My brother in law swears every shed needs 16 inch stud spacing and I think he's costing people money

Wyatt Garcia · 2026-10-25T06:35:05.663619+00:00

My brother in law has been framing in Corpus Christi for about 14 years and he told me at a cookout last month that anything less than 16 inch on center for a shed is a waste of lumber. I pushed back and he got pretty firm about it, said he's never seen one fail and he's not about to start building sheds like a hobbyist. Here's my thing though, I built my 10x12 with 24 inch spacing and double top plates and it's held dead square through two hail storms and a tropical storm that dumped 6 inches in one night. I get why he says it, he's thinking about a full house with a roof load and snow, not a backyard shed holding a mower and some rakes. But he's telling every neighbor who asks him that 24 is cutting corners, and one guy down the street tore out half his wall to add studs after that talk. Feels like the default just gets repeated without anybody running the numbers for a small structure. What spacing are you all actually using, and has anyone had a shed go bad on 24 that wasn't a rot or foundation problem?

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My brother in law swears every shed needs 16 inch stud spacing and I think he's costing people money | Backyard Builds - Rigidtalk