Timber frame shed from black and Decker plans

[cib]

http://www.todaysplans.net/BlackDecker-Timber-Frame-Garden-Shed.pdf


I've never done a full timber frame build, most of my experience is more modern barn builds using modern fasteners. I don't have much room and our current shed is crap so I thought this would be reasonable to cut my teeth on and borg lumber could be used.

Anyone done this before or have any recommendations on a project like this?

[kristingreen]

Given my recent comments on this board regarding the building of a 'backyard' timber-frame-styled structure and the deviance from the rules that should be allowed given the use of smaller timbers, I should be the last guy to look down his nose at plans, such as these, that use primarily 4x4 posts.

With that said, I have some concerns as I also considered similar plans for a shed that I'm working on.



This corner joint has the corner post intersecting with the cross and long top plates. The plates are half-lapped and then simply fastened to the the post from the top down with lag bolts. From my experience, screwing into the end grain is never a good idea.



Tying the girts to the corner posts with half-laps takes out so much of the material of the post... this makes me nervous. At least use 6x6 posts. Again, screwing directly into the end grain... why?

I've deliberated over this for some time. My research also brought me here. I was not satisfied with the plywood sheds at HD and insisted on building my own. I was inspired by timber framing but my budget, lumber availability, and space considerations forced me to down-size my plans but I'm still going to try to mimic some of the traditional joinery... just smaller.

[cib]

I was thinking upgrade the corner posts to 4x6 but wasn't sure. I tend to use my storage extensively so may go 4x6 on all posts. Do you really think a rough cut 6x6 is necessary?

[kristingreen]

Check out this video series...

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/video/series-build-garden-shed-introduction.aspx

I found this when I was doing my initial research. They use half-lapped 4x4s for the walls and 4x6s for the corners. My problem was finding these at the local lumber yard so, if I was going to build it, I would have to use readily available fence and deck lumber... 4x4s and 6x6s.