DIY 10x12 Hip Roof Storage Shed Plan

The full plan is $19.99: buy the 10×12 hip roof shed plan. To see the drawing style first, open the free 10×12 hip roof shed plan PDF.

10×12 hip roof shed plan: the numbers for a site check

With a hip roof the overhang runs on all four sides, so mark the 14′ 1 1/2″ by 12′ 1 1/2″ roof outline on your lot, not just the walls, and leave room to walk around it with a ladder. The ramp reaches 3′ 6″ past the front wall, and the plan asks for 9′ 6″ clear and level in front of the wall to line a tractor up square.

How the 10×12 shed plans go together

The floor frame is ten 9′ 9″ joists between two 12 ft rims, set on skids 3′ 2 13/16″ on center. It weighs about 270 lb once nailed, so the plan has you build it in place on the skids and push it square until both diagonals read 15′ 7 7/16″. Five sheets of tongue and groove plywood cover it, with a last row 2′ 1″ wide and flat 2×4 blocks under that row’s seam.

The walls go up in one piece each as bare frames, in this order: the back wall at about 150 lb, the front wall with the door at about 180 lb (the heaviest lift), the left wall at about 150 lb and the right wall at about 150 lb. Two people tip each one up and brace it from the outside with 12 ft 2x4s to stakes about 5 ft out. The siding goes on once all four stand.

What is on the 10×12 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 2×4 wall braces, stakes and deck cleats. The cut list gives every part’s length and count, and the cutting plan shows which board each comes from. The longest boards on the list are 16 ft: the pad frame and the corner trim. The roof needs about 188 sq ft of sheathing: the cutting plan uses 10 sheets, plus 1 spare, because hip roofs waste more at the angled cuts.

What you can fit in a 10×12 shed

The plan’s “What fits inside” page draws the room from above, 11′ 5″ wide and 9′ 5″ deep inside, with 7′ 7 1/2″ of clear height under the top plates.

• A 42 inch deck rider. It is drawn nose in, 4′ 7 3/16″ x 5′ 10″. With both leaves open the door is about 5′ 11 1/2″ clear, so a 42 inch deck clears each side by 8 1/8″. A 48 inch deck fits with its deflector raised, and a 54 inch deck does not.
• Bikes and a wheelbarrow. The drawing places a wheelbarrow (2′ 2″ x 5′ 0″) and two bikes with staggered handlebars (2′ 6″ x 5′ 10″).
• Shelves on the back wall. The 12 ft back wall has no openings. The plan leaves room for 12 inch shelves in 2 ft runs; the shelves are not in the plan’s lists, so you add them. Parked about 1″ off the back wall, the mower leaves about 3′ 6″ of cross aisle behind its tail.
• A step up, then a ramp. The deck sits 9 3/4″ above the gravel. The ramp’s top sits about 13/16″ below the deck at the door, and there is no threshold board in the door.
• A bench with daylight. Each end wall has a 36″ x 36″ window with its sill 3′ 6″ above the bottom plate. Put a workbench or potting table under one.

How the 10×12 hip roof is framed: ridge, commons, hips and jacks

The plan frames the roof in a fixed order from a roof framing plan drawn from above:

1. Ridge on one post. The 2×6 ridge is only 2′ 1 1/2″ long, so a single temporary 2×4 post, 10′ 1 5/16″ long and braced both ways to the deck, holds it with its top 2′ 8 5/16″ above the plates. Each end is 4′ 11 1/4″ in from the outside of the end walls.
2. Commons in pairs. Cut one pattern common (board 6′ 9 7/16″, seat 2 1/2″), then cut 8: 6 for the front and back walls and 2 king commons that butt the ridge ends. Set the ridge-end pairs first, check the ridge for level, then fill in. A 10 ft rafter tie goes beside every common pair, and a 2×4 king tie runs on edge from king to king so the end walls cannot spread.
3. Four hips. Each 2×6 hip (board 9′ 0 13/16″) runs at 45 degrees in plan from a wall corner to the ridge end, sloping 19.5 degrees. Its seat notch is far deeper than the one-third rule for commons, but it sits right over the corner on lapped plates, so the load goes straight down. The plan holds it with a hurricane tie, toe-nails and a metal strap across the plates. Do not cut it deeper than drawn.
4. Jacks last. 24 jacks run from the walls up to the hips, centered 1′ 4″, 2′ 8″ and 4′ 0″ from every corner, with 45 degree side cuts in two hands. Nail each to its hip with three 3 1/2″ nails through the side cut.

Hip rafters are one size deeper than the commons so the jacks bear on their full face. At the eaves, the 1×6 fascia is mitered at every corner over the hip tail, and the long end pieces are joined with a 45 degree scarf over a rafter tail. 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.

Free 10×12 shed plan PDF vs the full plan

The free PDF is an 8-page streamlined version: the five stages (foundation, floor, walls, roof, trim) with 3D views and framing previews. It has no material list, no cut list and no measurements. The full plan adds every step, the roof framing plan with each rafter center, the hip and jack cut marks, the sheathing piece map, the ramp and the complete shopping list. The PDF also lists the 94 checks it passed before going on sale: the framing closes, the roof geometry works, sheets and shingles cover every surface, no two framing members overlap, and the drawings, tables and lists agree.

Before you build a 10×12 hip roof shed

• Permits. At 120 sq ft and about 11 1/2 ft tall, this shed can run into size, height or setback limits, and rules vary by town and HOA. Check your local permit office before you buy lumber.
• 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. The plan has you set 6 screw-in ground anchors with straps once the roof is on, before you fill the shed.
• Ventilation. A hip roof has no gable wall for a high vent. The 1/4″ gap behind the soffit, with insect screen, is the shed’s only vent, and it is low air only. That suits unheated storage; if you plan to heat or insulate the shed, plan roof vents as well.
• Skids. Use ground-contact rated pressure-treated 4x4s (UC4A or higher), set crown up, and shim a low skid with gravel or treated shims only.
• Safety. Set the ridge and first commons with a helper, and stay off open rafters until the sheathing is on.
• Tools and ladders. Beyond a circular saw with a rip guide, drill/driver and framing hammer, the tool list adds a miter saw for the door braces and trim, a reciprocating saw for the threshold cut, a 3 lb sledge for the pad frame spikes and stakes 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.
• 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

• Same size with a gable roof: the 10×12 gable shed plan, or a single slope, the 10×12 lean-to shed plan.
• 4 ft longer under the same roof style: the 10×16 hip roof shed plan.
• 2 ft shallower: the 8×12 hip roof shed plan.
• Choosing a base first? Read the shed foundation guide.
• Every hip roof shed plan in one place.