Our backyard shed is the perfect storage place for our garden tools and gardening supplies. Since our shed is very small in surface area, therefore, a shed roof extension is practical for several reasons. If you are looking to a shed roof extension, follow these steps and learn how to build a shed roof extension for your existing garden shed.
WHY DID WE EXTEND OUR SHED ROOF ?
Our garden shed is quite small but we somehow manage to store the essential tools in it. For sometime now, we wanted some extra space without breaking the local planning laws. So, we worked around that and achieved it by extending only the roof.
Our robot lawn mover was a casualty to the constant exposure to rain and the roof extension has now provided a shelter for it. During the winter months, we store the robot in the cellar as there is no lawn to cut. So we undertook this project towards the end of last summer.
The above picture is that of our small garden shed before the roof extension. At the time of building this about 4 years back, we had to adhere to the local zoning laws. This is due to the backyard stream which comes under conservation laws and we can’t build as we please. As you can see, the robot has no shelter.
HOW WE BUILT OUR SHED ROOF EXTENSION
This was simple straight forward extension. Moreover, we wanted to stay within the budget, so we stuck to basic materials.
The following is a brief list of some of the basic tools and instruments that you should have for the project:
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- Hammer
- Tape measure
- Galvanized screws
- Power drill
- Jig saw
- Extension ladder or other ladder (depending on the height of the structure)
- Heavy shears or scissors
OUR PLAN FOR THE SHED ROOF EXTENSION
Once you have chosen the roof framing, and materials that is suitable for the type of shed roof, draw up a plan. I just drew it on a piece of paper. You can make a graphic plan with a computer if you want.
After that, you just need to follow a series of instructions and proceed according to a set plan.
As you see from the above diagram, the shaded area is the existing shed roof. The length was 3.5 m with the breadth of 1.5 m. We wanted to extend the roof by 1 meter to the side and 1 meter to the front. Therefore, we made a grid of 6 x 6 with 6 rafters and 6 lathing.
We used rafters (roofing beams) of width of 6 cm x 4 cm thickness and lathing of 5 cm x 2.5 cm thickness.
For the roof itself, we used corrugated asphalt sheets and a fiber glass sheet for additional light close to the home.
STEPS TO BUILD THE SHED ROOF
If you want to skip reading, you can watch the video by clicking on the thumbnail.
STEP 1 : FIX THE RAFTERS TO THE SHED ROOF EXTENSION
First, we removed the existing roofing sheets before we fixed the rafters. Since, our roof was already a lean to roof, we didn’t need to do much in that aspect. So we fixed the rafters and lathing on top of the existing one. Typically, a lean-to roof will lay at a different pitch than your existing roof. Cut back the roofing on the existing building if needed so that the new roof can fit correctly beneath it.
STEP 2 : LAY OUT THE RAFTER SPACING
Starting at one end, measure the span you determined from your plans, then lay out the spacing of your lathing. We placed the rafters at a distance of 90 cms apart on the existing roof.
The lathing are the strips that span perpendicular to the rafters to which you will fasten the tin or other roofing material. We spaced them 50 cm apart. Next, nail the lathing securely, with a minimum of two nails at each rafter, be careful to keep them aligned.
To get a better fit, my husband, made a groove on the rafter and fit in the lathing before nailing it in. ( See also the above video, to get a better picture )
STEP 3 : ADD THE ROOFING MATERIAL
Lay the metal sheets on the lathing, beginning at one end. Some roof metal profiles have a direction of run, so that the laps fit correctly to guarantee a good, weatherproof roof system.
Next, fasten the metal roofing with a suitable fastener. Wood screw threaded hex screws with neoprene gaskets are ideal.
STEP 4 : FIX A TRANSPARENT ROOF FOR MORE LIGHT
Since our shed was very close to our guest washroom, we fixed a transparent fiber glass roof. We realized that the regular roof had compromised natural light in this room. So we removed it and replaced a transparent roof panel. Happy, we could work around this problem. In case, you don’t have such a problem, go ahead with your plan with regular roofing sheets.
STEP 5 : INSTALL THE TRIM TO YOUR SHED ROOF EXTENSION
Install trim of your choosing to finish off your lean-to roof. We used the existing trim and polished it a little and fixed it back to the existing structure. The trim also gives a decent finished appearance.
STEP 6 : SEAL THE GAP BETWEEN THE ROOF AND THE LATHING
To seal the gap between the metal and the lathing use a special roofing rubber seal. You can get these special roofing rubber or foam strips in your DIY centre. This will close the gap between the metal and the lathing so that water will not blow in through them.
We could successfully finish our shed roof extension in a period of 3 days. Now our robot has a nice shelter and we gained some extra shade too.
I have tried to summarize as best as I could in this post on how to build a shed roof extension. I am not handy nor technical but, my husband has helped me. And its not easy to translate a lot of technical terms from German to English.
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