# Storage Shed - Buy or Build



## dougp23 (Sep 20, 2011)

I have been looking at Lowe's wood storage sheds. Now, admittedly, they are kind of pricey, but I would imagine they would go up pretty fast. So I am weighing buying a "prefab" or buying the materials and building myself.

If you bought a prefab, what has your opinion been? Would you do it again or build from scratch? If you've built from scratch (looking to build a 10x12 or so on this end), was it a nightmare?

I have reasonable carpentry skills and a book with some plans.

Kind of general, I know, but looking for generalized feedback!

Thanks.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Whether it's a nightmare to build your own will depend a lot on the design you choose. A shed roof is pretty simle to make. It gets more intricate with gable and gambrel setups.
It's a pretty straight forward project. Just be aware of any setback rules in your area as well as taxable concerns based on the build. Some locales, like mine, require a permit.


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## josall (May 7, 2011)

I have always looked at it like this, whatever money I save by doing it myself I spend on tools I need(want), that's what I tell my wife.


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## CoconutPete (Jan 22, 2010)

The only "prefab" shed I'd buy is the "forever shed" or whatever they call it. Basically it's a fancy term for plastic and the reason is that when I move I can take it down in an hour and bring it with me.


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## Jack Olsen (Jan 26, 2010)

I guess it depends on your needs and your comfort level with building. A pre-fab shed will travel with you to your next house more easily than a home-made one.

I had kind of an unusual space to put extra storage along my house (and on top of the wider part of my driveway), so building my own was pretty much the only way to go.


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## packer_rich (Jan 16, 2011)

Jack,nice job!


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## dougp23 (Sep 20, 2011)

josall said:


> I have always looked at it like this, whatever money I save by doing it myself I spend on tools I need(want), that's what I tell my wife.


Ain't that the truth, lol!


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## jburd964 (May 4, 2009)

Build it yourself. You can probably double your square footage for the same price. Also my theory is, never build a shed to the minimal size you can live with, cause it's never enough. Added another 25% at least you'll thank yourself later.

I'm not a professional., But I did stay at Holiday Inn Express last night.


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## creeper (Mar 11, 2011)

I had zero carpentry skills and tools, so I bought the prefab "stratford" model 12x8 from Lowes. For me the biggest challenge was digging/leveling the footings for winter frost heave. Other than having two 7 yr olds hold up the long wall while I drilled it in (I used screws rather than the provided nails) I did the whole thing myself. ( small woman). 

So far its gone through a winter and lots of high wind storms and it has held up well and looks great. I'd do it again


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## JeepNick (Oct 27, 2011)

I say build it from scratch. I did my own build with supplies purchased at home depot, a couple new and a couple borrowed tools. 12'x10' and 14' tall with a gable roof. This thing is SOLID.

I spent about $1500 after you factor in the tools I bought (two new saws, some blades, a level, etc.) and the exterior trim work I did to make it look nice.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

dougp23 said:


> I have been looking at Lowe's wood storage sheds. Now, admittedly, they are kind of pricey, but I would imagine they would go up pretty fast. So I am weighing buying a "prefab" or buying the materials and building myself.
> 
> If you bought a prefab, what has your opinion been? Would you do it again or build from scratch? If you've built from scratch (looking to build a 10x12 or so on this end), was it a nightmare?
> 
> ...


I built an 8x12 from scratch a couple years ago. Put it on a concrete slab that was under a 20x50 Carriage House that had long-since gone bye-bye.

I have a total of about $850 in the shed, and would build from scratch again before I'd buy a pre-fab. My reasons are:
1. I would have had to take down part of my fence to bring a pre-built one in. 
2. I built what I wanted, which included a 3' overhand on one side, under which I stack wood.
3. I used better materials than are used in most pre-fabbed sheds. For instance, I used 7/16th sheeting UNDER the siding, rather than using the siding as the sheeting. I also used higher-end shake-type shingles.


This is a picture of the shed, before I put the doors on. I'm satisfied.


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## CoconutPete (Jan 22, 2010)

That's a sweet shed! What type of door did you put in? Rollup?


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

CoconutPete said:


> That's a sweet shed! What type of door did you put in? Rollup?


Thanks! 

I bought a used 6x6 steel garage door, got it about 90% installed, and admitted that there simply wouldn't be enough clearance without cutting into rafters. So I pulled it out, sold it, and installed regular swing-out doors. I wish I had a picture of it with the doors on, but I don't.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

if you have some basic framing skills you should build it from scratch. i did a price comparison between the kits at home depot and building from scratch 3 years ago when i built my tool shed. it was about $400 cheaper to frame and roof my shed thats 10x10 plus 3 x stronger than the 8x10 shed kit at hd or any similar big box.

the big box kits are normally just 2x3 that are 24 " o.c , i went 2x4 16" o.c

the only thing that made the final price more expensive was the fact i used cedar shingles for the siding compared to vinyl


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## LarryF (Oct 4, 2011)

I bought a 10x14 pre-fab that was built by the Amish in PA and delivered to my lot after I prepared the site for it to sit upon. The pavers and wall blocks show in the photo were extras left over from a patio I had built several years ago. The shed cost, including the garage door, was about $3,000 which I thought was reasonable since it's very well built. Studs and rafters are on 16" centers and floor joists are pressure treated and on 12" center. I had originally balked at the idea of a wooden floor, but it would have been very hard to get a transit-mix truck to the site where I put it, and I thought mixing that much concrete would be too much for this 79 year old.


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## havalife (Mar 23, 2011)

I just put up the Rainer shed from Lowes for a customer this last weekend
http://www.lowes.com/pd_239960-57658-181405_4294778082_4294937087_?productId=3412216&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Wood%2BStorage%2BBuildings_4294778082_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=. 

I put it up and roofed it in 1 day with one person helping. It was easy and all parts fit together like they were suppose to and it came with all hardware including nails (if you want to hand nail). Floor was 2x4 treated and walls were 2x3 at 24"oc with the outside trim acting as a stud so no corners.
If you are not much of a carpenter this could be a nice shed.


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## thematterhorn (Nov 2, 2011)

I would definitely go the route of building it your self from plans...The beauty of plans is that you can alter as needed (adding loft storage or an extra window, etc that the kit or prefab may not offer... I might be able to point you in the right direction here....


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## dougp23 (Sep 20, 2011)

Nice looking sheds everyone! I feel "under the gun", here in New Hampshire USA. We just moved in, with no shed - everything is either in my basement or out in the backyard haphazardly stacked up! And we just had this freak snowstorm that gave us a foot of snow.
Like some are saying, I am pretty sure I could put one up quickly for less than the cost of buying it done. My Dad is making the offer to buy me one already done, so it's tempting!! (Though I am more tempted to use his "gift" to put up a deck near my "door to nowhere" (12 feet off the ground, nothing there. USED to be a deck at some point).

Some of these sheds look better than some houses! NICE WORK PEOPLE!!


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## josall (May 7, 2011)

Let him buy the shed that way you can work on your deck plan while the snow is melting.


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## LarryF (Oct 4, 2011)

josall said:


> Let him buy the shed that way you can work on your deck plan while the snow is melting.


I second that motion. And I seriously doubt if the Amish shed I got and showed earlier in this thread would have been any less expensive if I had built it myself. I say that based on the fact that I had designed and built my own shed on a previously owned property about 30 years ago and was going to do it again until I priced the needed materials last year. Those costs had gone up so much I didn't see the point of doing all of the construction myself when the Amish could deliver a completely fabricated one to my house for less than what HD or Lowes would charge me for the materials. Of course, they have shed kits that are less expensive, but the studs and rafters are 2x3 on 2' center instead of 2x4 on 16" center, and their doors are flimsy. Also, the bargain HD & Lowes sheds I looked at didn't have windows and the walls, roof and floor were press-board rather than plywood as mine is. My shed cost may be a little less than what dougp23 will encounter since I live in NJ which is close to PA, but I saw this ad when I did a Google for Amish sheds in New Hampshire.

http://www.easternshed.com/

They claim they service NH and the one displayed at that web site looks similar to mine, except I asked for and got a garage door.

Well, good luck to you.

Larry


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## HHac8014 (Jan 1, 2010)

Jack Olsen said:


> I guess it depends on your needs and your comfort level with building. A pre-fab shed will travel with you to your next house more easily than a home-made one.
> 
> I had kind of an unusual space to put extra storage along my house (and on top of the wider part of my driveway), so building my own was pretty much the only way to go.


Jack, amazing! How deep is that shed? 4 feet? I'm looking to do a similarly shallow shed (I'd like to make it six feet deep, compared to the general minimum depth I've seen of 8 feet). 

I'd never try to take on the cool roof you did. It looks great. But, I do want to have the front of the roof give a little overhang that creates a little workspace in front of the shed where I can set up a saw-horse.

Does anybody know of a place to browse for plans? To find plans for my very specific needs, I need a big database...


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## md2lgyk (Jan 6, 2009)

My wife and I are just finishing up three years of building our log home almost entirely by ourselves. We subbed the foundation, HVAC, metal roof, and that's all. So we could certainly build a storage shed (which we actually need), but we are of retirement age and the thought of doing any more construction is not all that appealing. I think we'll go Amish.


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