Site placement · measurement guide

Check the location and the way to reach it.

A shed can suit your equipment and still be wrong for the yard. Record three separate things: the space it occupies, the route you use every day, and how the building will arrive.

Start with a complete project

  • Compact 7×4 Bike Shed →

    Documented project · An independent reading of Vikkie Lee’s compact bike-shed project: front double access plus a side opening. Use the original build account, then check your bicycles and the space outside both openings.

    Front double and side access described; all actual clearances and capacity unverified.

Make three records before choosing a position.

01 · The location

What to record

Measure the available width and depth at the proposed location. Identify what defines each edge; a fence or landscaping edge is not proof of a legal boundary.

What still needs confirmation

Obtain the applicable boundary and setback information. Ask for the full installed footprint, including roof projections and support requirements. The tool uses nominal shed dimensions and one entered reservation on every side.

02 · Daily access

What to record

Measure the clear gate width and narrowest passage to the shed. Record the moving item's widest assembled configuration and your side allowance.

What still needs confirmation

Check the actual approach, turns, height, slope and threshold separately. A width-only pass cannot establish a usable journey. The current automatic yard approach screen is for the mower / mixed-storage flow; other use-specific handling remains a separate review.

03 · Building delivery

What to record

For a kit, request the actual package dimensions and handling requirements. For an assembled building, request its transport dimensions and the supplier's installation method.

What still needs confirmation

Ask the supplier to review corners, overhead restrictions, vehicle positioning and any lifting. A gate that admits your mower does not establish that a shed or delivery vehicle can enter.

One site · two candidates

The larger shed can fail the same site screen.

This invented site is 180 × 240 in. Both candidates reserve 24 in on every side, solely to demonstrate the calculation. That value is not a local setback rule. The outlines use nominal shed dimensions; actual overhangs, support footprint and boundary conditions need separate measurements.

10×12 · Footprint screen passes

120 × 144 inNominal shedMeasured area · 180 in wide240 in deepRequired · 168 × 192 in

Dashed: shed plus the stated reservation. Solid outer line: measured area. Both drawings use the same scale.

120 + 2 × 24 = 168 in required width; 144 + 2 × 24 = 192 in required depth.

12 in width and 48 in depth remain beyond the stated reservation. This does not approve the location.

12×16 · Not enough width

144 × 192 inNominal shedMeasured area · 180 in wide240 in deepRequired · 192 × 240 in

Dashed: shed plus the stated reservation. Solid outer line: measured area. Both drawings use the same scale.

144 + 2 × 24 = 192 in required width; 192 + 2 × 24 = 240 in required depth.

Short of width by 12 in. Extra available depth cannot repair this orientation's width conflict.

Change the condition that actually failed.

Not enough width or depth

Recheck the measured area and the complete installed footprint. Test another position, orientation or candidate using its new dimensions. Do not reduce an applicable setback just to obtain a passing screen.

Daily route too narrow

Locate the specific obstruction and verify the equipment's transport configuration. Increasing the shed size does not widen the gate. Any alteration to the route needs its own feasibility check.

Delivery route unresolved

Ask the supplier which arrival and installation methods they can support. Compare a kit or an on-site build only after confirming the package, material and working-access requirements.

Drainage or ground conditions unknown

Keep the candidate provisional. Take the site observations and footprint to the appropriate local provider for ground preparation, drainage and any affected utility review.

Enter my yard and delivery measurements

From this guide to your project

Keep the questions you still need answered.

Select a question to add it to your Plan and brief. Checked means kept for review, not resolved. Your measurements stay as entered.

Site placement questions to keep

Restoring your question list…

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