If you are thinking about building a shed to get some extra storage space, what could be better than having a barn in your backyard? You do not need to build a full size barn to enjoy the beauty of a Dutch gambrel barn. Building a barn shed is the next best thing, and usually the only solution for a small back yard. A Gambrel shed has all the features of a regular shed except the roof is framed too look like a Dutch barn. If you are considering building a shed and like the barn shed look, the gambrel shed is worth considering. For one thing, having a barn is, well, cool. The gambrel barn design is a roof design used by early Americans to maximize the covered area within the barn. Dutch carpenters built barns to store all kinds of things. They found that if they built the roof at a steeper pitch and then put a joint close to the top and flattened the roof out they could get much more storage space up in the roof area. This roof design is called a gambrel roof. Now days you can have this same great roof design on your back yard shed. By building a gambrel roof shed from barn shed plans you can create a masterpiece that just screams early American colony architecture.

Architectural Details of The Gambrel Shed

On a full size gambrel roof barn the second floor of the barn is totally enclosed within the gambrel roof structure with the walls being the first section of roof. For a gambrel shed barn design, which are usually much smaller, the upper area within the roof structure is a loft area. The roof goes up at an almost arching shape creating a lot of extra storage space. In fact, for a 10x12 shed plan the space in the loft area almost doubles the storage capacity of the shed design. Smaller barn shed plans use the extra space in the ceiling as part of the sheds main floor storage area. This is done by having a shorter wall and then using the steep angle of the roof as part of the shed wall. These smaller barn shed plans have all the character and charm of a gambrel full sized barn. Their miniature barn look gives them great appeal as a back yard shed.

Building a Barn Shed

If you think that the barn shed is a little tougher to build than a regular gable end shed or lean to shed, you are correct. The extra angles in the roof do make it harder to build the shed. But not so much harder so as to deter you from getting the shed design you want. A good set of barn shed plans will have all the information you need to build this unique roof style. The main architectural details to look for are full sized templates for all of the cut angles and well drawn details showing the roof to wall and roof to roof connections.

So what are you waiting for? Search around and find the perfect barn shed plans to match your needs and get building.