Building A Lean-To On The Side Of The Shed

Last year, before we moved into our new house, I bought a shed.  I really like the shed.  It’s nice and big and has plenty of space for all of my tools.  I just have one problem –

I also have a lawn mower.

When I put the lawn mower in the shed, it’s difficult to get to my tools.  I really don’t want to store the lawn mower in the garage, it’s taking up to much space in the shed, and I’m certainly not going to leave it out in the rain.

In this picture, you can see the lawn mower.  While it fits perfectly, once it’s in, there’s no room to move around in the shed – or to use the shed for woodworking, painting, etc.  I could just move the lawn mower out each time I want to use the shed, but that’s a bit of a hassle, especially late at night when I just need to run to the shed, grab a couple of tools, and finish up a project.  The lawn mower needs its own home!

So, I’m adding a lean-to to the side of the shed.  The lean-to will be a little over 9 feet long and 7 feet wide.  I’m using some left-over metal roofing for the roof.

I started working Sunday afternoon, laying out the design.  I attached a 2X10 to the outside wall of the shed, to serve as a “nailer” for the lean-to rafters.  I’m using another 2X10 and some 4X4 posts to create the lean-to wall.  The lean-to wall and the shed wall will be connected by 6 2X4 rafters – and some support pieces.  All of the wood is pressure treated, much of it salvaged from other projects.

I worked for maybe an hour on Sunday – and may two hours late this evening.  It’s been raining for most of the past two days, and I’ve been busy with work and family.  Hopefully, Thursday or Friday, I’ll get the roof on, work something out for the lean-to floor, and post some pics.  (I was thinking about just leaving the floor as dirt, but I don’t really like that idea.  I have some old bricks, and I might fashion a little “parking pad” for the mower out of them.  We shall see.)  Oh, one more thing.  The mower will “live” under the shelter during the spring, summer, and fall, but once winter gets here, I’ll put it back in the shed.  I’ll also put it there when we’re expecting any especially bad weather.

As I get older, I find that I enjoy building things, fixing things up.  Working with my hands relaxes me – gives me a chance to get away from all of the stress associated with “real life”.  Plus, there’s something about taking a few boards, adding in a few nails, spending just a little money, and creating something.  It’s hard to explain, but it’s very fulfilling.