Help me plan my outdoor shed project

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I could pour a 12x28 or possibly larger concrete pad.

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I can run a full shop and possibly a small sauna inside.

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space around it for smoker and a couple Adirondacks

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That's a lot for that amount of space

you would probably want at least a 10x12 area for the patio, so that would leave only 18x12 for the shop/shed

once you fill it with all your junk and a sauna, I'm not sure how much space you are going to have for a shop

my shed is 12x12 with an 8' porch on it and its pretty full

Yeah you're right. I could probably extend that foundation to maybe 16' or even 20x20 but that will cover some nice flagstones that are already there. I guess I could not be lazy and dig them up and create a new path

Budgets a little important here.

$5,000 compared to $50,000 changes things

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dblwall

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there's a similar one on costco right now (12x20 i believe) for $3500 but i am intimidated by the 'you build it' part of this. i dont know that i have the time or expertise to do it right. i figure if i do start w/ a slab, that i can at least stick boards up straight though

I'm in the planning stages for a backyard storage shed too. Local place has Premier Buildings pre-fab units, a 10x16 utility shed is $4,995. This will be purely a storage shed so no need to run power to it, I could hang a rechargeable LED lantern in it if I needed but I don't think I'll be putting anything in there that I'd need to get to at night. Only reason I even need something as large as that is that I have two 14' ladders I'd like to store plus have a long wall for some large shelving units.

For what you want OP, you might want to look into cabin-style outdoor buildings and probably something in the 20'x40' range. I've been looking into similar for an actual shop, 16'x32' or 20'x40' with a roll-up door.

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i would love to do the whole project for 10k-ish but i haven't priced concrete slabs in about 8 years so that may break the budget.

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That's a tight budget in today's world if you want something semi-nice. Concrete over cinder blocks if you want it nice.

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Don't even plan on doing any major projects in the shed. It's a pain in the arse bringing in even 8 foot boards to cut and work on. I always just set up a table in front of the shed.

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I would like to have a setup big enough to handle 16' materials but I go back and forth on how I'd want to do that. I think I could do more with my budget with a somewhat smaller shop if I instead make an outside covered area adjacent for breaking down larger material first or running my planer. Would keep more dust outside too, wouldn't need as much of a dust collection system then. Just sucks working in heat and mosquitoes the older I get....

Sounds like a cool project and nice you have a vision.

Regarding personal experience, if you think the area can have water drainage issues, the blocks will work better than the pad. Sheds (and equipment) placed on pads that are not leveled or elevated slightly can have water damage where the base meets the concrete.

40A should be plenty, unsure about the Sauna. Can you split it to two (2) 20s? Might help with some isolation on equipment and pleasantries.

Lastly, when you route your electrical, raise the junction box when it comes out the ground, don't go level (again referencing the drainage).

Windows on both sides for breeze/circulation, one of the best things I ever did.

You don't need to pull cable on the pad, but you'd want to put some conduit and maybe 2 ropes on either side that you can pull later on. We did that with an addition, and it worked perfectly.

Goodluck!

ok i'm back. so here are objectives

- decent storage shed, probably will put a window ac in at some point, definitely dehumidifier and enough room for a small workbench and all my tool boxes & carts

- electricity so i can run a table saw and hang lights over my workbench, outlets for battery chargers, etc.

- possibly making it a place i can work from occasionally if the house gets too insane

- outside pad "lip" around the building to potentially store things outdoors like wheelbarrow, hide my smoker in the back of the shed, maybe a couple of chairs in the front to enjoy the view of the water, just don't want the pad ending where the shed ends.

having said that; here we go:

- top/left corner of pad will be the cinderblock just to the left of the swingset. there is already a fairly graded area here which i'm guessing those cinderblocks once were used for a larger shed once upon a time. there is a shitty tiny one to the right; the roof has caved in

- this back area (in front of rounded grass edge) would likely be where any smokers or things the wife doesn't want people seeing will live so i'd like the pad to provide room to walk around on all 4 sides of shed.




FRONT VIEW

- 12 feet from back of swingset to the near cinderblock corner. to get 16-20 feet would come to the middle of the flagstones so i would have to dig them all up and rebuild a path.

- 28' from the cinderblock corner ends about the middle of that old shed. i could easily keep going another 8-10' feet with the pad in that direction

- yes the drop is pretty good coming all the way to the flagstones but the ground is cut-in (note the cinderblock right behind the A on the swingset) so i'm not sure what the total fall would be..likely would to also pour 1 or 2 steps at least.

- entrance to the right would allow access to drive lawmowerrs, etc. in

- the house (first pic) crawlspace opening is just behind the current grill..i would pull the line through the crawlspace and trench the 10' or so to the wall of the shed. shouldn't be a difficult run.




ok. let me know how terrible the plan is ive come up with so far

this area is a mess right now; lots of planters there which have become one with the ground so i'll have to move all that crap & cut down all the mess of weeds. its wasted space right now and we have nowhere to hide stuff like extra smokers, etc.

Friends dont let friends buy wallbangers. Get a mini split.