Solar Storage Shed

Jonathan and Rachel Logan had a very old, very rickety metal shed in the backyard of their Atlanta, Georgia home. Ron paid a visit to help the Logans replace the old shed with a new solar garden shed. Click Here For a list of what you will need in order to complete this project.

1. Clear out and take down old shed Clear out and remove the existing structure. If the old structure is badly rusted, it is easier to cut it apart and dismantle it using a reciprocating saw rather than trying to remove all of the screws. 2. Unpack and organize kit The new shed, manufactured by Handy Home Products, comes in a kit complete with instructions and all the needed materials. It is a good idea to carefully unpack, organize and familiarize yourself with all the parts of the shed before beginning assembly.

3. Determine orientation If you are building a solar shed, with one side of the roof consisting of glass panels, you generally will want the windows facing south to provide maximum exposure to the sun. However, aesthetics may also be taken into consideration. You may prefer to view the glass panels from the house and choose to have them face an alternate direction. 4. Assemble walls The first step is to build the four walls. Begin by laying the studs out on the concrete slab and spacing them at sixteen-inch intervals. After they are laid out properly, attach these studs to the top and bottom plates with nails.

Once all of the pieces are lined up, create a pencil mark from the center of each stud up, across, and down the other side. This will help you realign the studs if they shift during nailing. There is a lot of nailing in this project so Ron provides some helpful information about nail guns. 5. Exterior wall sheathing Once all the wall sections are assembled (or framed), cover each wall section with exterior wall sheathing, attaching it in place with rust-resistant nails. Repeat the process for each wall section.

6. Sill plates The next step is to cut strips of a special type of 2 X 4, called a sill plate. This is pressure treated lumber that goes around the bottom edge of the building. The whole structure actually sits on the sill plate, which is bolted into the concrete. After measuring each piece to the proper length, cut the sill plates using a power miter saw. 7. Drill into concrete Use a special carbide-tipped masonry drill bit with a hammer drill to bore through both the wood and masonry. Drill through the wood until the bit marks the position in the concrete. When you see concrete dust, you've hit the concrete.

Once you've drilled through the sill plates and made the starter marks on the concrete, remove the boards and drill each hole with a carbide-tipped masonry drill bit. A piece of masking tape on the bit serves as a gauge to ensure that the hole is drilled to the proper depth. Next, drive expanding anchor bolts into each hole.

8. Attach sill plates Align the holes in the sill plates with the bolts and then tap the sills in place. Use nuts and washers to secure the bolts in position. Once the sill plates are installed, cut off the tops of the anchor bolts so that they won't protrude through the bottom plate of the wall. 9. Bore holes in bottom plates Bore shallow holes on the underside of the bottom plates of the walls to allow clearance for the nuts. To do this, first mark the location of each bolt on the side of the bottom wall plate.

Next, measure the backset, which is the distance from the edge of the sill plate board to the center of the bolt. Transfer this measurement to the bottom of the wall plate and mark it.

Drill a shallow hole at each of the marks and then set the first wall in place.

10. Put up walls Use levels to make sure the wall is plumb (perfectly vertical), then install a temporary brace to secure the wall in that position. Use a nail gun to secure the wall plate and the sill plate together.

On the exterior side of the wall, nail through the sheathing and into the side of the sill plate to further secure the wall. Install the remaining three walls using the same installation method.

11. Roof trusses To install the first of four roof trusses, attach them with rustproof galvanized screws. The kit comes with spacers that are designed to drop in between each of the trusses. The spacers eliminate any guesswork and insure that the trusses end up in precisely the right locations.

Next, install the stringer, which sits on pre-cut notches on the rafters. The stringer forms the top of the framed opening for the windowpanes that will be installed later. It also serves as a way to tie the rafters together.

12. Gables and roof sheathing Nail the rear and front gables into position before attaching the roof sheathing. The shed kit comes with several pieces of decorative trim and fascia boards that cover the ends of the roof trusses.

The first step in the roofing process is to install a drip cap designed to prevent water from seeping into the edge of the roof sheathing.

13. Roofing paper Begin at the bottom and then overlap each new piece of paper all the way up to the peak. As the water rolls down the paper, it will go from one piece of roofing paper to the next and not go up underneath the one below it. The roofing paper, also called felt, is attached in place with staples.