The Building of a Shed

It's been a long time a comin'! My husband dismantled his shed quite some time ago, with every intention of constructing a replacement in short time.  But, life got in the way, as it often does, and our priorities put a replacement structure at the bottom of our list.

But don't worry about these guys

We couldn't very well leave them homeless, out in the cold, could we? No.....Marty generously offered them a spot in the basement where they seemed to be quite content,  but I was ready for them to move out.  

So, we discussed the various options available, and decided on something rather unique:  a shed that could be built by us, but delivered in boxes to our home.  So, I made the order, and and we waited for delivery, which took about 3 weeks.

In the meantime, I applied for the building permit and Marty set about taking down the garden, and building a platform to support the structure.  It became obvious last summer that this site was no longer working well for produce due to the extended shade from the tall trees.  So, since this spot was already framed and level, it was perfect!  

The base was finished just before our son and his family came for a weekend visit.  Maddie enjoyed herself by pretending that the platform was a stage while she performed some dance moves  to entertain us. 

Meanwhile,  Jim, Finn and Marty got busy opening the boxes and sorting through what seemed to be about a thousand pieces.

They laid the pieces out on the cardboard and labeled them.

How clever was that?

Finn helped build the trusses.

and worked on the gable with PapPap G.

They managed to get all of the pieces put together, but we didn't want to spend the entire weekend working on a shed when there were babies to play with!

Could you blame us?

It took a couple more weeks before an opportunity arose where #1: we were home on the weekend, and #2: it wasn't pouring.  That was just this past Saturday.  The day was in the mid-50s and drizzly, but that was certainly better than the 92 degrees it had been just a day earlier!

The instructions stated that it would take 3 people 6 hours to put the house together.  Well....there were only two of us, but we were up for the challenge!

The base was ready.

We carried all of the side pieces down from the garage.

And we started constructing.  The building is kind of like a large Little Tykes creation.  The panels are sturdy but not too heavy. Our fist set of panels took us three different attempts to get them placed correctly.  It took awhile for me to realize that the company's idea of "front right" and "front left" were not what we had understood it to be.  I would have thought that the windows were in the front, but apparently the people who designed this did not.

Once we got past that hurdle, the walls were becoming relatively easy to install.

Then it was time for gables and trusses.

And, finally, the roof. Which actually did take quite awhile, and there aren't many photos since I was actively involved in helping with construction. 

And, here you see the finished product.

We were quite pleased with the end result.  It did take us longer than 6 hours to complete the project, but it was done.  Apparently two engineers can do the job of three people, because we didn't have any issues where we felt the need to beg a neighbor for help. 

Once finished, Marty began moving all of those "shed" items out of the garage and the basement.  And, if you peer through the window...

I'm pretty sure that you can see a smile on that King's face!

There is definitely one on mine!!