The framing portion
of your shed plan project allows you to see the shed plans
you've made finally begin to take shape. There are
many ways to frame a shed or barn. The most common is
called stick framing where 2x4 studs from the skeleton of
the walls and two-by lumber of various sizes used to support
floors and the roof. It is the method used to build
most houses, and most barns and outbuildings for that
matter. But there are other methods. You can
also use a grid of structural poles or try the old fashioned
but challenging system of timber framing.
You can construct a utility building or a shed with steel
and concrete, adobe, or even straw bales and rebar.
But in most areas--and for barns and other outbuildings--the
most common way to build is by framing with wood.
Small sheds are often built like houses, piece by piece, use
a system known as stick framing. With this approach,
you can typically install a foundation or footing piers,
build a platform of girders and floor joists, and cover the
platform with plywood before raising the walls.
The old fashioned way of doing this, called post and beam
building or timber framing, uses fewer but larger timbers in
the structure. The heavy timber system, which can
require a crane or special rigging to set large beams, is
practiced mainly by professional contractors and builders.
Another option called pole framing, is often used on barns
because it provides large clear-span areas inside the
building. But poles for a large structure can be heavy
and unwieldy, and they require professional installation by
someone experience in barn construction.
Stick Framing
Sticking framing refers to two types of construction.
Platform framing consists of a skeletal web of milled two-by
lumber that makes up the frame of the floor, walls, ceilings
and roof. Walls are often framed on the deck (made of
floor joists and plywood), and then raised into place.
An older method, called balloon framing, doesn't divide the
stories into platforms but uses long studs to frame the
entire structure. Mainly because of decline lumber
quality, balloon framing is rarely used today.
All of our
shed
plans in our shed plans package are designed to use
standard stick framing that is easy to build and lasts a
lifetime.
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A stick frame structure has walls
built from 2x4's or 2x6's set on 16 or 24 in. on
center. They are often built on the deck and
tipped up into position. Floors and roofs are
framed with heavier lumber. |
Timber
Framing
Traditional timber or post and beam frames require high
quality carpentry work involving classic skills such as
shaping mortise and tenon joints that fit without play.
There's also the considerable trouble of either obtaining
and moving large timbers into position. But a well
built timber frame is stronger than a stick framed structure
shed. Also, this system has the authentic appeal of an
old barn, which you can preserve by leaving the huge posts
and beams exposed inside and cladding the structure with
prefabricated roofing and siding panels. A post and
beam frame may consist of only a hundred or so individual
pieces that make an elegant frame. But making the
complex joints and erecting the frame generally takes much
more time and skill than conventional stick framing.
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Timber framing with a small
number of large beams was the norm until the 20th
century when it gave way to stick framing systems
that used two-by milled lumber, generally on 16 in
centers. |
Pole Framing
A pole building is similar in many ways to a
commercial building made of steel. A pole framed barn
or shed doesn't rest on the ground with a full foundation
but hangs from a grid of poles. Chemically treated
poles (or square pressure treated posts) are connected with
large timbers or pairs of timbers that are bolted in place
These timbers serve to support floor joists, walls, and
rafters, but all of the building loads travel down the
poles. For small buildings, you might use 4x6 posts
that are only 10 or 12 feet long. Larger barns can
call for poles the size of telephone poles. Overall,
pole framing is an economical system because it does not
require a full foundation and allows for large, open areas
with high ceilings. It is one of the best ways o build
on a sloped site.
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Pole framing is especially
popular for livestock barns and sheds, which need
large, open central spaces. For smaller
projects, pressure treated posts can be substituted
for heavy poles. |
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