Having a yard for the kids to play in

Increase Your Storage: How to Build a Pole Barn Extension on an Existing Shed

20 May 2015

Wyatt Patterson

If you need a bit of extra storage space, you can easily build a pole-barn extension next to your existing shed. The pole-barn style of storage building is so easy to create that it is renowned for being able to be built by a single person. Even if you don't have building experience, you can tackle this simple design. Here's what you need to do.

1. Clear the ground and decide how wide you want your extension to be

Plan to build the extension on one of the sides of your shed. Remove large stones, cut down trees and clear the area. Don't worry about making the ground terribly level – as this storage addition uses a dirt floor, it doesn't need to be as level as it would be if you were putting in a wood or concrete floor.

Then, decide how wide you want your shed extension to be, and create a line using strings and stakes where you want your shed extension's outer wall to be.

2. Plant the poles

Using sturdy poles – timber is the ideal wood in terms of weather resistance and strength – create a line of poles parallel to the side of the shed along where you placed your string. Plant these poles in the ground using concrete.

Leave approximately a metre between each pole, but make sure you have two poles directly lined up with your shed's corners. That will ensure your edges are straight.

3. Build the support beam for the roof

Take several small pieces of wood and, using a drill, attach them to the front and back of all of your poles at the exact same height. Take a piece of lumbar long enough to stretch between all of your poles, and lie this piece of lumber so it is resting on your small support pieces.

Essentially, this piece of lumber rests perpendicular to all of your standing poles and creates a cross beam to hold one end of your roof's beams. As you have small pieces of wood on both sides of your pole, you will put in two support timbers, one on either side of your poles.

4. Create the roof

To create the roof on your shed extension, run trusses (beams that support the pole-barn extension roof) from the support timbers on your wall of poles to your original shed. If there is a small gap between your shed roof and your shed wall, you can rest one side of the trusses there.

If there is not a gap, screw a board horizontally to the top of the outside shed wall. Now your trusses can rest on this board.

Once you have the trusses in place, you can add cross supports that run horizontally over the trusses. Then, buy sheets of metal roofing, cut to the size of your roof frame. Attach these metal sheets to your shed extension's roof frame using metal screws.

5. Add the walls and use the shed extension

Once the roof is added, you can use the shed extension as it is. It is the perfect spot to hold firewood, park riding lawn mowers or store gardening supplies. However, if you would like more coverage, you can add walls.

To add walls, simply cut plywood to cover your wall frame and nail it to the timber. You can paint the plywood if you like, or you can even contact the manufacturer of your original shed and order siding that matches your shed.

A pole barn extension is a great way to increase the usable size of your existing shed, and this project is relatively easy to build without a lot of supplies. Feel free to make adjustments to the plan as needed – for example if you aren't comfortable working with metal roofing, you can create a temporary roof out of a tarp. If an extension won't meet your needs and you decide to get a second shed or a larger shed, you can contact a local manufacturer or supplier like Just Sheds. 

 

Share