Introduction I have had a passion for building small structures since I was a kid. My first project, a clubhouse, ended in total failure because I did not know how to plan joints. Since then, I have built numerous treehouses, huts and forts. Now I have graduated to building sheds. Sheds, after all, are simply small houses, and many of the same principles apply to building both. If you plan on building your own house, you should definitely start by building a shed. This will not only test your building skills, but it will also give you a place to put your tools so they won't rust or get stolen. Even if you don't have such lofty homebuilding goals, a shed tailored to your needs and built by you and perhaps family and friends is a long-lasting, satisfying structure. Let me dispel some common myths right away. Don't be misled by your neighbor saying, "You can build a shed in a weekend." All sheds take longer to build than you may think. To build anything right means you have to build it carefully; that takes time. How much time depends on your skills and the complexity of the shed you choose to build. A safe rule of thumb is to figure out the time required for each step and double it. Another myth is that if you build the shed yourself, it won't cost anything. Not true. Even a doghouse will cost something in materials. Lumber is not cheap. You may be thinking of scavenging used lumber -- be aware that using old lumber of different sizes and strengths can lead to problems later on and may add unnecessary building time. The shed you build yourself can be built better than any you may buy. You can build it to last a lifetime, you can build it to meet your exact requirements, you can build something you will be proud of. You can build a shed that will make you feel good every time you open the door and smell that unforgettable scent of real wood and see the shed that you put together with your own hands. A recent study explored the success of home centers across the United States. The tool and hardware departments were getting a lot of business from "weekend carpenters." Most were business people who spent a large part of their lives in offices. The study found that what most of these people lacked in their lives was being able to have total control over a project and to feel the satisfaction that resulted from beginning the project and carrying it to completion themselves. Building a shed provides you with just that. Building a shed is a big project and an activity that you should take pleasure in doing. In order to avoid mistakes and the frustration of trying to meet a deadline, allow plenty of time for completion. Make it an open-ended project that you can enjoy. Any homeowner, especially those without a garage or basement, will be amazed what a difference a shed makes to their property. Not enough room for storage is one of homeowners' top complaints, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Once you have completed a shed, you may find that your awareness of sheds has been elevated. As you drive through the countryside, your eye will unavoidably be drawn to people's yards, and you may quite naturally begin appraising the success or failure of other sheds. You may even feel inclined toward replacing that silver-framed photo of your trusting family dog with a color photo of your shed! Sheds is different from the few other existing shed books or shed chapters in more general books, because it helps you get started thinking through what you want in your shed and then helps you design a shed to fit your needs. I begin with a compendium of construction techniques -- it helps to get familiar with these at the design stage and to refer to them again during actual building. The book continues with simple step-by-step, illustrated instructions for building a basic 8 x 10 shed from the bottom up. A section on a few more basic sheds is followed by a sampling of more complex special-use sheds whose designs come from hand-crafted outbuildings all over the world. I have included plans for all the sheds described in the book. I have purposely chosen designs with very different construction techniques and architectural features so that you can actually combine elements from various designs to create your custom-made shed. Perhaps you want to include the pole framing of the Japanese Boat Shed in your work shed along with the window of the Basic 8 x 10 Shed. The possibilities are endless. Finally, for the confident craftsperson and the dreamer there is a section of inspirational drawings and color photographs -- ideas to incorporate and ideas to build on. Sheds is written for creative, hands-on homeowners with do-it-yourself experience in weekend projects and basic home repair. You should have at least a few building and repair projects under your tool belt, be ready to tackle medium-sized, challenging projects and be willing to stretch your carpentry skills for worthwhile accomplishments. Excerpted from Sheds: The Do-It-Yourself Guide for Backyard Builders by David Stiles All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.