Does anyone else have outdoor toys that desperately need a home? Maybe it’s just me. Between the driveway and the house is an unofficial parking lot for all of the kids bikes and scooters. It looks like the place that toys come to die and it drives me crazy. I needed a way to corral all the toys in a way that went with the house.
Building a Bike Shed
We decided to build a bike shed that looks like it’s part of the house. The first step was to anchor a pressure treated 2×6 into the studs of the house using lag screws. Then we, I mean my husband, dug 3 post holes, one for each corner and a third for the door opening. We mixed the cement in the holes and sank the pressure treated 4x4s in the holes making sure they were level. We used three additional pressure treated 2x6s to attach to the 2×4 on the house and the posts with lag screws. I found some sheet siding to enclose it and attached it to the sides using my nail gun. Then I used 1x4s to frame the siding and create a fun little diamond detail at the top.
We put 1x6s along the 2x6s at the top to create a roof. To help keep rain out we stair stepped the 1x6s so the water would flow down instead of going through cracks. I live in the Houston area and that means humidity, and humidity means mold and mildew. Before I painted I used Kilz Mold and Mildew Exterior Primer to help keep the humidity from eating my wood. Then I painted the whole thing to go with the house and viola!
It Looks Like It Belongs
Once it was done we moved all of the bikes and outdoor toys into it. I even added a cute little planter made from an old wheel. It looks like a part of the house which is a win for me. I love that it looks like it was always meant to be there and it keeps the eyesore of kids toys put away.
