When a local artist called Historic Shed for her new art studio, she knew exactly what she wanted. She'd been saving our ad from a magazine for several years and had sketched up all her ideas in her notebook. We built her a 12' x 12'  shed with paired French doors on three sides. A 4' roof extension on the front is supported by large brackets, providing shelter for her doors and a seating area. The shed has a metal roof and cypress siding.

A flash back to construction below: the exterior shell took 3 days to put up. After the electrical and AC unit was installed, Historic Shed finished out the shed interior with drywall and cypress trim. The roof framing and sheathing was left exposed for and open look.

The shed exterior nearing completion

The side yard is often where AC units, electrical meters, and garbage cans find refuge, but you can also use the side yard for covered storage, making it useful and attractive. For people with a wide side yard, you can put in a large storage unit like this 6'x12' shed, but even those with a narrow side yard can get a nice bit of storage that looks good.

The City of Ormond Beach, Florida proudly titles itself the "Birthplace of Speed" with a long history of auto racing that started in 1902 on the hard packed beach sand when automobiles were new and existing roads were poor.

After the Winton Bullet won a Challenge Cup against the Olds Pirate by a breathtaking two-tenths of a second in 1903, Ormond Beach established itself as the ideal proving ground for automobile designers and racing aficionados from around the world. Motorcycle and automobile owners and drivers brought vehicles powered by gasoline, steam and electric engines, sometimes cruising at over 100 miles per hour along the ocean side. You can see actual race footage on the beach from 1905 on YouTube at Ormond Beach Florida Auto Races.

While autos may still drive along the beach, beach racing is now only commemorated at Birthplace of Speed Park, located on A1A at the intersection of SR40. The park has a series of markers telling the story of racing and provide wonderful views of the ocean.

The park used to showcase two replicas of the two history-changing racers, the Winton Bullet and the Olds Pirate, but the ocean climate made maintaining the cars difficult and they were removed for repairs. Members of the Motor Racing Heritage Association decided that it would be ideal to bring back another piece of Ormond Beach racing history and place it in the park to protect the replica cars.

The Ormond Garage was built in 1904 by Henry Flagler, railroad magnate and owner of the Ormond Hotel, to accommodate participating race cars during the beach races (and to keep them away from the front of his hotel). The large garage housed the drivers and mechanics during the speed time trials, while the owners and manufacturers stayed at the hotel.

While much larger than could be accommodated within the park, the old garage was to serve as design inspiration for a new structure to house and protect the replica race cars in Birthplace of Speed Park. The Motor Racing Heritage Association began fund raising in order to build the garage, and came to Historic Shed to discuss the project. After a few design iterations to make the project more affordable, and a couple of years of fund raising, the project was officially launched at the end of 2012. Last week, the interior was completed and the first of the replica cars will move in shortly.

 

 

This very fun project would not have been the same without Suzanne Heddy, Director of the Ormond Beach Historical Society and Motor Racing Heritage Association Treasurer; Ron Piasecki, President of the Motor Racing Heritage Association, Inc.; and Dan Smith, Hometown News writer and  Motor Racing Heritage Association's  "Go To Guy" and the numerous other racing history fans in the area. We offer so many thanks for their direction, entertainment and support!

Some more info on the garage project and racing history can be found at these links:

A tribute to the famous Ormond Garage 1904-1976
Ormond Garage replica going up in Speed Park
City’s heritage on display with new replica garage
Green shed marks auto racing's starting line

The History of Speed in Ormond Beach

Motor Racing Heritage Association

Ormond Beach Historical Society

Historic Shed's most recent project was constructed in Tampa's historic Seminole Heights neighborhood to complement an interesting, and virtually unchanged Craftsman bungalow. The owners needed to replace a metal shed that had reached a state of extreme disrepair and wanted the new building to reflect the design of their home.

Click the images below to see a slideshow of the entire shed construction process.

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Historic Shed was contacted by an artist in Ormond Beach, Florida to design and build a unique shed to be used as an art studio.  The studio shed incorporates a salvaged wood door with sidelights, a dutch door and lots of windows. To top it off, it has a fun color scheme, perfect for the beach location.

 

Historic Shed recently built a 12'x16' board and batten shed along the shore of lovely Lake Griffin in Fruitland Park, FL. The shed will serve as a bunkhouse for guests.

Plans for this shed are now available for sale at: https://historicshed.com/store-4/?model_number=HS001

Historic Shed was approached by a homeowner in Palm Harbor to design and build a custom shed to serve as both storage and a covered family bar seating area. The shed we designed and built is 12'x18' with a 4' covered porch area. The shed was divided by an  interior wall into a 13' storage area and a 4' bar area to house snack and drink storage and a television. The storage area is accessed by a double set of carriage house style doors on the side. The bar area has a single door access on the side and two awning covered opening with a wide cypress counter-top. The awnings are opened using a pulley system. The project is delightfully accented by a tropical color scheme.

 

 

See another version of the Snack Shack here: https://historicshed.com/craftsman-snack-shack/

Not all sheds have to be freestanding in the backyard. Side yards can provide much needed storage areas and go from barely used to extremely useful with the proper shed set next to the side of a house. Sheds can range in size from large to small, depending on your storage needs and allowable space.

Narrower yards may not be able to accommodate a shed quite this large, but you still can usually add some significant storage space. The Historic Shed Thin Storage Shed and Thin Gable Shed fit nicely in tight side yards while still allowing a walkable path. Historic Shed outbuildings and storage units can be customized for nearly any size space.

For more tight space storage ideas, see the small storage page on our website.

Historic Shed recently completed this 10'x14' custom  garden shed to complement a 1920s residence in the Hyde Park historic neighborhood in Tampa. The storage shed features a gable roof with exposed rafter tails and eave brackets similar to the main house.

Most of our Historic Shed ™ garden shed installations are located behind historic homes on fairly small lots, but recently we did a project that was located on a roomy farm with a modern dome house. It was definitely different than a traditional bungalow and had lots more room.

The owner needed to replace a rusty metal shed that came with the property and liked the traditional nature of our designs. Historic Shed built an 8'x12' board and batten shed with a 3'-6" wide door and two salvaged wood windows and set it on the existing concrete slab. The site came with an added bonus that we've never had in any historic district: miniature donkeys! They were very cute and very curious, spending most of the day wandering in and out of the shed and hovering very closely behind Craig as he worked.

 

If the colors of this shed look familiar, it's because they are the same as the ones we used for a two-car garage project recently. Every shed is custom painted, typically to match the existing home, but in this case the owner liked the colors of the garage, making it easy for us to pull the garage records and paint away.

When Florida neighborhoods were being developed during the early 20th century, garages were commonly built behind the quaint bungalows with details that matched the main home. Many of these early outbuildings survive today, but many more have been demolished with only concrete slabs remaining in the backyards or newer structures replacing them.

At our most recent project in the Duckpond Neighborhood in Gainesville there was an existing metal garage behind the c. 1913 home, most likely built in the 1950s, that was too small to house a car and a hazard to anyone who touched the rusty edges. Historic Shed was hired to design and build a new custom gable roofed garage with a side workshop in a style that might have been built contemporary with the main house. The detached garage we designed reflected elements from the main house including the roof slope, shingled gable end, gable end vent, exposed rafter tails and siding. The design was reviewed and approved by the Gainesville Historic Preservation Review Board.

 

Many thanks to the Gainesville Door Company for the garage door installation, JAM Construction for installing the concrete slab, and Archer Electric Service.

Historic homes have plenty of charm and character, but are often short on space. This is especially true when company arrives. Ybor City resident Judy Greer has found an affordable solution to that problem: she is installing a guest cottage behind her home. Designed and built by Historic Shed, a Brooksville-based outbuilding specialty company, the cottage complements her historic home and adds to the neighborhood character. The cottage has a bedroom and full bath, and is roughly the size of a typical hotel room.

Construction of a detached building was a less expensive alternative to building an addition to her home. Moreover, there was no construction inconvenience since all the work took place in her back yard, without disturbing her house. “My guests will be comfortable and I’ll keep my privacy,” say Ms. Greer. “It’s the perfect set-up. My neighbor is considering something similar for her mother-in law.”

Historic Shed designs and builds outbuildings for historic homes, from simple garden sheds, to garages, to cottages like Ms. Greer’s. The custom designs incorporate architectural elements from existing historic homes and use traditional materials and detailing. Historic preservation consultant, Jo-Anne Peck and her contractor husband, Craig DeRoin began building Historic Shed outbuildings in 2008 to fill a void in the market for historic homeowners. “Many historic homeowners don’t want a stock metal or vinyl shed in their backyard, and in many cases they are actually prohibited by local historic district design guidelines,” says Ms. Peck. “We also get many calls from owners of newer homes who just want an attractive backyard building.”

Each Historic Shed outbuilding is constructed in a warehouse, broken back down into individual walls and roof for delivery, and then reassembled on site. Installation typically takes 2-3 days for garden sheds and two or more weeks for a more complex structure such as the cottage due to coordination with electrical and plumbing contractors. For more information, see the website at HistoricShed.com.

We have a lot of people in love with our shed designs, but because we use high-end materials, they don't always fit into everyone's budget. So, we've spent some serious time discussing how we can create a more economical design without compromising the charm, detailing and longevity of our product. A shed with faux board and batten siding was one of our design solutions, using pressure treated plywood to simulate the board siding and then applying cypress battens for a finished look. This would reduce both material and labor costs, but when detailed properly, still looks appropriate behind historic homes.

Board and batten is a traditional historic siding that originated in Norway and Sweden. It was popularized in the United States by Andrew Jackson Downing in the mid 1800s in his picturesque residential designs.  The siding was commonly used in Florida for outbuildings, including barns and garages, making it an appropriate material for use on sheds in historic districts. (See a Florida property built in the 1880s with board and batten outbuildings and the shed we built to complement it.)

We'd been discussing building a prototype of the board and batten economy shed for a while, but hadn't managed to find the time. Then we were contacted by a Clearwater couple who wanted an 8'x10'  shed that complemented their 1920s bungalow with a stucco exterior. Since they did not need cypress lap siding to match their house, we suggested trying the board and batten shed. They jumped at the chance since the interior of their home features board and batten on their built-in cabinets and as their bath interior finish.

We customized the shed to reflect elements from the main house; we installed a checkerboard gable vent, angle cut the rafter tails, and installed brackets that mimicked the ones on the main house. The end result created a very pleasing shed design that was less expensive to build, yet that maintained historic character and still uses durable materials. We are now pleased to offer the Historic Shed™  Board and Batten Shed line. We think you'll like it.

 

Historic Shed recently completed this custom 8'x12' hipped roof wood garden shed for an avid gardener in the historic Kenwood neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Florida. Located on a heavily treed lot with a 1940s Ranch home, the shed nestles between two palm trees and features a salvaged wood window, 15 light French door, metal roof, and bead board soffits.

 

Historic Shed custom designed and built a new 20’x22’ two-car garage with a 6’x12’ shed workshop to complement a historic bungalow in the Old Northeast neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Florida recently. The garage design uses elements from the main residence such as the roof slope, gable end vent, roof brackets and window casings.

View of the new garage on the alley side

The new pre-fabricated garage is constructed of pressure treated and dense southern yellow pine framing, 1x6 cypress roof sheathing, cypress siding, a cypress beadboard human-scaled door, and incorporates salvaged wood windows with traditional surrounds. The interior is sheathed in ½” plywood for additional shear strength and the building meets or exceeds Florida Building Code wind load requirements. The only non-traditional item in the garage design is the use of modern overhead garage doors, overlaid to look like traditional carriage house doors.

The garage was completely assembled in the shop, then broken down into components for delivery

Reassembling the pre-painted shed at the customer's property

Tie-downs and straps for wind load resistance

The completed garage as seen from the house, ready for landscaping

The completed garage with workshop bump-out

Outbuildings are a significant portion of the historic fabric of the historic Old Northeast neighborhood, adding a tangible layer to the history of the neighborhood’s development. Garages located on historic alleys tell the rising story of the automobile; early cottages reflect the use of live-in help; and storage sheds were often built for home business uses. This garage replaced a historic garage that had fallen into extreme disrepair and was awkwardly placed on the lot. The owners are very pleased with the new garage and workshop, with plans to add AC and a utility sink to the workshop to fully realize its potential.

I want to tell you again how very pleased we are with everything and how well the whole process worked. You are both great to work with and I hope we were okay for you. The garage is beautiful and I even had a note on my door the other night from someone saying "I want to see your garage! Call me...her phone # and name." - customer email

Human sized door leading to the workshop

Salvaged wood casement windows with traditional surrounds

The roof is sheathed with 1x6 cypress

Overhead garage doors faced to look like carriage house doors