Extending a lean-to shed

[trirod]

This is a really simple project compared to many I see here! I have a lean-to shed attached to my house and it's just too small to be useful (about 6.5' by 7'). It's leaking badly from the roof so needs some work. Since I have to work on it anyway, I figured I should make it big enough that at least I can store 8' lumber in it. As you can see from the photo I am somewhat limited in expanding the size since I have an electricity meter on the wall a couple of feet away, and a fairly steep hillside in the other direction that I will need to dig out. But if I can make it just a couple of feet bigger in both directions it will make a huge difference in utility.

My main question is on the type of roof to put on the extended shed. The simplest would be to do the same kind of sloping roof that is on there now, just with less slope so I have a similar height end wall to what is there now, but 2 or 3 feet further out from the house. What would be nice would be to put on a peaked roof to give more height through the length of the shed, but then that would seem to add a lot of complexity in joining to the existing house. I am comfortable tackling the former - not sure if the skills required for the latter are beyond me. I am a competent DIY'er and have previously built my own 36' x 20'stand-alone garage that came out pretty well, but just a bit nervous about ripping into my house roof...

Just looking for thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[6768rogues]

If you put another peak on that is perpendicular to the peak of the roof you are connecting to, you would have to dig into the existing roof and form two valleys. For a roof peak in the same direction, you would have to construct a connector peak perpendicular to the two you would have, making four valleys. Either way you are getting deep into the existing roof for valleys and you will need additional skills to measure and cut jack rafters at compound angles. I don't know your skill level but if you are handy you can figure it out. Read about it, anything you need to know is out there.

 

[House]

If you build a gable roof perpendicular to the house on the addition it will require two valleys . You can first build your shed walls and then hand build some rafters to fit and use a ridge beam that connects onto the existing house roof. you will have to strip the shingles on the house roof to do this right. Stripping just the framing area first until you are ready for shingles. Once the regular rafters and ridge beam are built and in place you can then figure out the valley Jacks. If you have never done any of this kinda work you may not want to start with a project that involves your house roof .
From what I see in the picture of the existing set up I would be inclined to keep the shed roof separate from the house roof and start it just below the eave of the house and change the slope to keep the head height more reasonable. I would stay to no less then a 3/12 roof slope though.

 

[Lynden]

If you want more headroom, you could tie the new shed roof into the existing house roof higher up. Framing the new roof and connecting it to the house roof sheathing is fairly simple. Check out these two videos.

 

[meboatermike]

Any chance that you could have that outside electrical moved to the left more to give you more room? Not sure what the cost would be or the practicality of this but it would greatly increase your potential room width without having to dig into the bank area.

 

[Bretny]

I wouldnt bother doing anything but fixing the leak. If you want a bigger shed just build a stand alone one. Your going to have to remove a wall anyway. This way you dont have to mess with a foundation to much.

 

[trirod]

Any chance that you could have that outside electrical moved to the left more to give you more room? Not sure what the cost would be or the practicality of this but it would greatly increase your potential room width without having to dig into the bank area.

Tried that but the utility said it would cost $2,500-$3,000 to move it even just a small amount since they would have to run a whole new cable all the way from the road.

 

[trirod]

I wouldnt bother doing anything but fixing the leak. If you want a bigger shed just build a stand alone one. Your going to have to remove a wall anyway. This way you dont have to mess with a foundation to much.

That would be my first preference but there's nowhere else on the property that a shed would go very easily (very steep lot), unfortunately.

 

[trirod]

If you want more headroom, you could tie the new shed roof into the existing house roof higher up. Framing the new roof and connecting it to the house roof sheathing is fairly simple. Check out these two videos.

I never thought about that option - that could be a great idea. Thanks!