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Author here. Thanks for the comments everyone! There are many comments on the price point. I would like to comment on one thing. "$20k is too much" I agree $

Author here. Thanks for the comments everyone! There are many comments on the price point. I would like to comment on one thing. "$20k is too much" I agree $20k is an investment. Could I have done it for cheaper? Absolutely. Would a DIY shell been cheaper? Would doing more of the work myself have been cheaper? Could I have saved by putting in the smaller stock windows and not having a skylight? Of course! But I am a dad with a young kid, he was 1 when I built the office. I didn't want to spend my limited free time on this project. There was a trade-off between paying for labor and the time it would take to do it myself. At this point in my life I always look at these decisions through a lens of: is the cost savings worth my time. In this case I valued my time more than the cost savings. I was lucky enough to be in a situation where I would rather spend money for someone else to build this then spending my nights and weekends on this project. I am almost 4 years in I would have paid over $20k for a co-working space. We were able to stay in our smaller house with a ridiculously low mortgage rate. We made the right choice for us. Cheap is relative. Sometimes your time is worth more. There are litteraly entire companies built on this premise, cough DoorDash

saaaaaam 1mo ago
This is all very well. But what about insulting your office?!
fultonn 1mo ago
> I am almost 4 years in Also worth mentioning 2026 - 4 = 2022. Not a great year to be stick building from a cost perspective.
mindslight 1mo ago
I'm in the middle of finishing out my own (significantly larger) shed I just had built, basically all DIY except for the structure itself. The number that popped into my head at the start of your post was $30k - each step adds up when you're paying small job overheads. That you did it for $20k is pretty great.
bellowsgulch 1mo ago
[flagged]
- jasonpeacock 1mo ago
  It's not $5/bag. There's also tools to be bought or rented, knowledge and skills to learn, and time spent. $2k is the cheat code to skip all of that. My calculus is to evaluate time, cost, and quality. If someone can match or beat me on 2/3 of those dimensions then I'll hire them.
  - bombcar 1mo ago
    He's getting downvoted, but he's not wrong - however, finding someone who specializes in doing this would be hard, and knowing how to word it so you can use "standard crews" would itself be $2-3k for a GC. This is the danger of "cheap projects" - they can grow legs before you know it, and you end up paying half the cost of increasing the square footage of the house (or the garage).
    - turtlebits 1mo ago
      Yeah of course you could DIY this or find your own subs much cheaper, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad. You get a finished and conditioned room, and it most likely added value to his house.
    - tclancy 1mo ago
      Unless he’s a commercial builder, I’d suggest he is wildly wrong about what is involved in properly pouring, leveling and making sure concrete has properly set in various weather conditions. And if you take a look at his post …
    - lelanthran 1mo ago
      Some things are deceptively complex (foundations and roof trusses come to mind) and the cost if you get it wrong can easily double the total cost of your build 6 months after you think you are done. Walls, floors, ceilings and everything in between them are both less complex and cheaper to fix than foundations or trusses.
conductr 1mo ago
My 12x16 took way more time, but I did it all myself. I mostly worked at night once the heavy loud stuff was done because of the young kid factor. But at only a couple hours a day, it took about 4 months. Although I did build mine down into a ~3 feet deep basement of sorts which complicated it (I didn’t want it visible from outside my fence). Even did off grid electric with solar to avoid needing contractors or permits. I won’t hate because I get the time trade off, and I really hate/appreciate a few trades more than before (drywall the most). For reference mine was $15k in 2025. The main thing I’d advise people against and say you could have possibly saved on is the structure. Tuff Shed is usually over priced and could be built usually with $2k-3k of material and labor. But the time you did this may have made that hard too, all the contractors were slammed.
deleted 1mo ago
[deleted]
DANmode 1mo ago
$20k is too little. Thank you for the cool post.
blitzar 1mo ago
> But I am a dad with a young kid, he was 1 when I built the office. I didn't want to spend my limited free time on this project. I am very glad that the grainy 40 year old photos of me at that sort of age with my father are us digging a hole together or me crawling around on a freshly poured slab of concrete - rather than at a soft play venue.
- oblio 1mo ago
  What are you going on about? What memories with a 1 year old? Besides the fact that it's almost impossible to actively access memories from when you're 1 year old, a 1 year old shouldn't be anywhere near a construction site. There are much better and safer uses of time together with a 1 year old that don't revolve on hoping they'd see a grainy (or nom grainy) photos 40 years later.
  - blitzar 1mo ago
    > memories I did not reference memories anywhere at any time. I did not imply or state that I had memories of such, could access memories of such nor suggest it was possible in any way. My handprints however are still in that concrete slab to this day.
    - oblio 1mo ago
      Doesn't really matter. Why would it be better to be around a construction site that at a soft play center? Since you cannot remember anything voluntarily, anyway? I understand the choice of a different activity for a 4 year old or something, or even for a very calm and prudent 2 year old. Just for the photo? Who cares? You could have had the same grainy photo at the soft play center and it would have been as nostalgic. I hate these ill intentioned judgemental comments like yours.
      - n4r9 1mo ago
        You both have valid points. One one hand, "implicit memory" [0] begins at birth and being around one's father building impressive things is a huge bonding experience. Research seems to say that even at 1yo these things imprint on our brains. On the other hand, it shouldn't get to a point where a 1yo is crawling into freshly laid concrete. There are safer ways to do it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_memory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_memory
minimal3 1mo ago
Nice work…you definitely need a floor protector for your chair
jmuguy 1mo ago
People saying 20k is too much haven't tried to do anything like this since Covid and/or don't value their own time.
yard2010 1mo ago
Hey I just wanna say, way to go, I loved your post. I like how you went on what I think is a good combination of DIY and paying people to do stuff. This is really relatable, I feel like most of the decisions in projects are deciding on what to focus on when.
legitster 1mo ago
If I would give a bit of pushback, it's really, really hard to understand the value assessments if you've never done the work yourself. Part of the reason someone DIYs isn't that you're just trading time for money, it's that you understand the value of what you pay for in expertise. Even if you contract out in the future, you'll be better at getting value. To put it another way, DIY is an investment in yourself. The things you learn doing the work you get to keep forever.
- PaulDavisThe1st 1mo ago
  For myself, the biggest cost to doing DIY over many, many years has been an unwillingness to hire contractors because I know I will do the job better than them. There are a few exceptions: 1. pouring a concrete pad (too dirty, too much work, needs a crew to really be done right) 2. adobe mud plaster (once you've seen people who know what they're doing do that thing, you'll know why) 3. diamond and venetian plaster (same as #2) 4. 3-phase anything (i understand the concept, but that's not enough) but electrical, plumbing, framing, finish carpentry, flooring ... I'm sorry guys, but I'm better and I care more than most of you. What I'm not: faster than you. I'm sure there are amazing trades folk out there who could put anything I do to shame, but finding them and being able to pay them is another story altogether.
fdgwhite 1mo ago
For everything you included and contracting most of it out I’m amazed at how cheap this was. Nice job

saaaaaam 1mo ago

This is all very well. But what about insulting your office?!

fultonn 1mo ago

> I am almost 4 years in Also worth mentioning 2026 - 4 = 2022. Not a great year to be stick building from a cost perspective.

mindslight 1mo ago

I'm in the middle of finishing out my own (significantly larger) shed I just had built, basically all DIY except for the structure itself. The number that popped into my head at the start of your post was $30k - each step adds up when you're paying small job overheads. That you did it for $20k is pretty great.

bellowsgulch 1mo ago

[flagged]

jasonpeacock 1mo ago
It's not $5/bag. There's also tools to be bought or rented, knowledge and skills to learn, and time spent. $2k is the cheat code to skip all of that. My calculus is to evaluate time, cost, and quality. If someone can match or beat me on 2/3 of those dimensions then I'll hire them.
- bombcar 1mo ago
  He's getting downvoted, but he's not wrong - however, finding someone who specializes in doing this would be hard, and knowing how to word it so you can use "standard crews" would itself be $2-3k for a GC. This is the danger of "cheap projects" - they can grow legs before you know it, and you end up paying half the cost of increasing the square footage of the house (or the garage).
  - turtlebits 1mo ago
    Yeah of course you could DIY this or find your own subs much cheaper, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad. You get a finished and conditioned room, and it most likely added value to his house.
  - tclancy 1mo ago
    Unless he’s a commercial builder, I’d suggest he is wildly wrong about what is involved in properly pouring, leveling and making sure concrete has properly set in various weather conditions. And if you take a look at his post …
  - lelanthran 1mo ago
    Some things are deceptively complex (foundations and roof trusses come to mind) and the cost if you get it wrong can easily double the total cost of your build 6 months after you think you are done. Walls, floors, ceilings and everything in between them are both less complex and cheaper to fix than foundations or trusses.

conductr 1mo ago

My 12x16 took way more time, but I did it all myself. I mostly worked at night once the heavy loud stuff was done because of the young kid factor. But at only a couple hours a day, it took about 4 months. Although I did build mine down into a ~3 feet deep basement of sorts which complicated it (I didn’t want it visible from outside my fence). Even did off grid electric with solar to avoid needing contractors or permits. I won’t hate because I get the time trade off, and I really hate/appreciate a few trades more than before (drywall the most). For reference mine was $15k in 2025. The main thing I’d advise people against and say you could have possibly saved on is the structure. Tuff Shed is usually over priced and could be built usually with $2k-3k of material and labor. But the time you did this may have made that hard too, all the contractors were slammed.

deleted 1mo ago

[deleted]

DANmode 1mo ago

$20k is too little. Thank you for the cool post.

blitzar 1mo ago

> But I am a dad with a young kid, he was 1 when I built the office. I didn't want to spend my limited free time on this project. I am very glad that the grainy 40 year old photos of me at that sort of age with my father are us digging a hole together or me crawling around on a freshly poured slab of concrete - rather than at a soft play venue.

oblio 1mo ago
What are you going on about? What memories with a 1 year old? Besides the fact that it's almost impossible to actively access memories from when you're 1 year old, a 1 year old shouldn't be anywhere near a construction site. There are much better and safer uses of time together with a 1 year old that don't revolve on hoping they'd see a grainy (or nom grainy) photos 40 years later.
- blitzar 1mo ago
  > memories I did not reference memories anywhere at any time. I did not imply or state that I had memories of such, could access memories of such nor suggest it was possible in any way. My handprints however are still in that concrete slab to this day.
  - oblio 1mo ago
    Doesn't really matter. Why would it be better to be around a construction site that at a soft play center? Since you cannot remember anything voluntarily, anyway? I understand the choice of a different activity for a 4 year old or something, or even for a very calm and prudent 2 year old. Just for the photo? Who cares? You could have had the same grainy photo at the soft play center and it would have been as nostalgic. I hate these ill intentioned judgemental comments like yours.
    - n4r9 1mo ago
      You both have valid points. One one hand, "implicit memory" [0] begins at birth and being around one's father building impressive things is a huge bonding experience. Research seems to say that even at 1yo these things imprint on our brains. On the other hand, it shouldn't get to a point where a 1yo is crawling into freshly laid concrete. There are safer ways to do it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_memory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicit_memory

minimal3 1mo ago

Nice work…you definitely need a floor protector for your chair

jmuguy 1mo ago

People saying 20k is too much haven't tried to do anything like this since Covid and/or don't value their own time.

yard2010 1mo ago

Hey I just wanna say, way to go, I loved your post. I like how you went on what I think is a good combination of DIY and paying people to do stuff. This is really relatable, I feel like most of the decisions in projects are deciding on what to focus on when.

legitster 1mo ago

If I would give a bit of pushback, it's really, really hard to understand the value assessments if you've never done the work yourself. Part of the reason someone DIYs isn't that you're just trading time for money, it's that you understand the value of what you pay for in expertise. Even if you contract out in the future, you'll be better at getting value. To put it another way, DIY is an investment in yourself. The things you learn doing the work you get to keep forever.

PaulDavisThe1st 1mo ago
For myself, the biggest cost to doing DIY over many, many years has been an unwillingness to hire contractors because I know I will do the job better than them. There are a few exceptions: 1. pouring a concrete pad (too dirty, too much work, needs a crew to really be done right) 2. adobe mud plaster (once you've seen people who know what they're doing do that thing, you'll know why) 3. diamond and venetian plaster (same as #2) 4. 3-phase anything (i understand the concept, but that's not enough) but electrical, plumbing, framing, finish carpentry, flooring ... I'm sorry guys, but I'm better and I care more than most of you. What I'm not: faster than you. I'm sure there are amazing trades folk out there who could put anything I do to shame, but finding them and being able to pay them is another story altogether.

fdgwhite 1mo ago

For everything you included and contracting most of it out I’m amazed at how cheap this was. Nice job