DIY 6x6 Lean-To Storage Shed Plan

The full plan is $19.99: buy the 6×6 lean-to shed plan. To see the drawing style first, open the free 6×6 lean-to shed plan PDF.

6×6 shed plans: the numbers for a site check

The walls are square, but the roof is not: it runs 7′ 9 1/2″ from front to back and 6′ 9 1/2″ side to side at the fascia faces. Check the back drip line against a fence or property line, not just the walls.

How to build a 6×6 shed: the stages in the plan

The plan has 28 sections, 19 of them build steps. Sections 9 to 27 run from preparation and ground breaking to the ramp, and a printable checklist lists all 19.

The pad frame, skids and floor

Step 9 starts with the layout: mark the corners 6′ 0″ apart and move a stake until both diagonals read 8′ 5 13/16″. Dig 4″ deep over an 8′ 11″ x 8′ 11″ area, plus the ramp landing in front of the door. Frame the pad with pressure-treated 4x6s laid flat, joined at the corners with two galvanized 10″ timber spikes each and pinned with 18 rebar stakes. Fill the 8′ 0″ x 8′ 0″ frame with 4″ of 3/4″ crushed stone, compacted in two layers with a hand tamper.

Three skids, each cut to 6′ 0″, run left to right, parallel to the front wall, 2′ 10 1/4″ on center. The two rims come from one 14 ft pressure-treated 2×6, and the six 5′ 9″ joists come from three 12 ft boards. The frame weighs about 100 lb, so the plan has you build it in place on the skids and square it to the same 8′ 5 13/16″ diagonals before it is fastened down. Two sheets of tongue and groove plywood cover it: a full row, then a last row 2′ 0 1/2″ wide with flat 2×4 blocks under its seam.

How the walls go up on a 6×6 deck

Every wall is taller than the 6 ft deck is wide, so the plan sets a strict order. Where a wall hangs past the deck, its lifters start on the ground, 9 3/4″ below the deck, and stop blocks on the rim keep the bottom plate from kicking out.

• Front wall first. Framed with its bottom plate set back 3 1/2″ from the front edge, it measures 7′ 11 5/8″ plate to plate, so the top plate hangs 2′ 3 1/8″ past the back edge on blocks at deck height. About 120 lb: two people tip it up and brace it from the outside.
• Back wall turned around. There is no room to frame it at its own edge, so it is built facing the other way with its bottom plate 6″ from the standing front wall, tipped up and walked upright across the deck with a diagonal brace on. About 120 lb.
• Left wall between the two. The sloped-top left wall is framed flat on the deck between the standing front and back walls and tipped up into place. About 70 lb. Its plates are 1/4″ shorter than the gap.
• Right wall walked in. The last wall is framed facing the other way beside the left wall, tipped up and walked across between the front and back walls to the right edge. About 70 lb.

All four go up as bare frames, and the T1-11 goes on once they stand. The side walls have six stepped studs each with 14.0 degree bevels on top; the longest is 7′ 9 3/16″, so buy full 96″ boards, not 92 5/8″ precut studs. A twist strap ties each of the four corners.

Door, window and ramp: sizes and positions

• Door. The opening is 4′ 0″ wide and the leaf is T1-11, 3′ 11 1/2″ wide and 6′ 5 1/4″ tall, with a 1×4 frame (two stiles, three rails) and two Z braces cut with the miter saw at 47 degrees. Three T-strap hinges sit on the left seen from outside, bolted through the leaf with the heads outside. The door swings out and, fully open, reaches 2′ 11 1/2″ past the left corner, so a hold-open hook and eye go on the side-wall corner trim.
• Door details. An aluminum threshold cap 3′ 11 1/4″ long covers the deck edge, with no threshold board, and a brush sweep closes the gap under the leaf.
• Window. A prefabricated window in a 24 x 36 in rough opening in the back wall, 2′ 0″ to 4′ 0″ from the right corner, with the sill 2′ 10″ above the bottom plate. Flashing tape goes around the opening first.
• Ramp. The plan builds a detachable pressure-treated ramp, 4′ 9″ wide and 2′ 4″ out, with six stringers 11 1/8″ on center under five 2×6 boards. Its top sits about 7/8″ below the deck, and two hook-and-eyes hold it to the ledger so you can unhook it and lift it away.

What is on the 6×6 shed material list

The shopping list is split by stage, in the stock lengths that waste the least:

• Foundation and floor: three 16 ft pressure-treated 4x6s for the pad frame, 18 rebar stakes, 16 timber spikes, 1.4 cu yd of crushed stone, three 8 ft pressure-treated 4x4s for the skids, one 14 ft and three 12 ft pressure-treated 2x6s, and 2 sheets of tongue and groove plywood.
• Walls: 2×4 plates and studs (7 studs in the front wall, 8 in the back, 6 stepped studs in each side wall), doubled 2×6 headers over the door and the window, plus 9 sheets of T1-11 (four 4×9 and five 4×8, one of them for the door leaf).
• Roof: eight 10 ft 2x4s for the rafters and fly rafters, 2 sheets of OSB, 1 roll of 15 lb felt, 2 bundles of shingles and 4 pieces of drip edge.
• Door, window and trim: 3 T-strap hinges, a handle and latch, the threshold cap, the door sweep, the prefabricated window, 1×6 fascia, a 1/2″ plywood sheet for the soffit and header fillers, and 1×4 casing and corner trim.
• Hardware: 15 lb of framing nails, 8 hurricane ties, 4 framing angles, 4 twist straps, construction adhesive, flashing tape, drip cap, insect screen and 3 gallons of paint.

The longest boards are the three 16 ft pressure-treated 4x6s for the pad frame. The longest framing and trim boards are 14 ft. Each rafter comes from its own 10 ft 2×4, so pick eight straight ones.

What fits in a 6×6 shed

The plan’s “What fits inside” drawing shows the room seen from above and to scale. The room is 5′ 5″ deep inside, and the door clear width is 3′ 11 1/4″.

• Wheelbarrow. 2′ 2″ x 5′ 0″. Roll it in wheel first toward the back left corner, then swing the handles left.
• Push mower. With the handle folded and the nose in, 1′ 10″ x 3′ 2″.
• One at a time. A wheelbarrow or a folded push mower goes through the door, one thing at a time.
• Does not fit. A 42 in deck rider is 5′ 10″ long and the room is 5′ 5″ deep, so it does not fit, and neither does a bike parked front to back.
• Aisle and shelves. There is a 1′ 3″ wide aisle from the door to the back shelf. The 12 in deep shelves on the back wall are yours to add: they are not on the shopping list. Keep a back wall shelf below the window sill, 2′ 11 1/2″ above the deck.
• Around the door. The door swings out, so keep 5′ 11″ clear in front of it.

How the 6×6 lean-to roof is framed

A single-slope roof has no ridge and pushes nothing outward, so no rafter ties cross the shed. Hurricane ties hold the rafters down in wind: one per rafter on each wall, with a framing angle at each of the 4 corners where the end rafters sit on the sloped side-wall plates.

• Why 2×4. The plan sizes the rafters as 2×4 for a 5′ 5″ clear span at 16″ on center, in #2 spruce-pine-fir or Douglas fir-larch at about 30 psf of ground snow. Check the size with your local permit office before you buy.
• Two birdsmouths. Each rafter hooks over both walls with a 3 1/2″ level seat and a 7/8″ plumb heel, 24% of a 2×4’s depth. The plan says never to cut deeper than one third.
• Pattern first. Cut one pattern rafter from a straight 2×4 (board 7′ 11 11/16″, top edge 7′ 10 13/16″), test it on both walls at each end, keep it as the first rafter, then cut 5 more and 2 fly rafters. The fly rafters get no birdsmouth.
• Blocking and rakes. 2×4 blocks ripped to 2 5/8″ tall fill the bays over each wall, with 1″ vent holes drilled through them, and short lookout blocks hold the fly rafters 4″ out at each rake.
• Low pitch, double felt. At 3/12 the shingle makers ask for double underlayment: a 19″ starter strip, then 36″ courses lapping 19″ (Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association). The plan then lays 19 courses at 5″ exposure, about 51 shingles, which is 2 bundles with the starter.

Anchoring the shed

The plan says an empty 6×6 on loose skids slides at about 12 psf of wind (gusts near 60 mph) and tips at about 15 psf, so it has you anchor it once the roof is on, before you fill it. It uses 4 screw-in auger anchors, 30″ or longer, galvanized, each with a steel strap: 2 along each of the two outside skids, at 1′ 0″ and 5′ 0″ from the left end. Each strap runs up the skid and onto the rim joist and is fastened with 1 1/2″ structural screws, 4 into the skid and 2 into the rim. Check your local permit office for what your area asks.

Free 6×6 shed plans vs the full PDF

The free 8-page streamlined version walks through the five stages (site and foundation, floor frame and deck, walls, roof, trim and paint) with views from the full plan, so you can judge the drawing style. The full 67-page plan adds all 19 build steps, the stud position tables for every wall, the stepped side wall studs, the pattern rafter marks, the deck and sheathing piece maps, the door leaf with its brace cuts, the ramp, and the shopping, cut and cutting lists. The end of the plan sums up its 86 measurement checks, all passing.

Before you build a 6×6 shed

• Permits. A 36 sq ft shed is small, but a 9′ 5 3/4″ high edge and setbacks still matter, and rules vary by town and HOA. Check your local permit office before you buy lumber.
• Next to a house or fence. This is a freestanding shed with four framed walls, not a lean-to that bolts to the house. If you set it beside a wall, the low back side faces it, and so do the window and the 10″ back eave. Leave room to paint that wall and keep the eave clear of the house siding.
• Drainage. The plan sets the pad frame and stone level with the lawn so rain drains away from the shed. Keep 6″ or more between the siding and the soil or mulch, and keep the drip edges clear.
• Skids. Use ground-contact rated pressure-treated 4x4s (UC4A or higher), set crown up, and raise a low skid with more gravel or treated shims, never untreated wood.
• 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).

Heavy snow areas or high-wind zones may need closer rafter spacing or larger rafters, so check your local permit office.

Tools and ladders the plan lists

Beyond a circular saw with a rip guide, drill/driver and framing hammer, the list adds a miter saw for the door braces (47 degrees) and trim, a reciprocating saw for flush cuts in the door and window openings, a 3 lb sledge for the pad frame’s spikes and stakes, two 24″ bar clamps for marking the rims, a hand tamper for the pad. Two 6 ft step ladders cover the walls and rafters. A 16 ft extension ladder handles roof work, since the high front roof edge is about 9′ 6″ above the ground.

Related plans

• 4 ft wider with a 5 ft double door: the 6×10 lean-to shed plan.
• Shallower and longer: the 4×8 lean-to shed plan.
• A small shed with a peaked roof: the 6×8 gable shed plan or the 8×8 gable shed plan.
• Choosing a base first? Read the shed foundation guide.
• All sizes, from 4×8 up, on the lean-to shed plans page.