16x16 Gable Storage Shed Plan

The complete plan is $19.99: buy the 16×16 gable shed plan. You can also download the free 16×16 gable shed plan PDF to see how the drawings look.

16×16 shed plans: the numbers for a site check

The footprint is square, so the shed does not need a long strip of yard: it needs a flat 18 ft square, plus room in front for the ramp. Square the stakes to matching 22′ 7 1/2″ diagonals for the shed and 25′ 5 1/2″ for the pad before the stone goes down, and mark the roof footprint, not just the walls, when you check the yard.

The ridge runs along the front, so half the roof drains off the 12″ eave above the door. The plan has no gutter, so add one on that eave if you want the drip off your doorway. The gable triangles are on the two side walls, where the windows are. The back wall has no window, which leaves all 16 ft of it free for shelves.

How the 16×16 gable shed goes together

Building 16 ft wide from 16 ft stock

• Skids and rims. Every skid and both rims are whole 16 ft boards, so there is no skid splice to place.
• Plates. The front and back wall plates are whole 16 ft boards too. The side walls have 15′ 4 3/4″ plates, and their 16′ 0″ cap plates lap over the front and back walls to lock the corners.
• Ridge. The only spliced member is the 16′ 8″ 2×8 ridge, cut 7′ 0″ + 9′ 8″, the joint centered on the rafter pair 6′ 8″ from the left corner and held on a temporary 2×4 post, 11′ 7 1/4″ long, until that pair is nailed. Then a 24″ 2×4 cleat ties the joint.

The nailed floor frame weighs about 520 lb, so the plan has you build it in place on the skids and square it there.

How the walls go up

Each wall is framed flat on the deck, squared by its diagonals and raised as a bare frame by two people. The siding goes on after all four stand.

• Stop blocks. Where a wall tips up at a deck edge, two 12″ 2×4 offcuts nailed to the rim stop the bottom plate from kicking out over the edge.
• Brace at once. Never leave a raised wall unbraced, even for a minute, and never raise one in gusty wind.
• Hanging the siding. Screw a straight 2×4 ledger to the floor frame at the siding’s bottom line, stand each sheet on it, have your helper hold it plumb while you tack the top corners, then nail it off.

What you can fit in a 16×16 shed

The plan includes a to-scale drawing of one way to fill the floor:

• A 42 in deck mower. The door opening is 72″. The mower is 4′ 7 3/16″ wide and 5′ 10″ long, and parks nose in with the opening clearing each jamb by 8 1/8″. A 48 in deck fits with its deflector raised, and a 54 in deck does not.
• Shelves and a bench. 24″ deep shelves run along the back wall, 16″ deep shelves along the back 6 ft of each side wall, and a 20″ deep bench sits under the right window.
• The rest of the yard gear. A wheelbarrow (2′ 2″ x 5′ 0″) and two bikes with their handlebars staggered (2′ 6″ x 5′ 10″) fit beside the mower.
• Room to walk. The aisle behind the mower to the back shelves is 7′ 6″, and the clear height under the top plates is 7′ 7 1/2″.
• A small lip, not a step. The floor sits 9 3/4″ up, and the ramp ends about 13/16″ below the deck.

Keep 9′ 6″ clear and level in front of the wall, measured from the wall, for the ramp and one mower length. If a rider is why you are buying, measure it first: width through the door, and length for the run in front.

Stick-framed rafters on a 16×16 gable roof

This 3DSHEDPLANS plan frames the roof with 26 2×6 rafters 16″ on center against a 2×8 ridge board, plus 4 fly rafters, so two people can build it one pair at a time with no truss jig. The rafters rise 4′ 4″ from the top of the walls to the top of the ridge.

• One pattern. Cut one rafter with a 3 1/2″ seat and a 1 3/4″ heel, 28% of the rafter depth, test it on both sides, then trace the rest. Each rafter comes from its own 12 ft board, 10′ 2 11/16″ overall.
• Ridge first. A 3′ 8 3/4″ center stud on each gable wall carries the ridge pieces while you set the end pairs, then the pair at the ridge joint, then the others.
• Ties. A 16 ft 2×4 rafter tie sits on the plates beside each of the 11 interior pairs, and 6 collar ties go on every other pair, their tops 2′ 10 11/16″ above the plates. Flat 2×4 ties also tie each gable wall plate to the first 2 rafter ties. The ties are not a storage loft.
• Connectors. 22 hurricane ties go in at the plates, and the 4 end rafters take framing angles instead.
• Venting. Air comes in through 6 screened 16 x 8 in soffit vents, 3 per eave, and a 2″ screened slot over each beveled frieze block, and leaves through a 14″ x 24″ louvered vent in each gable: 321.3 sq in of net free area in all, against a common floor area / 150 rule of thumb of 246 sq in, which is not a shed requirement.

If you are weighing roofs, the 16×20 hip roof shed plan is the nearest hip footprint. In heavy snow or high wind areas, ask about loads and check your local permit office before you build.

What is on the 16×16 shed material list

The shopping list is split by stage, so you can buy the foundation and floor first and the roof later, and each line is in the stock length that wastes the least. These are the big lines, copied from the plan:

The longest boards on the list are 16 ft, so a standard delivery covers them. Add 2 or 3 spare studs for bad boards, as the plan suggests. The temporary braces and the ridge post are in the totals and can be reused after the build. The 1×4 filler strip is there because 4 rows of tongue and groove sheets cover 15′ 10″ of the 16 ft floor; you rip it to 2″ and glue and screw it along the back rim. The 16×16 shed material list guide goes deeper into the numbers.

Free 16×16 shed plan PDF vs the full plan

The free PDF shows how the plan is drawn and what the shed looks like. The full plan adds the complete material list above with every quantity, all 28 sections, the cut list, the cutting plan and the floor, roof and gable sheet maps. Before it went on sale every measurement was cross-checked with 109 checks on the framing, the roof, the sheets and shingles and the lists, and all of them pass.

Before you build a 16×16 gable shed

• Permits. At 256 sq ft and 13′ 1″ tall, this is a large shed that is over the common 120 and 200 sq ft exemptions, so most towns ask for a permit, and rules on size, height and setbacks vary by town and HOA. Call 811 before you dig, and check your local permit office before you buy lumber. Our shed permit checklist lists what to ask.
• The pad. The 5.6 cu yd of 3/4″ stone fills the pad inside a frame of pressure-treated 4x6s pinned with 34 rebar stakes.
• Skids. Use ground-contact rated pressure-treated 4x4s (UC4A or higher), set each one crown up, and raise a low skid with more gravel or treated shims, never untreated wood. Shed foundation options compares other bases.
• Anchors. An empty shed on loose skids can slide in a strong gust, which is why 6 ground anchors, 3 along each outside skid, are on the list. Check your local permit office for what your area asks.
• Keep it dry. Leave 6″ or more between the siding and the soil or mulch, and check the roof, caulk and paint every spring.
• Materials. Store lumber flat and covered, since wet wood decays faster (USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook). Check the stamp on each OSB sheet for its span rating (APA: OSB).

Ladders the plan lists

Two 10 ft step ladders reach the ridge, and a 16 ft extension ladder covers roof work from the eave, about 8′ 8″ up.

Related plans

• 4 ft longer: the 16×20 gable shed plan. 8 ft longer: the 16×24 gable shed plan.
• 2 ft smaller each way: the 14×14 gable shed plan. 4 ft shallower and 2 ft longer: the 12×18 gable shed plan.
• Choosing a base first? Read the shed foundation guide.
• Every gable shed plan in one place.