Building A Modern Shed – Part 9 – Finishing the Walls and Bumping Out the Windows and Doors

In the last post we finished up the roof.  Now we need to do a little housekeeping on the walls and around the windows before we move to the next step the work shed.  You’ll see how we’re going to adjust for the thickness of the rigid insulation that will go on the exterior of the walls.  In addition, there’s some sections of the side walls that need OSB installed.

The video below will show you the overview of what we’re going to cover.

You’re probably wondering why I plan on installing exterior insulation.  I’m going to work in this structure during the summer and winters of Las Vegas.  That means hot, over 120 F some days, and really harsh winds in the winter.  Also….. I’m using this as a chance to learn carpentry on a small scale.

An important note – The best combination is to install a house wrap under the rigid insulation.  If you are doing this then it needs to be done before you bump out your windows.  I plan on doing stucco on the exterior which will have 2 layers of weather resistant paper under it as an additional water plane.

If you don’t plan on going overboard like me, you can just do the section on installing the OSB on the upper sections of the sides.

Finish the Install of OSB on the Side Walls

Just like the installation of the other sheathing we want to have a ½ inch gap at the top where the walls meet the roof.

To make it easy, I hammered in some nails to help line up the board.

Stop for a second and look at the section of the wall you’re going to install the OSB on.

Remember we need to install the OSB so it will meet another piece in the center of the interior studs.

Grab yourself an oversized piece of OSB and flip it over so the outside face is facing to the inside of the shed.

Line up that oversized piece of OSB with those marks we just made.

Mark the bottom of that piece where it overlaps with the already installed OSB on the wall.  This is going to give us the angle we need for the top.

Now you’ll line a piece of scrap wood so you can use a circular saw to cut the angled section.

Make sure you keep the scrap side of this cut.  We’ll be using it later as a template to cut the other pieces of OSB we’ll need.

Line up the oversized piece of OSB we just cut with the front wall and mark where it sits in the center of a stud.

Cut the OSB and nail it in place.

For the rest of the upper OSB panels you’re going to use the scrap side of that first cut as a guide.

You just need to measure the widest section of the area you want to fill in.

Find yourself a piece of OSB that is oversized like before.

Line up side edge of your “guide” with the side of the piece you want to cut.

Adjust it for the circular saw you’re using and cut away.

Bumping Out the Door and Window Areas for Rigid Foam Insulation

Like I talked about above, if the area you’re building requires you to use a weather resistant barrier (WRB), like house wrap, then you need to install that before you bump out the window and door areas.  The video below will help you with that install if you need it.

Back to the build.

Starting with the Door

Let’s make everything easy by using butt joints.  We’re going to start by measuring the door area for the 2x4s we’ll use.

From there we’ll cut the first pieces to length.  I’m doing the sides first but doing the sides or top and bottom first really doesn’t matter.

Small clamps are great for helping you hold the 2x4s in place while you nail them in place with galvanized nails.

Now all you have to do is repeat the process for the top and bottom bump outs.

Bumping Out the Windows for Rigid Foam

Doing the bump out for the windows is very similar to the door.  The one thing we’re going to do different is angle the bottom 2×4 so if water gets in, it will have an easy path out.  So I didn’t forget to do this I started with the top and bottom 2x4s instead of the sides like with the door.

Angling the Bottom 2×4 of the Windows

To get this angle we’re going to shave down one side of the “top” of the bottom 2×4 by 1/8”.

I used a hand plane to make my angle, but you can use a circular saw or table saw with the blade set at a slight angle to make the cut.

Don’t forget to install the bottom 2×4 so the downward angle is facing out.

Everything else is done just like the door install.

Costs

The sheathing for this part was done with scraps from the previous wall and roof sheathing.  It was the same for the galvanized nails.  Those were left over from a previous purchase.  Only thing I needed to buy was the 2x4s.

Hopefully this article helped you get started on building your shed.  If you found this interesting please think about signing up for our email list and get content sent straight to your email when it gets released. Also, we are on the social media sites above and YouTube.