I finally understood why my grandpa's shed was built that way after a storm in Omaha

We had a huge windstorm here about six years ago that took down a lot of fences and my cheap plastic storage box. My grandpa's old wood shed from the 70s, though, didn't even lose a shingle. I went over and really looked at it. He used these long, heavy-duty lag bolts to tie the roof rafters down to the posts, not just nails. I rebuilt my own small shed last spring using that same method with 3/8 inch bolts. Has anyone else had a backyard building hold up way better than they expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant.margaret20d agoMost Upvoted

I swapped out the galvanized nails on my fence for these 8-inch timber screws after the second time it blew over. Total game changer, cost maybe 15 bucks more but that was three years ago and it's still solid. The right hardware is cheap insurance.

kelly_henderson832mo ago

Oh man, that makes my shed look like a house of cards! I just used a box of nails from the hardware store.

calebh902mo ago

Ugh I feel that so hard. My first shed was basically held together with hope and the cheapest nails I could find. It wobbled if you looked at it wrong. Honestly, the right fasteners make a night and day difference for how solid something feels. I learned that lesson the expensive way after a storm.