"The Salt Box" (10x16 Shed)

[EastEnder]

"The Salt Box" as I'm calling it, gets its name from her Salt Box like design, with the two roof pitches being different, front and back. It will be my primary work place for anything that will fit in there.... woodworking, small equipment repair, and storage for my tools. Its my all purpose shop.

The back story as to why I'm building such a small workshop mainly due to budget. We moved into our new home which is great but lacks both a basement and a garage. With garage prices starting at 25k (my local Morton Builder) and upwards of 40k (Stick built) for a 24x24 two car garage, I couldn't swing that now. In the future, sure- but not now. As of now, I don't have a project car or a nice enough ride to keep in the garage anyway.

My best solution to have a work space was to use space I already had in the form of the 10x16 utility shed that was already on the property. For the first few months I used it just as a shed, until I found a used 8x10 for all the lawn equipment.

The plan thus far is to just have clean, semi finished spot to call my own, including, full insulation, 220v power, sheet rock and heat.

My inspiration has come from 964haus 's 10x16: http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=163328 I only wish I had as many nice architectural details to work with on mine.

Here is the starting point:

 

[EastEnder]

The first thing I did was install another window. I found this nice vinyl double hung on craigslist for free! And the best part was it was only a few miles from home! Unfortunately, the person I got it from didn't mention the orientation of the window/ I didnt pay attention to where the seals were, so I wound up installing it as a slider, not a hung window.... Luckily it was a light rain that showed me I was wrong, and not a storm.

 

[EastEnder]

Unfortunately, as I started this project, the Salt Box was full with ALL of my tools, and lawn equipment. My mower, weedwacker, shovels, table saw, drill press, spare electrical parts, spare plumbing supplies, band saw, fishing poles, boat parts, were all stuffed into this thing. This caused many a headache walking and moving around and working on the electric, insulation, and the window.

Additionally, I bought a 5' patio door at my local Habitat for Humanity store to replace the plywood barn doors already on the shed. That too was shoved in there while I worked.

I had to work in clutter due to me waiting for the 8x10 mini barn to arrive. The mini barn was held up, due to my fence guy.... I waited on the fence guy to put up a wider gate for the mini barn to fit through, as well as my boat.

 

[EastEnder]

Once the window was in, I started on the electric. Some might wonder why I have 220v going to such a small shed.... The main reason is I could, and relativity easily. I was very lucky to get a enough 10/3 direct burial cable for an incredible price. I also thought, once the electric is buried and out there, it will be ready for when I upgrade my building.

I also scored the help of my father-in-law who also works in the underground utility business, so after 1/2 days work and 130' later the electric was run from my panel to the shed.

I don't have any fancy plan, just outlets on all 4 walls, 220 outlet for my heater and a switch for lights overhead. At some point I'd like an outdoor light, but no rush.

Did I mention the electric service panel was a freebee salvage piece?

 

[EastEnder]

Next was was insulation and drywall.... Looking back at it, I should have a. cleared more things out before putting in the insulation and b. took a better look at my framing so I had better nailers for the drywall to hang on. By doing this, the drywall would have came out a little better. I then could have hung the new window at workbench height and not just below the header for the gable end wall.