Most people spend a month deciding on the outside of a building and about four minutes deciding on the inside. Then they fill it in a weekend and spend the next five years climbing over things. Here is how to plan the inside before you order, when changes are cheap.
Shelf depth: 12, 16 or 24
Twelve inch shelves hold paint cans, spray bottles, hand tools and small parts bins and let you see everything at a glance. Sixteen inch shelves hold standard totes. Twenty-four inch shelves hold big totes and bulky gear but turn into a place where things go to be forgotten, because you cannot reach the back. Use 12 inch shelving at eye level and above, 16 or 24 inch down low where you can get to it.
Run shelving on the gable end walls and keep the long walls open for tall items, ladders and anything you lean.
Lofts are free square footage, with one catch
A loft in a lofted barn or lofted garden shed adds a huge amount of seasonal storage for very little money, and it is the single best value add in the catalog. The catch is access. If the only way up is a step ladder you drag in from the corner, the loft becomes a black hole. Plan for a fixed ladder or built-in steps, and put the loft over the end you use least.
Also think about what goes up there: light and bulky, not heavy and dense. Holiday decorations, camping gear, lumber offcuts, empty totes. Not paint, not tools, not anything you need in January.
Ramp slope is a real number
Getting a mower in and out is the most frequent thing you will do with the building, and a bad ramp makes it a chore. A shed floor sits several inches above grade on skids and a pad. Aim for a ramp no steeper than about 15 degrees, which for a typical door height means a ramp four to six feet long. Steeper than that and a riding mower deck scrapes on the transition and a zero-turn will lose traction backing out. Order the ramp with the building; adding it later usually means a worse angle.
Door placement
Doors on the gable end look traditional and keep both long walls usable for shelving. Doors on the long side make it easier to back a mower in and out and split the wall storage. If the building is a shop, side door. If it is storage, gable end. If it is both, order a double door on the gable end and a walk door on the side.
Insulation and power
If the building is going to be a workspace rather than a warehouse, spray foam insulation plus one of our finish-out packages with electrical, flooring and wall coverings changes everything. It is far cheaper to have it built in than to retrofit it.
Cost
Buildings start at $1,900 for a C+ Utility 6×8 and $2,762 for a Cardinal Utility 8×8, up to 16×60. Rent-to-own has no credit check, 24 to 60 month terms, from $75.44 a month, first two months down, no early payoff fee. Every building carries our 10 year guarantee, a 50 year LP SmartSide siding warranty and a lifetime AdvanTech floor warranty. Configure your layout in the 3D Shed Builder.
Get Started on Your Greenville Building
You do not have to drive to a lot to get moving. Use our 3D Shed Builder to pick your size, siding, colors, doors, windows and add-ons and see the building take shape on screen. When it looks right, send it to us and we will confirm pricing and a delivery date for Greenville.
Prefer to talk it through? Call our main office at 618-518-5578. We will walk you through building styles, custom options and rent-to-own and financing, and answer anything on our FAQ page. You can also see what we serve nearby on our location page.
