The man-shed was the result of a client/friend wanting a “storage/working/office/retreat” space at the edge of their meadow – below their main house and adjacent to the greenhouse. It is really a beautiful location/site and Chris is both design savvy and a functionalist. At the beginning of our conversations, there were apparently two “shed” paradigms that we were discussing – at one end of the spectrum were a slew of high priced modern prefab units, at the other end were a slurry of nondescript cheap sheds occupying blacktop spaces at our local big box lumber/supply stores.
The high end of this quandary, while being a crop of really cool “sheds”, was about $15K with freight and installation/setup. The low end occupied a range of about $2-2.5K.
Reality was that there was $5K on the table and therein lay the m.o. for Small: affordable spaces that are intentionally simple, well designed, and well built.
The man-shed is 10’x16′ and took 3 weeks to design/build. Construction is 2×4 framing with zip sheathing substrate and reclaimed poplar siding, translucent white polycarbonate panels, and galvanized corrugated panels. The large “front door” is custom made with an 18 ga. hot rolled steel veneer – will rust out nicely soon! The window and side door are from our big box friends.
In the end, the material for the man-shed was right at the $3K threshold and the build received the balance. Home brews were quaffed and exchanged and other projects on the property were conceived. Long live the man-shed.
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