DIY Firewood Shed

Hey everyone! In this I'm going to go over how I built a new firewood shed to replace the old, dilapidated, and only ever half assembled one that was here when I purchased the house. It stood, I guess...but it was not much to look at, and it was rotting because of mismatched wood and hardware. We are going to build it much stronger and much nicer looking, as well as use the correct wood and hardware. It's actually a pretty easy built made with just a couple tools and some basic skills and tips. If you need to adjust the size to fit your needs it should be pretty easy as I have kept the basic sizing to equal foot measurements. I hope you find it do-able and try it!

First thing is to empty the old one if you have it. Also, a couple things to note: I am using brown pressure treated pine wood for this build and as such you need to use ACQ (pressure treated) rated screws so the wood doesn't rust them to failure. If you are using cedar wood (which is naturally rot resistant, but 3x the price in my area) then you can use the regular gold deck screws. If you can buy them in bulk, go for it. I had to buy them in boxes of 100, so I listed that.

Some of these are affiliate links to products I use and if you purchase them I make a small commission, and that helps support me and my channel to make future content, so thanks!

All wood is pressure treated or cedar to prevent rot.

• 4 - 2x4x12
• 5 - 2x6x10
• 1 - 2x6x8
• 17 - 5/4x6x8 deck boards
• 9 - 1x6x5 fence boards
• 1 box of 2" screws
• 1 box of 2.5" screws
• 1 box of 3" screws
• Outdoor rated glue (optional)
• Impact or drill and bit
• Circular saw (or whatever saw you prefer)
• Square
• Pencil
• Tape Measure
• 1 - 4x4x8 or 4 deck blocks (optional)
• 1 can of end grain preservative

The first thing we will do is make the corners so we can let them dry. So for these, I bought some 12' 2x4 and had the store cut them in half for me giving me 8 pieces that are 6' long. This made them easier to transfer home, was cheaper than buying a bunch of 8' boards, and I didn't waste as much. Take 2 boards and lay them side by side, add a big thick line of glue along the one edge where the 2 boards will touch. We are going to make a 'L' shape with them, so stand the board with glue on it up and press the 2 together. Using some 3" screws place one about 2" from the top corner and about 3/4" up from the bottom, this will put the screw in the middle of the other board while stopping the end from splitting. Then continue down the length of them holding them down and flat, add screws every foot or so, when you get to the other end keep it about 2" from the edge again. Then flip it over, wipe any excess glue away with your finger or a towel. Build the other 3 and set the legs aside to dry. If you have it and want to prevent rot for a very long time, and some cut end grain wood preservative to all of your cuts with a bush and let dry. This will help seal the ends and prevent them from soaking up water, just like pressure treating. Do this for all cut ends throughout the project. So far so good.

Alrighty, now we are going to build a simple box frame. Take the 2x6x10 and mark it at 7', cut it to length, then with the remaining piece mark it to 21" and cut it. If you are using a circular saw like I am use the square as a saw guide, line up your mark with the kerf mark on the saw and press it against the square for a straight line. Repeat these steps for another one of the 2x6x10's. Now place the short board inside of the long one making a 'L' shape, and screw them together using your 3" screws. You always want to use a screw that is twice the length (or a little more is ok) of what you are going through, in this case the board is 1.5" thick so a 3" screw is what we use. Make sure to use the correct amount, an easy way to know how many is take the size of the board and divide by 2. So this 6" tall board gets 3 screws in the end, a 2x4 will get 2, a 2x8 will get 4. Then using the other board you cut up make a identical 'L' shape. Then, screw them together making a big square box. From there take your 2x6x8 and cut it to 81", place it inside of the box. Find center on the 2 short sides and install the center of this joist in line with your mark, flush it up, then add your screws to each end.

Now, if you are building this on a flat concrete floor or something you can ignore this message. I am not so in order to make sure my legs are flush with the bottom of the floor joists I made sure to slide my sawhorses out to the edges of my frame so when I place them inside, they will sit on the sawhorses.

Now, with everything flat and level take a leg and on the outside of it add a bunch of glue to the outside corners that will be inside the frame (you can also place these on the outside if you want but I prefer the look of them on the inside). When setting them in I put the seam in the legs to the sides, this is also the widest part of the legs. Then add some 2.5" screws this time (because we don't want them blowing out the front) and screw them in from the backside so that was there are just less visible screws in the front for a cleaner look. When installing the rear screws, install them in somewhat of a diamond/triangle shape. This gives it more strength from leaning and twisting, but is also less likely to split the wood if all the screws are in a straight line. From there go ahead and install the remaining legs the same way.

Now we can cut them to length and angle. Measure up from the bottom and make a mark at 68" (or whatever height you choose) on the front legs, and 60" on the back legs. I then transferred the marks to the sides. Now take a straight edge, either a level or a board and mark a line from point to point. This is the slope in the roof, now we can cut it. Use whatever method you feel comfortable with (circular, jig, hand or reciprocating saw) and be careful to follow the line and avoid any kick.

Now we can add the final leg piece in the rear center. Find center of the base with a tape measure, and then the center of the board and line them up, add one screw. Then use a square and stand it next to the leg, straighten the leg to the square. After that add the rest of your screws to the leg base in a square shape.

This part is easier than you think, I have a trick so we don't have to use a square to determine roof angles. Go ahead and on the bottom of the front leg measure up 8" and make a mark (this is the 8" difference from front to back we already cut into the tops of the legs). Now take a 2x6 for the roof structure and place one corner of it in the corner where the leg and base meet, and the bottom side of the other end to the mark we made. That makes the same slope on the bottom as we have on the top. Mark the backsides of the 2x6 and we now have our roof angles marked and ready to cut. Cut the one side out and use it as a template to mark another and cut it out. Then take them, add a bunch of glue and use a screw to pin it in the top corners. From there move to the backside again and finish adding the rest of the 2.5" screws in the same triangle pattern as the bottom.

Now for the long joists. Cut them to the same 7' length we did the bottom ones. If you do not have anybody to hold one end up for you, you can add a clamp to one side and set the board on that. Then add your glue to each end and pin it again in the top corners, go to the backside and finish adding the rest. Just make sure when you pin the top corners you don't run into a screw from the side. When adding the rear joist we can't just add it flush with the leg top because of the roof slope. An easy way to mount it is to use the clamp trick for the other side again to hold it up, then using a straight edge set on top of the side joist, flush the rear joist up to the straight edge, hold it and pin it, screw from the back again.

This floor is pretty simple for the most part, just start cutting a bunch of the 5/4" deck boards into 2' lengths. From there we are going to mark center of the rear board, I'm using a 1/4" gap between each board so I also made a mark 1/8" away on each side. This is the tricky part, measure twice and cut once. Grab some measurements for depth, width and placement to draw out the design and size of the board where it needs to be, use a square and your pencil to make straight lines and then cut them out with a jigsaw. From there, set them back in place and line them up with the 1/8" marks on either side of center mark. The floor board should be flush with the floor joists front and rear, that will make sure they are square with the frame, you can use a square to double check this. Now go ahead and screw them to the floor joist using 2" screws, staying back from the sides about 1' and 3/4 from the ends. If you are worried about a screw splitting the wood being so close to the end (which will happen), you can use a drill and bit to pre drill, but an easier way is to go full reverse with the drill and screw till it just starts to smoke, then stop and tighten the screw. This will cauterize the hole and prevent it from splitting. From there I kept on installing the rest, making sure the ends were flush, then using a 1/4" thick spike (giant nail) for my gap between each board, moving it as needed.

When you get the the ends where the legs are, place one floor board on another, square and flush them up. Then using the ol' calibrated eyeball line your square up to the edges of the leg and make your marks on your board for all your angles. Then grab your depths with the tape measure, making sure to use your spike to retain the correct measurements. Also, make sure to put your marks on the correct part of the board. It can take some time, but be patient. On the very ends I only needed 1", so I used my circular saw and the measurements on it to the saw kerf and ripped off a strip, then screw it on making sure to burn these in reverse first because such a small board will split.

Now we need to wall it in to hold the wood in place and protect it from the elements, but also we need to leave just enough room between the boards so air can flow through giving us nice dry wood. Start cutting some of the 5/4" deck boards down to about 6.5' long for the back, and then take the cutoffs and cut them to about 17" for the sides.

To install them, start on the back first. Take the same 1/4" spike we used for the floor and place the wood on top of it, then add a 2" screw into the top corner. Move the spike to the other side and pin that top corner as well. Add your spike onto that board in the corner and another board on top, pin it in the corner, repeat for the other side. Then just keep on repeating this process all the way to the top. Once I hit the last board on top I could have ripped it to size if needed, but it actually fit perfectly if I just set it on top without the gap. Being on top I wasn't worried about airflow up there so it was fine. Then follow literally the same process for each of the sides. Once you get to the top on the side, hold the piece in place and run a pencil along the roof joist to mark the exact angle, then on a scrap piece place an 'X' so you know which piece to keep. Once you have it cut you can screw it on, but make sure to burn the back screw in first so you don't blow the corner off.

I thought about a number of ways to put a roof on this...osb and shingles, osb and cedar shingles, metal...but they all were more expensive than I wanted to spend for a firewood shed, and also more difficult. This was the least expensive, easiest option as well as a classic design.

Take the 1x6 fence pickets and set one on the bottom side of the roof. I set it for a 1 1/4" overhang off the back and 1 1/2" off the side. I just pulled these out of thin air, what looked good, and a bit of math. On the other end we can now take a measurement from the end of the board to the end of the shed, transfer that measurement to the front and that will be the center of the roof joist (make sure that the 1x6 falls in the middle of this 2x6 joist). Now take a 2x6 cutoff and using the same roof angle template we used before trace and cut it on this one. It will be a shorter length because of the back wall, but just hold it in place on the side and mark your length by eye, then cut the final size. From there screw it into place using 3" screws down the front and rear (you will only get 2 screws in the back but that is plenty). Move the 1x6 to the opposite side and that will give you the location of the other joist. Now screw on the first 1x6 with 2" screws, into the bottom corner with your overhangs correct, then take the remaining measurement to the end of the roof again plus the 1 1/2" overhang. That will be the size we need to cut for the other roof plank. Take the cut end and add some glue to it and then set it in and screw it down. Repeat the same process working your way up, but alternating side to side with the short and long boards. Take your overhang measurements from the front of the lower board to the back of the board on top of it. Everything falls on half the roof joists, make sure to screw them at an angle to make sure you hit them, but also burn them in backwards so it doesn't split. Once you hit the top and finish, go ahead and add some rear screws to the boards, but making sure to miss the board under it so the screw doesn't bust the wood off.

Then we can set it in place. You can either place a deck block under each corner for support, or lay it on some 4x4 skids. Optionally, and what I did because I didn't want mine raised for where it was going to sit, I cut a 4x4x10 in half, and then on the inside of the floor joists, flush with the ground, I glued and screwed the 4x4. This effectively widened the base footprint of the joists to prevent sinking into the ground.

I hope your project turned out awesome!

Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions and I'll get back to ya!

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CanaDIYan

canadiyanjesse@gmail.com