New Shed Projects

I have two problems. My home is only 899 square feet and my wife and I want to work out at home, instead of a gym because my wife is visibly transgender and in the current political climate that is not great. Even if the bluest of blue areas, we run into people that have taken this new political attack on trans folks as open season, carte blanche, to just be the shittiest humans ever. I also hate going to the gym, as it’s a lot of hassle, even thought I am read as cisgender as a man.

Those two issues combined mean we decided to have a large, 10′ x 20′ shed in our front yard, with a second identical one replacing the back yard shed so it can be a workroom and have more storage as well.

We looked up local codes, and since we are in an unincorporated area, the county codes say we can have any freestanding shed up to 200 square feet. We got an email back after pestering them confirming this. My biggest fear was doing all this and having to have it ripped down. However, it looks like as long as we have a 3′ setback, we are good. We went with 4′ so we can do a gravel “moat” around the shed, eating up more grass I don’t want to mow.

We decided to have a local place, South Sound Structures, do the work. We got quotes from several people, but honestly this place was in the ballpark and had far more options, including a normal house front door we could put an electronic pin lock on.

All said and done, the shed was $7,944.67. This included the house grade door, two windows, under floor insulation, 2×6″ rafters, and ridge vents. It also includes a 5 year warranty as long as it’s painted within 60 days. That’s not terrible, really, considering I am old and broken and that level or work would take a year of “healthy” days for me. That also includes a $300 off for something or other, but I think they do that on all their invoices.

On 4/21/25, Matias and friend showed up, and damn if they didn’t have that shed done in record time. They didn’t take all day to do it. They come with everything pre-cut, and just assemble it. I was watching on and off all day from inside, and they did everything 110% right. I saw no shortcuts, or half assed work at all. I was relieved as the last contractor situation we had did not go great.

I know the pictures are behind glass, but I didn’t want to make the workers uncomfortable by always running out there to take pictures.

I was honestly impressed that with only two people they got it done so fast.

I am seriously gobsmacked by how fast and efficient they were. Plus, 10′ x 20′ is a huge amount of space, and enough for something like a Bowflex, a bike, and some free weights, plus some seating and shelves for kitchen overflow storage.

One of the things I did not expect to like was that it completely obscures the view of the constant traffic in and out of the house across the street. Sometimes folks that live there would just like stand in the doorway and watch into our windows and it made us so uncomfortable I put in privacy film in all my windows.

Now it’s like my front porch feels like a safe little oasis. We can sit on it, and enjoy it, and not feel like folks are constantly staring at us. The shed is taller than a fence, so it’s great. When we eventually get the 6′ fence put in, we will have a lot of privacy then. I prefer we are safe in our own little world where folks don’t stare at us and judge my wife for being visibly trans.

So far, it feels so worth the money. Painting is next, then insulation, and paneling and flooring. Finally my gravel moat, and a small entrance ramp. Then I can move in exercise equipment and whatnot.