Modular Shed

I am planning to build a 8x12 foot shed in my back yard. I want to be able to take it apart in sections and relocate it when I move out of the rental where I am now. I have had a real hard time finding designs or online resources that talk about methods or best practices to follow when taking on this sort of project.

I am a software developer with a lot of time on my hands and plan to take my time and do this right so if you can recommend any books or websites that I should read I'd appreciate it.

Preferably it should be strong enough to take 3 feet of snow and be able to be assembled and disassembled with 1-2 people.

Any tools that are must haves for a project of this nature would also be good to know about.

Hello snafu918, welcome to the forum.

Did you mean something like THIS (please click)?

Yes something very close to that design. My current problem is that I don't have a method of getting the pieces of the shed out of the back yard except through a standard 3 foot gate, because of this I have to be able to break the shed down and take it with me when I move a year or more from now.

Wow... 3 foot is indeed not all that much. I will look around if I can find a shed that will fit this...

It doesn't have to fit through the 3 foot gate, but if it cant fit then each piece that doesn't fit must be light enough to be lifted over the fence by 1-3 guys.

I'm still looking for you. I also think 1-3 guys can lift a pretty decent weight together, no?

ya they should be able to lift 2-300 pounds pretty easily but they'll have to lift it over their own heads and walk with it so if it's heaver than that it will need to be shaped so as not to be unmanageable.

Where in the world are you located? You say it must be strong enough to hold a few feet of snow, what would you say is the average snow fall around your area?

I only mention this as i think it could solve your problem:

We produce a wide range of prefab steel buildings of all sizes. They are constructed by bolting light weight steel arches together. It can easily be taken apart and reconstructed on a new site.

Just get a few of your buddies round and you can get the structure up in a few days. Also, snowfall is not an issue!

checkout our website http://www.futuresteel.com

Hope this helps!

I'll look into it, but I'm pretty sure that my HOA wont allow it as they require I have a look and feel that is consistent with the house, not to mention that I only have room for an 8x12. If I had an acre I'd be looking into this as an option for sure.

Oh and as far as snow fall goes I live in Boise ID, so absolutely worst case would be 2-3 feet. From what I've seen living here the average is 6inches to a foot so figure for up to 3 feet just to be safe.

In a case like this, I would suggest simply building some 4X8 foot panels. I would cover 3 of them with 3/4 inch plywood for the floor, and the rest with OSB or T111, depending on what your HOA allows. I would put a door in one of the panels and maybe a window in one or two more. The panels can all be bolted together with 1/2X6 bolts, nuts and washers. You could build them in your garage out of the weather. Set out some concrete post feet and some 4X4 PT joists. Get that all leveled nicely, then lay the three floor panels down and bolt them together. Then bring out the wall panels, stand and bolt them together. Use trim or siding to cover the joints.

In your area, metal roofing is very popular. Building some trusses and putting the roof on is going to be most of your work. A 6/12 pitch is steep, but the snow will slide right off that steel roofing.

HTH.