Building an Herb Ladder

Overview

We covered up a door along the back of our house, so now the siding looks different than the rest of the house. We decided an herb ladder would be a great way to cover up the section that's different.

Finished Product

Planning

I graduated from pencil and paper and taught myself how to use SketchUp. It wasn't too bad to learn, but definitely took some effort to become proficient. Once I had the basics down, creating plans for the herb ladder was pretty straightforward. 

I only had a few requirements to work with, so I had a decent amount of freedom:

• It had to fit in the space we had picked out for it (within the footprint of the door and under the eave of the house)
• Rachael needed to reach all the boxes so it couldn't be too tall

With those requirements in mind, I figured out how wide the boxes could be, and then decided to make them detachable so any planting could be done away from the ladder itself (and allowed it to be a little taller than if the boxes were permanent).

Sketch Up Drawing

Building

Getting the materials was very easy. It was made entirely from dimensional lumber 8ft long or less. I was able to cram all of it in my car, so no delivery required.

First, I cut everything for the boxes, including the rabbit cuts for the joinery. I did all of that with a circular saw and a miter saw. A router or table saw would've been much more effective, but I got the job done with what I had. It was tough to get the depth of the cuts right, and i could've assembled a better jig for the circular saw. It wasn't perfect, but everything fit together.

Making the Rabbit Cuts

Completed Cut

Next I assembled all 4 boxes. Everything was joined using wood glue only, which should be more than strong enough thanks to the rabbit joints. So far so good! It was tough with only two clamps, but it worked.

Four Assembled Boxes

In between gluing each box, I used the downtime to make the cuts required for the legs. There is a notch for each box so it can be lifted out and tended to.

Cut Legs, Before Sanding

After the glue dried, I sanded the living daylights out of each box. I was amazed at the way sanding was able to transform my shoddy craftsmanship into a significantly nicer piece. By sanding, I was able to turn cheap dimensional lumber into something that looked much higher quality. It was really nice to watch the sander erase all of the markings stamped on the wood and smooth out all the imperfections.

Box, After Sanding

Once all the glue was dry, I put a waterproof finish on everything. It's the first time I've graduated to finishing a piece, so I hope it holds up to being outside. I think it came out really nice, but in the future, I think I'll stain before adding the finish if it's something that really needs to look good. For the herb ladder, it's more than good enough as is.

Top: Finished Boxes; Bottom: Unfinished Box

I had cut a few dowels and finished them at the same time, leaving a little unfinished space at the end where they would be glued. I drilled appropriately-sized holes in the side of each box and glued the dowels in place.

Gluing The Dowels

With everything assembled, I could put it together and add additional support. I had two crosspieces left over from cutting the legs, and at this point, screwed them in place, using the boxes as a guide. The supports are the only pieces assembled with screws on the entire ladder.

The next step is to fill the boxes. We need to figure out what we want to put in it, but that should happen any day now...

Lessons Learned

• Make every effort to get the rabbit cuts as close to perfect as possible. I was able to fix a lot of mistakes by sanding, but would have saved a lot of time and effort if the cuts had been more accurate in the first place.
• Don't overlook the benefits of sanding, and make sure you are able to sand everything you need to. I was able to fix a lot of mistakes by sanding the piece, plus it just looks so much better. I did run into some problems - I didn't sand before assembling the boxes, so I couldn't get the palm sander inside the box. I could have hand sanded everything, but instead I chose to be lazy and left the insides of the boxes unsanded. They turned out fine, but in the future, sanding before assembling is definitely the way to go (at least for hard-to-reach spots).
• If you're wife shows you something on Pinterest to use as inspiration, the finished project is supposed to look exactly like the picture, no creative interpretation allowed. On several occasions, I heard, "oh, it's shorter than I expected, is that really how tall it's going to be?" I identify a lot with this video...
• Put a picture of the finished project at the top of the blog so the preview photo is better. I still haven't fixed my first blog (and probably never will), but this one is much better.

Planning and Building My First Shed During a Quarantine

Goal

Build a small shed to hold chicken food and supplies, along with other assorted materials that didn't have a home.

Overview

My wife has four chickens (Instagram: @flockbythedock), and most of their food, bedding, and other materials were being stored on our front porch. One of my longer-term goals is to build a bigger shed to store tools, so I thought a small version for chicken supplies would be a great way to practice (and to get everything off of our front porch). Prior to taking on the shed, my only real experience was building the chicken coop, so I spent a lot of time doing research on shed building, wall framing, roofing, and other relevant skills. I had a brand new miter saw and a lot of free time thanks to the quarantine, so I figured it was a perfect time to take on the challenge of building a little shed for the chickens.

Planning

I knew I wanted the shed to be 4ft x 8ft, but beyond that, I didn't have many requirements going in. 4x8 is a great size for many building materials, and since the maximum size I could do in my area without a permit is 8ft x 8ft, I thought 4x8 would be a safe starter-size. I thought a rain barrel would be a great addition for filling the chicken's water, so I kept that in mind during the design process as well.

I started by sketching out all of the plans by hand. My rough process was as follows:

1. Draw a rough sketch of the final design
2. In build order, I sketched each step and calculated dimensions:
   1. Base
   2. Back Wall
   3. Side Walls
   4. Front Wall
   5. Roof
   6. Door
   7. Shelves
3. For each section, I mapped each piece to a board (either 8ft or 12ft long) to serve as a guide for all of my cuts and use materials as efficiently as possible.
4. I then decided that I wanted my lean-to style roof to slope back to front instead of front to back, so I redid everything, but reversed it (annoying, but WAY better than having to adjust everything while building).

When calculating dimensions, I tried to be extra careful to take everything into account. For example, a 2x4 isn't actually 2 inches by 4 inches (1.5x3.5), and that matters a lot when framing your walls. Also, the ½ inch plywood used for the floor and the roof decking was included in all of the measurements. If you can be exact with your measurements, the entire process becomes much easier. It's definitely worth taking the time during the planning phase rather than assuming everything will work itself out during building (lesson learned from building the chicken coop).

Materials

I used the following building materials, all purchased from Home Depot and delivered via “Express Delivery” on a flatbed truck. Without that option, there is no way I could have transported the 12ft pieces of lumber or 4x8 sheets of plywood and T1-11 siding, so it was well-worth the $89. That being said, that's not an insignificant cost, so I made sure to triple-check all of my materials before ordering so I didn't miss anything.

• 2x4, pressure-treated lumber (17 12ft, 3 10ft, 20 8ft)
• 2x6, pressure-treated lumber (1 12ft)
• 4x4, pressure-treated lumber (2 8ft)
• (5) 4'x8'x7/16” OSB
• (6) 4'x8'x19/32” T1-11 Plywood Siding Panels
• 5lbs #9 2-½” Wood Deck Screws
• 5lbs #8 1-5/8” Wood Deck Screws
• 5lbs 1-¼” Roofing Nails (see lessons learned)
• (2) Royal Sovereign Charcoal 3-Tab Shingles (33.33 sq. ft. per bundle)
• Roof tar paper (had leftover from the chicken coop project)
• Aluminum flashing (leftover from a previous project)
• (1) 10.1 oz container Watertight Roof Sealant
• 4 bags 0.5 cu ft all-purpose stone
• (3) Aluminum Drip Edge (10ft long, F4-1/2) – Only needed 2
• (1) 10ft Traditional Vinyl Gutter
• (1) K-Style Drop Outlet (for the gutter)
• (5) Vinyl Hidden Hanger (for the gutter)
• (1) K-Style End Cap Set (for the gutter)
• (1) 5-3/4” Door Pull
• (3) 6 in Heavy Duty Decorative Tee Hinge
• (1) Black Gate Latch
• (1) 3-1/2” Black Key Locking Hasp
• (2) Joist Hangers (see lessons learned)
• (4) 18-Gauge Galvanized Hurricane Ties

All of the materials were about $800, plus $50 in sales tax and the $89 delivery fee. I don't think I saved any money compared to buying a prefab shed, but I was able to customize everything the way I wanted it, and I'd like to think that it's built a little bit better than alternatives.

I used the following tools for the build:

• Sliding Compound Miter Saw, 10 in (Probably overkill but made the process WAY easier)
• Circular Saw, 7¼ in
• Jigsaw
• Cordless and Corded Drills
• Hammer
• Hand Saw (see lessons learned)
• Hack Saw (to cut the gutter)
• Level
• Measuring Tape
• Chalk Line
• Speed Square
• Wood clamps (see lessons learned)
• Pencil

Ordering and Delivery

I placed my entire order online, and took advantage of Home Depot's Express Delivery option. Of note, you can select a delivery option per item, so I had to make sure everything in my cart was using the same option. It was also much easier to handle such a large order online compared to the Home Depot App.

On delivery day, I received a call from the driver shortly before he arrived asking “if I lived on a cul-de-sac.” I said that I didn't, but I do have a long driveway that ends with an area big enough for delivery trucks to easily turnaround. The driver sounded skeptical, so I told him that I'd meet him at the end of the driveway to figure out the plan once he arrived, and he seemed happy with that.

About 20 min later, I saw a flatbed truck trying to turn down one of the streets in my neighborhood and realized this delivery wasn't going to be as easy as I thought... I'm sure I was the last of several deliveries for the day, but it looked ridiculous to see my tiny order sitting on the back of a flatbed truck. Luckily, the driver had a forklift that he was able to drive from the truck (which remained parked on the street), down my driveway to place the entire package neatly under my shed awning.

Order delivered successfully (with the outer plastic wrap removed)

Next time I place a large order from Home Depot, I plan to look into the option to rent their pickup truck (advertised for $19 for the first hour), which seems like it would have been more than enough to get this order to my house, plus I would have saved $70 and some aggravation.

Leveling/Foundation

Once everything arrived, I could start building the shed. The first step was to create a level surface and build the foundation and floor. I had selected a relatively even location close to the chicken coop. I used 4 wood stakes and some string to dig 2 troughs that could be filled with stone and leveled. Each of the troughs was 8ft long, 6in wide, and an average of 3in deep (for a total of 2 cubic feet of stone – 2 x 8 x 0.5 x 0.25).

Four stakes tied together with string to define a level plane

4x4s placed on level beds of stone

I framed the floor and secured it to the 4x4s with hurricane straps (again, I don't think this method is the best way to secure the floor, which I explain more in the lessons learned section). For the purpose of this shed, it should be good enough. I then secured the plywood floor to the frame with deck screws, resulting in a very sturdy base.

Floor framing

Base complete with plywood floor in place

Wall Framing

The next step was to frame the walls. I started with the back wall, which, at 8ft wide by 8ft tall with 2 full sheets of T1-11 siding, was exceedingly heavy. I embarrassingly tried to lift the wall into position by myself, and only managed to rip off the supporting 2x4. I then enlisted the assistance of all 4 foot 10 of my wife, and together, we were able to lift the wall into place and secure the 2x4 support.

Back wall in place

Next, I built the two side walls. The exterior width of each wall is 4ft, but because of the 3.5 inches taken up by both the front and back walls, each is actually only 41” wide. Because of the odd width, I took some liberties with the framing and centered a single stud on each side (approx 20” spacing instead of the usual 16”). Since the wall wouldn't be supporting anything, and it's “just a shed,” I figured I would be alright. Both walls were secured to the back wall and temporarily to the floor until I could place the front wall and verify that everything was square. The walls are only 6ft high to match the front wall, which will be installed next. To accommodate the lean-to roof, I decided to wait until the front wall and roof supports were installed before installing the siding. That way, I could ensure that everything was measured and cut accurately.

Two side walls in place

Finally, I framed the front wall with an opening for the door. The front wall seemed even more difficult than the back wall, despite being smaller, so again, I needed help to get it into place. Once it was up, I verified everything was square, attached the front wall to both sides and the floor, and secured header pieces to help connect the front and side walls and support the roof. To maintain the wall's structure, I kept the bottom piece of framing in place until the wall was in place. Once it was attached, I used the hand saw to remove the 2x4 at the base of the door opening.

All walls in place

Roof

With the walls in place, I could start on the roof. I started by measuring the exact angle for the roof cuts by using the existing walls as a template. That way I couldn't get it wrong, and wouldn't have to do trigonometry to figure out the angles. Because of the size of the roof, I elected to use 24” spacing between the roof supports (see the lessons learned section for reasons why I should have stuck to 16” spacing).

Roof supports in place as it's starting to get dark

For the roof decking, I used the same OSB plywood used for the floor. Paying careful attention to the stress direction for which the boards were rated, I cut and installed two sheets side-by-side.

Plywood decking installed

With the roof supports done, I could trace, cut, and install the siding on each of the side walls. I then put down the tar paper, installed the drip edges (front below the tar paper, sides above), installed the shingles, and put the aluminum drip edge in place over the back edge. With that, the roof is complete!

Tar paper and drip edge with remaining siding in place

Shingles complete

Door

I used the siding that I cut out of the front wall to build the door. I trimmed the siding down about 1/2” to allow for a 1/4” gap on each side to allow the door to swing freely. I then framed the siding with 2x4s to complete the look. With the door assembled, I placed it in the opening to serve as a guide for the framing around the opening.

Assembled door leaning against shed

I then secured the door in place and attached the handle and locking hasp. With that in place, I realized that I wanted something a little more substantial to keep the door closed, so I installed a gate latch as well.

With the door in place, I could verify how low the gutter could be without interfering with the door. Following the instructions provided on Home Depot's website, I installed the gutter without any problems. I still have to install a downspout and connect it to a rain barrel (see next steps), and I would make a few adjustments if I had to do it again (see lessons learned).

Door installed and gutter attached (with bucket for testing the gutter)

Floor

To provide some protection and make the floor look a little bit better than unfinished OSB, I bought a box of peel-and-stick tile. I'm interested to see how the tile holds up over time, because it was not installed under ideal conditions – I didn't have a floor roller, so I did what I could to press it down, and the instructions explicitly say that it won't work with OSB. With it being a shed floor, I'm hoping that it holds up well enough.

Shelves

My original plans had two stationary shelves built in around the back and side walls, with enough space to step into the shed and reach everything. Once the structure was assembled, we decided that it would be nice to have more space for taller objects (rakes, tents, lawn chairs, etc.), so I adjusted the shelf design. Instead of robust, built-in shelves, I put in supports for adjustable shelves. I could easily expand the shelving if we need to, but started with one side, three shelves, and eight possible positions.

Adjustable shelves in place

Lessons Learned

• I tried to calculate the door height correctly, but after the roof and gutter was installed, the original door opening was several inches too high. I was able to adjust the height on the fly by adding a header piece and taking advantage of the trim around the door, but it's definitely something to look out for when designing the shed.
• I was not prepared for the assembled walls to be so heavy. In the future, I will either be enlisting help from the beginning of the project, or making sure I can do more of the assembly in place (the siding, for example).
• While 4ft by 8ft seemed like the perfect size for easily leveraging building materials, I would make everything about half an inch smaller in the future to account for the siding. Since the siding is also 4x8, there is a small gap at each corner where it doesn't quite cover everything. An alternative way to handle this problem would be to add trim to cover the corners and hide any small gaps.
• The foundation I used for this shed is very simple, but I probably won't use it for anything more substantial. In the future, I'll likely use posts dug into the ground to secure the 4x4s and find a better way to secure the floor frame to the 4x4s. The hurricane ties are fine, but likely wouldn't handle anything more substantial. Additionally, they only really work in 2 of the 4 corners (they can't be flipped around to work in arbitrary orientations as I had planned).
• I would highly recommend a battery powered reciprocating saw (aka sawzall), jigsaw, and/or circular saw. Using a handsaw to cut siding or 2x4 lumber was not ideal.
• I only have a few clamps, and would highly recommend having several various clamps available for attaching different pieces together.
• I overlooked the thickness of the roof deck, and selected roofing nails that were too long. I now have nails poking through the roof of the shed, and would definitely select nails that were more appropriate for the thickness of the OSB.
• I mentioned that I decided to go with 24” spacing between the roof supports. While that spacing worked fine for the roof, it put 2 of the 5 supports between studs and left nothing to attach them to. I solved the problem by adding a horizontal 2x4 below the top of the wall frame, but in the future, would just make the roof spacing match the spacing of the wall studs.
• When installing the gutter, I placed the downspout close to the corner. I didn't realize I would then have no space to attach the piece of gutter that serves as an end-cap on the far side. The online tutorial doesn't mention anything about placement, but for any future gutter installations using this same gutter system, I would leave enough room to have a hanger on both sides of the downspout.
• I used joist hangers for two of the roof supports, but they ended up not working as well as I had hoped. If I design another lean-to structure in the future, I would simply place each roof support against a stud and attach it with nails and/or screws to keep it in place.

Next steps

• Paint! We'll likely paint the shed to match the chicken coop, but we're going to wait until the quarantine is lifted before we go paint shopping.
• Once I'm free to go shopping again post-quarantine, I'm going to set up a rain barrel system that can be used to fill the chicken's water from the roof runoff. I left enough space to the right of the shed to put the barrel, so I'll try to update once that's assembled.
• I'm very happy with how well the shed came together, but one draw back is that it's possible to get stuck inside if the wind blows and the gate latch catches. To prevent anyone getting stuck inside, I'll be adding a pull on the inside of the shed that attaches to the gate latch on the outside and can be used to open it.