nobleman415 t1_j17d06q wrote on December 22, 2022 at 5:02 AM

Reply to comment by snowe2010 in I built a shed this summer by JohnVerSteeg

Tuff shed (Home Depot) and Heartland sheds (Lowe’s) are made of vastly inferior wood and craftsmanship. OPs shed is sturdy AF and well built.

I know because I could not get one installed, no exterior egress and therefore neither company would allow workmen in due to insurance (assuming criminal or accidental issues). That meant I would just get the kit and build it myself, as the helper to my friend who is a general contractor.

I am literally installing it now. The roof would have been on today, but rafters were mis-cut.

While you may think your shed looks nice, bear in mind your labor KNOWS how to hide every mistake, especially if you are not out there measuring for yourself. I would wager that your shed is absolutely not plumb within 1/16”, which OPs is. it doesnt have the siding OP used, nor is the roof as strong. Unless you put on vapor barrier and ply yourself, you only have cheap ass OBX on the studs. The trim, lumber, OBX etc is mostly crap, which is why the kits are so cheap. I’m not even sure it is fit for burning. We found multiple issues with the boards being ‘off’ quite a bit, warped, etc. OPs shed will last decades… unless you reinforced your own - because the tuff shed folks didn’t - it will have issues in a few years.

I’m saying all of this assuming you were not checking the work with your own tape.

snowe2010 t1_j17dq10 wrote on December 22, 2022 at 5:09 AM

It’s plumb perfectly, because we built the foundation to within a sixteenth of an inch. Seeing as how OP didn’t bother to lift theirs at all, it most definitely will be more resistant to weather. In regards to cheaper materials? Sure, but you don’t need to overbuild a shed. I watched them install the entire thing, and yeah it’s just as strong as OPs. No clue why you think the roof wouldn’t hold as much weight. Rafters are pretty standard.

Also no clue why you mention Home Depot or Lowe’s in there. Tuff Shed isn’t owned by them and we didn’t go through HD.

Unless there’s something magical about OPs wood, it’s the same stuff as in any shed. Nice try though. Continue to recommend people wasting tens of thousands of dollars on something that should most definitely cost half that. OP built something strong, but wasted a lot of time and money and I guarantee it’s not outlasting our shed or any other prebuilt, especially with it sitting directly on that slab.

ProjectPatMorita t1_j1igmp4 wrote on December 24, 2022 at 5:00 PM

Yeah, nothing you're saying is wrong at all, but you're gonna get pushback just based on the nature of this subreddit.

Tuff Shed is a perfectly reputable company and OP himself said he bought lumber from the same stores the person you're replying to claims is garbage lol. And if the integrity of the build is all you're worried about with a pre-built one you could just spend a fraction of the money on reinforcing, insulating, and getting better siding.

I totally get the argument that DIY is great invaluable experience, that's fine, but there's no point pretending that projects like this aren't WAY more expensive to do yourself.

snowe2010 t1_j1o18do wrote on December 26, 2022 at 12:13 AM

Yeah, it’s pretty funny to argue like that because there’s a reason big companies make so much money. It’s because bulk discounts save a shit ton of money. Arguing OP saved money in any way is just ignoring reality. It doesn’t matter if the materials are different or not, they’re gonna last just as long. I love DIYing stuff. Like I said. We built the foundation completely by ourself. It was better than any contractor would ever build it. We were able to buy the materials in bulk so we saved a bit, probably not as much as a contractor though, but due to the hours put in I’m pretty confident we did a better job (we didn’t do it ourselves because we wanted to but because of bad planning on our part). It felt good to learn how to lay foundation properly.