Why won’t my shed Doors close?

I receive at least 40-50 calls per year from people who have a shed 15,20,30 or more years old which is in decent shape however the doors are sagging, won’t close properly or just plain don’t work.

Here are some simple steps to try and eliminate your door issues:

• Take a 4′ level and place in the middle of the shed floor. Make sure it is level front to back and right to left. If your storage shed is even a little bit out of level it can cause the shed doors to stick/rub. Using pressure treated, steel, concrete or composite shims re-level the shed. I suggest using a Jeep jack or Johnson bar to lift the shed one corner at a time. Depending on the size of the building you may be able to use a simple steel bar to lift the corners high enough to place the shims underneath.

• Doors are warping out at the bottom/top. This may happen for several reasons and there are a couple of ways to solve the problem.

1. You can buy small turnbuckles at most hardware stores or home centers. Attach one half to the area where the door is pulling away from the shed and the other diagonally across the door towards the opposite corner. Once screwed into place start tightening the turn buckle using a wrench. Once you have it cranked nice and tight take a look and see if it took out some, most or all of the warp. If not proceed to step 2.
2. Remove the doors from the storage shed. Next remove the trim from the front of the doors (if there is any) as many carpenters will nail through the siding on the front of the door into the door framing and then hide the nails with the trim. Remove the frame from the siding and replace the framing with new, straight lumber. Reattach the siding and trim (replace the trim and siding if necessary since you already have it dis-assembled). Paint the bottom of the siding as well as the bottom of the framing to prevent wicking moisture from the ground.

• Swollen doors – From time to time your shed doors may swell due to rain or humidity. Using your doors when they are swollen is not a good idea as it can damage the siding. In the case of laminated siding such as T1-11 the siding may delaminate. To correct this problem it is a good idea to increase the space between the door and the door jam/frame. When the door(s) are swollen take a permanent marker and mark the areas where the door is swollen. Make sure that if the door is modified it will still hit the stops which keep it from opening all the way in. When the door has dried remove the door(s) and using a chalk line or straight edge make a line the entire length or width of the side where the door is rubbing. I suggest ripping the door down just a small amount. As little as the width of the circular saw blade will usually solve the problem.

Most quality shed manufacturers consider swelling when constructing their doors and door openings. Warping on the other hand can not be foreseen.

Since I am on the topic of shed doors my next entry will be how to build shed doors like the pros!

A cupola is one of the most popular storage shed accessories.
Whether it be for added ventilation or simply curb appeal selecting the proper size cupola for your shed or barn is important. The following information will help you determine what size cupola you need for your outbuilding.

This guide to sizing your cupola is for storage sheds and relatively small barns however, much of this information can be used for larger buildings. If you would like our educated opinion on a size for a larger structure please feel free to comment here or send us an email and it would be our pleasure to assist you.

The first thing you need to do is measure your unbroken roof line. In most cases this is about or exactly the same as the length of the shed.
Unbroken roof line refers to the distance the roof line spans without deviating in elevation.

Next measure the width or depth of the storage shed assuming it does not have over sized eves or overhangs.

The last measurement and typically not included in most cupola size charts is the height of the building from ground to roof peak.

To begin: 1 foot of unbroken roofline equals 1.25 inches of cupola base. So if your structures unbroken roofline is 30 feet long then the cupola base width would be approximately 37.5 inches. With that said the height of the structure must also be considered.

The height of the structure upon which the cupola will be mounted is also a factor in determining size. If your structure is relatively short such as a ranch style home then it is a good idea to change the ratio you use to determine size: “1 foot equals 1 inch” is probably a good ratio. If the cupola will be going on a two story structure where the roof line is unbroken then the 1.25 inch per foot rule of thumb is the better option. If the cupola will be on a large/tall horsebarn etc. then using the 1.25″ per foot rule and then going one (or two) sizes larger may be a good idea.

The majority of cupola buyers now have all the information they need to make their purchase however there are other factors which some of you may need to take into consideration.

*Long and Skinny – Some buildings such as Single Bay Garages, Row Barns and Monitor Barns are long and narrow and therefore the cupola may need to be downsized.Imagine a 12′ wide by 36′ long single story, single bay garage. A 36″ wide cupola would look ridiculous on the roof (at least to most people). So you may want to downsize slightly. A 30″ cupola would probably look appropriate on this building.

*Very steep – When a cupola is installed the base of the cupola is cut to match the pitch of your roof. If the roof is say a 12/12 pitch the cupola will sit lower on the roof. In these cases you should be considering cupolas which are taller. A short cupola will only look shorter once mounted. Conversely, if you have a very shallow pitch like a 5/12 a very tall cupola will still look tall when mounted.

*Multiple cupolas – Larger structures or structures with “broken roof lines” in many cases will look better with more than one cupola as opposed to one very large cupola. “L” shaped houses sometimes look as if something is missing when only the main part of the house has a cupola. A single HUGE cupola on a large Riding Arena may seem lost. These are perfect examples of structures which will look better with multiple cupolas. Determining the size of these cupolas is a matter of taste however if it is an “L” shaped house for example use the 1 foot = 1 inch rule of thumb for each section of unbroken roof line. For a very large barn or Stable you may want to go a bit larger. In the case of a super large structure you may want to consider a large cupola in the center of the roof with 1 smaller cupola on either side centered between the main cupola and each gable end of the building (a total of 3 cupolas).

*Note – This is simply a guide. Many people like the look of an oversized cupola with windows and lighting while others would prefer something basic and less imposing.

If you are on the fence and not sure exactly what you would like on your shed visit a local retailer who offers cupolas. Most large storage shed retailers have several different size sheds on display with cupolas. It is much easier to make your selection when you have seen a similar size shed to yours with a cupola on top.

Storagesheds.org is kicking off the new year by giving away a $100 gift certificate to amazon.com! Not just once but every month for the next 3 months!

Entering is easy – Simply subscribe to our email newsletter and receive monthly tips, tricks and outdoor structure information. Each month you will be automatically entered into our drawings and giveaways.

Winners will be notified by email and a list of winners will be published on our site.

Over the years we have used many sidings in the construction of our storage sheds.

As a kid I would help my father stack the rough sawn pine on the trucks. By the time I was old enough to work we were using less rough sawn siding and more plywood sheet siding products. Pine and Fir T1-11 were the most popular. These plywood sidings were more durable than the pine and decreased the amount of time it took us to build a shed. They also made it easier for us to panelize our buildings.

The problems with the sheet sidings was that they did not take paint well. The exterior layer was rough and after a few years needed a new coat of paint. They also contained boat knots or football knots. These are areas where knots were cut our of the last layer of the T1-11 and filler was added. They are shaped like footballs or boats hence the name. The filler would sometimes deteriorate and leave the plywood exposed.Overall it was still the most cost effective, durable siding for storage sheds.

About 13 years ago we were introduced to DuraTempâ„¢ siding.

DuraTemp™ has a plywood veneer inner core and a hardboard face. It takes paint extremely well and the hardboard face will not crack, split or check. The hardboard face will not easily show marks when hit with a hammer. Simply put it is a super tough, long lasting siding.

Key Benefits of DuraTempâ„¢

• Â Does not Crack, Check or Split
• Â Is made using genuine plywood
• Â The finish resembles rough sawn cedar
•  Is super easy to paint with latex gloss or semi gloss latex house paint formulated for wood( Do NOT use stain, vinyl acrylic exterior paint)
• Â Will not have to be repainted for 8-15 years (this is from my own experience )
•  It is relatively light weight No boat knots
• Â No added urea formaldehyde (NAUF)
• Â Cost effective siding solution

The first time I was introduced to DuraTempâ„¢ by a lumber broker I was very skeptical. I listened to his sales pitch and quite frankly wasn’t sold on it. Having heard many similar claims from other salesmen I needed some proof. At the end of our meeting he asked me if I had a bucket he could use. I went and got one for him and he went proceeded to fill it about half way with water. He took his DuraTempâ„¢ sample and placed it in the bucket. He told me to leave it in the bucket and give him a call in a month or so.

I would pull the siding sample out of the water every few days or so to see how much it had expanded from absorbing water but there was no noticeable change. About 2-3 months later the majority of our storage sheds had DuraTempâ„¢ hardboard siding.

At our store we have a garage we use for storing tools etc. Although I can’t remember it’s exact age it is over 10 years old. Other than the paint fading and some dings and dents to the garage doors and trim it is in incredibly good shape. I have never repainted it and don’t plan to anytime soon.

We have delivered well over five thousand sheds with DuraTempâ„¢ siding and there have been very few problems. The ones we did have were due to a bad sheet of sidings which was promptly replaced.

So if you’re buying or building a shed don’t hesitate to go with DuraTempâ„¢!