Saturday, December 19, 2009

Simple Carport Plans - How Anyone Can Build Their Own Carport

What if I told you that a short time ago I couldn't build a simple jewelry box but now I am building my own carport using simple carport plans. Yes, even a guy like me with no formal training as a craftsman is doing it...so why not you!

My wife and I have a fairly small house and over the years we have accumulated a fair amount of stuff that seems to eventually find it's way to the garage. This of course means that there is no room for the one thing the garage is for...MY CAR! We also all know what happens when your car sits outside under that big blue sky...no not the rain and snow(well those as well)...but our cute little flying friends, the birds, and when nature calls...well lets just say my car seems to be their favorite "drop point"...

Anyway, I digress...So a while back I decided to find some plans to design a carport to protect my precious car from falling objects from the sky. I found the perfect plans and although it seems simple it is actually quite complex and also I wanted to be sure it met with all the current local building codes.

The carport plans I used took me step by step through the whole process and showed me the right material I needed and how much of it I needed.

Carports need to be constructed to withstand heavy winds and since they have no walls, just the roof it needs to be designed in a way to keep it firmly in place, or it may just take off like in the Wizard of Oz if where you live is prone to high winds or storms.

Also if you live in an area that has a lot of snow the roof could just collapse under the weight of thousands of pounds of snow. This is why it is very wise to get a good set of plans for your carport, because even though that on the surface it seems like a simple project...it's not.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Small Shed Plans - Do Not Start Building That Small Shed Without Plans

Do you not have enough storage space? If you are like most of us the answer is NO! Yes our home comes with closets cabinets and attics, but usually they are packed solid anyway. Besides you can't store your lawn mowers, wheel barrows or power tools in those spaces. You need to get yourself small shed plans and build your own small shed.

If your lucky you might have a garage but the best possible option is to build your own small shed in your backyard. It does not have to be a huge structure either. Small shed plans are perfect for those that do not have a ton of stuff to store and might be restricted by a small lot of land. It is very easy and affordable to build a this structure and will help organize all your garden tools and keep them safe and dry.

A good set of plans will show you step by step how to build a small shed:

Step A: Build the Foundation and Floor Frame.
Step B: Frame the Walls
Step C: Frame the Roof.
Step D: Build the Gable Overhangs.
Step E: Install the Fascia, Sheathing and Roofing.
Step F: Install the Soffits and Sliding.
Step G: Build and Install the Doors.
Step H: Build and Install the Windows and Trim.

And if you care to you can even build a ramp. So, if your wife is all over you about the garage being cluttered, or the car parts all over the back yard then maybe it's time to look into this practical structure. You can actually build one over the course of a few weekends if you have a good set of plans, so look into this as your next project, you'll be glad you did.

Firewood Storage Shed Plans - You Can Build Your Own Firewood Storage Shed

A few years back my wife and I bought our first house, until then it had been apartment living for us. Back then the thought of firewood storage shed plans never entered my mind.

However, now that I was a homeowner a lot of extra responsibilities came along with the title. It is super expensive these days to hire craftsmen to do anything for you, so I was forced to learn how to build my own projects and that is where I learned about plans.


Since I have a fireplace for the first time and it's really cool, I never thought much about where I would get the wood to burn or where I would store it, so for the first year our beautiful fireplace went unused.

One night we were having dinner with the neighbors and he offered me a set of firewood storage shed plans and also me told me where I could get the wood.

Getting the wood was the easy part. I actually got mine from the back of a truck, but you can also get wood from ads in the newspaper or your towns trading post. I just wasn't sure how capable I was at building the shed, so convincing me that I needed to build some kind of storage shed for the wood was much harder to do and I actually refused to do it that first year and ended up with wet rotting wood.

I finally broke down and built a little shelter for my wood. I found the plans my neighbor had given me and took them to the hardware store to get a quote for the materials. I them drove over o the local lumber yard and they beat the price by more than 10%.

The shed consisted of three walls and a roof and the floor was actually cinder blocks over some plastic covering to keep the moisture out. As I stacked the wood I placed mouse poison deep inside so dogs or other wild life could not get to it.

I tried stacking the wood as loosely as possible to make sure there was good airflow. I got my wood towards the end of winter and put it in the shed to season up a bit in time for the following winter.

I recommend that if you have a fireplace, you build yourself a firewood storage shed and that you get a good set of plans to build it. I have learned that having a good set of plans for any wood working project will save you time and money.

Make sure you price shop, take your plans to a few lumber yards and hardware stores for quotes, this way you can save a lot of money. Your firewood will be dry and clean and will burn easily. There is just nothing better than a warm crackling fire on a cold winter night.