The Ultimate Shed Tiny House
Steve Hathaway let me know about this great article called the Ultimate Shed featured in the July/August edition of Family Handyman magazine. This shed/garage is 16 x 20 and around 320 square feet. You would of course need to insulate and finish it take to make a living space out of the shed it would provide, but seems like an interesting starting point for a tiny house. Also, the availability of the the plans is a plus, even if that only takes a would-be DIY builder as far as the structure.
I also like the idea, in general, of converting outbuildings to livable spaces.
Actual photo of completed shed, more photos of the construction in the print magazine.
The basic plans are offered for free at the website as pdf files and you can download them. I’ve put a couple of screen shots of the plans below so you can get an idea what they are like. Since this shed is 320 square feet you will need to check your local requirements before building it. I think it has great possibilities and I’m sure there are many more shed/garage options out there. Please share them with me as you find them and I’ll make this a new tiny house category. I was able to check out the magazine article yesterday and if you are serious about building this shed I would recommend buying it as they detail the construction of the building with photos and descriptions that are not available on the internet. Well worth the $4 you will pay for the magazine. Here is the online magazine link.
11 Responses to “The Ultimate Shed Tiny House”
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Family Handyman magazine has free plans for a 10×14 sleeping cabin… http://www.canadianhomeworkshop.com/index.php?ci_id=3060&la_id=1&page=1
Popular Mechanics has several free shed plans. Search their site for “sheds”… http://www.popularmechanics.com/search/fast_search?search_term=sheds
Look for the Colonial Shed, the Groundskeeper Shed, and the Big Red Shed and probably others. Of course being sheds, those may not meet building code requirements for human occupation.
Sorry, the sleeping cabin is actually from Canadian Home Workshop (as the link indicates).
It might be hard to find the 3 PM plans since they no longer call them by the same names as when I first downloaded them. So, here are the direct links:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/1276231
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/sheds/1276536
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/sheds/1766661
[...] The Ultimate Shed Tiny House [...]
THanks much for posting this–I’m eager to see if it appeals to other Tiny House fans. I’m intrigued by the question of what to do with the garage door opening: picture window? french doors opening onto a porch or patio?
Actually, it’s all there: converting the garage door opening to a big beautiful picture window is all that’s needed, and, of course, cutting in a couple secondary windows (over the kitchenette sink, perhaps, another in the bed alcove?), besides the expected interior modifications (insulation, wiring, foundation/subflooring, etc.).
But structurally, it looks to be a perfect little cottage shell!
Per Frank’s suggestions/links: while you’re there, check out the GREEN SHED IDEAS! Loads of pics and ideas, on some extreme green buildings that would also spark some great tiny house dreams! Thanks for the links that got me there, Frank!
Cool design? I’m sure there are many more garage options out there.
[...] Aug I just re-read a post at the Tiny House Blog from June about The Ultimate Shed. It inspired me. I wondered what the inside of a garage/tiny house would look like. Here it [...]
Suncoast trailers have some gorgeous tiny homes on wheels…great for retirement!!!
cool sheds
-Larry