16x16 Hip Roof Shed Plan

The full plan is $19.99: buy the 16×16 hip roof shed plan. To see the drawing style first, open the free 16×16 hip roof shed plan PDF.

16×16 hip roof shed plan: the numbers for a site check

A hip roof overhangs all four walls, so stake out the 18′ 1 1/2″ square roof outline on your lot, not just the 16 ft walls. Leave room to walk around it with a ladder, since every side has an eave. The ramp, landing and pad frame reach 7′ 1″ out from the front wall and the door swings out, so keep that strip in front of the door clear. The plan also tells you to keep 9′ 6″ clear and level in front of the wall, which is the ramp plus one mower length, if you want to line a tractor up square.

How the 16×16 hip roof shed plan goes together

The plan runs in a fixed order: preparation and ground breaking (step 9), skids (10), floor frame (11), decking (12), the four walls (13 to 16), joining them (17), the door (18), the roof framing plan (19), commons and hub (20), hips (21), jacks (22), fascia and soffit (23), sheathing and shingles (24), anchoring the shed (25), trim, window and finish (26) and the ramp (27). Section 28 covers weather, snow and upkeep, and a printable build checklist at the back lists each stage with a “date done” column.

Site layout, gravel pad and skids

Stake the four corners 16′ 0″ apart and move one stake until both diagonals read 22′ 7 1/2″. The plan has you dig 4″ deep over an 18′ 11″ square, which is the outside of the pad frame, and on out in front of the door for the ramp and a 3 ft landing: 9′ 8″ wide, centered on the door, reaching 7′ 1″ out from the front wall. Digging moves the stakes, so set them again and check the diagonals again.

The pad frame is pressure-treated 4x6s laid flat, rated for ground contact (UC4A or higher), on a 1/2″ stone bed so it finishes level with the lawn. Its inside is the 18′ 0″ x 18′ 0″ gravel pad, 12″ past the shed on every side, plus a landing 8′ 9″ wide that reaches 5′ 7 1/2″ past the front of the pad. Square the frame until both pad diagonals read 25′ 5 1/2″, pin it with 34 rebar stakes, and join each corner with 2 galvanized 10″ timber spikes. Then fill it with 4″ of 3/4″ crushed stone, compacted in two layers with a hand tamper and checked with a long straight board and a level.

On a sloped yard the plan has you run a string with a line level from the highest stake. A few inches of fall is made up with deeper stone on the low side, compacted every 2″. More than that means digging the high side down, or setting solid concrete blocks on compacted stone under the low skids and shimming them with pressure-treated shims.

Five ground-contact pressure-treated 4×4 skids, each a single 16 ft board, run left to right parallel to the front wall, so the front and back rims sit on the outer two. The outer skids sit flush with the floor edges and the others are spaced 3′ 11 1/8″ on center. Each skid goes in crown up and is leveled along its length and against the others. A low skid comes up with gravel or treated shims, never untreated wood.

Floor frame and decking

The floor frame is thirteen 15′ 9″ joists between two 16′ 0″ rims, all pressure-treated 2×6, at 16″ on center. The plan has you clamp the two rims together and mark both at once from the building’s left end: one joist flush at each end, then lines at 15 1/4″, 31 1/4″, 47 1/4″ and every 16″. The rafter marks later start from the same corner, so the framing lines up from the bottom to the top.

Once nailed the frame weighs about 520 lb and racks if you lift it, so you build it in place on top of the skids. Push the long corner until both diagonals match at 22′ 7 1/2″, then toe-nail the frame to the skids. A framing angle goes at every place a joist crosses a skid, 65 in all, with 8 connector nails each. The toe-nails hold the frame while you work, and the angles keep it on the skids for good.

Eight sheets of 3/4″ tongue and groove plywood cover the deck, in four rows with the second row started on a half sheet so the end joints stagger. A sheet covers about 47 1/2″ once its tongue sits in the next groove, so four rows cover 15′ 10″ of the 16′ 0″ depth. A 1×4 ripped to 2″ fills the last 2″ along the back rim, where the back wall’s bottom plate covers it. Every sheet is glued with a bead of construction adhesive on each joist and screwed 6″ apart on the edges and 12″ in the field. The decking map letters each piece, and two of the sheets are cut in pairs, so cut them as listed or you run short.

Walls: framing order and lift weights

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

• Frame at the edge. Each wall is framed where its panel on the raising diagram shows it, tips up on its bottom plate and lands flush at the deck edge.
• Stop blocks. Nail two 12″ 2×4 offcuts to the outside of the rim near the wall’s ends, their tops 2″ above the deck, so the bottom plate tips against them and cannot kick out over the edge. Pull them before the siding goes on.
• Where to stand. The lifters stand at the top plate, one near each end and one in the middle of a long wall. Nobody stands on the ground in front of a wall while it goes up, because a wall that goes past plumb falls outward, off the deck.
• Brace first. Pick a calm day, since a bare frame catches wind like a sail, have the braces and nails at hand, and never leave a raised wall unbraced, even for a minute. The first wall is braced from the outside with 12 ft 2x4s to stakes about 5 ft out, so the deck stays clear for the next one.
• Corners. The side wall plates are 15′ 4 3/4″, 1/4″ shorter than the gap between the front and back walls, so the corners are plumbed and screwed together from inside, with a shim in the 1/4″ gap at the back corners.
• Siding from a ledger. Screw a straight 2×4 ledger to the floor frame, stand each 60 lb T1-11 sheet on it and have your helper hold it plumb while you tack the top corners.

The corners are screwed together with 3″ exterior screws every 12″ through each side wall’s end stud, because the corner stud bays are too tight to swing a hammer. The second top plates then lap every corner by at least 3 1/2″. The front and back walls each carry two corner backers just in from the ends, which give the inside corners a nailing face for shelf cleats later.

Door and windows: sizes and positions

The door opening is 6′ 0″ wide and 6′ 4 1/2″ tall, from 5′ 0″ to 11′ 0″ measured from the left corner of the front wall, so it sits centered with 5′ 0″ of wall each side. It sits under a header of two 6′ 3″ 2x8s with 1/2″ plywood between them. Once the bottom plate is cut out of the opening the framed height is 6′ 6″, and 6′ 5 1/4″ is clear under the head stop.

The two door leaves are cut from two new T1-11 sheets, because the piece cut out of the opening is too short. Each leaf gets a glued and screwed 1×4 frame (two stiles at 6′ 5 1/4″ and three rails at 2′ 4 5/8″) and two Z braces, 3′ 5 5/16″ along either edge, cut with the miter saw set to 36 degrees. Three T-strap hinges hang each leaf on 1/4″ carriage bolts with the nuts inside, so nobody can unscrew the door from outside. The fixed leaf closes on two barrel bolts, and a 1×2 astragal on its inside face gives the active leaf something to close against.

A brush sweep closes the gap under each leaf, and an aluminum threshold cap covers the deck edge across the 6′ 0″ opening. There is no threshold board, so wheels roll straight in from the ramp. A 10″ hook and eye holds each open leaf against the front wall so wind cannot slam it on you or the mower. The latch sits on the active leaf, which is the left leaf as you face the door from outside.

The two windows are prefabricated units for 3′ 0″ x 3′ 0″ rough openings, one in each side wall, 1′ 11″ to 4′ 11″ from the front end of the wall, so both sit near the door. The left wall’s table measures from its back end, where the opening runs from 10′ 5 3/4″ to 13′ 5 3/4″ along the 15′ 4 3/4″ plate. Each sill top is 3′ 6″ above the bottom plate, and each header is two 3′ 3″ 2x6s with a plywood filler. The plan wraps each opening with flashing tape and puts a drip cap over each head casing.

What is on the 16×16 hip roof shed material list

The shopping list is split by section, so you can buy the base first and the roof later:

The list also counts the temporary pieces people forget to buy: 12 wall braces, 4 post braces, 24″ stakes and the deck cleats for the braces. Lumber is listed in the stock length that wastes the least for each part, and the list suggests 2 or 3 spare studs for bad boards. The lumber yard order adds every section up into one list for the counter, with the longest boards at 16 ft.

Cut list and cutting plan

The cut list gives every part’s lumber, exact length and count: skids at 16′ 0″, joists at 15′ 9″, wall studs at 7′ 6″, commons at a 10′ 2 11/16″ board, hips at a 13′ 7 7/16″ board and jacks in five lengths from 2′ 9 11/16″ to 8′ 9 1/4″. The trim, door and ramp parts are on it too, down to the 1×2 door stop and astragal, and so is every piece of the pad frame.

The cutting plan then says which board each part comes from and what is left over. Each common takes a 12 ft 2×6 and each hip a 14 ft 2×8, so those parts are one to a board. The offcut of a hip board gives the 1 1/2″ hub block. The left and right cripples come from offcuts of the trimmers and lower cripples, so they cost no extra boards. The roof sheathing has its own cutting plan: 14 sheets cut to a lettered piece map, plus 1 spare kept whole, so one miscut does not stop the job.

Why a square shed gets a pyramid hip roof

On a rectangular hip roof the four hips run up to the two ends of a short ridge. When the walls are the same length both ways, that ridge shrinks to nothing and the four hips meet at one point. The plan calls it a pyramid roof: four identical triangular planes, all at 6/12 (26.6 degrees).

Instead of a ridge board there is a 2×8 hub block, only 1 1/2″ square in plan, at the center of the shed, 7′ 11 1/4″ from each wall to its face. The front and back commons, two king commons (one in the middle of each side wall) and all four hips nail into it. Every hip, every jack length and every sheathing piece is the same on all four sides, so one set of patterns serves the whole roof.

On a 16 ft wall the rafter layout is longer than on a small shed. The commons sit at 8′ 0″, the middle of each wall, and the jacks sit at 1′ 4″, 2′ 8″, 4′ 0″, 5′ 4″ and 6′ 8″ from every corner. That is why this roof has five jack lengths, each 1′ 5 7/8″ longer than the one before.

How the 16×16 hip roof is framed: hub, commons, hips and jacks

The plan frames the roof in a fixed order and says who stands where:

1. Hub on a temporary post. An 11′ 7 1/4″ 2×4 post stands on the floor at the center, braced four ways to deck cleats, with its faces set so the rafter ties will pass beside it. A 12″ cleat on its right face stands 4″ above the post top. On the deck, you nail the hub to the plumb cut of the left king common first, while both faces of the hub are free. Two people then set them together: one on a 10 ft step ladder on the deck beside the post, between two braces and no higher than the third step from the top, the other on a second step ladder at the left wall. The king weighs about 20 lb with the hub on it, and the hub’s top ends up 4′ 4″ above the plates, 12′ 2 1/2″ above the deck.
2. Commons. Cut one pattern common (board 10′ 2 11/16″, top edge 9′ 11 15/16″, seat 3 1/2″, heel 1 3/4″, a notch 28% of the rafter depth), test it on both sides of the hub, then cut 4. Face-nail the front common through the predrilled hub, then toe-nail the back common. The cleat comes off before the right king, because it stands where that plumb cut goes. The plate is 7′ 10 1/2″ above the deck, past a standing reach, so never set or nail a seat from the deck, and never from the ladder at the post.
3. Ties. One 16′ 0″ 2×4 tie runs front to back beside the commons. The king ties are two unequal halves, 8′ 0 3/4″ and 7′ 9 3/4″, because the first tie sits beside the center, not on it. They butt the first tie and are joined over it with a flat 24″ strap tie so they pull as one.
4. Four hips. Each 2×8 hip runs at 45 degrees in plan from a corner to the hub, sloping 19.5 degrees. Its seat drops 1/4″ so its top corners stay in the roof planes, both ends get double 45 degree cheek cuts, and the tail is ripped 1 11/16″ so it lines up with the soffit. Before the first hip goes up, a strap tie goes across the lapped top plates at each corner. Set the hips in opposite pairs so the hub is pulled evenly. Two people set each hip, which weighs about 35 lb: one on the step ladder by the post holds the point in its corner at the hub, the other on a step ladder inside the wall corner sets the seat. Nobody works from outside the walls until the fascia step.
5. Jacks last. 40 jacks run from the walls up to the hips, centered 1′ 4″, 2′ 8″, 4′ 0″, 5′ 4″ and 6′ 8″ from every corner, 8 of each length, 4 of each hand. Their 45 degree side cuts come in left and right hands. Nail them in pairs on both sides of a hip, with three nails into the hip and a hurricane tie at the plate, then take the post out. Eight short tail jacks fill the long free edge of the eave between each hip tail and the first jack.

The hip seat notch is 3 9/16″ of a 7 11/16″ plumb depth, 46%, far past the one-third rule the commons keep. The plan explains why in step 21.4: the seat sits right over the lapped plates at the wall corner, so the notch carries no bending, and a hurricane tie, toe-nails and a metal strap hold it. Do not cut it deeper than drawn. Our hip roof shed framing guide walks through the same sequence in more detail.

Fascia, soffit, sheathing and shingles on a hip roof

A hip roof has eaves on all four sides and no rakes, which changes the trim. The 1×8 fascia is cut in 8 pieces of 9′ 0 3/4″, two to a side, from 10 ft boards, mitered at 45 degrees over every hip tail, with long sides spliced over a rafter tail with a 45 degree scarf joint. The soffit strips are 1′ 0 7/16″ wide, ripped from 4 sheets of 1/2″ plywood, and slope with the rafter tails. They meet at the corners with a cut line at 48.2 degrees to the strip’s edge, not 45, because they are sloped.

The roof is about 362 sq ft. Each plane is cut from lettered pieces on the sheathing map, and the back plane and the second side are mirror images. Every end joint lands on a rafter center, and the plan has you cut each sheet 1/8″ short so the gap sits on the rafter. The 8 drip edge pieces go on all four eaves before the felt, folded around each corner. Felt runs from the eaves up with 2″ head laps and 4″ end laps, wrapping 6″ over each hip.

Shingles run 24 courses up each plane at 5″ exposure, over a starter strip on all four eaves. Where a course meets a hip, you let the shingles run past, snap a line along the hip and cut them off from the top. About 132 cap pieces, cut three to a shingle from 45 shingles, cover the hips from the eave up and finish at the apex. Total: 16 bundles. The plan has you screw a 2×4 flat to the sheathing a foot above the eave as a foot stop before you work above it, and never work on the roof alone.

Roof ventilation on this plan

A hip roof has no gable wall for a high vent, and this plan has no roof vent. The plan gives the shed one vent: a 1/4″ gap at the siding under the soffit, backed with insect screen, around all four eaves. The plan says plainly that this gap is the shed’s only vent and that it is low air only. That suits unheated storage. If you plan to heat or insulate the shed, the plan says to plan roof vents as well.

What you can fit in a 16×16 hip roof shed

The plan’s “What fits inside” page draws the room from above, 15′ 5″ across inside, with 7′ 7 1/2″ of clear height under the top plates. Here is what it shows:

• A 42 inch deck riding mower, nose in. The fit plan draws it at 4′ 7 3/16″ x 5′ 10″. With both leaves open the door is about 5′ 11 1/2″ clear, so the mower clears each side by 8 1/8″. The plan says a 48 inch deck fits with its deflector raised and a 54 inch deck does not. That is the whole promise: the plan does not draw a bigger machine than that.
• A wheelbarrow. It takes 2′ 2″ x 5′ 0″.
• Two bikes. With the handlebars staggered they take 2′ 6″ x 5′ 10″.
• Shelves and a bench, yours to add. The drawing shows shelves 24″ deep on the back wall, shelves 16″ deep along the back 6 ft of each side wall and a bench 20″ deep under the right window. They are not on the shopping list.
• Room behind the mower. A 7′ 6″ aisle runs behind the mower to the back shelves.
• A ramp. The deck sits 9 3/4″ above the gravel, so wheels need the ramp from step 27. It is 6′ 9″ wide and 3′ 6″ out at 1:6 (9 degrees), and its top sits about 13/16″ below the deck at the door. The leaf swings out over it with 1 1/4″ to spare. Set a mower deck to its highest cut before you push it up. Our guide on how to build a shed ramp covers the idea in general.
• Headroom under the ties. The front-to-back tie and the two king tie halves cross near the center at plate height, 7′ 10 1/2″ above the floor. Above them the roof is open to the hub, so long, light items can lie across the ties near the walls.
• Daylight by the door. Both 3′ 0″ x 3′ 0″ windows sit at the front end of the side walls, so the light falls where you load and unload.

Hip roof vs gable roof on a 16×16 shed

We sell both roofs on the same 16×16 footprint, so the trade-off is easy to check with real numbers from each plan:

The hip roof needs more roof material and more angled cuts: four hips with cheek cuts, 40 jacks in five lengths and two hands, and 8 tail jacks. In return there are no gable triangles to frame and side, no rakes and an eave over every wall, which keeps rain off the siding on all four sides. A hip roof generally holds up to wind better than a gable roof, according to the Building America Solution Center guide to hip vs gable roofs. If you want vents high in the roof or the simpler framing, the 16×16 gable shed plan builds the same floor and walls.

Anchoring, tools, ladders and fasteners the plan lists

The plan figures that, empty, this shed on loose skids slides at about 13 psf of wind (gusts near 60 mph) and tips at about 31 psf. So once the roof is on, and before you fill it, you set 6 screw-in auger ground anchors, 30″ or longer, with galvanized straps: 3 along each of the two outside skids, at 1′ 0″, 8′ 0″ and 15′ 0″ from the left end. Each strap runs up the skid’s outside face and onto the rim joist, fastened with 1 1/2″ structural screws, 4 into the skid and 2 into the rim. The front anchor at 8′ 0″ lands in front of the door, behind the ramp, and the ramp’s ledger screws on beside its strap.

Beyond a circular saw with a rip guide, a speed square, a framing square, a drill/driver and a framing hammer, the tool list adds:

• a miter saw for the door braces (set to 36 degrees) and the trim
• a reciprocating saw or oscillating tool for the flush cuts at the threshold and the window openings
• a 3 lb sledge for the pad frame spikes, rebar stakes and brace stakes, and two bar clamps, 24″ or longer, for marking the rims together
• a 4 ft level, an 8 ft straight board and a string line with a line level, plus a hand tamper for the pad
• a steel bar or pipe, about 3/4″ x 3 ft, for turning the ground anchors
• two 10 ft step ladders, which reach the hub, and a 16 ft extension ladder for roof work from the eave, about 8′ 8″ up

The fastener schedule gives the nail and count for every joint, from three 16d nails per joist at the rims to three nails through the side cut of every jack. The list counts 30 lb of 16d framing nails, about 1082 nails plus 10%.

Free 16×16 hip roof shed plan PDF vs the full plan

The free PDF is an 8-page streamlined version: the five stages (site and foundation, floor, walls, roof, trim and paint) with views from the full plan and framing previews. It has no material list, no cut list and no measurements.

The full 69-page plan adds every step, the roof framing plan with each rafter center, the hub and post details, the hip and jack cut marks, the sheathing piece map, the ramp, the “What fits inside” page, the shopping list and the cut list. The PDF also lists the 98 checks it passed before going on sale, from framing that closes to sheets and shingles that cover every surface.

Before you build a 16×16 hip roof shed

• Permits. The plan itself warns that 256 sq ft is larger than the 120 and 200 sq ft sizes many towns exempt, and that shed rules for size, height and setbacks vary by town and HOA. Check your local permit office before you buy lumber, and use our shed permit checklist to know what to ask. Call 811 a few working days before you dig.
• Snow and wind. The plan uses common small-shed framing. In heavy snow or high-wind areas, ask your local permit office about rafter size, spacing and anchors before you build.
• Skids. Use ground-contact rated pressure-treated 4x4s (UC4A or higher). Our gravel shed foundation guide covers the pad in more depth.
• Safety. Set the hub and first commons with a helper, stand each ladder on firm, flat footing, stay off open rafters until the sheathing is on, keep ladders and sheets 10 ft from overhead power lines and never work on the roof alone.
• 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).
• Upkeep. Keep 6″ or more between the siding and the soil, and every spring check for lifted shingles, re-caulk the trim and make sure the skids are still level and dry.

Related plans

• Same size with a gable roof: the 16×16 gable shed plan, with a 16×16 shed material list guide.
• A smaller square pyramid, 100 sq ft with a 6 ft door: the 10×10 hip roof shed plan.
• The smallest square pyramid, 64 sq ft: the 8×8 hip roof shed plan.
• A longer hip on a 16 ft span, 320 sq ft: the 16×20 hip roof shed plan.
• Every hip roof shed plan in one place, or browse all shed plans.