We’ve all heard of tiny homes but did you know that you can convert a shed into one? The best part: it’s as easy as purchasing it from your nearest Home Depot. Many innovative homeowners are repurposing storage sheds into tiny houses for various reasons – and why not?
When you think of a shed, it’s normal to picture a tiny single-level one that goes in your backyard. But you’ll be shocked to find out that it can be much bigger than that. Partnering up with Home Depot, Tuff Shed is a building company that offers sheds of various purposes.
They’re known for their highly customizable sheds, so much so that many Tuff Shed owners utilize their buildings in different ways including storage and a permanent home to live in. The level of their customization sets them apart and you can make the building that you’ve envisioned in your mind.
What’s a Tuff Shed?
Tuff Shed is a building company that offers sheds, including the two-story Sundance TR-1600 model. The TR-1600 model looks nothing like your ordinary shed, which makes it perfect for those who want to convert it into a cozy tiny home. It may be called a shed but it’s more than just a very large garage. This model has 8-foot walls on each floor, 36-inch stairs, 6-panel residential door, and an entry door with locks and boxed eaves that resembles a real house. Potential homeowners can also add an optional front porch, complete with a deck, as well as windows, shutters, and window boxes.
All Tuff Shed models are manufactured locally with materials produced domestically for a more sustainable build. They also offer to build the home on site, which will require you to pay extra premium. However, this will allow for more customizations and to build on a foundation. Depending on the size of your model, they can deliver and set up for as little as 10 days.
The inside, while it’s still unfurnished is very spacious and mimics the look of a shrunken-down two-story home. You get to decide how many bedrooms and bathrooms your tiny home will have, as the base floorplan has no rooms implemented in the design. Additionally, you get to choose where the kitchen and living area will be and how big (or small) you want them to be. It’s a great way to customize a home based on what you prioritize.
Size of a Tuff Shed
The smallest Sundance TR-1600 model measures at around 16 feet tall, as it’s generally two stories, and 20 feet by 21 foot wide. Tuff Shed also supplies bigger, two-story sheds, which can measure around 20 by 40 feet.
Cost of a Tuff Shed
The base price of this model starts at $12,629 for an unpainted 16-foot by 20-foot shed. Prices can go up to $22,889 for a larger, unpainted shed, which measures at 18 foot by 36-foot. If you’d like the house painted when it arrives, it’s possible for a higher price point. Don’t forget to choose from 10 different sizes! Additional upgrades can cost an extra $20,000, which includes insulation and adding drywall. Bringing in plumbing and electricity, as well as hired labor, can also add to the final budget of your home.
Customization
Tuff Shed homes are fully customizable to make it your own:
- Tuff Shed offers a whopping 30 colors to paint the exterior of your home. The colors include various shades of white, blue, brown, gray, and red.
- Choose from five standard colors and three styles for your roof. There are three-tab composition shingles (standard to the shed), upgraded dimensional shingles, or a metal roof. Concerned about weather protection? Each roof type has a specific warranty to guarantee protection from winds and rain.
- Windows and doors. Windows are optional (the base model includes zero!) and you can add them at an additional cost. Choose from opening or non-opening windows, the different sizes, shutters. There’s even a skylight option to let more light into a room. While the base model includes on door, you can purchase additional ones: doors with windows, doors with windows above them, and double doors.
- Consider adding a porch to make the shed homier. The porch can be of any size and doesn’t need to run the whole perimeter of the house. There’s even an option to move the porch, and the door that leads out to it, to any wall.
Pros of a Tuff Shed
- If you can’t decide on a design, the main structure is already there for you. it’s good for those who aren’t too specific in their floor plan design and just want a simple structure for their tiny home.
- Fully customizable. From color to porches, there are so many things that you can add to your shed to make it truly yours.
- Despite the added options, this customized shed will still be significantly less than the average cost of a traditional home or even building a tiny home from scratch.
Cons of a Tuff Shed
- Time-consuming. Completing a liveable Tuff Shed can take a bit of patience and hard work. From all the customizations, utility plug-ins, and interior designing, you’ll want a break from all the decision making!
- Lack of exterior diversity. While you can choose the paint of your home, there’s only so much customization they can do with the windows, doors and other details.
- Customer service. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to talk to someone when building your home. The only source of customer service are the people at Home Depot.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking to downsize in an affordable manner, the TR-1600 model from Tuff Shed’s Sundance Series could be the suitable home for you. When you’re not too fussed on your tiny home’s structure, the TR-1600’s straightforward layout will give you the simplicity that you’re after. It’s abundance of customization options are also good to differentiate the home and make it personal to you. Most importantly, the build itself is sturdy made from quality materials that’s worthy of a home and not just a tiny shed.
