DIY 16x24 Gable Storage Shed Plan

The full plan is $19.99: buy the 16×24 gable shed plan. To see the drawing style first, open the free 16×24 gable shed plan PDF, an 8-page preview.

What is on the 16×24 shed plans materials list

The shopping list is split into sections, so you can buy the foundation and floor first and the roof later, in the stock lengths that waste the least. A lumber yard order then adds every section up.

The biggest lines in the lumber yard order are 93 2×4 x 8 ft (2 of them must be full 96″ boards, not 92 5/8″ precut studs) and 42 2×6 x 12 ft, one board per rafter. Add 2 or 3 spare studs for bad boards. The temporary braces and the ridge post are in the totals and can be reused after the build.

16×24 shed plans: the numbers for a site check

Square the corner stakes to matching 28′ 10 1/8″ diagonals before you dig, and mark the roof footprint, not just the walls, when you check the yard. The ramp and its landing reach out in front of the door, so leave room there.

How the 16×24 shed plans go together

Building 24 ft long from 16 ft stock

No board on the list is longer than 16 ft, so the skids, rims, plates, ridge and eave fascia are spliced where the plan says:

• Skids. Each 24 ft skid is a 16 ft and an 8 ft piece butted on the gravel, the joint under a floor joist, scabbed on both sides with a 3 ft pressure-treated 2×4 and kept 4 ft or more from the joint in the next skid.
• Rims. Each rim is cut 11′ 11 1/4″ + 12′ 0 3/4″ and breaks over a doubled joist.
• Second top plates. On the front and back walls each is 7′ 8 1/2″ + 15′ 8 1/2″, its joint on a stud and clear of the section joint below, so each layer covers the other’s joint.
• Ridge. The 24′ 8″ 2×8 ridge is 11′ 0″ + 13′ 8″, the joint centered on the rafter pair 10′ 8″ from the left corner. A temporary 2×4 post, 11′ 7 1/4″ from the deck to the underside of the ridge, holds it until that pair is nailed, then a 24″ 2×4 cleat ties the joint.

The nailed floor frame weighs about 800 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 and raised as a bare frame, and the siding goes on after all four stand. The two 24 ft walls go up in two sections each, so two people can raise every lift.

• Hinge it. Drive two or three nails partly through the bottom plate into the deck at the tipping edge so the section pivots instead of sliding.
• Brace at once. Never leave a raised wall unbraced, even for a minute, and never raise one in gusty wind.
• Siding. A 4×8 sheet of 5/8″ T1-11 weighs about 60 lb. Screw a straight 2×4 ledger to the floor frame at the siding’s bottom line, stand each sheet on it and nail it off.

What you can fit in a 16×24 shed

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

• A riding mower. With both leaves open the door is about 5′ 11 1/2″ clear. A 42 in deck mower parks nose in with 8 1/8″ to spare on each side; a 48 in deck fits with its deflector raised, and a 54 in deck does not. Keep 8 ft clear and level in front of the ramp to line it up square.
• 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, with a 7′ 6″ aisle behind the mower.
• The rest of the yard gear. A wheelbarrow and two bikes with their handlebars staggered fit beside the mower, with 7′ 7 1/2″ of clear height to the plates.
• A small lip, not a step. The floor sits 9 3/4″ up, and the ramp top ends about 13/16″ below the deck, over an aluminum threshold cap.

Stick-framed rafters vs trusses on a 16×24 gable roof

Many 16×24 plans use trusses. This 3DSHEDPLANS plan frames the roof with 38 2×6 rafters 16″ on center against a 2×8 ridge board, plus 4 fly rafters on the rakes, so two people can build it one pair at a time with no truss jig.

• One pattern. Cut one rafter, test it on both sides, then trace the rest. Each rafter comes from its own 12 ft board, 10′ 2 11/16″ overall.
• Ties. A 2×4 rafter tie sits on the plates beside each of the 17 interior pairs to stop the walls spreading, and 9 collar ties join pairs higher up, their tops 2′ 10 11/16″ above the plates.
• Connectors. Each rafter gets a hurricane tie at the plate, except the 4 end rafters at the corners, where the side wall covers the inside face, so those get framing angles.
• Venting. Air comes in through 8 screened soffit vents and a 2″ screened slot over each beveled frieze block, and leaves through a 14″ x 24″ louvered vent in each gable: 379.8 sq in of net free area in all, against a common 1/150 rule of thumb of 369 sq in.

In heavy snow or high wind areas the plan says you may need closer or larger rafters, so check your local permit office for the loads at your address.

Free 16×24 shed plan PDF vs the full plan

The free 8-page PDF shows the shed, the five stages of the build and the 3D views, so you can see the drawing style. It has no shopping list, cut list or measurements. The full 71-page plan adds the material list, the lumber yard order, the cut list, the cutting plan, the floor and roof sheet maps, the rafter and ridge marks and all 19 build steps with every dimension. Before it went on sale every measurement was cross-checked with 122 checks on the framing, the roof, the sheets and shingles and the lists, and all of them pass.

Before you build a 16×24 gable shed

• Permits. At 384 sq ft the shed is over the common 120 and 200 sq ft permit exemptions, 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.
• The pad. The 7.7 cu yd of 3/4″ stone fills a 26′ 0″ x 18′ 0″ pad, 4″ deep, inside a frame of pressure-treated 4x6s laid flat and pinned with 38 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.
• Anchors. The plan works out that the empty shed on loose skids can slide in gusts near 60 mph, which is why 10 ground anchors, 5 along each outside skid, are on the list. Check your local permit office for what your area asks.
• Ladders. Two 10 ft step ladders reach the ridge, and a 16 ft extension ladder covers roof work from the eave, about 8′ 8″ up. Shingle bundles weigh about 60 to 80 lb, so ask the supplier to deliver them onto the roof if they offer it.
• 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).

Related plans

• 2 ft shallower: the 14×24 gable shed plan and the 12×24 gable shed plan.
• 4 ft shorter: the 16×20 gable shed plan.
• Same footprint with a hip roof: the 16×24 hip roof shed plan.
• Pricing it first? Read the 16×24 shed material list guide.
• Every gable shed plan in one place.