Understanding Shed Measurements

Shed dimensions is usually top of mind when considering a portable building. Will it fit your space? Will it provide enough room? Will the lawnmower fit through the door? Here are a few common dimensions to keep in mind in the decision-making phase of shed shopping.

Outside Dimensions

Because sheds are built in a shop, they face a road trip before arriving at your place. The DOT has something to say about load sizes on public highways, and those limitations play into shed design. Anything over 8 feet is considered a wide load, and anything between 12 and 16 feet requires an escort car.

Because the widest point of a building is the roof, the width of most models is measured from roof edge to roof edge, which shrinks the usable inside space. For example, a 12-foot A-frame building measures 12 feet from eave to eave, and that nice 6-inch overhang shrinks the inside wall-to-wall measurement to 10 feet.

The eave-to-eave width of a 12-foot A-frame reduces the wall-to-wall measurement to just under 11 feet and inside space to about 10 feet.

The barn-style roof has no appreciable overhang besides the lip of roofing metal, so the inside width of a 12-foot building is greater than that of an A-frame. A 12-foot barn-style shed has an inside wall-to-wall measurement of 10 feet 8 inches.

The barn-style design allows a wider floor compared to the A-frame--8 more inches on a 12-foot shed.

The 10-foot-wide building is a true ten feet from outside to outside since the extra few inches of roof don't push the building into the next hauling category. The inside width of a 10-foot shed is about 9 feet 5 inches after subtracting the wall thickness.

The 10-foot wide model is a true ten feet from outside to outside.

Shed lengths are measured from end wall to end wall.

The height of a shed may vary from model to model, but a 12-foot shed measures about 11 feet 8 inches from peak to skids. After leveling, figure about 12 1/2 feet from the peak to the ground at the point with the fewest leveling blocks.

Door dimensions

Standard double-door entrances are framed 6 feet wide, but the door jamb steals about two inches of that space. If your yard machine is less than 5 feet 10 inches, you'll get it inside just fine.

The width of a double entry door is about 5 feet 10 inches.

Our shed builders offer a standard entry door as an upgrade feature. A 3'0 exterior-grade door (with or without windows) offers a tad less than 3 feet of entry space.

How much space do you want? What other dimensions are you curious about? Contact me and I'll dig up some answers.

Brian