[tcolar]

Hi.
I work at home and have a fairly small house with 2 kids and no dedicated office / cave.

I'm considering adding a shed/cave/office .. probably around 8x14 or so.

I'm no contractor but decent at building stuff (built a 6x10 camping trailer from scratch)

Here are some questions:
- I have limited time and it seem building from scratch would cost almost as much as getting something like this: Storage & Garden Sheds in Seattle, Tacoma, and Washington State ... so any reason to do it myself ?

- Insulation ... I guess if it's framed it's easy, but what about the roof insulation ? does it need to be ventilated too ?

- Anybody here as done this (shed cave/office)?

Thanks.

 

[Quads]

It depends. There's price versus quality, versus customization, versus prefab.
Each will play a bit of a role in what you're looking for in the end.
You can build cheaper than you'll find from someone like ToughShed or something. Not a lot, but a little less. Also using the contractors desk at LowesDepot to beat them up on price a little.
Many a plans can be had, and generally speaking, it's pretty straightforward building. Nothing complex, other than the roof, and your customizations, but again, all basic framing. If you built a camper, you'll do fine for a shed / barn like setup.
Insulation in the walls, just like a house, yes, and then again in the ceiling, just like a house. If you drywall inside, or do wood paneling or something. All of which you'd want to put insulation if you plan to spend time in it year around.
And yes, you'll vent the roof or eves, just like you would in a house.

The best starter would be to take a trip to LowesDepot and take a bunch of pictures of what they have out in their parking lot, take some basic measurements, etc. Then take all that home and draw up what you want, build a material list, do some research on the net for plans (some posted here, as well links to sites with barns / plans, etc.) and figure out the cost.

You're not going to save a ton of money, but enough to make it worth your while if you want some customization to it. Windows, size, door(s), locations, etc.

 

[tcolar]

Yeah that sounds right.
Id like to have more windows for sure as it's often dark here in western WA, maybe even a skylight, it seem it will be easier to build myself.

And I don't need a shed door, but a house door.

Will probably start with some plans, like maybe form justsheds.com and modify a bit.

Thanks.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Our pool cabana is 10' wide....8' wide seems kinda narrow
And I think I'd go with at least 9' walls & have storage above
The 12x16x10 w/6' side walls goes for $3300, I can build one heck of a shed for $3300

 

[tcolar]

Right I have a 10x12 shed ... and looking at it, I think i would want my cave/office to be at least 10x14 or 12x14

 

[Quads]

Here's a couple examples of DIY on a forum I frequent once in a while:
12X20' Construction of 12'x20' storage shed - picture heavy - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information

 

[Pop Alexandra]

I never had what it takes to do stuff myself, but I've checked some plans from this company and they look worthwhile.