How To Build a Free Garden Storage Shed (+ 8 More Inexpensive Ideas)

Are you on a budget and need extra storage in your garden? Well, guess what? You might not be the only one.

It’s hard to build a storage shed if you have a limited budget. So today I want to share with you how my family and I built free garden storage shed. Even if you can’t find all of the materials we had on hand for free, you can still build this simple shed at a lower cost.

I’ll also include a few ideas on how to keep the cost down if you have to purchase the building materials.

And with all of that in mind, let’s build your shed—

What You’ll Need

Two or more pallets
10 – 2x4s
Nail Gun
Nails
Circular saw
Tape Measure

Instructions

Step 1 – Frame the floor

Firstly, we decided on how big we wanted the structure to be.

We actually used pallets for the floor (I love building with pallets). What this means is we laid two pallets down on the ground and contemplated if we wanted the tool shed to be two or three pallets in width.

Because we don’t need a large tool shed, we decided to go with two pallets. We really just wanted a small space by the garden that one could easily access the tools they need. Any larger tools could remain in our pole barn or other storage buildings.

If you are looking for free pallets, my advice to you is to look at local businesses. Stores like nurseries or any other locally-owned places that would have items shipped. You will actually be doing them a favor by taking the pallets off their hands.

Because most companies have to pay to have their pallets disposed of. Smaller businesses care about such expenses, whilst a lot of the larger businesses do not.

So that is why I recommend you start with the local stores.

Step 2 – Frame up the walls

I told you all we built this garden shed at no expense to us. Well, I actually omitted the truth a little.

My brother-in-law works at a lumberyard. So any wood that they can’t sell they let their employees take home. Which means we traded a few goats with him and got a huge amount of wood.

But I realize not everyone has that option. Most local hardware stores sell pressure-treated wood pieces at a reasonable price. This means you could still have a garden shed (if your store prices are similar to ours) at a lower price.

That’s not too bad. Once you know how big you are going to make the tool shed, the next step will be to frame up the walls.

You will begin by cutting the 2x4s to length. Now, this will vary depending on the height you want your garden shed to be.

But regardless, you will need to place posts at the corner of each side of the garden shed. Once you do this, it kind of becomes a game of connecting the dots.

You’ll need to cut the other 2x4s to length and run them across the top to connect each corner post. And you don’t need to run any 2x4s at the bottom of the pallets. They are strong enough as is.

Then you’ll want to add some bracing posts that run diagonally from one corner post to another to help the tool shed have some extra stability.

3. Frame the roof and add roofing

The roof is the next step in this project. You’ll begin by building a square the size of the garden shed along the top of the structure. You will need to cut the 2x4s to length.

And this is to outline and support the future roof.

Then you’ll cut the 2x4s to length when adding slats within the roof frame to support the actual roofing. When this is done, then it will be time to add the actual roofing material to the frame.

We used metal roofing because we had some laying around our property. And I would actually recommend using metal roofing because of how inexpensive it is.

But if you have other roofing materials lying around, then you could use those.

And you will cut your roofing material down to size and overlap the sheets of metal. Then you’ll attach them to the roof with a nail gun and roofing nails. Or a good old fashioned hammer and nails will do the trick.

4. Cover the outside walls

My go-to for siding is always slabs. We can get them for free at a lumberyard nearby.

All we did was cut the slabs to length for each side. And then used a nail gun and placed them on the side of the shed.

But if you don’t have a place to get free slabs around you, you could use old siding. Or just some old wood that you saved from a project.

A lot of times we would save some wood from projects that we take apart. For instance, we had an old wooden walkway that would lead up to our house when we first moved in.

But the downside was every time it would rain, the walkway would become very slippery.

So when we took the walkway apart and replaced it, we saved the wood. Well, it was pressure-treated 2x4s. And honestly, it would’ve worked well for the siding on this tool shed as well.

If you have any salvaged wood like that, pull it out and transform it into the siding.

5. Move your stuff in and add storage options

We kept our tool shed very simple. We didn’t add a door (though you could if you wish.)

And stacked all of our belongings inside. But over time we hope to add more storage options. You could add nice gardening hooks to help keep your tools organized.

Or you could simply place nails in a v-shape on the wall and use them as hooks. You could add some shelving or throw a few boards on the wall to make some homemade shelving if you need it.

Basically, the organizational part is totally up to you. But remember, being organized does make life easier.

Other Siding Options

I told you all this would be a practically free tool shed. Considering it only requires 10 2x4s, it could still be very inexpensive to build even if you had to purchase them.

But if you had to purchase wood for the siding then the price would creep up on you.

So here are some alternate options for frugal siding that will hopefully help you to keep the cost down on your garden shed project.

1. Hay

Hay works for insulation. So why not create a double barrier to the outside of the garden shed. And then stack hay bales in between.

In this way, the outside of your building will be protected. And so will the items inside. Not to mention, if you have the land you could technically grow hay yourself.

But if not, there are plenty of places you can buy hay bales for very little money.

2. Metal

Metal is another inexpensive option for siding. The same metal that you used for the roofing could very easily be attached to the outside of the building.

And it would definitely keep the items within it well protected.

3. Plastic Bottles

I’m sure you’ve heard of people building greenhouses and other structures out of plastic bottles. Well, the same can be done with this garden shed.

You could easily build a double frame and then place the plastic bottles in between the two frames. This would be inexpensive and also provide great protection for the items being stored inside the shed.

4. Tarp

A tarp would be a good option to enclose this garden shed because it is rather inexpensive. And plastic is also a great option because it withstands the elements pretty well.

If you need something to place on the outside of the shed that would be quick, easy, and also easily accessible then a tarp might be a good option.

5. Bubble Wrap

Bubble wrap can be easily purchased at any moving store or even at a dollar store. You would have to tape sheets of it together.

Although it would take quite a bit to go around a garden shed, it could still be fairly inexpensive.

With it being plastic, it would be another fairly inexpensive option that would be great protection against the elements and also provide great protection for your tools.

More Inexpensive Garden Shed Ideas

So you like the idea of a free garden shed. But you aren’t sure if you have all the tools to make this project a reality for you.

Well, that’s okay. Our main goal here is to not only share what we know and are doing ourselves. But also to equip our readers with the ability to build something they need that is functional.

With that being said, here are a few more ideas to help get your creative juices flowing. Who knows? Maybe you can combine our structure with one of these and build the masterpiece you’ve been desiring.

1. Pallet Shed

They actually built this shed completely free from pallets. And the really neat part is they even pulled pallets apart to make the siding for the shed.

And it looks like a little rustic cabin. If you’ve been on this blog for a while then you know how much I love rustic.

2. The Large Pallet Shed

This is another creation made from pallets. It is actually quite large and looks as though it could hold a lot more than a few garden tools.

If you are looking for a larger garden shed then you might want to give this one a look. It appears to be very sturdy. And should be cheap (if not free) to build since it is mainly constructed from pallets.

Build this shed

3. The Blue Pallet Shed

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Photo by Oklahoma History.net

This shed is built mainly from pallets. Because the building materials are pallets, it should be really inexpensive to build (if not free as well.)

And basically, it will all depend on what materials you have on hand or are accessible to you. But this is another great garden shed option that would hold pretty much anything. However, it might be a little large as a garden shed.