8x14 slant roof shed w/ loft, comments and critiques wanted please.

[Kelly]

First let me say that this is an AWESOME forum.
I have bee reading it pretty much non stop since i have found it. a ton of GOOD info and alot of great ideas, i hope to contribute more as time goes on.

so here is my situation:
i bought ~2 acres up in the mountains in Colorado. There is a perfect spot to build a small house, but since i dont want to finance anything, i wont be able to start that until more money is saved up. in the meantime we are going to be (and have been) camping on the property.
The idea is to build a small shed/shack that we can store things in and use it to get out of the bad/cold weather. the front of the shed will face south to capture the most sunlight through windows (and for future solar)

My plans are to build it on preformed concrete pyramids (i forget the 'brand' name of them, but they are the same things i used to build my shed kit on)
the structure will be a 14ft wide X 8ft deep X 8ft tall (sloping up to 12ft tall). the roof will be raise 6in for every 12in
I plan to put a loft in for sleeping so i to save some floor space.

Let me also say that i am not much of a carpenter, but i understand the basics so i am looking for some feedback on my plans.
I plan to have a few friends that have alittle better understanding of it help me, but i want to get the design all completed myself.

here are a few basic pictures of what i plan on doing:
Front view:

14ft wide, 1 door (probably ~30 in) and 1 lower window. the 2 windows up top will mainly be for light, but may open if needed to let hot air out.

side view:

this give you a better idea of how it is laid out.
the loft will be ~6ft 6in tall (as im 6'2")  and will just be big enough for to people to sleep on.
the roof will be on a 6in ^ per ft. i could probably get away with less, but i'd rather over engineer it than under engineer it. plus the roof will be slanted north, so i want the snow to shed easily during the winter.

top view:

pretty basic, but you get the idea.

back view:

also pretty basic.

so here are some of the questions i have:
1. what should i build the floor out of?
----i was thinking 2x6 that are set at 16in OC ? and covered with 1/2 plywood. would 2x8 be better?

2. what spacing should i use on the walls?
----most shed plans i have seen show a 24in OC, but id rather do 16in OC if it would help.

3. when building the loft, should i build it 'into' the walls, or should i build it as a 'standalone loft' inside the shed, and just secure it to the walls?
----if i should build it into the walls, how do i re enforce them?
----if i build it stand alone, should i re enforce the floor where the poles sit on the floor?

4. I have a basic understanding of how to frame in the windows and door, but im confused on how to cut the rafters. I know they need to be notched, but how is the size of the notch determined?

5. i plan on using a metal roof and collecting rain water. is there anything special i should know about that? (besides the 1x2 to allow air flow under the metal)

I am sure i will have more questions later, but ill leave it here for now

thanks in advance for all the help,
Kelly

ps- anyone in colorado ( fairplay/como area) wanting/willing to help, i would be happy to pay/provide food/beer to help me learn

[muldoon]

Hello Kelly,  to the forum.

I'm sure someone will be along to help you with better answers than this, but I'll give it a stab for now.

1. what should i build the floor out of?
----i was thinking 2x6 that are set at 16in OC ? and covered with 1/2 plywood. would 2x8 be better?

That's certainly common, and I dont think there is anything wrong with that approach. 


2. what spacing should i use on the walls?
----most shed plans i have seen show a 24in OC, but id rather do 16in OC if it would help.


shed plans and residences are not the same thing, I believe 16" OC is standard for 2x4 walls although to my understanding 24" OC is acceptable if you use 2x6 walls and use a thick sheetrock to add rigidity.  2x6 provides the ability to add more insulation. 

3. when building the loft, should i build it 'into' the walls, or should i build it as a 'standalone loft' inside the shed, and just secure it to the walls?
----if i should build it into the walls, how do i re enforce them?
----if i build it stand alone, should i re enforce the floor where the poles sit on the floor?

I think the most common practice is to incorporate it into the the structure.  ie, making the loft floor the first floor ceiling joists.  In that capacity, they are anchored to the topplate of the walls. 


4. I have a basic understanding of how to frame in the windows and door, but im confused on how to cut the rafters. I know they need to be notched, but how is the size of the notch determined?

I know this has come up before, if you search you'll find it. 


5. i plan on using a metal roof and collecting rain water. is there anything special i should know about that? (besides the 1x2 to allow air flow under the metal)

the 1x2 would be the purlins, but be sure to use the appropriate fasteners with whatever roof system you go with.  for me, it was simple neoprene washers and metal->wood screws.  other systems can be different, make sure you use the right ones so your roof doesnt leak. 

[Don_P]

 
2x6's would be fine for the floor for an 8' span, I'd bump up to 3/4" T&G ply or osb. porch paint makes it much easier to keep clean.

actually you can frame 24" oc with 2x4's but I prefer 16" oc for everything, keeps the waves down. Run all sheet goods with the long axis across framing.

You can let in a ledger to support the loft, or... we made our sleeping platform so that it would rise up to the ceiling. I used 4 pulleys and cast boxes of concrete that slid in the stud bays to counterweight it, took about 10-20 lbs of effort to lift it with bed and covers on it. There was a heavy rail just above tabletop height on both walls that acted as the support ledger and prop sticks to stick under it in the up position.

Make the uppers operable, it'll get close in there on rainy days.

I'd probably slope the top plates on the walls rather than notching the rafters. At any rate do not notch the upper end, this induces splitting. What's your snow load?

[Kevin]

Just to give you a heads up your loft will be no more than a hole in the wall size.
My shed roof cabin is 16x24 And the loft is real shall with not much head room.
So you loft will just hold a sleeping bag.
kevin

[Squirl]

I built something similar.  You can see it here.
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=7305.msg94564#msg94564

There is a lot of information in your post. I will post some of the thoughts on my "shed" and hopefully you may find some use in it.  I went with 8x12 because most lumber is cut to 4x8 and  2x92.5" and 2x8,10,12,16. Less cutting because I am not much of a carpenter either and I built it with hand tools.  Also I was looking to stay under 100sq. ft.  If you have no square foot restrictions you may want to consider 8 x 16.
I will try and answer some of the questions.

1. Very Common 2x6.  That is what I did. 
2. If using 2x4 I would go with 16" o/c.  Most sheds are built as inexpensive as possible.  They are not to be insulated and really don't care if they collapse.  I believe code for 2x4 is 16". If you go with 2x6 24" may be better for less heat loss to studs.
3. Either should be fine. With the size of that loft you can only fit so much weight up there.  I personally wouldn't worry about reinforcing.  Remember, if you put an air mattress or something to sleep on you will lose an extra foot of headroom. 
4. A simple builders square should help you draw the angle.  I will go over how I did it.  If the building is square the bottom plates should be the same distance as the top.  I did not have a shed roof but you can probably accomplish the same thing with a 4ft piece of 2x4 to be the high side of the shed.  I used a square and measured the angles.  I cut about an inch for the notch.  I then used the one I cut as a template for the rest.  All my rafters were then exactly the same and notched on the ground and ready to hang.  It was very easy.
5. I haven't done this yet.  I will let you know.

[Kelly]

Just to give you a heads up your loft will be no more than a hole in the wall size.
My shed roof cabin is 16x24 And the loft is real shall with not much head room.
So you loft will just hold a sleeping bag.
kevin

any suggestions on what size it should be?
i figure it will just hold an air mattress (queen size), with a have enough room to lay down/situp on.

would it be better (from your experience) to lower the loft to say 5ft and widen it a bit?


Don_P - Thanks for the reply.
im not sure what my snow load is. i know that there are some people that are able to keep a yurt up during the winter.
can i call some county office to get my snow load? sorry, im obviously new at this.  
also, what do you mean to slope the top plate instead of notching the rafters? how you i nail the top plate at an angle?

muldoon - thanks for the reply.

Squirl -
Thanks, i will look through your link.
i didnt think about the head room loss due to a mattress, so that is something that i will have to think about.

do you think it would be better of me to just get a prebuilt shed put onto the property and redo the outside so it doesnt look like a 'shed'.
maybe some kind of wood siding to disguise it into the trees?
i figure i can find something that builds them onsite and make sure it is sturdy enough to sleep in (ie have them do 2x6 floor and 2x4 walls that are 16' OC)

[Don_P]

Your local building inspector will be able to give you snow load info. With that you can determine how large the rafters need to be. The loads in those mountains vary tremendously by locale and elevation.

By sloping the top of the wall I mean to cut the tops of the studs at an angle and nail the plates on top of that. If I'm feeling fancy I rip bevels on the top plates but it isn't really necessary.

I'm a big fan of build it yourself if you want to learn a skill but to each his own, there's many paths to the top of the hill.  I put food on my table thanks to those who would rather have me do it or help them do it:)