Alright this summer I finished the Rat Shed, I started last year, aside from other projects and work it actually was pretty easy and fun to build.

Essentially it is a 9' x 6' shed with side walls tall enough so I could use 8' ply siding, about 90" inside height.

Walls are 2x4 studs 24" OC, roof/ceiling is 2x6 24" OC. All walls are insulated with R11 insulation. I salvaged a window from a job-site, and the door was a perk of working Menards. Exterior siding is LP SmartSide, simulated textured board 8" OC. Essentially fancy OSB, but this stuff is a dream to work with! Roof is typical 1/2" OSB, with standard 3 tab shingles and 15lb felt.

The inside is actually craft wafer board, its not rated for construction, basically its 1/4" OSB. The point was to cover the vapor barrier of the insulation and clean up the inside look. I went with the more expensive 1/4" stuff because the entire shed is designed to fit on my flat deck trailer, trailer does have a limit and by using the 3/8" exterior and 1/4" interior boards I saved weight over using typical material. The wafer board is almost $10 a sheet and on sale you can get 1/2" OSB for about $7.

If I were to do this over I would like a longer shed and one wider than 6'. The narrow nature of the shed allows only one side to be used for actual racks. I had considered a door in the sidewall but felt this particular orientation would yield the best usable space. By adding the lumber rack to the one side I maximized the space. And yes that is actual 2" x 8" rough-cut fir lumber I salvaged from a garage built in the 50's.

Right now it fits the rat population I'm pumping out and the new water system, I'll post later, allows more tubs in the vertical sense of the rack. I do have materials to put a mouse rack together, just haven't done it yet.

Right now the shed is not powered or heated, so I have about a month to get a unit installed.

Thanks for looking I'll answer any questions.









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Jeremy Payne
JB Reptile

1.0 Snow "Kahl"
0.2 Triple Het Moonglow "Kahl"
0.1 Orange Tail Hypo Het Leopard
1.0 Ghost
0.1 DH Ghost
1.1 "Kahl" Albino
1.0.2 Hypomelenistic
1.3 Pastel Hypo
0.1 Anerthrystic
0.0.2 Normal

0.0.2 Morelia Viridis
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