Find a Shed Builder Near You

Most people call a shed business with a rough idea and end up on three or four calls working out what they actually want. You can skip most of that.

These five things decide the price and the timeline. Have answers to them and you can get a real number on the first call instead of the third.

1. The size you want, or what’s going in it

If you already know you want a 10×16, good. If you don’t, work backward from what’s going inside. A mower, a wheelbarrow and some yard tools is a different building from a workshop with a bench, shelving and a heater, and it’s a very different building from something you plan to finish and use as an office.

Two things people forget. Doors: a single door is fine for tools, but anything on wheels wants a double door or a roll-up, and the opening has to clear the widest thing going through it. Headroom: if you plan to stand at a bench or put in a loft, say so, because wall height is usually a choice and it’s much cheaper to pick it now than to wish you had later.

If you’re stuck between two sizes, the people who go smaller are the ones who regret it.

2. Where it’s going, and how it gets there

Most sheds are built somewhere else and delivered whole on a trailer, then moved into place. Access matters as much as the spot does.

Walk the route a truck would take. How wide is the gate, or the gap between the house and the fence? Low branches, a power line, a soft lawn a loaded trailer would sink into, a tight turn at the end of the driveway? Measure the narrowest point and have that number ready.

Then look at the ground where it will sit. Level, or is there a slope? A slope isn’t a problem, but it changes what goes underneath and it changes the price. Most buildings sit on blocks, a gravel pad or a concrete slab, and the shed business will tell you what they want ready before delivery day.

3. Your city’s rules, not your state’s

This is the one that catches people out. Permit requirements, and how far a building has to sit from your property line, are set by your city or county rather than by the state, and they change from one town to the next. Two neighbors in different townships can get different answers about the same building.

There’s usually a size below which you need no permit at all, and that size is different everywhere. Setbacks from the rear and side property lines are a separate rule again, and they often apply whether or not a permit does.

One call to your local building department before you order saves a lot of trouble after. If you’re in an HOA, that’s a second approval on top, and they tend to care about siding color, roof color and where the building sits.

4. How you’re paying

Three normal ways: cash, financing, or rent-to-own.

Rent-to-own is common in this industry and it works differently from a loan. You make monthly payments, the shed business keeps ownership until the term is done, and there’s usually no credit check. The trade is that you pay more in total than the cash price. It’s a good option if the cash price is out of reach right now, and a poor one if you could pay cash and just hadn’t asked.

Whichever way you’re leaning, ask for the total, not just the monthly. Terms vary between businesses more than people expect.

5. When you need it

Spring and early summer are the busy season almost everywhere, and lead times stretch. If you want a building in April, the conversation happens in February.

Ready-now buildings already sitting on a lot can often move within a week or two. A custom build in your sizes, colors and options takes longer, and how much longer depends on how backed up the shop is. Ask for a delivery window in weeks, and ask what would move it.

Any shed business worth buying from will answer all of these without hesitating.

• What’s in the price, and what’s extra? Delivery, blocks, anchoring and door upgrades are the usual places a number moves after you’ve agreed to it.
• How far do you deliver, and is delivery included to my address?
• What do I need ready before the truck arrives?
• What’s the warranty, on the building and separately on the roof?
• Do you build these yourself, or sell someone else’s buildings? Both are fine. It changes who you talk to when something needs fixing.
• If I need a permit, what can you give me for the paperwork?
• What’s your lead time right now, in weeks?

If you’re comparing two quotes, compare what’s included before you compare the price. The cheaper number often has delivery, blocks or anchoring sitting outside it.

This page is for shed buyers. If you build or sell sheds and you’re here looking at software, you want the other side of the site. → See what ShedPro does for shed businesses