10x10 Hip Roof Shed Plan

The full plan is $19.99: buy the 10×10 hip roof shed plan. To see the drawing style first, open the free 10×10 hip roof shed plan PDF.

10×10 hip roof shed plan: the numbers for a site check

A hip roof overhangs all four walls, so stake out the 11′ 5 1/2″ square roof outline on your lot, not just the 10 ft walls. Leave room to walk around it with a ladder, since every side has an eave.

How the 10×10 hip roof shed plan goes together

The plan runs in a fixed order: layout and pad (step 8), skids (9), floor frame (10), decking (11), the four walls (12 to 15), joining them (16), the door (17), the roof framing plan (18), commons and hub (19), hips (20), jacks (21), fascia and soffit (22), sheathing and shingles (23) and trim and paint (24). 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 10′ 0″ apart and move one stake until both diagonals read 14′ 1 11/16″. Strip sod and roots over a 12′ by 12′ area, reset the stakes (digging moves them) and check the diagonals again.

The pad is 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 to find the fall. A few inches is made up with more compacted stone on the low side. More than that means digging the high side down or setting solid concrete blocks on stone under the low ends of the skids.

Four ground-contact pressure-treated 4×4 skids, each a single 10 ft board, run left to right parallel to the front wall. The outer two sit flush with the floor edges and the others fall 3′ 2 13/16″ 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 nine 9′ 9″ joists between two 10′ 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, so the joists, the decking ends and later the rafter marks all line up from the same corner.

Once nailed the frame weighs about 240 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 14′ 1 11/16″, then toe-nail or screw the frame to every skid crossing.

Four sheets of 3/4″ tongue and groove plywood cover the deck. Two full rows cover 7′ 11″ of the 10 ft depth, and the last row is a 2′ 1″ rip that keeps the sheet’s groove edge. Because that narrow row flexes at its end joints, flat 2×4 seam blocks go between the joists under the seam 7′ 11″ from the front edge. The decking map letters every piece (A to F) and says which two pairs share a sheet.

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.

• Hinge it. Drive two or three nails partly through the bottom plate into the deck at the tipping edge so the wall pivots instead of sliding.
• Brace from outside. 12 ft 2×4 braces run to 2×4 stakes about 5 ft out, which keeps the deck clear for the next wall. Before you side a face, move its braces inside onto deck cleats.
• Side walls drop in. Their plates are 9′ 4 7/8″, 1/8″ shorter than the gap between the front and back walls, so plumb those two first and tap a tight wall down against a block.
• Corner backers. The front and back walls each carry two extra studs 3 1/2″ in from the ends, which give the inside corners a nailing face for shelf cleats later.

The corners are nailed from inside through the side wall’s end stud, and the second top plates lap every corner to tie the box together.

Door and window: sizes and positions

The door opening is 5′ 0″ wide and 6′ 4 1/2″ tall, from 2′ 6″ to 7′ 6″ measured from the left corner of the front wall, under a header of two 2x8s with 1/2″ plywood between them. Once the bottom plate is cut out of the opening the clear height is 6′ 6″.

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 is 2′ 5 5/8″ wide and 6′ 5 1/4″ tall with a glued and screwed 1×4 frame and two Z braces cut at 29 degrees on the miter saw. Three T-strap hinges hang each leaf, the fixed leaf closes on two barrel bolts, and a 1×2 astragal gives the active leaf something to close against.

The window is a prefabricated unit for a 36″ x 36″ rough opening in the right wall, from 1′ 2 1/2″ to 4′ 2 1/2″ from the front end, with the sill 3′ 1″ above the bottom plate. Its header is two 2x6s with a plywood filler. The plan wraps the opening with flashing tape (sill, then sides, then head) and puts a drip cap over the head casing.

What is on the 10×10 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, 24″ stakes, deck cleats for the braces and the seam blocks under the last decking row. 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.

Cut list and cutting plan

The cut list gives every part’s lumber, exact length and count: skids at 10′ 0″, joists at 9′ 9″, wall studs at 7′ 6″, commons at a 6′ 5″ board, hips at an 8′ 6 7/8″ board and jacks at 2′ 4 1/4″, 3′ 10 1/8″ and 5′ 4″. The trim parts are on it too, down to the 1×2 door stop and astragal.

The cutting plan then says which board each part comes from and what is left over. Two commons come out of each 14 ft 2×4, four short jacks come out of each 10 ft 2×4, and the 1′ 4 1/8″ offcut of a hip board gives the 1 1/2″ hub block. The roof sheathing has its own cutting plan: 10 sheets cut to a piece map, plus 1 spare, 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 2×6 hub block, only 1 1/2″ square in plan and 5 1/2″ tall, at the center of the shed. 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.

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

1. Hub on a temporary post. A 10′ 1 5/16″ 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 the post holds the hub with its top 2′ 8 5/16″ above the plates.
2. Commons. Cut one pattern common (board 6′ 5″, seat 2 1/2″, heel 1 1/4″, a notch 32% of the rafter depth), test it on both sides of the hub, then cut 4. Face-nail the first common through the predrilled hub, toe-nail its partner on the other side, then set the left king. The cleat comes off before the right king, because it stands where that plumb cut goes.
3. Ties. One 10′ 0″ 2×4 tie runs front to back beside the commons. The king ties are two unequal halves, 5′ 0 3/4″ and 4′ 9 3/4″, that butt the first tie and are joined over it with a strap tie so they pull as one.
4. Four hips. Each 2×6 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 2 1/16″ so it lines up with the soffit. Set them in opposite pairs so the hub is pulled evenly.
5. Jacks last. 24 jacks run from the walls up to the hips, centered 1′ 4″, 2′ 8″ and 4′ 0″ from every corner, each 1′ 5 7/8″ longer than the one before. Their 45 degree side cuts come in left and right hands, 4 of each per length. Nail them in pairs on both sides of a hip, then take the post out.

The hip seat notch is 3 7/16″ of a 5 13/16″ plumb depth, 59%, far past the one-third rule the commons keep. The plan explains why in step 20.4: 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 four 1×6 fascia boards are each 11′ 5 1/2″ long point to long point, mitered at 45 degrees over every hip tail. The 1/2″ plywood soffit strips are 8″ wide 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. A 1/4″ gap at the siding is the soffit vent, backed with insect screen.

The roof is about 144 sq ft. Each plane is cut from three pieces (a wide bottom piece, a small corner triangle and a top triangle up to the apex), and the back and the second side are mirror images. The 5 drip edge pieces go on all four eaves before the felt, folded around each corner.

Shingles run 15 courses up each plane at 5″ exposure. 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 84 cap pieces, cut three to a shingle from 29 shingles, cover the hips from the eave up. One last cap piece, slit at the corners, folds over the apex and is bedded in roofing cement. Total: 8 bundles.

What you can fit in a 10×10 hip roof shed

• Wheeled gear. The door opening is 60″ wide with 6′ 6″ of clear height. Measure a mower, cart or snow blower at its widest point and allow for the door leaves and hinges before you count on it fitting.
• A ramp. The deck sits 9 3/4″ above the ground, so anything on wheels needs a sturdy ramp. Our guide on how to build a shed ramp covers that step.
• Shelves on three walls. The back and left walls have no openings, and on a hip roof all four walls stand the same 7′ 10 1/2″ high, so shelving can wrap the back and left walls at full height.
• Headroom under the ties. The front-to-back tie and the two king tie halves cross at 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.
• A bench with daylight. Put a workbench or potting table under the right-wall window, which sits near the front corner with its sill 3′ 1″ up.

For layout ideas at this size, see 10×10 shed designs and layouts.

Hip roof vs gable roof on a 10×10 shed

We sell both roofs on the same 10×10 footprint, and both plans come from the same generator, so the trade-off is easy to check with real numbers:

The hip roof needs more roof material and more angled cuts: four hips with cheek cuts and 24 jacks in two hands. 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 would rather frame the simpler roof, the 10×10 gable shed plan builds the same floor and walls.

Tools, ladders and fasteners the plan lists

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 29 degrees) and the trim
• a reciprocating saw or oscillating tool for the flush cuts at the threshold and the window opening
• a 3 lb sledge for the brace stakes and two 24″ bar clamps for marking the rims together
• a 4 ft level, an 8 ft straight board and a string line, plus a hand tamper for the pad
• two 8 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 22 lb of 16d framing nails, about 786 nails plus 10%.

Free 10×10 hip roof shed plan PDF vs the full plan

The free PDF is a 7-page streamlined version: the five stages (site and foundation, floor, walls, roof, trim) with 3D views of the same model and framing previews. It has no material list, no cut list and no measurements.

The full 41-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 shopping list and the cut list. Every number comes from one 3D model of the shed, and the PDF lists the 80 automatic checks it passed before publishing, from framing closure to sheet and shingle coverage.

Before you build a 10×10 hip roof shed

• Permits. At 100 sq ft and about 11 1/2 ft tall, this shed can still run into size, height or setback limits, and rules 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 about rafter size, spacing and ground 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, stay off open rafters until the sheathing is on, 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 10×10 gable shed plan, or a single slope, the 10×10 lean-to shed plan.
• 2 ft wider under the same roof style: the 10×12 hip roof shed plan. 6 ft wider: the 10×16 hip roof shed plan.
• 2 ft shallower and 2 ft wider: the 8×12 hip roof shed plan.
• Choosing a base first? Read the shed foundation guide.
• Every hip roof shed plan in one place.