If you're looking at garden shed plans, you'll be faced with many things you need to decide on. One of them is the design you'd want to adorn your outdoor area. Shed designs are often characterized by their roofs. To help you decide on which design would be best for you, here are the basic features and benefits of the commonly used roofs in garden sheds, including lean-to, saltbox, gable, and hipped roofs.

Lean-to or shed roofs is just one roof surface that is built sloping down the whole shed structure - whether it is attached to the house or standing alone. It costs the least and the easiest to build among all other roof types, so it's one of the most popular. This simple design is often chosen for storage sheds and workshop annexes.

Saltbox roofs are distinguished by their flat front and long pitched roof that slopes down to the rear of the house. This design originated in England when people needed additional rooms at the back of the house. They're called saltbox, because they're shaped like the wooden boxes used to hold salt during those days. Today, these roofs are usually made of EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) rubber, known for its excellent thermal insulation and water resistance, or PVC, which is fire-resistant and promotes energy efficiency.

The gable roof, meanwhile, is also a common option in garden shed plans since it's also easy to construct. Two same-sized roof surfaces pitched at identical angles and placed back to back will already give you this design. This triangular roof provides roomy ceiling, good ventilation, and a way for water or snow to easily slide down the ground. However, the gable design isn't recommended for regions experiencing too much wind as this roof can be easily damaged by severe winds.

Compared to the gable, the hipped roof has not just two but four equal sides sloping down to cover the entire shed. This roofing may require more work than the gable type, but your shed's walls will be easier to build because they all just need to be of the same height. Aside from this, the hipped roof can protect your shed not just from the sun, rain, and snow, but also the wind, which is a major problem of the gable design. But you need to keep in mind that this design will give you less ceiling space.

These are just some of the common roof designs you can choose from when you're planning to build a garden shed. This information is a good starting point in selecting which style would be best for the outdoor structure you want.