My goal was to build the best and largest shed possible on all or nearly all recycled or free materials. I'd like to share my progress with you. What I did and did not do right, and whether it was worth the work and time and effort.

Size is 12x16.

For probably 2 summers I collected free materials from generous friends and donors locally and from sites like Craigslist. I have worked on every part of this, and also had help from 2 neighbors/friends and a couple other local friends and 1 forum member here.

Got a late start last summer. Unfortunately I failed to protect many of my gathered materials, sadly resulting in some really nice beams getting ruined by rot. Lost probably 4 or 5 really nice beams, and some decking materials.

The Foundation consists of:
Gathered 12 free pier blocks, I used 9 - at about $10 each.
About a dozen long 4x10 and 4x12 beams from local construction company which were used as concrete forms in a prior life. Ended up using 3 of these beams as cross members.
A few treated short length 4x4 as braces which were ~2' scrap pieces from various projects
5 gallon bucket of galvanized nails was $2 at garage sale.
I had to purchase 7, 2x6x16' boards because those proved impossible to locate free.

For this stage, my contractor neighbor friend helped me get it square and level. The foundation remains perfectly square and level.

The decking is a combination of various length 2x6 from a local backyard deck tear down and painted 2x10s from high school bleacher demolition. The bulk of the wood was in totally useful condition, just trimming off rotted ends, sorting, and nailing down with essentially free galvanized framing nails.

More pictures of the foundation and decking.

Slapped a coat of stain/sealant on it for the weather since I expected it might get exposed due to the late start on the project at the end of summer. This proved a wise move.

Outdoor deck stain gallon was a $9 can of "miscolored" stain from one of the big box stores. If you don't care about color much, and I don't, this is a good way to go. I always look at the available colors when I hit those stores and pick up any that are to my liking. Good way to save 75% on a gallon of paint or stain.

The deck is solid, stable, and level. You could play basketball or park a car on this safely IMO.

Next stage was the framing. A forum member and some friends helped me with the walls and trusses. (We did make some mistakes, which I later corrected.)

For the trusses and studs, about 1/2 of the 2x were recycled, and the other 1/2 purchased. Also used some large beams as vertical supports and headers for doors/windows.

I had to purchase most of the OSB and plywood sheets since those are very hard to get used.

I would ultimately install 6 windows. Three were skylights I got free, and was initially going to install skylights. But I opted instead to use them as windows. I got 3 other free excellent condition vinyl windows removed from a home. I did acquire other windows which I gave away to someone else.

2 windows in, and trusses installed, and there is sat getting rained and snowed upon all winter. Depressing.

No serious damage occurred to the shed over the winter, but the frame became un-square with lack of support. I should have improved the trusses and nailed cross members on the frame and it caused it to become unsquare.

Worked on it a few hours here and there with the help of a very dedicated friend named Jesse. He's a former construction worker and very knowledgeable.

This summer, we squared the frame, fixed the trusses with correct cross members and vertical supports, shingled the roof, and put up the walls, installed the remaining 4 windows, steel door, and fabricated the front double doors, and I've painted it and begun installing vinyl siding.

MAJOR mistake on the front and back of the roof was foolishly not doing an overhang of 1-2 feet. If there was one thing I wish I had a re-do on, it's doing an overhang. Dumb move. So we spent a few hours doing a front door awning.

Had to purchase the shingles and plywood retail.
4 windows were free upcycled ~$200 each (6 windows total, probably $1000 in windows)
Steel door was free upcycled ~$200
Vinyl siding was free remnants ~$500
Framing and roofing nails and door hardware (11 hinges) was either free or nearly free at garage sales
Paint was 75% discounted Home Depot mis-tinted gallon, about $9
Back stairs were free fabricated stairs from a deck tear down. I just braced them and nailed them in place as is. Saved a lot of time and money on risers and measuring.

So far it's been an educational and enjoyable, and at times frustrating, project. Yes, I know I could buy a kit and get it up in a week. I didn't want to go that route. I wanted to build this for nearly zero material costs and have a hand in design and building it from scratch.

It has been a LOT of hours of labor. Definitely not cost effective. But I am also very proud of the build and doing it with ~75% recycled materials. I'd estimate there are many thousands of dollars of free materials here.

Not completely done yet, but it's weatherized and just really needs the remainder of the siding installed, and some overhang soffet, etc. And I'm going to build a front door ramp.

I post this as encouragement to upcycle materials and build yourself a small structure or shed.

That looks great.

Wish I had the space for a large shed like that.

If you can, I'd add gutters and water collection barrels.

Thanks. The additional storage and work space is remarkable.

Good suggestion. Thanks.

Looks great, I also agree with Ruso that a gutter/barrel combo would be ideal.

good job on the shed and good job finding lots of the materials.

Good job..........

Check out OffTheRanch on YouTube. It's the Demolition Ranch guy vlogs. He set up a water collection system on his chicken coup that's entirely gravity fed. Looked impressive.