conditioner from the deck.
I understand the importance of these machines – especially during a Texas summer – I just don’t want to see it.
And to think, we moved it to this current location. It used to be in the middle of the backyard directly under the master bedroom window. A pretty inconvenient spot since we planned on building a deck stretched across the entire back of the house. And one day French doors from the master bedroom out on to that deck….
But I digress,
Back in June I built a 4 1/2 foot by 6 1/2 foot louvered privacy screen to hide the beast.
I started by setting a cedar post in concrete; something I’ve never done before.
The other side is a 2X4 mounted to the corner of the house.
Of course, at the same height as my new post.
I just ran 1X2 cedar strips across….
… and caped it with a chunky 2X6 cedar plank.
Like so,
Still lets plenty of air flow to the unit…
AND
…keeps me from seeing the ugly thing from the deck.
I louvered my shed doors with the same 1X2 cedar strips.
Like so,
Consistency
They aren’t my best work, and will probably get updated in the next year or so, but they look fine for now.
So let’s not dwell on them for too long and move on to the potting bench.
Here’s the view of the old potting bench looking in from the side gate about 7 years ago…
And the same space about 3 weeks ago…
I know, I know….. it’s pretty embarrassing.
It may just look like a dumping ground, but we honestly do use this space for repotting orchids for the bathrooms and propagating cacti and succelents.
The bench in the top picture is a kitchen island from Ikea. I think y’all know just how long that Swedish plywood/cardboard hybrid thing lasted in the Texas elements…
Maybe a year.
The second potting bench I found in a neighbor’s trash pile; I think it’s the metal frame for a desk. I planned on posting about my find, how we painted it and built the wood top, but I never got around to it. Besides, it was just too short to use as a proper potting bench.
Back to the street it went. (Actually, I gave it to a friend)
Building my own bench, I can customize the height – a standard table is about 30 inches tall, my potting bench will be closer to 40 inches.
I started with a row of 4X4 cedar posts along the wall, with a couple 2X4s connecting them.
It looks like the posts are attached to the house, but they aren’t. The whole piece is freestanding. And since the yard slopes, each post is a slightly different length.
That’s why there’s a level in almost every picture.
So in theory, I could move it. But I’d never want to because on a flat surface this thing would angle drastically down to the right.
In the same vane as the tool shed, there was no real plan, I just kinda kept building it…
…mostly out of scrap lumber we had in the garage, staining each piece as I went.
For the lower shelves I used pressure-treated 2X2s.
They’re strong enough to hold heavy pots, and also won’t rot in the elements.
Plus, they pair up pretty nicely with the louvered doors I made for the shed.
See?
Consistency
Now, let’s see what all this looks like with a bunch of crap piled on it.
Such an improvement.
Wanna see the organizational perfection happening inside the tool shed?
I know you do.
BA-BAM!
Isn’t it just yard tool heaven?
A place for everything, and everything in its place.
Way, more, much better than what we had before.
On to the next project.
THE CAVENDER DIARY 
Impressive!
Thanks Janet!!!! I’ve been so anxious to show it off!
You are hilarious….but your design and work is GREAT! I’m envious. (Come on up to Plano and you can make one for me). I just love what you’ve done.
Aww thanks Rose. As soon as I’m finished with this house….. I’ll start on yours. 🙂
You are frikkin’ amazing! Looks fabulous!!
Catherine Torstenson
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Awww shucks Catherine, thank you. And I think you’re firkkin’ amazing too!
Love it all!! The continuity of the three along with the fence…perfect! Well done.
Thank you. That was my evil plan all along… to make everything flow nicely. Continuity!
Those louvered doors are the best, thanks for your continuing inspiration!
Thanks Ronny. The doors were a headache, and they still don’t swing quite right (I’m too much of a perfectionist sometimes) But they do look awesome!!! And that’s what matters most to me. Glad I can inspire you.
Absolutely amazing! I love this post. Yes, I actually read every word and examine every picture. I wish I could build. You lie, you do have talent! What do you have on the path under the pavers? It doesn’t look like gravel. Is it easy on the feet? I never seem to have on shoes, lol.
Thanks Tracie, I’m obviously pretty proud of this one. The whole side of the house is pea gravel. There wasn’t much grass in the beginning and pea gravel was a natural answer. It is soft enough to walk on, I rarely wear shoes on summer evenings too, but it sticks to the bottoms of my feet. That’s what the concrete pavers are for…
Wow! Yard Goals! I absolutely love the design detail of the slatted fence/doors. Thank you for your continuing inspiration!
Beautiful and simple “ consistent”
design!:). Isn’t it wonderful to have such a beautiful work space!
Wow, that is gorgeous. You did good!
It looks so organized and tidy. I am wondering why it is that have all this stuff spread out in a 30’X60’ barn? Then I have to look for it all. 😀. Looks like it is time for me to get better organized. Sometimes you can have too much space!
It looks fabulous, great job!!!
Let’s back up to the doors…how did you hinge them? Its perfection as always, but would love to know how you did the doors. Much love to you both!
Hi Amy! Glad you like it. I just used the hinges off the old shed. Gave them a shot of black spray paint….. even used the same screws. The doors were a headache to build. The slats distorted them and made them stretch and sag. They don’t offer much protection from the rain either. They look great And, of course… the look is always the most Important part to me.
I LOVE it! As with everything you do, FANTASTIC job! 🙂
Awww shucks, thank you.
The whole area looks awesome. Great job! Do you have written instructions that someone (me) could hand a builder to replicate?
Sadly, no. I just made it up on the spot. If I can do this….. I’m sure an experienced carpenter could figure it out from just a photo or two.
This thing is amazing. Great job! Do you have written instructions that someone (me) could hand a builder to replicate?
Sorry, but I don’t. I just made it up as I went along. Pretty sure a capable carpenter could just copy my build though. Show him a picture or 2.
That is awesome 😊
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Just found your post and it’s exactly what I was looking for. Brilliant build ! Loved the part about referring to your skill level to that of a 10 year old….NOT ! Thank you for posting, I will be using this as my basis to build a garden shed.
Awww thanks Michael. I promise you that I’ve had no formal training. Decades of practice building with Lego though.
Very nice! I may use some of your ideas. No matter what, I am inspired! My area definitely needs help!
Please do. I’m glad to inspire.
Absolutely beautiful
are you kidding me? This is incredible!! By far the most wonderful perfectlest potting shed and cover combo. Just what we could use at our home. How wonderful your project turned out!!!
I love your ideas but I don’t understand what is under the big shed you said you made a frame but what are the concrete slabs sitting on? Because I see bigger blocks holding up the edge! Thanks
It’s looks great , I need to build one for my water softener and filter system, can I have a list of materials for me to build it, good job
I hope when I do my shed it can compare to this awesome job you did. Great job!
Love this and I want to recreate…do you have a materials list? Cut List? It would greatly help for me!! Thank you for sharing!!
Love this post! I know you don’t have step by step instructions and I saw that you said you have pea gravel under the pavers, but would you mind giving a bit more explanation so I can replicate the foundation? Thank you so much, your work is stunning.
More like experienced carpentry than a 10 year old working on his tree house, unless it was 10 year old Bob Villa. 🤣
I am so impressed! Considering you did this a little willy-nilly, it looks so sophisticated! Obviously, you are very skilled. The way you describe the project makes me feel like I could too, and this is almost exactly what I am looking for- not too big, but a place to work in the shade.
Thank you for taking the time to show your steps, and I especially appreciate the unexpected design lesson of consistency.
All the Best!