Free 6x4ft shed plans & build guide - Wood Create (2024)

If you’re thinking of building your own shed then you’ve arrived in the right place. Below I’m going to show you step-by-step how to build this 6x4ft shed. I’ve included a list of materials and detailed 3D plans to help you build your own DIY shed. If you have some basic DIY experience and a few tools you should be able to easily achieve this build within a couple of days without any help. These free shed plans will help you achieve the perfect garden building for a fraction of the cost of a pre-fabricated building.

A shed of this size is perfect as bike storage or to house your garden tools. You can fit about 4 -5 bikes in a shed like this.

Contents

Is a DIY shed cheaper than buying a flat pack shed?

Yes it is and the reason for this is that you are saving money on the labour. When you’ve purchased all the materials, the cost tends to come in at about 20 to 40% cheaper than buying a flat pack or pre-fabricated shed. And the best thing is, a DIY shed is much stronger and durable due to the materials used. Shed manufactures almost always use the cheapest and thinnest materials possible to save on cost.

How to build a 6ft x 4ft shed from scratch

Let’s start the process with a list of materials you are going to need. The majority of this build is going to be constructed from 50x25mm batten timber, OSB boards and cladding. Some ironmongery will be needed to fit the doors and secure them.

Here are some more options for cladding if you fancy doing this differently

• Spruce shiplap cladding
• 21mm loglap cladding

Download the full printable PDF shed plans here:

Finding a suitable location for your DIY shed

You will need a suitable hard, level surface to place your shed on. This could be on a wooden deck, a patio, dedicated concrete platform or a plastic grid with aggregate stones. The final location and sub base for your shed will be up to you but ensure it is level so that the shed construction is smooth and straight. Uneven surfaces will cause the walls and roof to line up poorly.

Let’s get into the detail of the 6x4ft shed build.

Building the 6x4ft DIY shed base

To start with we are going to build the shed base (or floor). This will lay out the template for the rest of the shed and will ensure water cannot rise and penetrate the building. The base measurements will be 1825mm x 1200mm. Using the 18mm OSB board, cut this to size using a circular saw and then cut 7 lengths of batten timber for the bearers.

Add the OSB board on top and secure in place using 5 screws per bearer.

This completes the shed base

Building the 6x4ft DIY shed walls

Building the walls is completed using the same 50x25mm batten. A frame is first completed and then cladding is added afterwards. All parts should be joined using the 50mm screws. This is what we are aiming for.

The front walls are a little taller than the rear and have an opening for a double door to be added. The side walls slope down to the rear which is known as a pent roof. Two additional roof support beams are added to prevent drooping in the middle.

Here are the front and rear walls.

The front walls are 1850mm tall and the rear wall is 1750mm tall.

Here are the side walls.

When measuring and placing the walls on the base they should line up with the edge. When the cladding is added it will overlap the walls and base to provide a watertight seal.

This completes the shed walls and roof supports.

Fitting the shed cladding

The cladding can be screwed into place of nailed. I prefer screws with small heads as they can easily be removed if required and don’t look too obvious. Starting from the top of the rear wall add the cladding moving downwards until you have covered the overlap between the wall frame and the base.

Then move onto the sides. The top piece on the sides will need to be cut using a jigsaw.

Moving onto the front cladding you will need to follow the pattern on the sides. The top and bottom piece will need to be cut to fit around the door opening. It’s important to leave a 10mm space at the top and bottom to allow for the door to close onto a ‘stopper’.

Here is a detailed shot of the 10mm gap I mentioned above.

As you can see the cladding lines up with the side of the frame but is 10mm shorter at the top. This 10mm gap should also be on the bottom.

This completes the cladding

6x4ft shed roof build

The roof construction is very simple but we need to use two pieces of the 11mm OSB board as one piece isn’t large enough. Firstly build a frame using the timber batten and screw the OSB boards to the frame. The roof will overlap the shed walls and be secured onto the frame with 40mm screws.

As you can see the roof is just large enough with the frame to fit over the shed wall frame.

Once the roof has been secured to the frame it’s time to add some shed felt to protect the wood from the weather.

Start by rolling out the felt along the rear (lower) edge of the roof, and then overlap another piece along the top edge. The felt should be cut using a sharp knife and secured to the side of the roof frame. Aim to have about 50mm overlap. Secure the felt in place using 20mm tacks.

The final part of the roof is to add facia boards. This will hide the untidy looking felt. These can be cut to size and secured in place using 40mm screws.

The 6x4ft shed doors

This part is simple enough. You will need to make two equally sized doors to fit in the gap. The doors should be smaller than the actual gap by about 5mm around all edges. This will ensure a smooth opening and closing action and allow for a little expansion and contraction in the wood during the seasons.

The door frame will be made from the same 50x205mm batten and have 45 degree angled pieces to strengthen them. The cladding will overlap the door frames by 10mm so that they sit nicely in the gap and have that stopping point I mentioned previously.

Here is a more detailed image of the overlap.

Hinges will need to be added to the side of the doors which will then be fixed to the side of the frame. Precision is key here to a smooth opening and closing door.

You can then add a button bolt to the inside of one door to secure it closed. A hasp and staple is then secured to the front of the door which will allow a padlock to secure your shed and items.

This completes the shed build.

Painting or staining your wooden shed

It’s vitally important to protect your shed from rain and other kinds of harsh weather conditions. You’ll want your garden building to last as long as possible. We used a Ronseal shed paint to protect ours but there are many suitable products for this job.

You should be left with something that resembles this.

What tools do I need to build my own shed?

Having the right tools for this job will make it much easier. Here is a list of tools I like and have used for many of my constructions.

Shed plans download

The free shed plans above will get you most of the way but I have drawn up some detailed plans of this build which include a full materials list, cut lists and instructions of how to build this shed. I’ve spent a lot of time pulling these together so I’m asking for a little something in return. I don’t want make huge profits from these plans but I would like to be compensated for my time so I thought £2.99 was a reasonable asking price. (What do you think? Let me know in the comments section below.)

Here’s a sneak preview of the full plans.

Not keen on a DIY shed?

If you’re not keen or confident to take this on on yourself you can check out some of the best small sheds on the market today with my in-depth guide and review here:

Get creative with your DIY shed

You don’t have to use the exact same materials as I have demonstrated in this build. The frame should remain the same but you can swap out the cladding for something a little more exciting. You could opt for a log lap cladding like the one I used on my large shed build or you could select a nice shiplap cladding like this one on my garden office. You could also go a little further and select a red cedar cladding for a special finish.

You can also change the dimensions of this build to suit your needs. Just be careful not to go too large with this batten timber frame. Stick within 8x6ft. If you want to go larger then you will need to think about a larger timber to support the walls and roof.

Final word

I hope you have found these free shed plans useful. They give you the basic framework to be able to build your own shed from scratch. If you aren’t confident in the measurements and steps required to complete this build by yourself then give the full instructions a try. This also helps support me produce more of these guides.

You can save money by taking on this build yourself and the quality of the build will be much higher than if you were to buy a flat pack shed from somewhere like GBD. You can also save more money on your build by using a Cashback app like this one that I use on all my purchases. In total, I’ve saved about £2000 on all my spending in the last 3 years.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your build.

Did you like these free shed plans? Let me know in the comments section below. Likewise if you need help with your build please leave a comment and I’ll do my best to respond.

Why not try one of these realted posts:

• How to build a shed from scratch on a budget
• How to build a garden office from scratch – on a budget
• BillyOh Kent Log Cabin review and step by step build guide
• How to insulate your BillyOh garden office log cabin
• How to build a veranda: Step by step with pictures

Related