The Last Time. The She Shed is Ready

I retrieved my lawn mower from a storage locker for the last time, the shed is complete.  The only items left were installing the soffit and front side trim.  I thought 30 minutes top.  The soffit went fast, the real work with that was already done.  The plans called for attaching with 2″ 6d nails, but screw that.  Nailing upwards bites, I pulled out my mini gun and shot with 2 1/2″ 16 gauge nails.  My fit was almost perfect.  Where it wasn’t I put a bead of caulk.

I ran into a snag with the trim.  I followed the plans, but there was a gap at the top.  I looked over the plans and really don’t see what I missed.  Maybe they intended for there to be a gap, but that just invites bees and birds to find a home.  As with the soffit I needed to notch the front corner trim.  Unfortunately I had already cut one side, so I installed it and as I did with the back, added a filler piece.  The opposite side I notched.

More caulk, touch up paint and the shed project was practically complete.  The missing t-hinges for the doors came in, so I added them.  I also added about a 3″ wide strip of scrap T1-11 board, painted yellow on inside of one door to cover the gap between the doors.  At the bottom of that same door I added a surface bolt latch, so the side stays closed until I pull the latch.  While I was building the doors constantly blew open and shut and I figured that couldn’t be a good thing over time.  Those last two steps was just me over achieving and so are the tool racks I will make out of the scrap 2x4s.  I did one just to see if it would work, it did.  You can’t tell by the picture, but I cut the back side at a 20 degree angle.  I knew the upward tilt would help keep them in place.  It does.

People have commented to me, why not just buy a shed.  I could have, but I’m so thankful in this stage of my life that I have the skill set and physical ability to build something of quality myself, ESPECIALLY, given these trying times we’re in.  This project gave me something positive to focus on when the world is filled with negative thanks to Covid-19.  I built that…….from scratch.  There is nothing I can’t do when I put my mind to it.  I need these projects to reaffirm that I am essential because the world is telling me I’m not.