One of the biggest projects undertaken has been the “Building a Shed with Dad” project.  The story really begins a decade ago when I purchased my first and current home and was delighted by the old white clapboard bungalow with a barn red shed out back.

Old Shed

I asked the few remaining old timers in the neighborhood for stories and was delighted to learn that the 9×14′ shed had been used as a living space by a young, newly wed couple for several years.  It was charming with a turquoise interior and old screen doors on two sides of the building.  I very much wanted to save this outbuilding and use it for a garden shed.

Racoons in the old shed

As I cleared the junk that had been stored in the shed by previous owners, it soon became clear that salvage would not be possible on this building.  For starters, termites had compromised the integrity of the wall and floor supports and it was occupied by a lovely family of raccoons that lived under the floor boards.  It was with regret that I asked Dad to demolish the shed so that a new one could be built in its place.

Foundation from Old Shed

Dad has been salvaging buildings ranging from old horse barns to public buildings like churches since his youth so it took him little more than an afternoon to dismantle the old shed and stack it into the back of a pickup. I felt ambivalent about its demise but was thrilled to find that the foundation under the old shed seemed in great repair and perhaps could be used on a replacement shed.

Foundation with Elderberry Bushes

Time passed and I focused on other more pressing home improvement projects letting birds plant a small grove of elderberry bushes around the foundation.  It stood this way for several years.  Finally, in the late winter of 2011, I asked Dad if he would be available to help me build a replacement shed on the same site using recycled materials he had stored at the farm.  He agreed.

Ideas Becoming Plans on Graph Paper

The planning process involved rough sketches by me of a shed-roofed building like the chicken coops on the farms of my family with a 2nd shed roof coming off the front for a porch under a clerestory of windows.  Dad said, “Anything is possible,” and I believed him.

With this “can do” attitude, we looked through the old windows stacked at the back of old barns at The Farm and started looking at old lumber that could be repurposed for my shed.  Our only limitation was the footprint of our old foundation.

Measuring Lumber

We visited several places where he had stored lumber for possible projects such as mine.  Ninety nine percent of the materials used on my shed would be materials he had salvaged from old barns or houses that were going to be demolished.

Construction Begins on Shed

Stay tuned for the next chapter.