Garden Sheds - Office Style
Jeff and Debbie weren’t happy with the old garage that was on the brink of falling down. “That old garage was not only an eye sore, it was a complete waste of space and considering the high value of property here in Manhattan, it seemed a crime to let it go unused” Debbie said. So together they decided to tear it down and replace it with a quality backyard shed, one that could pull double duty for storage and a home office. something Jeff needed badly, as he was working from a corner of the basement, not exactly inspiring space to spend 8hrs everyday working in.
So they made an appointment with a local architect. 6 months later we would up with a design for a structure that would have cost about $125,000 for around 450 sq. ft. After careful consideration, we decided it was way too much for such a small space. “That little endevour cost us about $8,000.00 and at the end of it all we had nothing. Talk about a waste!” Jeff said.
So they turned to the internet, “you’ve got to love Google”, Debbie says. “We did some research and found a couple really great companies that produce prefab sheds. At first the thought of building something prefab made them nervious, as most prefab sheds that they had ever seen, like the one down at their local home improvement center, looked cheap and flimsy and were made of low grade materials. The styles were just plain ugly. But thanks to some web searches, the two found more then a few designs that they both really liked.
Corner Space
The design that really caught there eye was the Catalina structure, pictured above, made by Summerwood Products up in Toronto Canada. Fabulously flexible the Catalina is normally used as a garden shed, but many has been built as home office studios, and some to be used as pool sheds.
The Catalina’s main advantage is its overall design. Being a 5 sided shed, it allows it to slip into tight spaces, providing good square footage, and doesn’t overrun the space. So much in fact that Debbie found that it actually created much more usable space because it fit into the corner of the yard so well.
Getting a few friends over on a Saturday morning Jeff and Debbie were able to build the shed on their own, in just two days.
Jumping Through the Hoops
The complete project took about 3-4 months. They started in June but then had to put everything on hold. The architect that had acquired building permits originally, so we just thought that we could use those permits for the Catalina. What is that saying about “Assuming”? The permits were not valid so we had a 2 and a half month delay while we submitted and then waited for the new permit. Jeff jumped through the permit hoops and learned much in the process. “It was the installation of power and water that delayed the permit process for so long” said Jeff. “The city thought that we would be renting it out as an apartment.” It took allot of convincing, but finally they got their way and the permits were reissued for the new building.
The Build Begins
Demolition Zone!
As you can see in the shot to the right, the backyard was a mess, and not something that you could really even tackle on your own. Jeff and Debbie hired a demolition company to come in and tear the old garage down and scrape the yard bare. “What took them a day, would have taken myself and some friends a week”. “It just wasn’t worth practical to do it on our own.” With the yard bare they rebuilt the fence that they shared with their neighbors, as it was falling down in spots anyways.
Serious Foundation
Jeff’s friend who is an earthquake scientist suggested using piers for the foundation. Jeff agreed, so the foundation is raised slightly up on 20 cement pier blocks. Jeff then laid special 2″ x 6″ pressure treated beams to support the floor. Then filled it with gravel. Unfortunately, Jeff didn’t take photos the foundation but suffice it to say, the foundation isn’t going anywhere for quite some time.
Building Prefab Shed Kits
Spot loves the Shed!
Shed kits can be purchased in either precut or prefab formats. Jeff and Debbie chose precut because it cost less. While there’s more work involved with precut versus prefab, there still quite easy to put together, especially if you’re a little handy as Jeff is. Both prefab and precut come with the same easy to follow instructions and support staff are always just an email or call away. Jeff had to call a few times and got the answers immediately each time.
The instructions suggest that you build the floor upside down, and then flip it over to install it. But Jeff had upgraded to 2″ x 8″ beams and when the time came to flip it over, luckily the demolition crew were working in the front, all it took was a few cold beers and they were happy to help.
The instructions suggested building the roof on the completed floor, and then moving it off to the side to make room for building the walls. Instead Jeff built the 5 star part of the roof instead. The centre and jack rafters were not necessary at this point. Jeff and his friend then lifted the roof up and over the wall and completed the rest of the roof.
“The angle cuts were a little tricky” Jeff says, but at least the instructions warned that some mild variation is common. Making Jeff feel much more comfortable. “Nothing a little hammering didn’t fix!” Jeff adds. Installing the maintenance free siding was a breeze, except that the municipality insisted that 5 coats of fire retardant be added because the shed was within 40″ of the adjacent property. Jeff also had to add 5/8″ of special fire resistant rock board to provide further fire protection. The green colored siding matched perfectly with their home.
Setting the Stage with Landscape
A clean slate...
Debbie is a dedicated gardener, however as she was busy with a ton of work that couldn’t wait, she simply didn’t have the time to dedicate to doing the landscaping. A friend referred them to a professional landscaper, who was a master and had studied landscaping over in Japan and provides courses on rock placement. The designer was thrilled that we had the yard scraped as it provided a blank canvas for him to work with. Letting the master landscaper have his way, he came up with an amazing and truly unique design for the entire backyard. Jeff and Debbie only asked that he keep things relatively simple, not to over work the space. “Things couldn’t have turned out better if we’d tried”, exclaimed Debbie, “he is unbelievable”.
Real World Living
Now that the constructions been complete, the landscape done, Jeff and Debbie are now using the shed for dual purposes - one half as a traditional storage shed and the other side as a fully functional home office. It works really well for them as neither work from home full time - they take turns working from home and thoroughly enjoy the Zen like effect the space has on their work. Instead of being relegated to the basement we have this amazing space inside the shed and such a beautifully landscaped yard to look at as we ponder difficult work related issues.
For more ideas on garden offices, please check out www.storageandgardensheds.com.