How many hours would it take to build a simple 10 x 12 shed?

[Deguza]

Hello all,

How many hours would it take to build a simple 10 x 12 shed?

I?m trying to find the cost of labor for building a shed. An elderly friend of mine who doesn?t use the Internet asked me the question. She wanted to get a few estimates but nobody has bothered to come by.

She is thinking of a simple shed that she will store some household items. She doesn?t want to buy a pre-fabricated shed kit from like of Home Depot.

Unfinished walls, sloping roof with sheet metal corrugated.

We?re talking about experienced carpenter or handyman hours here.

Thanks!

Deguza

[hubops]

Labour :

1. Digging out and prepping/laying a decent base ? .. a very important step which could involve a lot of man-hours ! .. think about it - rocks, tree roots, etc 1 - 2 days hard labour - maybe not for a carpenter

1. carpentry hours ? rough guess 2 days.

Not labour :

1. Building permit ? in my area 10 x 12 requires it .

1. Flooring ? pressure treated 5/4 is my preferred. cheaper choices will rot out in 10 years.

2. Metal roof ? if you say so.

1. don't forget to have some ventilation - screened against bugs.

I'm happy with my circa 1998 9 x 12 salt box.

- copied from my local builder's demo's with a few minor changes - I just walked in with my tape measure and clipboard and drew-up a plan. Double-checked my material list and ordered the lumber next day.

PT 4x4 base and PT 2x4 sill ; 2x4 econo-stud framed ; board & batten siding < rough pine on sale planed 1 side >

5/4 PT floor - a splurge - no regrets ; asphalt shingles ; ~ $ 700. materials. ~ triple that today ? ... a labour of love ie: no cost ! Shingles are still OK ! ... buying cheapo shingles for a garden shed doesn't add up in the long run. John T.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Too many. See hubpops post outlining some of the steps.

I'm fully capable of building one but instead bought a pre-fab 10 x 16 built by the Amish, sold by a local distributor. I did have to put some stone down and level it where it was to be dropped.

The guy drops it in place, ties it down and you are set to go and at a reasonable price.

There is a reason she did not get call backs. They are not interested. They cannot compete with the specialists.

[Ralph Mowery]

The way lumber has gone up in the last year it is going to cost a lot not counting the labor.

[gfretwell]

Did you get a permit? In Florida you need the same engineering for a shed as you do for a house. I am guessing your guys had a mastered plan that was approved by the AHJ. My shed is block, covered with pavers with dowelled cells and a poured tie beam that has the truss straps in the concrete. I managed to scrounge up most of the materials for free so it was only my time. I am not a very fast mason ;-)

[Deguza]

Deguza

[Deguza]

We are estimating materials to be around $700. Lumber is sold here at a deep discount (usually around 70% off) if it is "damaged". For a project like this, damaged lumber is perfectly OK,

Deguza

[Deguza]

That's what I would do, but when she had another prefab one installed at a different home a few years ago, she said she had all sorts of problems. At her age she could not handle the additional calls, returns, asking for the installer to come out again, etc. She says she would rather pay extra and have no had ache.

Deguza

[Larry]

Nice! Built like a brick shithouse.

[invalid unparseable]

Next door neighbor did the same thing with Amish built shed even though he could have done it himself. Same for friend's hunting camp.

[trader_4]

That was my thought too. Just buy one that's already built. You get to see what it looks like and if you like it as opposed to seeing how a custom one turns out. Likely less expensive too, being massed produced. Not sure about the kit ones, but wonder why that's not an option. Seems like going the custom route for a simple shed is doing it the hard, expensive way to me, unless there is some specific requirement, eg style has to match something, that you can't get already built.

[trader_4]

I hope she realizes there are no guarantees of no problems with the construction metohd either. At least with one that is already built, you can see it, check it out, satisfy yourself that it's what you want. When it arrives, you can do the same and if it's not OK, you tell them. With any construction project, it's much different and probably harder to correct, depending on when you tell them it's not right. The contractor isn't going to want to spend another day undoing what he just did....

[Ed Pawlowski]

I bought it in CT. I did need a permit but it was simple. I just drew a box on the plot plan and showed it was X feet from the boundary line, paid $20.

No shed in FL. I now longer have a snow blower to store and pay to have my lawn cut.

[Ralph Mowery]

The permits vary from state to state and even town to town in some areas. Where I am at in NC out in the country you need a permit for a building that is over 10 feet by 12 or could be 15 feet, forgot which. Anything smaller they just drop it off if prebuilt. Larger needs inspections and anchored down. Friend in another county had to pay over

200 for a permit for a prebuilt 12 x 24 buiding.

I just put in a carport type metal garage that was 24 by 26 feet and cement pad and all. Cost for the permit in my county was 65 dollars and the inspector had to come out several times for various stages such as the footing, final pad pouring, building its self.

[invalid unparseable]

County laws vary widely. Our swim club got stung when they widened the pool by two lanes without a permit. Who would know that is needed?

I had a problem when I got a new deck requiring permits to demolish the old deck and one to build a new one. This is only required in our county. Then the g d tax assessor added to my property tax even though the same size deck.

[invalid unparseable]

Just checking my county, permit required for shed over 200 sq ft.

Building Permits Required For: New Homes Additions Porches (open or enclosed) Decks Patio and decorative hardscaping greater than 30 inches in height Garages Sheds (over 200 square feet) Swimming Pools (above ground and in-ground) Fireplaces (masonry or factory-built) Altering existing spaces or rooms (including basement area) Dormers Structural repairs or alterations Re-roofing that involves 25% or more replacement of sheathing PV Solar Panels (ground-mounted) Water-heating Solar Panels ? requires a utility permit

[hubops]

Over 108 sq. ft. in my town - and that's common here-abouts.

200 sq. ft. allows for a nice useful size eg. 12 x 16

John T.

[invalid unparseable]

I did a small one years ago from Sears assembled from aluminum. Only check at the time was required distance from property line.

These rules do change with time. With neighbors selling houses I found that I probably have a couple minor violations. Stupid stuff like putting AC condensate into the French Drain.

[gfretwell]

OK I was curious because you usually need engineering to pull a shed permit in Florida. They have the same regulation for sheds as they do for houses. (wind code, tie downs etc). It actually applies to any structure, even a dog house if they want to be pricks about it. (or your neighbor calls) The ones you get pre fab come with the engineering sheets. The county usually has engineered plans on their web site too. Lee County has one type for block and one for stick built in a few sizes.

[Thomas]