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Boy things are different in Portland where you pay people to insult sheds… But 8x10 for $20,000 just goes to show how expensive USA is for construction. There’

Boy things are different in Portland where you pay people to insult sheds… But 8x10 for $20,000 just goes to show how expensive USA is for construction. There’s a point where I would review coworking space cost (not as convenient, I know) to just living and owning property abroad.

xixixao 2mo ago
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.
- throwthrowuknow 2mo ago
  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.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 2mo ago
  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.
  - olyjohn 2mo ago
    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.
- HeyLaughingBoy 2mo ago
  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.
quickthrowman 2mo ago
> 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.
fckgw 2mo ago
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.
turtlebits 2mo ago
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.
linsomniac 2mo ago
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.

xixixao 2mo ago

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.

throwthrowuknow 2mo ago
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.
0cf8612b2e1e 2mo ago
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.
- olyjohn 2mo ago
  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.
HeyLaughingBoy 2mo ago
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.

quickthrowman 2mo ago

> 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.

fckgw 2mo ago

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.

turtlebits 2mo ago

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.

linsomniac 2mo ago

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.