Shed Improvement

[PharmrJohn]

OK, to start out, I am a complete newb at this. Never taught a thing as a kid or as a young adult re: construction, I am wallowing in ignorance at the moment. Here is what I have and what I have done.

Two sheds side by side. Each 8' in length, 7' in depth and 7' on the y axis. It is open all the way around for all intents and purposes. This weekend I framed up the back and put up some CDX to start the enclosure. I intend to do each side as well, leaving one open in the front (wood shed) and put a door on the other (lawnmower, etc, etc.....).

Now....the way it looks. It looks like plywood. And I don't want that. If I stain it, I think it will look like stained plywood. I don't think that will work well. I was thinking about putting some siding up, but would prefer something more original.

I am willing to try anything if it leads to something that will look good in the end.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance......

[RTF]

If you haven't gone too far with the cdx ply, check out T-111 plywood siding. It is economical, easy to install, and it looks decent.

[dexter]

I would also suggest looking at T1-11, but just going a step further, the CDX that you already have on the back will take stain similar to the T1-11, so if it's a case where you won't see the back too often, you might be able to leave what you have in place, and then use T1-11 on the sides. On the open, wood shed side, you may also want to take a look at what your lumber yard has for rough sawed boards, like in 1x6, which you could apply vertically, and space apart to whatever suits your mood. You didn't say how it is framed, so don't know if this is feasible, or not. This would give you a more rustic look, both inside and out, and provide some cross ventilation for your wood. Rough sawed cedar comes to mind, but that would get pricey. I haven't had occasion to use any of it yet, but my local yard also carries a rough sawed pine, at a fraction of the price of cedar, which one of the guys told me will last a good many years, and he said that they have been recommending it sometimes for applications similar to yours.

[PharmrJohn]

I would also suggest looking at T1-11, but just going a step further, the CDX that you already have on the back will take stain similar to the T1-11, so if it's a case where you won't see the back too often, you might be able to leave what you have in place, and then use T1-11 on the sides. On the open, wood shed side, you may also want to take a look at what your lumber yard has for rough sawed boards, like in 1x6, which you could apply vertically, and space apart to whatever suits your mood. You didn't say how it is framed, so don't know if this is feasible, or not. This would give you a more rustic look, both inside and out, and provide some cross ventilation for your wood. Rough sawed cedar comes to mind, but that would get pricey. I haven't had occasion to use any of it yet, but my local yard also carries a rough sawed pine, at a fraction of the price of cedar, which one of the guys told me will last a good many years, and he said that they have been recommending it sometimes for applications similar to yours.That may work nicely. In terms of framing, I had no idea what to do, so I settled for 2x6s running horizontally and 2x4s running vertically. I toed in (yeah I know....) a two by four about half way down horizontally to keep the plywood from bowing out too much. I have enough plywood to do the sides already so I will proceed with that and explore the 1x6 routine. That sounds nice.....

[Don_P]

economy wise you can add vertical batten strips every 8 to 10", something like a 1x2 or a "screen mold" over stained or painted ply to give it a board and batten look.

I've also used corner boards and then horizontal rough sawn 1x8's with chinking in between to give an outbuilding a "log" look.

You can also screw boards from the backside into the siding boards if they are thick enough and do about any pattern you want but always when doing siding "think like a raindrop" keep the water shedding and out from behind the siding, use a weather resistive barrier, tarpaper or tyvek, behind the siding to keep water out of the frame if it does get back there.