Watch This Demonstration Video
This project will show you how to build a 2 bike capacity compact vertical bicycle storage shed for about $215 dollars in materials.
It’s also the perfect size and design for a small garden shed or tool shed.
- It’s compact with a foot print under 4 feet square and under 7 feet tall.
- Portable enough to transport in the back of a pick up truck and move across the yard with a hand truck.
- Can be made modular so you can take it apart and move it in 6 big pieces if necessary.
- Security for your bike against theft
- Protection against the elements
- Free up valuable space in your garage, on the back porch or from behind your couch
- Make your bike convenient and easy to use
- Must be attractive to the neighborhood
- Should be somewhat invisible and not stand out or call attention to its self
- Cheap
- Easy to build
- Size
- Whether your purchase one ready made, in a kit or if you make it on your own.
- Door header
- Top and bottom plates
- Inner door frame
- Outer door frame
Features
And it’s built out of materials and tools commonly available at almost any home or building supply store.
Caution: Medium size bikes only
This shed will handle full size bikes but not too large. If your bike is taller than about 44 inches you need to buy my Single Slope Lean To Style Shed Plans.
They include several designs for larger bikes. 
Designing A Two Bicycle Storage Shed For About $200 Dollars
A good bicycle storage shed will serve many functions including:
And since this is CheapSheds.com, here are 2 more considerations:
Security
Let’s begin with the first thing that most people ask of their bike shed, to protect it against theft. There are several levels of security for your bike. The first line of defense is to keep it out of sight. If people don’t know you have a bike then they will not be inclined to steal it. But if they know you have one then you need to plan on physical security.
The weakest point of a bike shed is usually the door. Either the door its self, the hinges or the lock or the door hasp.
Door
If your bike shed is metal like an arrow shed you have no security because someone can just lift the door off the tracks and set it aside. Or else they would just have to lean against it hard to push it in.
Hinges
Many sheds are built with screws holding the hinges on so all you would need to get in is a screw driver. So your bike shed should have carriage bolts holding the hinges and hasp on. This way no one can screw them out and take the door off.
Hasp
If your hasp is fixed and doesn’t rotate then it can easily be defeated by putting a tire iron through the padlock and twisting it off. This is very silent and easy to do. But if you have a rotating hasp then this will not be an issue. But weakness will be an issue because then all you will need to do is take that same tire iron, put it through the padlock or behind the hasp and pry it off. Even if you have carriage bolts the hasp can easily be torn away with a little leverage from a tire iron.
Lock
Even a good lock can be cut with a set of bolt cutters. But a good lock will at least look tough and might deter the casual bike thief.
Location
Where you put your bicycle storage shed will have a major impact on security. If it’s in the back yard behind a locked gate and out of site you will have fewer problems. But this might make it more difficult to access your bike so it will be a trade off.
If the shed is lit at night this will further deter thieves, as well as locating it under your bedroom window where you can hear if someone is tampering with it during the night.
Protection Against The Elements
Rain and sunshine can damage your bike so a bike shed should protect against both by simply being enclosed.
Free Up Other Space
Having a dedicated bike storage shed will free up space in your garage, under your back porch or from behind your couch so you can use it for other more valuable uses.
Make Your Bike Convenient And Easy To Use
If you have to dig your bike out every time you need it you will not be so anxious to use it. But if it is convenient and accessible you will likely use it more often and can get to it quicker. You can locate your bike shed close to a gate and you will not have to worry about carrying dirt into the house from the tires. Also a bike shed should allow a place to store bike accessories like helmet, gloves, shoes and water bottles etc.
You don’t want to have to lift your bike up either. A small person might not have the strength to lift a bike overhead to hang it up on a wall or ceiling hook. So you want to be able to roll it in and park it.
Attractive To The Neighbors
Many homeowners associations specify that any accessory structures blend in with the look of your house. Also you don’t want your neighbors complaining about an ugly bike shed so it could be made of similar materials as your house and painted to match. This way no one will complain about it looking ugly.
Invisible
A bike shed should not stand out or call attention to its self. This is another security feature. Make it blend in with the look of your house and paint it one color without a trim color so it doesn’t draw the eye. You might also disguise it by putting some vents on it to make it look like a hot water heater shed. Maybe even add a short stove pipe coming out of the top for maximum effect.
Size / Cost
The two largest factor in the cost of a bike shed are:
Any shed can serve as a bike shed. The bigger the shed the more bikes you can put into it and the more bike related stuff you can store. A big shed will also give you a place to service your bike out of the weather.
An ideal bike shed would have enough room to stand up in, so at least 6 to 7 ft vertical clearance. And a few feet on either side of the bike so you can walk it in and sit it on it’s kickstand. Then you need a few feet behind to walk around it and get to the other side or out the door.
6 feet wide would do for a bike shed if you store a bike on either wall with walking room between them. If you want to park them side by side and walk on either side of both bikes you will need more like 8 ft wide shed. Plus about 3 feet behind to walk and get to the door.
So an ideal size for a 2 bike shed would be either 8×6 or 8×8. A ready made shed this size will cost a minimum of $1,000 and up to $3,000 for something really nice. Even if you make this size shed using my cheap shed plans, it will cost you about $500 to $600 in materials alone.
Another way to control the cost is to make your bike shed smaller. You can do this by parking your bike vertical and storing your accessories on a shelf or hooks. You can store 2 bikes vertically in a space about 4 ft square with plenty of room for accessories. You will not be able to get in the shed and service your bike but you can do that under the back porch or in the garage, then return the bike to its shed for the night.
By vertical I don’t mean hanging it. I mean rolling the front wheel up the rear wall and parking the bike standing on it’s back wheel. This way you will not have to lift but a fraction of the bikes total weight. Just enough to get it rolling up the wall. Then hook the wheel around a nail or peg and lean it against the sidewall.
It will stay in place nicely and take up less than half the space of standing horizontally on both wheels. And you can do all this just standing in the doorway of the shed. So you don’t need to walk around the sides of the bike. This will save another 50 % of the space requirement.
So rather than needing an 8×8 shed you can store 2 bikes vertically in a 4×4 shed at about 30% of the cost.
Portable / Modular
Aside from saving lots of money, a small bike shed will be portable so that you can easily move it if you want to change locations. Either across the yard or to another house. If you sell your house and don’t want to take the shed with you, you can sell it in the paper and someone can easily move it in a pickup truck.
This would be necessary for example if you rent a house or apartment. And you will have better luck asking your landlord for permission to locate a small bike shed near your apartment than a larger one.
Or you can make it modular to make it even more convenient to move. By modular I mean where you can take it apart and move the pieces then put it together at the new location.
Ease Of Construction
The only real option most people have is to build a bike shed out of wood. Metal takes special tools and the components are not readily available. However building a bike shed from wood only takes common hand tools that most people have in their garage or they can borrow from a friend or neighbor. And any Home Depot or Lowes has all the necessary components to build a wooden bike shed.
A Cheap Bike Shed Design
So our goal is to design a cheap bike shed to store 2 bikes at a minimum cost and with the least amount of effort and complications to build.
Bike Shed Plans: Material List And Cost Estimate
This is the material list and cost estimate to build this bike shed. It came in a little higher than I first estimated but it is still a reasonable price at $215.00.
| Item | Quantity | Price Each | Sub Total |
| 2 x 4 x 8ft pressure treated | 3 | 7.00 | 21.00 |
| 2 x 4 x 92 5/8 (pre cuts) (or 2 x 4 x 8ft) | 23 | 2.21 | 50.83 |
| 4ft x 7ft siding | 4 | 17.22 | 68.88 |
| 1/2 inch x 4ft x 8ft OSB | 1 | 7.95 | 7.95 |
| Drip edge (10ft lengths) | 2 | 4.08 | 8.16 |
| Shingles (bundle) | 1 | 23.95 | 23.95 |
| Door hinges | 3 | 4.97 | 14.91 |
| Door latch | 1 | 4.48 | 4.48 |
| Assorted fasteners | (estimate) | 15.00 | |
| Grand Total To Build This 4×4 Compact Bike Shed | $215.16 | ||
I didn’t include the price of felt paper because a 60 ft long roll of felt paper costs $25.00 and you will only need 8 ft. So there would be a lot of waste there. It will probably be ok as long as you don’t live in really wet weather or have a roof draining directly on it.
I have also not included the price of paint or caulk. You will need about 1/2 gallon for two good coats. Likely you have enough extra paint around the house you can use for free.
Step 1: Build The Floor
The first step called for in the bike shed plans is to build the floor. Cut your floor sheeting to size and the 2×4 pieces to length.
The finished floor size is under 4 ft square so keep the other half of the floor sheeting to use in the roof.
I’m using pressure treated 2×4’s in the floor and turning them sideways so the finished shed will set closer to the ground.
The floor is so small that it doesn’t need the strength of the 2×4’s turned the normal stronger way.
You could use pressure treated plywood in the floor but I already had the right size OSB pieces around the shop so that is what I used.
Because the shed is so small it’s not necessary to have much of a floor frame. And because the 2×4’s are turned flat they were difficult to nail together and make a frame to attach the sheeting to.
So to keep the floor frame in place until I could nail them to the sheeting, I laid the 2×4 pieces out on the upside down floor sheeting and used 2 inch screws in each end the 2×4’s to hold them in place.
Then I flipped the floor so the top side was up and nailed everything into the underlying 2×4’s with 1 3/4″ nails.
Where some of the screws came through I simply turned the floor over and removed them. The screws were not for strength, they were just to keep the 2×4’s in place.
Be sure to make the finished floor very close to the dimensions called for in the shed plans because this shed doesn’t use any corner trim to hide your mistakes under. But if you follow the plans carefully your completed shed will be very tight and not need trim.
Step 2: Door And Front Wall
This is the most complicated of the steps so let’s get it out of the way first. Cut the following pieces per the shed plans:
Remember that two of the outer door frame uprights will be cut at an angle and the other two will be cut square.
Door header: The 3 1/2 inch wide strip of 1/2 inch OSB will fit between the two 2×4 headers to make it a full 3 1/2 inches thick.
Pilot holes: Measure and mark for, then drill 1/8 inch pilot holes for the screws. This will prevent splitting the wood.
Pre assemble: Align the bottom ends of the 2 outer door frame pieces and attach the 2 together with 2 inch screws every 8 to 10 inches from top to bottom. Then assemble the 3 pieces of the door header with 3 1/2 inch screws every 8 to 10 inches.
Outer door frame: Attach the header to the outer door frame, then screw the bottom plate in place. Attach the top plate but make sure it doesn’t extend into the plane where the siding will be nailed.
Top plate: Put a 2×4 spacer under the outer door frame with the short side up. Then place another 2×4 along the top (short side) of the outer door frame and bring the top plate up so it touches. Then attach the top plate to the door frame This will assure that the top plate does not interfere with the siding laying flat.
Outer door frame: This is what the outer door frame looks like assembled. It has a single bottom plate on the bottom, sandwiched header and top plate on the other end. Make sure the short side of the 2×4 door frame is up because this is where the siding will be installed.
Spacers: Remove the 2×4 from under the door frame and lay the frame on a flat surface. Cut eight 3×3 spacers from the top of the siding you will be using for this wall. Place 2 spacers into each corner of the outer door frame.
Check for fit: Place the top and bottom horizontal inner door cross pieces into their top and bottom positions to check for fit.
Uprights: Place the left and right uprights in place to check for fit.
Assemble inner door frame: Remove the pieces and assemble the inner door frame on a nearby flat surface.
If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to drill 1/8 inch pilot holes for the ends of the top and bottom plates and centers of the vertical uprights. Assemble the inner door frame with 3 1/2 inch screws.
The inside joint last center cross piece will have to be toe nailed in place.
Make sure the finished frame sits flat on the floor and doesn’t rock indicating that it is out of square.
Mark centers: Mark the centers of the 3 uprights and 3 horizontal cross pieces so you will know where to nail. Also place a mark 1/2 inch from the outside of the door frame. This will be the mark you line the door sheeting up to so you know it is spaced properly.
This shows the same marks at the bottom of the door frame.
Door sheeting: Cut the door sheeting per the shed plans but double check the measurements against the actual door frame. Make certain that it is square because you will square the frame to this piece.
Check it’s square by pulling a tape measure diagonally across the corners in each direction. If the measurements are the same then it’s square.
Now lay it into place along the pencil marks on the header. Center it side to side between the marks at the top of each vertical door frame. Put a 2 inch galvanized nail into each of the corners into the underlying 2×4’s of the inner door frame. Do not nail this sheet to the outer door frame because this would be nailing the door shut.
Go to the bottom of the sheeting and line it up between the bottom marks on either door frame. If they don’t line up then pull the frame into shape until they do line up.
Put a nail into each corner using the marks on the frame to locate the underlying 2×4. At this point you will have 4 nails in the sheeting.
Top “trim”: Cut sis 1×3 spacers from the cut off from this siding. Lay the remainder of the top cutoff on top of the door as shown and place 2 of those spacers between the top piece and the door sheeting.
Line the grooves up for appearance, then mark and cut the excess. Then nail it on with 2 inch galvanized nails.
If you are going to use a router to trim the excess then just nail it on and trim it after the next step.
Side “trim”: Lay the side pieces on with spacers at the top and bottom. Measure, cut and nail them on.
If you are going to use a router then cut the length and nail them on.
Route excess: Route the excess from all sides. You will have to make a starter cut at both bottoms because the overhang has no 2×4 underneath for the router bit to follow as a guide.
Router bit: Use a flush cut follow bit with a ball bearing that will follow the 2×4 underneath and give a perfect cut.
Chalk lines: Snap a chalk line on the 3 vertical inner door pieces and the 3 horizontal door pieces.
Guide marks: Use your center marks that will show through in the door gap to locate the 2×4’s underneath.
Mount hinges: I like to attach my hinge with 1/4 inch carriage bolts for security and to discourage door sag. You will need a long drill bit that will go through 4 inches of wood. The easiest option is to mount the hinges with 3 inch screws.
Secure door: Screw some scraps on the latch side of the door to keep it closed and in place.
Nuts and washers: Turn the door over and install the washers and nuts.
Cut excess: Trim the excess off the bolts with a hacksaw so you will not snag your clothes on a protruding end.
This is the longest step but the door end is now finished.
Step 3: Back Wall
Cut 4 studs and a top and bottom plate as per the bike shed plans. Notice that the 4 studs are cut at an angle on the top end.
Lay out and mark the top and bottom plates and drill your pilot holes.
Assemble: Lay the 4 studs and 2 plates on a flat surface. Make sure the short side of the angle on the studs is laying down.
This is just the opposite of the front wall. Attach the studs to the bottom plate with 3 inch screws.
Offset top plate: Attach the studs to the top plate but make sure the top plate is offset so the top corners align.
This allow the sheeting to lay flat. You night have to lay a 2×4 spacer under the top of the studs to provide some working clearance under the top plate.
Attach sheeting: Double check that the long side of the stud is facing up so that the siding is nailed on the correct side of the assembly. Lay the sheeting down flush with the top plate and spaced equally from side to side.
Nail along the top plate with 2 inch galvanized nails every 8 inches. Square the underlying frame to the siding by measuring the overhang at the top and bottom of the stud on one side. When this measurement is equal on the top and bottom then it’s square and you can nail it down in both lower corners.
Snap a chalk line along the studs and plates and nail every 8 inches.
Trim excess. Measure the overhang on the bottom of the siding and transfer that measurement to the top side.
Snap a chalk line and cut off the excess with your circular saw. If you are going to use your router, make your small cut along the bottom overhang then route the excess from both sides.
The finished end will be flush cut on both sides and the top with your specified overhang on the bottom.Step 4: Side Walls
The two sidewalls are identical except mirror images of each other.
Cut your 6 studs and 4 top and bottom plates. Remember the 6 studs have angles on the top end and the top plates have angles on both ends.
Measure, mark and drill 1/8 inch pilot holes in the top and bottom plates.
If you use screws instead of carriage bolts you can skip the next few steps and go right to framing the wall.
Because the shed is so small, the heads of the carriage bolts for the hinges and latch will interfere with the studs in the sidewall. So you have to drill access holes so they are out of the way and so you can reach the nuts to tighten them in the future.
Lay the correct stud on top of the front wall and hit it with a hammer up and down the length to mark where the bolt heads are.
Then move it to the side and mark the location of the bolts on the stud.
Transfer the side mark to the face of the stud to locate exactly where you need to drill the access holes.
Use a 1 1/2 inch spade bit.
Drill most of the way through the 2×4. Don’t go all the way through because it will make a ragged hole.
Turn the 2×4 over and use the pilot hole to finish the hole.
Lay it into position to check that everything is correct. Now you can get a wrench in to tighten the nuts in the future.
As I said, if you just use screws you can skip this step.
Frame walls: Assemble the 2 side walls making certain the pre drilled stud or studs are properly located. Lay the siding down so it overhangs the same on either side and the correct amount on the bottom.
Nail the bottom corners and check the frame for square against the siding by measuring the side over hangs at the top and bottom. Then nail into all the studs with 2 inch galvanized nails every 8 inches.
This is what the back side of the side wall will look like before it’s trimmed in the next step.Step 5: Attach Walls To Floor
Now it’s time to attach the walls to the floor.
If you want to make this shed modular:
If you want to make this shed modular you will be able to disassemble it and move it in 6 large pieces… the floor and roof and 4 walls.
This might be handy if you want to get it through a small gate in the future.
At this point the single largest component will be 4 inches by 4 feet by 7 feet.
If you want to make it modular don’t use nails to assemble the shed from here on. Use 3 inch drywall screws to secure the studs to each other and use 2 inch drywall screws with a fender washer to secure the siding to the underlying stud.
If you don’t need it to be modular then skip this step and use nails to assemble the shed.
Assemble walls: Start with the back wall. Lift it in place and position it correctly side to side and push it up securely into the floor at the back. Then nail or screw the bottom plate to the floor.
Then lift a sidewall on the floor and bring it up flush to the back wall. When they are tight to each other nail through the sidewall corner stud into the back wall corner stud at the top and bottom. Then nail through the bottom plate at each corner into the floor.
Attach the next wall the same way. Lift the final wall into place. Since you can’t get inside at this point, put a nail through the siding into the underlying corner stud at the top and bottom corner of each side of the walls.
All 4 walls attached.
Make sure the siding fits tight at the edges before you nail anything together.
Router: Now you can router the excess off both sides. Start at the bottom and the router bit will follow the 2×4 frame up to the top, across the top and down the other side to the ground.
Now you can nail or screw the siding to the underlying corner studs.
Door: Remove the screws holding the door and open it for the first time.
Go inside and finish nailing or screwing the walls to each other and to the floor. I was anxious to test for fit so I put a bike in. It fits perfectly…
Latch: I used a simple gate latch like I do on all my sheds. You can find something more secure if you feel it is necessary.
Install latch: You could have installed the latch at the same time as the hinges.
If you install it now you will have to drill through the corner studs then go to the back side and cut through the sidewall corner stud to the front wall corner studs with the 1 1/2 inch spade bit to make access to the washers and nuts. The same way you needed to make access for the hinges.
Paint: This is an ideal time to paint because there will be nothing to cut in.
But first clean the metal parts to make sure the paint will stick. Use paint thinner and remove any oil from the hinges and latch.
You can paint right out of the can and it will go very quickly. Give it two coats of a high quality exterior paint.
Caulk: Paint in the door jambs too. If you have a gap like this simply fill it in with a good caulk and paint over after it dries.
If you have built your shed carefully to size then your corners will fit tightly and will not need trim.
Step 6: Roof
The roof is the last step in building your bike shed. You can use shingles like I am showing here, or you could use rolled roofing or even a nice metal. But shingles will look good, are readily available, are cheap and will last many years.
If you don’t want to make your shed modular then skip paragraphs 2 and 3 below.
Roof sheeting: After cutting your roof sheeting to size, lay it on top of your shed with the back edge flush with the back wall and even from side to side.
Eliminating the overhang on the back wall will allow the shed to sit directly up against the side of your house.
Now make sure the shed is square to the roof sheeting by measuring the overhang at the front and back edge of both sides of the shed. When all measurements are equal then the shed is square. If necessary you can lift the floor at one or the other of the front corners to make it square.
If you are not making your shed modular you can nail the roof sheeting into the top plates now.
Modular: If you want to make your bike shed modular, then do not attach the roof sheeting yet.
Make a pencil mark on the underside of the roof sheeting where it meets the top plates.
Do this for all 4 sides.
Modular blocks: Now remove the roof sheeting and screw a scrap of 2×4 to the bottom side of the roof sheeting at the middle line where it meets the top plate. One 2×4 block for each of the four walls.
Attach it from the top side with screws so you can adjust the fit if necessary. Then lift it back in place on top of the shed and check for fit.
Adjust your 2×4 blocks as necessary to get a tight fit and make sure the sheeting is still square front to back and side to side. You can either attach it with screws to the shed now or remove it and finish the roof on the ground.
Front flashing: You can save money by skipping the flashing and felt paper if you like. But including them will make a better roof so that is what I’m demonstrating. Cut and attach a piece of galvanized metal flashing to the front edge of the roof with 3/4 inch roofing nails.
Felt paper: Cover the sheeting with felt paper and attach with a roofing nail in each corner. Than put your edge flashing on over the felt paper and nail it down.
Do not put flashing at the top edge just yet because we will put it on top of the shingles to make a water proof edge at the top.
Starter strip: Cut the tabs off a full shingle to make a starter strip. This sticky edge will hold the tab down that rests on it.
Start from the left side with a full strip and cut another piece to finish the row.
Nail the starter strip down and begin your full shingle from the right so the joints will not overlap.
Nail it down with for 3/4 inch galvanized roofing nails just above the tab.
Finish up to the top but make sure you stagger the seams so they will not leak.
Top flashing: To keep the top edge water tight install your last piece of flashing over the top of the shingles.
This is what your finished roof will look like.
I made the mistake of using too long of staples and they were sticking through the sheeting. This would not allow the finished roof to sit flush on the top plates.
So I had to grind them down before I could install the roof.
This gives you an upside down look at the roof with the 2×4 blocks attached. Now lift it in place and attach the finished roof to the shed with two 3 inch screws through each block into it’s matching top plate.
The flashing hangs over the back siding making for a water tight joint at the high point.Step 7: Finishing Touches
Now for a few finishing touches to complete your shed and park your bikes.
Ramp: To make it easier to roll your bike in, cut out the bottom plate and add a few bricks to make a ramp into the shed. Just make sure the bricks don’t interfere with the door closing.
A nail is all it takes to hold your bike in place.
Locate the nails about the same height as the front axle. You can experiment by putting nails on either side of the studs if you need a different spacing.
Once you learn the correct spacing for the back wheels and pedals parking your bike becomes automatic.Now add a good padlock and you bikes are safe and secure…