DIY 10x16 Gable Storage Shed Plan

The full 68-page PDF with the list is $19.99: buy the 10×16 gable shed plan. The free 10×16 gable shed plan PDF shows the drawing style before you buy.

What is on the 10×16 shed material list

The shopping list is split into twelve sections, so you can buy the foundation and floor first and the roof later. Each lumber line comes in the stock length that wastes the least for that part, and the list tells you to add 2 or 3 spare studs for bad boards.

10×16 shed material list by stock size

The plan adds every section up into one lumber yard order, so a yard can quote straight from it. These are its lines, unchanged.

• Full boards, not precut studs. 4 of the 62 2×4 x 8 ft must be full 96 in boards, not 92 5/8 in precut studs: a left lower cripple board, the ridge splice cleat board and two gable end stud boards. Ask the yard for them by length. The rafters no longer need full 8 ft boards: each one comes two to a 2×4 x 14 ft.
• Temporary pieces are in the totals. Twelve 2×4 x 12 ft plumb braces, four braces for the center gable studs, one temporary ridge post and five 2×4 x 8 ft for 8 stakes and 12 deck cleats are counted in the order. You can reuse them after the build. The two 2×4 x 8 ft for the decking seam blocks stay in the floor.

Hardware, fasteners and finish on the list

Hardware is where most homemade lists come up short. This one names every fastener with a size and a quantity.

The list also covers the smaller items people forget until the last trip: 1 1/4″ and 3″ exterior screws for the door and corners, wood shims, flashing tape for the window openings, two 10 ft drip caps over the door and window heads, roofing cement, 3 tubes of caulk, insect screen and staples for the vent slots.

Door, ramp and anchor lines

These lines are new on this build, and they are the ones most often left off a 10×16 list.

Cut list and cutting plan: fewer wasted boards

The cut list gives every part, its lumber and its exact length, so you can cut and label parts one section at a time. The cutting plan then shows which stock board each part comes from and what is left over, allowing 1/8″ for each saw cut.

• One board, many parts. One 2×4 x 8 ft covers all 5 front cripples at 6 1/4″, and three more give the 20 frieze blocks at 1′ 1″, seven to a board and six from the last.
• Two rafters per board. Each 2×4 x 14 ft gives two rafters at 6′ 9 7/16″, leaving a 4 7/8″ offcut. The 4 fly rafters come the same way.
• Offcuts with a job. The 1′ 11 7/8″ left from every 12 ft rafter tie becomes lookout blocks and short gable studs. The front trimmer offcut gives the left wall’s cripples, the left lower cripple offcut gives the right wall’s, the right sill offcut gives frieze blocks, and the ridge cleat offcut gives gable studs and the vent side studs.
• Spliced where no board is long enough. The 16′ 8″ ridge and each 16′ 8″ eave fascia are cut as 9′ 8″ and 7′ 0″ pieces. The ridge joint lands on a rafter pair with a 2×4 cleat under it, and each fascia joint is centered on a rafter tail.
• Shared sheets. Two floor pieces come from one plywood sheet, and three pairs of roof pieces share OSB sheets. The plan warns that you run short if you cut them any other way.

Key specs of the 10×16 gable shed

These are the numbers the list is built on. Check them against your yard before you order, because the list only matches this exact shed.

The 64 hours break down as 5 for the site and foundation, 7 for the floor, 16 for the walls, 11 for the roof framing, 13 for sheathing and shingles and 12 for the door, windows, trim and paint. 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.

How to use the material list at the lumber yard

• Buy by section. The list is grouped so you can order the foundation and floor first, then the walls, then the roof, and nothing sits in the rain for weeks. Wood that stays wet decays faster (USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook).
• Buy the soffit plywood with the walls. The header fillers are ripped from the 1/2″ plywood sheets on the fascia and soffit list, so the plan says to buy those two sheets now.
• Check ground contact. The skids, the pad frame and every ramp part should be ground-contact rated pressure-treated lumber, UC4A or higher for the skids and the 4x6s.
• Pick straight boards. Sight down each skid, joist and rafter board and set the crown facing up when you build.
• Buy the spares. Add the 2 or 3 extra studs the list suggests for boards that turn out twisted or split. They are not in the yard order.
• Read the panel stamps. Check that the OSB carries a span rating that suits roof sheathing (APA: OSB).
• Ask about roof delivery. The plan puts a shingle bundle at about 60 to 80 lb and suggests asking the supplier to deliver the 9 bundles onto the roof if they offer it.
• Buy the windows early. Prefabricated units are usually 1/2″ smaller than the 36″ x 36″ rough opening, so check yours before you frame.

What fits through the 72 inch double door

• A riding mower. With both leaves open the door is about 5′ 11 1/2″ clear. The plan’s drawing parks a 42 in deck mower nose in; 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.
• A small lip, not a step. The floor sits 9 3/4″ up, and the ramp on the list ends about 13/16″ below the deck, over an aluminum threshold cap instead of a threshold board.
• The rest of the yard gear. The plan’s layout adds 12 in deep shelves on the back wall, split at the mower’s nose, a wheelbarrow and two bikes with their handlebars staggered, with 7′ 7 1/2″ of clear height to the plates.

Free 10×16 PDF vs the full plan with the list

The free 8-page PDF shows the five stages of the build with views from the full plan, so you can see the drawing style. It has no shopping list, cut list or measurements. The full plan adds the complete 10×16 shed material list, the lumber yard order, the cut list, the cutting plan and the 19 build steps with every dimension. If you are still pricing sizes, the 10×16 shed material list guide walks through what a list for this size should cover.

Before you build

• Permits. At 160 sq ft and 11′ 5 5/16″ tall, this shed may need a permit or meet setback limits, and rules vary by town and HOA. Check your local permit office before you order lumber.
• The pad. The list’s 4.0 cu yd of stone covers an 18′ x 12′ pad, 4″ deep, 12″ wider than the shed on every side, plus a landing 8′ 9″ wide and 6′ 7 1/2″ out for the ramp, all inside a frame of pressure-treated 4x6s laid flat. Square the corner stakes until both diagonals read 18′ 10 7/16″. See the gravel shed foundation guide for how to lay one.
• Anchors. The plan works out that the empty shed on loose skids can slide in gusts near 55 mph, which is why the 6 ground anchors are on the list. Check your local permit office for what your area asks.
• Helpers. The front wall is about 210 lb as a bare frame, the back wall about 190 lb and each side wall about 150 lb, and a T1-11 sheet weighs about 60 lb. The nailed floor frame is about 350 lb, so the plan has you build it in place on the skids.

Related plans

• Shorter on the same 10 ft depth: the 10×12 gable shed plan and the 10×14 gable shed plan. Longer: the 10×20 gable shed plan.
• 2 ft deeper at 192 sq ft: the 12×16 gable shed plan, with its full 12×16 shed material list.
• Same footprint with a single slope: the 10×16 lean-to shed plan, or with four slopes: the 10×16 hip roof shed plan.
• Every gable shed plan in one place.