Having a shed moved was easier than we thought!
We have a list of things we would (like) to do with the house. Of course, all of them take money so we have to prioritize. The first thing on both my husbands and my list (thank goodness) was a shed. Our house has a storage room off of the garage that we would eventually like to turn into another room (it shares a wall with our dining room). In order to do this, we need another way to store our things.
We really do not have too much, but it does seem to add up. Holiday stuff, the kids off-season clothing, outdoor toys, and other random odds and ends. We looked a few different places, originally for a shed, but they were fairly expensive. Then came the solution… craigslist!!
Craigslist often has sheds listed for okay prices. Most were priced at about what you would pay if you put them together yourself (but you would not have to). But, you have to haul it, which seemed daunting. I had been searching on Craigslist for a few weeks and never found anything worth it (in my opinion). Then we lucked out and found a shed that was priced just a little bit more than we were planning on spending on the build it yourself kit, but, it had a full size loft (which essentially doubled our space since our holiday items can be stored up there just fine), was slightly larger, and two sides had a 2 foot wide shelf. It also happened to be a Tuff Shed, which is a great brand (and not the brand we were planning on getting due to the cost). So this is how we compared it:
- BUILD IT YOURSELF
- Size 96 square feet with a 24 square foot loft
- Cost $1099 + tax/paint/shingles ($1503)
- Extras None
- CRAIGSLIST TUFF SHED
- Size 120 square feet with an 80 square foot loft
- Cost $1500 + moving fees ($1957)
- Extras 46 square feet of built in shelf/bench space
I offered $400 less for the craigslist shed and she took it, so we ended up with the perfect shed for just a few dollars more than a smaller one we would have had to build ourselves. Plus, it is always good to “recycle”. I try to go used when I can!
Moving it was not hard. Apache towing was AMAZING. He really knew what he was doing. He set it perfectly on the foundation we set in our yard. We had to get a crane to get it out of the backyard of the family who was selling it, which made up $157 of the moving cost. You would not have that additional cost if the tow truck can access the backyard. The tow truck cost $160 plus $3/mile. This is a great option for anybody looking for a shed that cannot afford to have one built on site (or who would like to avoid building it themselves).
On to the next project!
As a matter of interest:
Years ago, we bought a shed from a private builder. When they delivered it, they didn’t know how to back their truck so that the shed would be placed in the spot I wanted it. Finally, I got them to just leave it and I would position it as needed. By jacking up the shed, putting down boards on ground under the shed, old steel water pipe and a board on top, lower shed onto the aforementioned, and used an lever to pry and move the shed, with my better half inserting wedges ahead/behind the rollers (pipe) as needed. We moved that shed forward, sideways and even skewed it a bit using this method. We have used this method to move several heavy objects in this yard.