Wednesday, October 15, 2008

More Exciting Shed Adventures

Ok, maybe sheds are only exciting to me. I found a shed on Craig's list that I want to buy. After buying a shed plan and looking at the list of materials, I decided that maybe I should look at already constructed sheds. I didn't add up the cost of all the materials but just by looking at the list I knew it was going to be more than $500. Then there would be many trips to Home Depot. 30 minutes to the store, putting stuff in the cart, pushing it around the giant store, loading it in to my truck, driving 30 minutes back home, unloading the stuff...taking a nap because I was too tired to build anything...etc, etc...for many weekends. Plus the tools, saw horses, extension cords and other building aids. No, I deciding building from scratch was not for me.

Next I looked at shed kits from Home Depot where everything is pre-cut and all of the pieces are delivered. A 10'x12' wood shed costs $1,090+tax. Then another $800 for the floor kit. Plus they use 2"x3" studs for the walls and the tar paper and shingles cost extra. And then I still have to assemble it. Nope, not a good choice.

So, I found this shed on craig's list. Unfortunately, it is located on the other side of town. It seems like everything I want is on the other side of town. I contacted the lady and the shed was still available. I don't have time to go see it until Saturday because it gets dark so fast now. She told me the same people that delivered it to her house would move it for $250 plus more per mile. I called another towing place and they gave me a price of $95 to load the shed and $5/mile. According to the map the shed is 25 miles away so it will cost $220 to move it. The lady was asking $1,000 for the 10x12 wood shed with a floor. This shed is 2 years old and was bought for $2,500 from a place that assembles sheds at your location. I asked her if she would take $900, that way we almost split the moving cost. She agreed. Now I just need to get the towing company to come out here and see if they can get a tow truck with a 10' shed down my dirt road. They should be out tomorrow to check it out.

I am excited about my shed, even though it is a lot of money. I will be able to sort through the stuff in my mobile home and put the things I definitely want to keep in the shed and give away, or sell the other things. Then I can start on my mobile home restoration. By the way, I found another electrician and he has promised to show up this Saturday. We will see.

Hopefully the shed will be packrat and water proof. I have even thought about making it in to a cabin later on. The walls are 8' tall and the peak is 8 1/2 feet. I could insulate the walls and build a sleeping loft for the back third of the building with 6' clearance underneath and make the rest in to my tiny home. I think it would be totally cool...but that's a project for another day.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Zipper can help determine if your shed is rat-proof. We can put him in it and see if he can gnaw his way through the wood. That boy can chew through wire, wood, and dirt. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

As someone who built a shed last year, let me tell you its more work than you think its going to be. It took about 4 weeks to build it (working on it when I had time) and cost about $1500. Of course the advantage to building is you can do exactly what you want. If I had purchased a premade one it would have been about $3000 for the same size. But if you can get one for 1/2 off on Craigslist, its probably about the same you can build it for and alot easier.

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

We built our shed from scratch but we had time (and the old falla has carpentery skills) plus all sorts of recycled stuff (and an aversion to spending money). In your circumstances I would go with the ready made , bargain one too.
Lizzie

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

I helped a friend build a shed a couple of years ago -it was a ton of work. Prebuilt is the way to go. Maybe you can satisfy your creative/constructive side by custom building some shelves or a storage loft in it. The storage loft could convert to a sleeping loft later.

My friend wanted the shed so he could clean out his garage, and finally park his and his wife's cars in there. Fast forward to today, and the garage is still packed full of his old junk, while his shed is packed full of new junk, and his cars are still parked in the driveway. Maybe he can find another one on Craigslist, and finally...oh, never mind.

Anonymous said...

That is really cool! I love the idea of living in a smaller space and having less "things", more experiences. That to me is a rich life. I look forward to hearing how you progess with this project. ;)

Daizy said...

Ha ha lynne, I'd rather have Zipper catch all of the pack rats and see if he can find their squeeker. That I would like to see.

chuck, thanks for the affirmation. How big is your shed? I totally agree that it is beyond a weekend project. The guys at work keep saying 'just build one' and I say 'are you kidding me? I get tired just walking in to Home Depot!' Plus I don't have a garage full of tools.

lizzy, I love your shed. Remember you were going to loan me your carpenter? I'm still waiting...

over the cubicle wall, I'll have plenty of creative things to do when I rehab my mobile home but I designed my shed-house today for fun. Now my shed-house needs a shed (just like your friend, the garage needs a shed, the shed needs another shed, and on and on..)

change is a good thing, I love drawing out little houses to see how small I could go. Maybe some day I'll actually live in one.

Alex Johnson said...

You're not alone at all. www.shedworking.co.uk
and
www.readersheds.co.uk

Cheers,

Alex (Shedworking)

sheds garages said...

The shed adventures are really great to have and need to be encouraged. Thanks for sharing it with us.