This DIY She Shed was in need of some extra storage for yard and garden tools. Those types of tools get dirty fast, so I wanted a separate space for them that was easily accessible from the outside. This post will show you how I built a wall-mounted DIY She Shed Garden Closet to hold all those garden tools.
If you remember the planning post, the DIY She Shed is maxed out with 120 square feet in floor plan. This is the maximum square footage I can build in my area without requiring a building permit, inspections, and potentially triggering higher property taxes.
BUT, I still need a place to store my garden tools! So, let’s add a wall-mounted exterior DIY She Shed Garden Closet. That way, technically, the floor square footage in unchanged. *wink* Clever yeah? I hope so. The building dept. has not officially approved this, but let’s continue on our merry way.
If you want to start from the beginning of the shed build, check out the planning post. Then the foundation build, DIY brick floor, wall framing, siding, roof framing, roofing, and exterior trim.
Here is the back gable wall where we’ll build the Garden Closet.
Do you see that thicker dark line along the bottom of the horizontal trim? That is L-flashing built in with the siding to extend over the small roof of the DIY She Shed Garden Closet. It runs the full width of the Garden Closet.
Here is a side view of the closet with everything dimensioned out. I used this as my basic plan while building.
GARDEN CLOSET BASE:
Let’s start with the closet base to get a solid platform and then build the closet frame from there. The base is a basic 2×4 square frame screwed to the wall studs with two-#10 x 3″ screws. Here is the start of the base frame. Make sure to always use a level so your builds are square.
I finished the base box with a front 2×4 and then added some diagonals to brace the box to the walls. This will help keep the closet from sagging over time and give it extra stability. You can see the diagonals here.
Then, I covered everything with some scrap plywood I had on hand. This completes the closet floor.
GARDEN CLOSET WALL FRAMING:
I started with wall framing by connecting the basic outline on the shed wall. This photo will show you what I mean.
Here is a close-up with the top board in place. You can see I left about 1 inch gap between the top of the board and the L-flashing to allow for a plywood and roofing build-up. The top board was also ripped on the table saw at a slight angle to match the roof slope.
Next, I added the basic front frame shown here from the front. There will be two large doors to fill in the that open area and allow for easy tool access. You can see I primed the base for added weather protection before adding the wall framing. Just for good measure!
Here’s a side view of the front frame. You can see it’s shorter than the back frame to allow for a simple slope roof.
Then, I filled in the side walls and added 2×4 roof rafters at 24 inches on center.
Is it sturdy? Will this hold the weight of all my yard tools? Well here I am stomping around on the DIY She Shed Wall Mounted Garden Closet with a rake to test fit. It’s good! It’s actually really sturdy! Many stomps, very solid.
To finish the framing, I added flat 2x4s on the side wall that act as small shelves. And I added 2×6 horizontal boards along the back wall to give a solid support for wall hooks at various heights. You can see the framing additions here. Spoilers! You can also see the side wall sheathing that’s next.
WALL SIDING & TRIM:
The wall siding is easy. I used the exact same T1-11 exterior plywood siding as I used on the main walls of the She Shed. You can check out more details on the siding post.
Here’s some progress on the siding. I started working on the roof as well, installed the same as I did on the main roof. You can check out more details on the roofing post.
I finished up the siding and started adding trim the same as I did on the main shed. More trim details are found on the trim post. You can see the roof in this photo but I’ll show you close-ups on the soon.
Next, I trimmed out the door frame and added some holes for vents. I’ll cover the vent holes with these vent covers to keep to bugs.
To allow air flow through the closet, I added two vents at the very top above the door header. You can see the two vents if you look closely above the door trim. Those were a bit of a tight fit to get in, but we made it.
DIY GARDEN CLOSET ROOFING:
I promised you a better view of the roof! Here you go. You can see the L-flashing where the roof meets the shed wall. Those white globs of caulking are coving nail heads along the very back row of roofing. Since it’s hard to view this roof from the ground, I used some dirty shingles that I would not have used on a more visible shed. Otherwise, they’ll just go to waste. As I mentioned, this roof was installed exactly the same as the main roof, just a very small version. More details can be found on the roofing post.
DIY SHE SHED WALL MOUNTED GARDEN CLOSET:
That’s the wall mounted garden closet all framed, siding, roofed, and nearly done!
Now it needs paint – we’ll paint the shed and closet in one go. And Doors! Next week I’ll show you how I built DIY Shed Doors from just 2×4’s and T1-11 plywood. Don’t worry, they’ll look cute too. 😉
