Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, and this page also contains a paid link to a digital product. I have not been given access to that product, so nothing here is a hands-on assessment of it. – Maya Bennett
Ryan Shed Plans is a 37 dollar library of shed drawings with cutting lists and 3D views. It is worth considering if you can already use a circular saw and want the dimensioning done for you. The number that decides the purchase is not 12,000 plans, it is the 1,400 to 2,600 dollars of materials a 10 by 12 shed costs, against 3,500 to 6,000 for the same shed delivered built. Check your local permit threshold before you spend anything.
See the plan library on the official page
What you actually get for 37 dollars
The package is a plan library, not a course and not a subscription. Ryan Henderson sells 12,000 shed plans and designs, 3D CAD drawings, cutting and materials lists, lifetime access to a members area, and four bonus guides, at 37 dollars against a stated 97 dollar list price, with a 60 day refund window. Everything in this article comes from that sales page as it read on 2026-08-21 and from the ClickBank marketplace listing. I have not bought the library and I am not going to describe plans I have not opened.
| Detail | What the vendor states |
|---|---|
| Price | 37 dollars, one payment, no recurring charge |
| Format | downloadable plans plus a lifetime members area |
| Per plan | 3D CAD views, a cutting list and a materials list |
| Guarantee | 60 days, stated as no questions asked |
| Seller | Ryan Henderson, named and pictured on the page |
| Refund handled by | ClickBank, not the seller, so it does not depend on goodwill |
The number every other page leaves out
I read the three best-ranking affiliate pages for this product before writing. None of them publishes a material cost. That is the one figure a person weighing a build actually needs, so here it is at 2026 US big-box retail.
| Item | 2026 US retail range |
|---|---|
| Pressure treated 2×4, 8 ft | 6 to 9 dollars each |
| OSB sheathing, 4×8 sheet | 18 to 26 dollars each |
| Asphalt shingles | 38 to 52 dollars per bundle, three bundles per square |
| Concrete block foundation | 2 to 4 dollars per block |
| Typical 10×12 total | 1,400 to 2,600 dollars in materials |
| Same shed delivered built | 3,500 to 6,000 dollars |
So the honest saving on a 10 by 12 build is roughly 1,500 to 3,000 dollars, plus two or three weekends of your own labour. That is a good return on 37 dollars of plans. It is not the “save a fortune” framing the category likes, and a reader who expects the larger number will be disappointed by the smaller real one.
The permit question, before you buy lumber
This is the part that turns a cheap project expensive, and no affiliate page in the top results mentions it. Most US jurisdictions exempt small accessory structures from a building permit below a floor area threshold, commonly 120 or 200 square feet, and the International Residential Code is the model the majority of them adapt. Your county sets the actual number.
Two things catch people out. A 10 by 12 shed is exactly 120 square feet, which sits on the most common exemption line rather than safely below it. And the permit exemption never exempts you from setback rules, which govern how close a structure may sit to a property line regardless of size. The International Code Council publishes the model documents, but the enforceable version is whatever your local building department adopted.
One phone call before you order materials settles both questions. It is free, it takes ten minutes, and it is the single highest-value step in this whole project.
What the sales page claims but does not show
Three things on that page cannot be checked before you buy, and you should price that uncertainty into the decision.
| Claim | What can be verified |
|---|---|
| “Over 7,500 customers” | A vendor figure with no audit or methodology behind it. |
| “12,000 plans” | Counts size and roof variants of one design separately. The useful question is how many match your footprint. |
| Material cost estimates | The page quotes a figure for a 10×8 shed with no source. Ours above is retail-checked; treat any unsourced number sceptically. |
| Adversarial framing | “Woodworking publishers HATE what I am about to reveal” is sales copy, not information. |
Against that, the seller is a named, pictured individual and the testimonials carry full names and US cities, which is more accountability than most of this category offers. That combination is why this is the one plan library in the category I am willing to point a reader at, even though several offers in it pay an affiliate considerably more.
Check the current Ryan Shed Plans price
Who should buy it, and who should not
you can already cut a straight line with a circular saw, you have somewhere level to build, and you want the dimensioning and the cutting list handed to you rather than working them out. The refund window is long enough to open the plan for your footprint and judge it.
you have never framed anything, your lot has a slope you would need to terrace, or your county requires a permit and stamped drawings for the size you want. A plan library does not produce engineer-stamped drawings, and no amount of 3D views substitutes for a foundation you can level.
If your real problem is storing tools before winter rather than building anything, the cheaper answer is usually a prebuilt resin shed or better shelving in the garage. We covered outdoor storage options separately in the outdoor deck box comparison.
Where you put it matters more than which plan you pick
Two sheds built from identical drawings can last five years or thirty, and the difference is almost never the plan. It is the ground underneath and the water around it.
Pick the highest point available rather than the most convenient corner. Water that pools against a skid or a block pier rots the floor frame from below, where nobody sees it until the floor flexes. Leave at least two feet of clearance on every side you will ever need to paint, re-shingle or inspect, because a wall tight against a fence cannot be maintained and that is the wall that fails.
On the foundation, the choice is between concrete blocks on compacted gravel and a poured slab. Blocks cost 2 to 4 dollars each and one person can level them in an afternoon; a slab costs several hundred dollars more and has to cure before building starts. Up to about 12 by 16 feet, blocks on gravel are the pragmatic answer, provided the gravel is actually compacted rather than raked flat. Skipping compaction is why sheds go out of level in their second winter.
Face the door away from the prevailing wind where the site allows it. That sounds cosmetic until the first February morning spent holding a sheet of plywood in one hand and a latch in the other.
Get Ryan Shed Plans with the 60 day refund
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build a 10×12 shed yourself? +
Budget 1,400 to 2,600 dollars in materials for a 10 by 12 foot wooden shed at 2026 US retail: pressure treated framing at 6 to 9 dollars per 2×4, OSB sheathing at 18 to 26 dollars a sheet, and asphalt shingles at 38 to 52 dollars a bundle. A comparable prebuilt shed delivered and assembled runs 3,500 to 6,000 dollars, so the saving is real but it is measured in one to three thousand dollars, not the tens of thousands some sales pages imply.
Do I need a permit to build a shed? +
In most US jurisdictions a shed under 120 or 200 square feet does not need a building permit, but the threshold is set locally and setback rules apply at any size. A 10 by 12 shed is 120 square feet, which sits exactly on the common line. Call your building department before you buy lumber, not after: moving a finished shed off a setback line is the expensive mistake in this category.
Are the 12,000 plans really different from each other? +
No, and treating that number as 12,000 distinct buildings is the wrong way to read it. A library of this kind counts size and roof variants of the same design separately. What matters is whether the two or three plans matching your footprint carry a full cutting list and a foundation detail, which is what you should check inside the refund window.
Is a plan library worth 37 dollars when free plans exist? +
Free shed plans exist and some are good. What you pay for here is a cutting list, a materials list and a foundation detail in one document, which is what stops mid-build trips to the lumber yard. If you are comfortable dimensioning a build yourself, free plans will do. If you are not, the 37 dollars buys the part most free plans omit.
What tools do I actually need? +
A circular saw, a drill driver, a framing square, a four foot level, a tape measure and a hammer will build a basic shed. A miter saw and a nail gun make it faster, not possible. Rented tools are usually cheaper than bought ones for a single build, and OSHA guidance on woodworking machinery is worth reading before you use any of them for the first time.
Material ranges are US big-box retail checked in August 2026 and vary by region and grade. Permit thresholds are set locally, and the figures here describe the common pattern rather than your county. ReviewGuid has not purchased this plan library. The button above is a paid link.