Building Your Own Shed vs Buying a Shed

Are you in need of extra storage or workshop space for your tools and projects? Deciding between building your own shed vs buying one pre-built is often a challenging one for homeowners. Yet both options have their own set of benefits and drawbacks; which one works best depends on factors like budget, time availability, skills requirements, and personal preferences. Let’s explore these factors so you can make an informed decision.

The Perks Of Buying a Shed

The biggest perk of buying a shed is all the hard work is done for you. All you need to do is select the shed you’re interested in and the rest will be taken care of. You may even be able to have it delivered right to your home and set up for you. Realistically, it is possible to pay for everything done. This is perfect if you are not the handiest individual and have struggled with construction projects in the past, don’t have the necessary tools on hand, or just don’t have the time. After all, even putting a shed together can take a full day (or a full weekend) to assemble.

Advantages

Convenience

One of the greatest advantages of purchasing a pre-built shed is its convenience – bypassing construction completely for immediate use on your property! A fully assembled unit can be delivered right away and immediately used.

Time-Saving

By opting for a pre-built shed, you can save yourself considerable time when planning, measuring, cutting, and assembling a storage solution quickly or have limited DIY project time available to complete projects yourself. This feature is precious if you require storage solutions quickly or have limited DIY project time available.

Professional Quality

Pre-built sheds are typically constructed by highly experienced professionals using top-quality materials and proven construction techniques, ensuring a sturdy shed that will stand the test of time.

Disadvantages

Limited Customization

While pre-built shed manufacturers often provide customizability options, their selection may be more limited in terms of size, design, and features that meet your exact requirements compared to building your own shed from scratch. You may be limited in your options in terms of size, design, and features which could limit its suitability for your specific needs.

Higher Cost

Pre-built sheds tend to be more expensive upfront when compared with building your own; you are paying for the convenience and expertise of the manufacturer, which often results in a higher price tag compared to sourcing materials and building it yourself.

Delivery and Installation

Installation can present several challenges depending on the size and location of your property, from access restrictions, terrain obstacles, or additional assembly fees that add cost and complexity.

The Perks Of Building a Shed

If you’re someone who enjoys building things this alone might be an attractive enough reason to build the shed yourself. You can either find instructions for building a shed online or you can purchase a kit that comes with all the parts and instructions for you.

Of course, there are other reasons why you want to opt for building a shed yourself. If you’ve been wondering if is it cheaper to build your own shed, you’ll discover that yes, it is less expensive to build your own shed than to purchase a pre-built shed. That is at least if you have all the tools required to build the shed.

Typically, it won’t take many specialty tools to build the shed. If you purchase a shed kit, where everything is already cut and ready to go, you just need to assemble it, at most you’ll need a hammer, drill, and a screwdriver. If you’re going off of online instructions you’ll probably need a few extra tools, including circular saws and a few other electric tools.

Advantages

Customization

One of the major advantages of building your own shed is having complete control over its design, size, layout, and materials used – guaranteeing it matches exactly your specifications and preferences.

Cost Savings

Building your own shed requires an initial investment in materials and tools; however, in the long run, it may prove more cost-effective than purchasing pre-built sheds. By sourcing materials yourself and performing the labor yourself you may save money, especially if some of the required tools already exist in your toolbox.

Personal Satisfaction

Constructing something yourself brings with it an immense sense of pride and accomplishment, and building your shed allows you to develop new skills while unleashing creativity – not forgetting seeing your vision come to fruition!

Disadvantages

Time-Consuming

Building from scratch requires an extended commitment . With limited construction experience and multiple permits required for each phase – planning, obtaining permits, actual construction, and finishing touches taking weeks or even months depending on its complexity – building from scratch requires a significant time commitment from you and others involved.

Skill Level Needed

While building a shed requires no special carpentry skills or knowledge of building techniques, DIY may not be your best choice if you don’t feel confident about yourself and have enough time and dedication to learn new techniques.

Potential Mistakes

Without careful planning and execution, construction mistakes could compromise the structural integrity or functionality of your shed, leading to costly repairs or even the need to start from scratch.

How Building A Shed Can Become More Expensive

In theory, when considering whether is it cheaper to build your own shed or to buy a premade shed, the self-construction option is the least expensive means of obtaining a shed. However, there are some variables to consider that might actually make building your own shed more expensive.

Just like your house is an investment, so are high-quality storage buildings. You also have to think about maintenance sheds because you will want to protect your expensive shed.

First, if you don’t have the needed tools you’ll instantly add a good chunk of change onto the cost. Regular tools like hammers and screwdrivers can be purchased for a small amount of money, but if you need to pick up circular saws, table saws, and other power tools you’ll end up paying several hundred dollars more. If you’ve been looking for a reason to pick up these power tools than by all means spend the extra money, but if you want to go with the least expensive option possible, the need to buy these tools may greatly inflate your budget.

If you decide to use instructions for a shed you obtained through the Internet instead of buying a kit, you very well might accidentally make a wrong cut or mess up along the way. You can limit your possible mistakes by “measuring twice and cutting once,” but even then it’s possible to accidentally make an error. If you make an error cutting wood you will need to return to the hardware store, make subsequent purchases, and then return home, all of which will cost you extra. So keep all of this in mind when it comes to saving money on your shed build and installation.

Do You Have The Time?

Even if you have the tools (or don’t mind spending money on the tools), you really need to decide whether you have the time to set aside and put the shed together. This is a project that can take a good chunk of time to put together. If you would rather spend the weekend kicking back and enjoying life, or if you’re always running around, going to a kid’s soccer game, or tailgating at your favorite sporting event, will you have the available time to realistically construct the shed? If you don’t, or if you’re not sure, you’ll be better off buying the shed instead of trying to put it together on your own. At the very least at least this way you’ll have one more thing off your to-do list, which is great when you already don’t have a ton of time.

Customization

Now, the one major perk of building your own shed is you can fully customize it to better fit your personal needs such as a workshop or an extra outdoor space perfect for the new teak outdoor furniture you bought. The same can be true if you go with a local contractor to build the shed for you, but going with a contractor is expensive. There really are no cheap shed builders when compared to buying a pre-made shed or a shed kit.

If you have the experience and the time to set aside, you can easily add all kinds of features to your shed. You can add in windows or insulation, which allows you to use the shed as a workspace during the colder months. You might even want to add electricity for future projects. There is no limit to the kind of customization features you can add to your own shed. Of course, this will increase the cost of the project, but at least you’ll be able to have the exact kind of shed that fits your needs, and not some basic shed that is designed for the masses.

Installing Your Very Own Shed

Building your own shed vs buying a shed depends entirely on your preferences, budget, and circumstances. If you enjoy DIY projects and value customization, building one yourself could be right for you; otherwise if convenience, time-saving, and professional quality are important then pre-built could be the best option.

Either way, a well-built shed will provide valuable storage space that increases the functionality of the property for years to come. With that said, you may not want to build it yourself, and if you don’t have the kind of tools needed to build the shed it could very well end up costing you more in the long run. Whatever you decide to do though just know having a new shed on your property is a great way to instantly add more storage space without spending an arm and a leg on a new home addition.

If you have any further questions or are ready to shop storage sheds for sale, Barnyard Utility Buildings is here to help. Contact us today!