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Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown
I wrote up my experience building a backyard office because I wish I had come across more articles like this when planning my build. I hope this post helps you on your journey:
I have worked remotely for most of my career and always dreamed of having my own backyard office. A place on my property but completely separate from my home. Until this year, that idea seemed too unnecessary… then our baby grew into a toddler. We have a small house in Portland. We love it, and it works for us, but it became clear that it could use more space. My wife and I briefly considered buying a new home but decided to stay. But for us to stay, I needed a better working environment. Our space is small. The bedrooms and living room are very close together. It gets loud with our toddler at home with my wife during the day, and listening to one half of a Zoom call wasn’t music to my partner’s ears. I had tried coworking spaces but didn’t love the vibe or the idea of spending hours in a phone booth. I don’t see myself returning to a local office in Portland, so we decided to invest in a backyard office. It was way cheaper than buying a new home.
I looked into many options. My budget’s two most viable paths were an Autonomous.ai prefab office Pod or building an office by utilizing a shed frame. The Autonomous pods are gorgeous and come prewired with electricity. You just plug them into an outlet in your house. But I wanted proper heating and air conditioning. I had spent hot summers working with a portable AC unit blasting in the background, and it just wasn’t for me. Their base starts at $16.5k; adding $5k shipping, paying someone to assemble it (I didn’t have time to DIY), and adding a mini-split HVAC system, and we were getting closer to $30k. It was not bad, but it was more than I wanted to spend, not knowing how long we plan on staying in our house.
Deciding against an Autonomous Pod left me with the shed conversion option. This was appealing for a couple of reasons.
I decided on using Tuff Shed for the main frame. I was able to design and configure my structure using their online designer. They also have a local showroom in town, so I walked through some models to get an idea of what I wanted. I originally wanted their studio shed model, but after seeing it in person, I decided against it. The great thing about their online design tool is it lets you build a quote on the spot for exactly how much it will cost. The windows Tuff Shed offers weren’t as large as I wanted, so I worked with their team to rough out larger openings for windows that I purchased separately.
I read online about people wishing they had gone bigger with their shed or office. I went with a smaller size 8 feet by 10 feet, it is cozy and sure I do wish it was bigger, but we also have a small backyard, and I really didn’t want to sacrifice more space in the yard than I had to. I measured off an 8 by 10-foot space in one of the rooms in our house and hung some blankets to get an idea of how the space would feel, and I decided 8’ by 10’ would work.
I went with the Premier Pro Tall Ranch shed. This allowed me to have tall ceilings, making the small space feel bigger. I settled on a fully lit windowed door, added a small skylight, and roughed out 2 large windows (6 by 4 feet and 4 by 4 feet). I added a ridge vent and house wrap.
Once I had the frame configured, I went to order it but realized I needed to have a foundation ready before they could schedule the build. I wanted a concrete pad, and they require 3 weeks for the concrete to dry before they will install. So, I hired a concrete contractor.
The shed installation went smoothly. Tuff Shed prefabricates the sheds per order in a local warehouse, so installation of my shed only took about 5 hours. I had an issue; one of the rough openings of the windows was too small, but they quickly sent someone to expand and reframe the area for me.
I ordered the windows separately from Home Depot, and to save a little money, I decided