Using A Shed As Economical Second House

The price per sqft of the garden sheds is much lower than the price of regular home. You can get a large high quyality shed for just 3-4 thousand dollars. So if you need a second house in your garden, why don't you just put a shed out there?

Of course, there are things to consider when doing that.

First, what's the most appropriate type of garden shed if you are going to use it as a guest house? Wood of course! Only timber sheds can offer the comfort for living that people need.

What about the size? The larger, the better. See some large sheds for ideas. You cannot feel comfortable in the shed if it is not large enough to put at leats one bed and a table.

Next, the living shed needs to have windows - they don't need to be very large, but for sure you need some. The windows must be placed in a way that enough light will go inside the shed.

If you plan to really live in the shed - either you or your guests - you need to ensure it is comfortable enough even in winter conditions. This means you may need to put additional isolation to the walls of the shed.

Finally, an outdoor storage shed which will be used as a second house needs to be supplied with electricy and water. Eventually a restroom will be needed, but if that is not possible, your guest can use the restrooms in your house. In such case you must put the shed close enough to the house.

Don't forget also that any living place must be locked. Usually sheds can be locked with padlock, but padlocks are not as appropriate when people want to lock from inside. For this reason you may need to change the locking mechanism of your garden shed.

If you want to save even more money, read how to build sheds yourself. It's like building a house yourself, but much easier.

Using Storage Shed Plans

Like I wrote few times ago, building a shed by using shed plans is a cheap and exciting method of building. It requires time, skills and patience, but the results can be very rewarding.

Before using storage shed plans you need to to buy them. I recommend plans that can be downloaded online because you don't need to wait. You can instantly download them, print the plan and start your work.

When you select the plans make sure to read carefully all the instructions. Good plans will include detailed information about the quality and quantity of the materials required so you won't pay for waste.

Try to follow closely the sizes in the plans. If you get them wrong, you may end up with a messed outdoor shed.

Building a shed by using storage shed plans can take somewhere between few days and few weeks - it depends on your epxerience, passion and free time.

Learn how to calculate proprotions. This could let you scale the final shed a little bit as opposed to what is created in the plans. This is however recommended only to experienced shed builders.

Have in mind that the plans fro steel sheds are different than the plans for wood/timber sheds and those for plastic/vinyl sheds. So you'd better decide on the exact shed type before you buy the plans.

Whatever you decide about the details, have in mind that using storage shed plans is probably the best way to build exactly the shed you want.