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Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual Dear Customer, Thank you for the purchase of our garden building, with its excellence in craftsmanship and details. We are proud to bring it to you from our Amish friends and neighbors, who build such remarkable products. Before you Begin • Consult your local authorities for any permits required to construct the garden building. • Complete site preparation and any needed foundation construction before unpacking the parts.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 1. Your unit will arrive completely packaged and wrapped in plastic (similar to the kit pictured). Leave the packaging intact until the day you are ready to start assembly. NOTE: complete site prep work before starting assembly - unit should be built on a level, solid surface. 4 to 5 inches of crushed stone is recommended as a base. 2. Organize and lay out all the parts. 3. Locate and lay out floor as shown, staggering the splices for added strength.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 5. Using the cleats, attach short floor joists to long floor joists, keeping all pieces flush at the top as shown in Steps 6 & 7. The joists on both ends of the floor will only have one cleat (cleat will face in towards the interior) 6. 7. 8. © Suncast Corporation Ensure that all floor joists are lined up with the corresponding notches in the outside band boards; fasten together with 3” nails.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 9. Joists will fit into the notches as shown in Steps 9 and 10. 10. 11. Make sure floor is square. Floor is square when diagonal measurements are equal. Next, lay out engineered wood floor sections as shown. 12. It is important to align floor decking properly at edges. Fasten with nails, spaced 8” apart.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 13. Tip - Be sure the floor is level before proceeding to the next steps. 14. Front wall framing - locate 6 notched 2x4’s, as shown. Note - Notches are cut in top and bottom wall plates to aid in the proper placement of the wall studs (24” on center). 15. Bottom plate splice - note the notched ends. 16. Locate studs for front wall framing.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 17. The shorter studs (jack studs that fit under the ends of the door header) must be installed in the bottom plate notches. The space between the jack studs will be 701/2”. The 78-1/2” studs are fastened to the jack studs, providing 3” thick framing on both sides of the door opening. Door header consists of 3 pieces of pre-assembled lumber. 18. Taller door framing stud (king stud) will measure 78-1/2” due to not going into a notch.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 21. Fasten with 3” nails. 22. The top plate is composed of 2 layers. The notches on the lower layer face down to receive the wall studs. The notches on the upper layer face up to receive the roof rafters. 23. Fasten the lower layer to the wall studs before adding the upper layer. NOTE: Make sure door and window openings are square before proceeding (opening is square when diagonal measurements are equal). 24.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 25. Add a 2’ piece, with overlap on the right side. Make sure all three joints between siding pieces have one piece with an overlap, and the adjacent piece has an underlap. 26. First piece of siding on right hand side of the wall is to be installed with the edge of the siding overlap extending 1/2” past the end of the wall framing, as shown. Line up top of siding with bottom edge of top plate, as shown. 27. 28.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 29. Fasten with 2” nails. 30. Install all siding pieces as shown, keeping groove reveal consistent at joints. 31. Lift and set wall as shown. 32. © Suncast Corporation Make sure edge of wall is flush with edge of floor and that overhanging siding is tight against the floor’s band board.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 33. Fasten wall to floor with 3” screws. NOTE: Do NOT fasten the section of bottom plate between the studs at the door opening - it will need to be cut out and removed later. 34. Back wall framing - lay out as shown 35. Make sure top plate notches are facing up to accept the roof rafters later. 36. Fasten all pieces together.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 37. Locate and lay out siding pieces as shown, repeating Steps 24-30. 38. Lift and set back wall as shown. 39. Again, make sure edge of wall is flush with edge of floor. Fasten every 8 to 12 inches. 40.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 41. Cut out front wall door and/or window openings with a saw or router. Make sure wall is secure before doing so (temporary bracing is recommended). 42. A chisel is helpful to finish the cuts cleanly. 43. 44.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 45. Lay out and fasten together side gable wall. If framing a window, use notched 2x4’s. NOTE: Top plate on gable walls will NOT be notched. 46. Lift and set wall into place, aligning flush with front and back wall 47. Fasten every 8 to 12 inches. 48.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 49. Construct remaining side wall; set and fasten in place as in Steps 45-48. 50. Your garden building will now look something like this, unless a different door/window layout was chosen. 51. Locate siding pieces for one gable wall one 2’ wide piece and two 4’ wide pieces. The 2’ wide piece will be cut lengthwise on one side and have an underlap on the opposite side.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 53. Install siding on other gable wall, repeating Steps 51-52. After installing siding on gable ends, cut out any window and/or door openings. 54. Using a reciprocating saw or hand saw, cut out and remove bottom plate of door opening. 55. 56. © Suncast Corporation Locate three pieces of 1/2”x2” plywood door stop.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 57. Install on sides and top of door opening as pictured. Align flush with outside of 2x4 frame. Fasten with 2” nails. 58. 59. 60. © Suncast Corporation On front wall, measure down 6” from top of top plate at the far left side of the front wall, and at the far right side of the front wall; mark with a pencil.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 61. With a chalk line, snap a line between the two marks. 62. Locate 1”x3” boards. Nail to wall, aligning bottom of 1”x3” board with top of chalk line as shown. 63. Nail in place at every stud. 64.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 65. Locate 8” wide soffit pieces - one 3’ piece, one 5’ piece and one 8’ piece. 66. Soffit will stick out 11-1/2” from edge of the long walls (12” from the 2x4 frame, or 111/2” from outside of gable siding) 67. Nail soffit to previously installed 1x3. Repeat Steps 60-67 for back wall. 68. Locate rafters and gussets.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 69. Lay out rafters and align as shown. 70. Assemble rafters by fastening gussets on both sides of the rafters. NOTE: Be sure bird’s mouth at end of rafter is facing down. NOTE: End rafters only get a gusset on one side. 71. Set one end rafter into place, with the gusset facing towards the inside of the building. Bird’s mouth should fit into notch in top plate of wall. 72. Keep rafter flush with edge of gable wall framing.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 73. Fasten end of rafter onto the soffit, as shown. 74. Install remaining rafters. Make sure gusset of the other end rafter is facing “in”. The rafters should be 24” on center and directly above the studs, seated into a notch. 75. Locate gable sheathing pieces as shown. 76. Also locate gable siding braces.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 77. Install as shown, making sure bottom edge is flush with top of siding. Silvertech™ finish goes on the inside. The non-silver surface of the gable pieces should be flush with the surface of the siding. 78. 79. 80. Attach braces to inside of gable as shown - measure to ensure gable vent will fit in between the framing before fastening. Securely toe-nail the braces to the top of the wall and to the rafters.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 81. 82. Cut opening for gable vent. Locate four rafters used to build gable overhang. Measure 24” in from the shortest point on the tip of the rafter, as indicated by the arrow. Note: Overhang rafters do not have a bird’s mouth. 83. Repeat for all 4 rafters. 84. Lay out pieces as shown, and assemble.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 85. 86. 87. 88.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 89. Fasten both sections together with 3” framing nails. 90. Attach to gable as shown, aligning gable box with center of roof and edge of rafters. Use 3” screws. 91. Repeat for other gable. 92. © Suncast Corporation Snap a chalk line on the gable siding as shown, even with the bottom of the soffits.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 93. Locate and install gable soffit pieces, fastening with 2” nails. 94. 95. 96. © Suncast Corporation Locate gable siding pieces. First row of siding will be marked with a “1” on the back, next row with a “2”, and so on.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 97. Attach to gable as shown. Align the bottom of siding board with the chalk line. 98. 99. Locate next row of gable siding pieces. 100. Measure and mark 9” above top of previously installed siding. Snap a chalk line. Align top of next row with this line. Siding rows will overlap. Repeat for remaining siding.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 101. NOTE: Cut gable vent opening in the siding pieces as each row is installed. 102. Install gable vent. 103. Locate roof sheathing. Be sure to install the 48” wide pieces at the bottom edge of roof. 104. © Suncast Corporation Repeat Steps 92-102 for other gable. Align sheathing flush with bottom of rafters and flush with outer edge of end rafter. Use 5’ section of sheathing first. Radiant barrier faces down towards the inside of the garden building.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 105. 106. Fasten sheathing to rafters, ensuring rafters are spaced at 24” on center. Joints for top row of sheathing should be staggered with joints of the bottom row. Repeat on back side of roof. 107. Locate and attach gable face boards. 108. Fasten small block as shown, under the gable overhang.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 109. Attach short fascia board with finish nails. 110. Attach triangular piece to outside of gable box, below the face board. 111. Should look as pictured. Repeat for 3 other corners. Note: Trim the small triangular tip off of the end of the gable fascia so the bottom of the overhang has a continuous line around the corner. 112. © Suncast Corporation Locate and install corner trim pieces.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 113. 114. Locate and install door trim pieces. Align with 2x4 wall framing. 115. 116. © Suncast Corporation Locate double doors.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 117. Attach double doors directly through trim boards into 2x4’s with 2-1/2” black screws. 118. Locate window(s); place into opening. Window tilts in when it is opened. NOTE: Open the window for easier installation. 119. Fasten on all sides using 3” screws. Outside edge of window jambs should be flush with the outside edge of the siding. 120.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 121. Locate 6 pieces of 1x4 window trim. 122. Each window trim set will consist of 2 short pieces and 2 long pieces. There will also be 2 pieces of 1x3 trim (not pictured) that will be installed just below the window sill on both windows. Note: One short piece isn’t pictured - was added after the printing of this manual. 123. Note the angled cut, which fits against the slanted window sill. 124. Fasten trim with 2” trim nails.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 125. 126. Locate and assemble loft platform. 127. Fasten sheeting to loft frame. 128. Loft platform should look as pictured. © Suncast Corporation NOTE: Sheeting will be flush on the side with the double plate, and will overhang on the single plate side.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 129. Lift into place, with overhang resting on top plate of gable wall. 130. Fasten securely on all three sides that are adjacent to the walls. 131. 132. © Suncast Corporation Locate the aluminum diamond plate.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual 133. Install as shown, using 2” nails. 134.
Vintage Garden Building Assembly Manual Congratulations! Your garden building is now ready for shingle application. Note: Follow the shingle manufacturer’s recommendation for application.
The Vintage Garden Building was designed to accommodate several locations for the doors and windows. This assembly manual was created for a layout with the doors on the left side of a long wall, one window on that same wall, and one window on an end wall. However, the Vintage Garden Building can be easily adapted to place the doors in the center of a long wall, on the right side of the long wall, or on an end wall. Windows can also be placed at multiple locations.
