DIY 8x10 Gable Storage Shed Plan

The full plan is $19.99: buy the 8×10 gable shed plan. To see the drawing style first, open the free 8×10 gable shed plan PDF, a short preview.

8×10 shed plan: the numbers for a site check

Which way it faces: the door is in the 10 ft front wall. The ridge runs side to side, parallel to the door wall, so the eaves sit over the front and back walls and the gable triangles are on the two 8 ft side walls. The rafters span the 8 ft depth, and the 12″ front eave drips about a foot out past the door, onto the top of the ramp. Square the layout stakes and mark the roof footprint, not just the walls, when you check the yard.

How the 8×10 shed plan goes together

The PDF has 19 build-step sections. Here is how the plan’s time table splits the work.

The three skids are full 10 ft boards set 3′ 10 1/4″ on center, and the two 10 ft rims sit on the outer two. Nine joists 7′ 9″ long fill the frame. Three sheets of tongue and groove plywood cover it, and two 5 ft filler strips ripped from one 12 ft 1×4 to 1″ take up the last inch of the 8 ft depth.

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, so nothing heavy is nailed on while the wall lies flat.

• Brace at once. Never leave a raised wall unbraced, and never raise one in gusty wind. The 12 ft 2×4 braces run to stakes about 5 ft out, so the deck stays clear for the next wall.
• The front wall walks. With the back wall up, the free deck is shorter than the front wall needs to tip up flat. The plan frames it facing the other way, tips it up there and walks it across the deck to the front edge.
• Side walls drop in. Their plates are 7′ 4 3/4″ long to fit between the front and back walls, so plumb those two first.
• 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.

The nailed floor frame weighs about 200 lb, so the plan has you build it in place on the skids and square it there.

What is on the 8×10 shed material list

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

The longest boards are 16 ft, for the corner trim and the pad frame. The temporary braces, stakes and deck cleats for raising the walls are in the totals, and the braces can be reused after the build. Add 2 or 3 spare studs for bad boards, as the plan suggests. A cut list gives the length and count of every part, and a cutting plan shows which board each piece comes from.

What you can fit in an 8×10 shed

The plan includes a to-scale drawing of one way to fill the floor, and it sells only what that drawing shows:

• A riding mower. A 42 in deck mower is 4′ 7 3/16″ wide and 5′ 10″ long, and parks nose in. With both leaves open the clear width is about 5′ 11 1/2″, so it clears each side by 8 1/8″. A 48 in deck fits with its deflector raised, and a 54 in deck does not.
• Shelves. The mower parks about 1″ off the back wall, between two shelf runs. The drawing leaves room for 12″ shelves in 2 ft runs on the back wall; they are not in the plan’s lists.
• Behind the mower. That leaves about 18 in of cross aisle between the front wall and the mower’s tail. It is room for you on foot, not for a wheelbarrow, so anything on wheels goes in before the mower.
• Room in front. Keep 9′ 6″ clear and level, measured from the wall, for the ramp and one mower length, so a tractor lines up square.
• Headroom. The clear height from the deck to the underside of 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.

If a rider is why you are buying, measure it first: width through the door, and length for the 9′ 6″ run in front.

The 8×10 double door and windows: what changed

Earlier versions of this plan used a pre-built 7×7 ft roll-up door, then a 60″ double door with one window in the back wall. This version has a 72″ double door and two windows, one in each 8 ft side wall:

• Opening: 72″ wide by 76 1/2″ tall, 2′ 0″ to 8′ 0″ from the left corner, under a doubled 2×8 header. The plate is cut out across the opening.
• Leaves: two, each 35 5/8″ wide and 6′ 5 1/4″ tall, cut from new T1-11 sheets because the siding cut from the opening is too short. Both swing out.
• Hanging: three T-strap hinges per leaf, a 1×2 stop under the header, a 1×2 astragal on the fixed leaf, barrel bolts top and bottom on that leaf and the latch on the other. A 6″ hook and eye holds each open leaf against the wall.
• Open leaves: each free end reaches 11 5/8″ past the framing corner, so the open doors span 11′ 11 1/4″. Keep fences, beds and bins about 4 ft clear of the front wall on each side of the door.
• Windows: two prefabricated units, each a 24″ x 36″ rough opening, 12″ in from the front wall, with the sill 42″ above the bottom plate.

Rain and snow off the front slope land where the leaves swing, so in snow country the door can need shoveling out.

Stick-framed rafters on an 8×10 gable roof

The 2017 version built trusses. This 3DSHEDPLANS plan frames the roof with 18 2×4 rafters 16″ on center against a 2×6 ridge board 10′ 8″ long, plus 4 fly rafters on the rakes. Each rafter board is 5′ 8″ long with a birdsmouth (a 2 1/2″ seat and a 1 1/4″ heel), two rafters come from each 12 ft board, and the roof rises 2′ 2 5/16″ from the top of the walls to the top of the ridge.

• Ridge first. A 1′ 8 13/16″ center gable stud sits on each side wall and holds the ridge while the first pairs go on.
• Ties. A 2×4 rafter tie sits on the plates beside each of the 7 interior pairs, and 4 collar ties go on every other interior pair. Flat 2×4 ties also tie each gable wall plate to the first 2 rafter ties.
• Hurricane ties. Each of the other 14 rafters gets one at the plate, and the 4 end rafters at the corners take framing angles instead.
• Pattern rafter. Cut one, test it on both sides, then cut the rest.
• Not a loft. The rafter ties keep the walls from spreading. A few light boards laid across them is the limit.

Ventilation is on the list: 2 louvered 8 x 8 in gable vents, 2 screened 16 x 8 in under-eave vents, and slots over the frieze blocks. The plan prints the arithmetic: about 90 sq in of net free area, against about 77 sq in from the common floor area / 150 rule of thumb, which is not a shed requirement. In heavy snow or high wind areas, ask about loads and check your local permit office before you build.

Free 8×10 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 all 28 sections, the shopping list, the cut list, the cutting plan, the stud layout tables for each wall and the fastener schedule, so you can price the shed and build it without guessing.

Before you build an 8×10 gable shed

• Permits. At 80 sq ft of floor, about 109 sq ft to the roof edge and 10′ 11 5/16″ tall, this shed may fall inside or outside local size and height limits, and setback rules vary by town and HOA. Call 811 before you dig, and check your local permit office before you buy lumber.
• 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.
• Anchors. An empty shed on loose skids can slide in a strong gust, which is why 4 ground anchors along the two outside skids are on the list. Check your local permit office for what your area asks.
• Build the floor in place. The nailed floor frame weighs about 200 lb and racks if you lift it, so frame it on top of the skids.
• Keep it dry. Leave 6″ or more between the siding and the soil or mulch, and check the roof, caulk and skids 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).

Tools and ladders the plan lists

Beyond a circular saw, drill/driver and framing hammer, the tool list adds a miter saw for the door braces and trim, a reciprocating saw for the cuts a circular saw cannot reach, a 3 lb sledge for the pad frame spikes and brace stakes, two 24″ bar clamps for marking the rims and a hand tamper for the pad. Two 8 ft step ladders reach the ridge, and a 16 ft extension ladder covers roof work from the eave, about 8′ 8″ up.

Related plans

• The same 80 sq ft with the door in an 8 ft wall: the 10×8 gable shed plan.
• 2 ft longer with the same 8 ft depth: the 8×12 gable shed plan.
• A square 100 sq ft: the 10×10 gable shed plan. Smaller: the 8×8 gable shed plan.
• Choosing a base first? Read the shed foundation guide.
• Every gable shed plan in one place.
• Pricing the build first? See the free lumber, sheet and hardware list for an 8×10 shed.