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In this day and age, where material stuff is so cheap, isn’t 20K for a tiny shed crazy? Clearly it is because it involves so much work, and work is so expensive, but I can’t help but think there should be a technical solution to this. Or buildings are just not automatable? I’m amazed.

by 0cf8612b2e1e12 hours ago|

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This is pretty fancy to call it a shed. Walk outside any Lowe’s or Home Depot and you will see several pre-built options that can be had for $500-$4000 with them getting increasingly elaborate.

Electrical + AC is a firm line where that goes from shed to detached office.

by olyjohn6 hours ago|

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I mean I was just in Costco and they were selling some 8x12 sheds for like $6500. They weren't even finished inside. Just a floor, 4 walls and a roof. No foundations, no insulation, no sheetrock, no power. I suck at carpentry and even I could build that in a few days.

by HeyLaughingBoy11 hours ago|

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It's probably mostly labor cost. An 8x10 shed kit starts at under $US2k but if you pay someone to assemble it, including electrical, the price will go up very quickly.

I know someone who builds horse shelters that are larger than that, but a fraction of the cost, delivered. I've actually been thinking that if I wanted an outside office, I'd ask him to custom build one with the fourth wall closed (horse shelters are 3-sided) and I'd insulate and sheetrock it myself. IIRC he did our 10x30 one for about $2k, including delivery.

Around here, the cutoff for needing a permit for a "permanent structure" is 10'x12' which is a pretty good sized outside office.

by throwthrowuknow12 hours ago|

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You could do it for less than half that cost if you do your own labour. I actually came into the article thinking that’s what they did but was disappointed.

by fckgw11 hours ago|

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It was about $9k for the shed and the foundation, poured and installed. The other $11k was for everything else making it a living space and not just a shed. Not so bad in that context.

by linsomniac10 hours ago|

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For reference, ~2 years ago I did a 8x12 shed for under $3K, DIY. It is not insulated or finished inside. Footer and slab were under a grand, I used some reclaimed 2x4s and bought the rest, sheathing, roofing, flashing, self-made windows were around another $1,200-$1,500. Paint was the real surprise at almost $300.

by turtlebits11 hours ago|

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Theres a baseline cost for work to be done, the OP decided to build an 8x10, but easily could cost a similar amount or a few thousand more for a shed 4x larger.

by quickthrowman12 hours ago|

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> But 8x10 for $20,000 just goes to show how expensive USA is for construction.

Labor is expensive. You could probably close to double the size for an additional $10,000, you’d need another yard and a half of concrete for the foundation (6” depth*80 sqft = 40 cubic feet) and more material for the building, but not twice as much material, or labor. Electrical service could stay the same.l and the mini-split wouldn’t have to be much bigger.