When I bought the intriguing 75 year old house with no garage, I wasn't worried. I figured I could recruit a friend to put up one of those wood sheds pretty easily. Hmmm, wasn't quite as simple as I thought.

First you have to contact the city to find out the zoning requirements. Turns out our yard was a bit small so I had to be careful not to build to close too the lot line. I was also limited on the size of the shed I put up. The nice part was, if I kept it within certain guidelines, a permit was not required. That's one of those terrific, but often hidden, ways to save money!

Then I went shopping, only to discover buying a pre-built anything was quite expensive! Even at inexpensive places like Lowe's or Home Depot, it was pricey enough to be beyond my budget! We're talking one - ten thousand dollars, depending on how fancy I got! Yikes!

That meant I needed to look at shed kits or do it yourself from scratch. After a lot of research, I still haven't put up anything on my half of the lot. My enterprising tenant has been more ambitious than me, with my blessing. He figured out his own shed plans and built one of the nicer wood sheds that I've seen. It's not finished, but it's solid and very usable.

It would have been much easier and quicker, though, if he'd used one of the shed kits I've spotted online since. (Have you ever noticed that when you get pregnant, everyone in the world gets pregnant? Or when you dye your hair blond or black, everyone else does the same? I've discovered the same thing happens with woodworking projects. When you - or your tenant - builds a shed, you start spotting sheds and shed kits everywhere, including the internet! :) )

Some of the kits come complete with all that you need. You even have your choice of wood, metal or vinyl. I like the idea of metal sheds and the vinyl storage sheds look nice as well. I would think there is less maintenance involved with either of those options. Not only that, metal sheds tend to be less expensive. My budget definitely likes that idea!

Of course, his way of doing it all himself, from scratch, was probably the least expensive. All he had to do was go online, order a set of plans for a wood shed, and then follow the directions. Pretty easy if you know some construction! I'm afraid I don't but I'm blessed to be surrounded by several friends who do!

Hmmm, I think I'll have have a chat with him and see if he wants to build another wood shed on my side of the fence! Or maybe I'll give the metal sheds a try. Then again, we might strike up a compromise. I'll order the metal shed kit online, have it delivered, saving me time, trouble, and having to figure out how to cart it home. Then I'll see if he would assemble if for me. It'll be a lot faster and easier then doing it from scratch which I know will make him happy. And it'll save me money, which will make me happy.

How about you? Have you built your own shed? How did it turn out? What did you use? I'd love to hear.