DIY Backyard Shed Makeover

This shed makeover shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RoofedItMyself #CollectiveBiasFB

In 1959, a little ranch house was built. At the time, it was probably a very nice house, with just the right amount of room for the little family that moved in.  Two bedrooms, one pink and blue tiled bathroom. Under 850 square feet.  The family built an adorable little house in the backyard for their daughter.  It was white with black trim just like the main house. It even had the same black and white striped aluminum awnings over the windows. It had a little mail box, and the house number nailed to the door frame. The perfect place for a little girl to play!

In 2008 a twenty-something named Dave bought the house. It was still tiny (even for a single guy) it still had those aluminum awnings, it still had the pink and blue tile, and it still had that little playhouse–no longer adorable, and no longer used as a playhouse–in the back yard.  Dave had big plans for the house. Fresh paint, tearing down the awnings, and the overgrown rhododendrons became his first mission. Then interior work began. But that playhouse, now a shed, took a back seat.

In 2011 Dave married the incredibly beautiful, absolutely brilliant, and just generally amazing Sarah (Hey! That’s me!) and Sarah was forced to listen, summer after summer, about Dave’s plans for the shed. Every year he told her he was going to fix the roof, add a new door, paint it, add new siding, build a little porch, add an addition, etc, etc, etc. Yet, nothing was ever done.

FINALLY in 2017, things changed. 2017 became The Year of the Great Shed Makeover!

So here we are. We’ve FINALLY remodeled the shed!

What started as a project to “just fix the roof” turned into a much larger thing, and we now have a MUCH nicer shed, with a roof that doesn’t leak, windows that open, and a door that isn’t broken!

So, let’s take a look at where we started, shall we?Our Shed was built in 1959 as a playhouse

OH! Oh my. That’s bad. I’m actually a bit embarrassed to even show you guys. It looks like something from a horror movie. You know, where the not-so-bright college kids are running from the killer and they say “Oh! I see a random shed in the middle of this forest! Maybe there is a phone in there and we can call for help!” and they bust through the door to find meat hooks hanging from the ceiling, and items made from human skin, then they all scream and turn to run, but OH, surprise! The killer is there in the doorway!  Yeah, that’s what I’ve had in my backyard for nearly ten years. That’s where our lawnmower has been living!!

Anyway….

It’s clear that this old shed really needed a makeover. After almost 60 years, she deserves it, and we were not all that confident that it would survive another winter, or another hurricane!

60 year old roof

So Dave got to work. Remember, we were originally planning to JUST do the roof for now. Maybe a new coat of paint. And then do some more work next summer. Well, it didn’t go as planned…

While taking our measurements for supplies, we realized more work would need to be done. Like, now.

measure the roof

It turns out that whoever built this shed in 1959 didn’t really know a whole lot about building sheds. And while they did a good enough job, I mean, the shed IS still standing all these years later, there was a LOT of water damage, and rot, and mouse nests (Mice nests? Meese nests?) and bumble bees…

After we got all our measurements, we ordered our GAF roofing supplies from Lowe’s and had them shipped to the store! About a week later, they arrived and we headed to Lowe’s to pick up everything we needed to complete this job!

GAF Timberline Roof Shingles at Lowes
For the roof we used:

Once home, we got right to work on the demo…

We took down the siding and started the shed makeoverOnce the demo was complete, Dave framed a new roof and added new windows.Stages of roof repairHe also popped up the new siding, and started some of the trim work. And check out some of the interesting “artifacts” we discovered while dismantling the old shed! This we found during our shed makeoverOnce Dave had the new roof built, we were able to start the shingles!!  First we laid down the FeltBuster® . .GAF Felt BusterThe FeltBuster®  rolled out easily onto the roof, and was easy to secure in place with plastic capped roofing nails.  Once that was done, it was shingle time!! GAF Timberline Natural Shadow Shingles The Timberline® Natural Shadow® Shingles   look great and they are really durable, which explains why they are the best selling shingle in North America!  And while GAF is customarily thought of as a professional product used by contractors, the average DIYer can feel confident using them, too!

new shingles on the roofLaying out the shingles was actually the easiest part of this entire shed makeover! The roof was small enough that we could compete it with just a hammer and nails. No special roofing nail-gun is needed!  Each sheet of shingles lined up perfectly with the next, and the excess was easy to cut with a utility knife.Applying the ridge cap Almost done

rawr

Once the regular shingles were complete, Dave applied the TimberTex® Premium Ridge Cap Shingles to finish the roof!

Roof Ridge Cap

Next we added trim, and Dave made a new door. That’s right! He MADE this gorgeous barn door!! Shed makeover ready for paint shed with door Then it was time for paint!

Completed Shed MakeoverOMG!  LOOK AT IT!!!  LOOK!!!!   Isn’t it incredible?  What a change!

And look at the pretty new roof!! pretty new roofOur old shed, has new life!! Our Backyard Shed Makeover is complete!!!

Before and After of the Shed Makeover

Well, almost… We still have a bit more work we’d like to do. Little “extras” like flower boxes, a new light, some landscaping in the front (I’m going to transplant those lillies) a ramp from the side door for the lawnmower, will really complete this job. (And I’ll show you those updates in a future post!!) But for now, we’re so very happy that we no longer have that old eyesore in the backyard, and that we aren’t inconstant fear of the shed collapsing, or the things inside being damaged by the weather!

This project was a much larger scope than we’d planned, but the roof was still the priority. We were really happy to see that we could do the roof ourselves, with quality products from GAF!

Do you have any big summer roofing products planned? A shed makeover, perhaps? Want some ideas and tips? Learn more about GAF Roofing products on their WEBSITE  & FACEBOOK What kind of project would you use GAF Roofing on?

Backyard Shed MakeoverDIY Backyard Shed Makeover - #RoofedItMyself #ad

25 thoughts on “DIY Backyard Shed Makeover

  1. kristi@ishouldbemoppingthefloor

    Sarah! This is SUCH an incredible transformation. And it just touches my heart since we live in a fixer-upper ranch house, too. You did a fantastic job…I can’t quit looking at the before and after pics. So much AWESOME! #client

    Reply
  2. Sha

    The old one had more character … although it did need new siding and the new roof, I would have kept the window, window awing, and front door and maybe added a matching window to the other side .. I prefer the colors of the old look.

    Reply
    1. Sarah Post author

      Thanks Sha. We were not able to keep the old door or window because as mentioned in the post, they were broken and we wanted functioning windows/doors. Everything was original, from 1959 so obviously, we couldn’t keep it all. (and that awning was rusty, broken, atrocious haha) We wanted the shed to match our house when we paint it so we went with blue and white. The old black and white paint colors didn’t match our house at all. Sorry you didn’t like our family’s shed makeover! Have a great day!

      Reply
  3. Jeff Babcock

    Hello Sarah, this is really amazing! You have maintained your backyard very nicely. I loved it. I am surely going to use these ideas. Keep sharing your ideas and thoughts!

    Reply
  4. Isaac

    Wow! That makeover is beyond amazing. Night and day. I love the blue with the wooden door – goes really well together. I’m wondering how much all the materials cost?

    Reply
  5. Matth

    There is always room for a makeover from the exterior to interior areas of the house. It gives a pleasant view to the eyes who see it. With regards to shedding makeover, I should have to do it myself. My shed area becomes filthy through time pass. It needs a revamp.

    Reply
  6. Marga Lee

    Awesome blog post. I really appreciate your good insight about the topic well. Goodness knows if people have any of those issues they need to rush to fix them before the weather gets even colder!

    Reply
    1. Freeya

      I’d say it really depends on how much time you have outside of your normal life. We did it in 3 weeks flat, but that was thanks to lockdowns, so it may have taken longer had things carried on as normal!

      Reply
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