From: Learn About Garden Sheds 

The tasks ahead of would-be shed builders can be confusing. Whether you're looking at shed kits or plans, if you're new to construction it seems like there are lots of pieces and different materials. For example, a "cedar shed" is not necessarily made entirely out of cedar—the siding, and possibly the roof shingles may be made out of western red cedar, but the floor and frame may not.

However,  if you've done any kind of construction before, you may be saying "Duh…", but hey, it's worth a quick summary for some folks.

Foundation and floor

The foundation provides a solid and level base on which to build the shed. Do this right, and you won't likely see your shed with sagging walls or uneven floor.

The foundation and floor can consist of:

• Treated skid timbers

• Paving slabs, or patio stones

• Concrete base

• Pressure treated runners, joists:

• Plywood floor, such as spruce, pine, or fir

Frame

The frame is the bones of the building, be it a garden storage shed or house. The frame supports the walls and shed roof. 

Usually, wood framing consists of 

• Wall studs and roof rafters (2' x 4' or 2' x 6'), in a softwood lumber such as spruce

Some older style heritage or country-style sheds are advertised as post-and-beam. This simply means that thick, widely spaced vertical posts are used instead of many studs. The posts connect to horizontal beams with mortise-and-tenon joints.

Siding

Siding is the final covering of a finished wall. Technically speaking, siding refers to overlapping boards or strips, but shingles or shakes can also be used as a covering.

Siding used on a garden shed can consist of:

• Plywood

• Pine or cedar, western red, yellow

• Cedar shakes or shingles

• Vinyl

• OSB (Oriented Strand Board–a type of manufactured wood in which wood chips are layered at right angles and bonded together.)

Roof

The roof can consist of:

• Asphalt shingle

• Cedar shingle

• Aluminum or other metal

• OSB