Wooden Shed Repairs

by CJ
(Fresno, CA)

Hi John, Re: Wooden Shed Repairs We have inherited an old wooden shed. The roof and one of the sides (with the door) are in pretty good shape but the other sides are crumbling away. They are black tar paper on the inside and it looks like particle board on the outside.

We would like to keep the shed but need to either replace or recover the walls that are crumbling away.

Would it be a good idea to cover all the walls with vinyl sheeting?

Thanks!

CJ


Answer from Shedman:

Hi CJ,

Thanks for your question.

Without seeing the shed and knowing the age and form of framing it is a bit tricky to be definitive in what you should do.

Firstly, you say that up to three walls need replacing, that sounds like a significant proportion of the shed. It must be a pretty special shed to want to save this building. ;-)

One thing for certain is that you should find out the extent of the damage to the structure and why the decay/ crumbling timbers have occurred. Most likely this is some form of long-term water damage causing rotting of the timbers or possibly termite damage. Any solution must address this so that water is directed away from the structure of the building.

Whether a shed repair is economic will also depend on how the structure is framed. The shed could be a panel construction or a more traditional timber-framed shed (with mortise and tenons etc.). I would think that a timber-framed shed could be worthwhile saving but one built of 4x2s and nailed together would not. The fact that you mention it has particle board on the outside suggests that it might be a panel type construction.

One other point to look at is the floor. How dry and sound is the floor? If this is rotting too then the whole thing may be beyond repair.

As regards your final point about whether you should use vinyl siding. This really depends as to how you would like your shed to look. Some vinyl siding products look very good but if you want a more rustic look for an older shed then maybe timber siding would look more effective. Take a look at this page to investigate different types of shed siding.

I hope that this has been of some use and please let me know how you get on along with any more specific questions that you have.

John