Shed Construction

Howdy,

I am building a tool/garden shed that will be 14' wide (front & back dimension) and 8' deep (sides). The walls will be 8' tall. An industrial 42" metal door/jamb will be in the middle of the front wall. There are no other openings in the walls. The floor will be poured concrete with highway screen mesh and 18" (deep) x 12" (wide) footings reinforced with 1/2" rebar. The gable roof will have it's peak centered over the door, sloping towards the sides. All dimensional wood will be treated up through the top plates - the roof will be OSB with shingles. The roof, eaves, soffits, etc. will NOT be treated (we are assuming the termites can't get that far up, but this is in Louisiana). The wall studs will be 2"x4", and the roof rafters probably 2"x6" (unless you guys think that is over kill) with no trusses (but with gussets and a ridge pole). I would also like a ridge vent and vents in the soffits (18" eaves over hang). The studs and rafters will be on 24" centers. The wall siding will be HARDEE board.

OK, all that said, does this sound like overkill? Specifically, I'm wondering about the size of the footings (and 8"x8" center beam I failed to mention above) and the rafters (could they be 2"x4"?). Also, is highway mesh and 1/2" rebar needed, or can smaller guage mesh and rebar be used (this is a shed and it will have to carry a very low load).

The design was done by a bud that is a structural engineer. I am a retired video systems engineer (I designed and built TV studios, mobile trucks, etc.) so can appreciate the solid design, but also know somethimes we engineers get carried away :laughing:

Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanx!