DIY 8x12 Gable Storage Shed Plan

The full plan is $19.99: buy the 8×12 gable shed plan. To see the drawing style first, open the free 8×12 gable shed plan PDF.

8×12 shed plan: the numbers for a site check

Which way it faces: the door is in the 12 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 only the 8 ft depth, which keeps them short and light. Rain sheds off the front eave, 8″ out past the door.

How the 8×12 shed plan goes together

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

The skids run along the 12 ft side. Two full rows of decking cover 7′ 11″ of the 8 ft frame, so the plan has you rip 1x4s to 1″ and glue them along the back rim, where the back wall’s bottom plate covers them.

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.

• Hinge it. Drive two or three nails partly through the bottom plate into the deck at the tipping edge so the wall pivots, not slides.
• The front wall walks. With the back wall up, only 7′ 8 1/2″ of deck is free, too little to frame the front wall at its own edge. The plan frames it facing the other way, bottom plate 6″ from the back wall, tips it up there and walks it across to the front edge with a diagonal brace still on. At about 180 lb, that is a job for two careful people.
• Brace from outside. 12 ft 2×4 braces run to stakes about 5 ft out, so the deck stays clear for the next wall. Before you side a face, move its braces inside onto deck cleats.
• Side walls drop in. Their plates are 1/8″ shorter than the gap between the front and back walls, so plumb those two first.
• Siding alone. Screw a straight 2×4 ledger to the floor frame at the siding’s bottom line, stand each sheet on it, tack the top corner and nail it off.

What is on the 8×12 shed material list

The shopping list is split by stage, so you can buy the floor first and the roof later. Each part is listed in the stock length that wastes the least, and a cutting plan shows which board each part comes from.

• Foundation and floor: three 12 ft pressure-treated 4×4 skids, two 12 ft 2×6 rims, ten 8 ft 2×6 joists, 3 sheets of tongue and groove plywood and one 1×4 for the filler strip.
• Walls: full 8 ft 2x4s for the studs (not precut studs), 12 ft plates for the front and back walls, a door header of two 2x8s with 1/2″ plywood between them, a 2×6 window header, 10 sheets of T1-11 and 2 pieces of Z-flashing.
• Roof: 2×4 rafters from 12 ft boards, a 14 ft 2×6 for the ridge, 8 rafter ties, 4 collar ties, 6 sheets of OSB, a roll of felt, 6 drip edge pieces and 6 bundles of shingles.
• Door, window and trim: 1 T1-11 sheet for both gable ends, 2 new sheets for the door leaves, 6 T-strap hinges, a handle and latch, 2 barrel bolts, the prefabricated window, 1×4 casing and corner trim, 1×6 fascia and 1/2″ plywood for the soffit.
• Hardware and finish: about 28 lb of 3 1/2″ framing nails, siding, sheathing and roofing nails, 20 hurricane ties, 6 tubes of construction adhesive, flashing tape, caulk, insect screen and about 4 gallons of paint.

The 8×12 double door, step by step

The door is built on site from materials on the list, not bought pre-hung:

• Opening: 60″ wide by 76 1/2″ tall, 3′ 6″ to 8′ 6″ from the left corner, under a doubled 2×8 header. Clear height is 6′ 6″ once you cut out the bottom plate.
• Leaves: two, each 2′ 5 5/8″ wide by 6′ 5 1/4″ tall, cut from new T1-11 sheets because the siding cut from the opening is too short.
• Frame: a glued and screwed 1×4 frame on each leaf (two stiles and three rails) and two 1×4 braces cut at 29 degrees on the miter saw, rising from the hinge side.
• 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.

Build each leaf on the flat floor and check it with a framing square. A square leaf hangs without binding, and a pair shows any twist at the center gap.

What you can fit in an 8×12 shed

• Mower, wheelbarrow and carts. Both leaves open to the full 60″ rough opening, less a little for hinges and leaf thickness. The floor sits 9 3/4″ up, so plan a sturdy ramp.
• Shelving on the back wall. The window opening starts 4′ 6″ in from each corner of the 12 ft back wall, which leaves room for shelves or a bench on each side, and the 7′ 6″ studs take tall units.
• Long tools. The 8 ft side walls have no openings, so rakes, ladders and hoses hang on both of them.
• Not a loft. The plan’s rafter ties keep the walls from spreading, and it says to keep anything set on them light.

Stick-framed rafters vs trusses on an 8×12 gable roof

Many small shed plans use trusses. This 3DSHEDPLANS plan frames the roof with 20 2×4 rafters 16″ on center against a 12′ 8″ 2×6 ridge board, plus 4 fly rafters on the rakes. Each rafter board is 5′ 3 1/2″ long with a birdsmouth (a 2 1/2″ seat and a 1 1/4″ heel), and the roof rises 2′ 2 5/16″ from the top of the walls to the top of the ridge. A center gable stud on each side wall holds the ridge while the first pairs go on. A 2×4 rafter tie sits on the plates beside each of the 8 interior pairs, and 4 collar ties go on every other interior pair. Every rafter gets a hurricane tie. Cut one pattern rafter, test it on both sides, then cut the rest. In heavy snow or high wind areas, ask about loads and check your local permit office before you build.

Ventilation is built in: drilled and screened frieze blocks let air in at the eaves, and it leaves through a screened 1″ gap under the end rafters. The plan says this gable is too low for a louvered vent, so none is on the list.

Free 8×12 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 19 step 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 8×12 gable shed

• Permits. At 96 sq ft and 10′ 11 3/8″ tall, this shed may fall inside or outside local size and height limits, and setback rules vary by town and HOA. Check your local permit office before you buy lumber.
• Square the pad. Match both layout diagonals at 14′ 5 1/16″ before the gravel goes down.
• Build the floor in place. The nailed floor frame weighs about 220 lb and racks if you lift it, so frame it on top of the skids.
• 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.
• 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 threshold cut, a 3 lb sledge for the 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

• 16 sq ft smaller with the same 8 ft depth and 5 ft double door: the 8×10 gable shed plan.
• 112 sq ft: the 8×14 gable shed plan. 120 sq ft: the 10×12 gable shed plan.
• The same footprint with other roofs: the 8×12 hip roof shed plan and the 8×12 lean-to shed plan.
• Every gable shed plan in one place.
• Pricing the build first? See the free lumber, sheet and hardware list for an 8×12 shed.