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  1. ChrisNJ Feeling the Heat

    joined: Sep 25, 2009
    371 posts
    Burlington County
    So do to a lack of skills and time without the kids helping I have a almost half finished woodshed about 16x7 feet in size. I was gonna hire my carpenter friend to put a roof on it for me and finish the rest but I figure that would cost at least 300 bucks plus materials.
    Now I occasionally drive past a shed seller who also happens to have a metal carport with a sign saying " $695.00 installed". Thing looks great and I can just imagine it should be fine on the side of the house. I imagine I would just move my racks under it.
    Could there be any drawbacks to this? I can only see an upside when compared to a not so great looking shed.
    #1

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  2. chazcarr Member

    joined: Jan 22, 2012
    169 posts
    Wolcott, CT
    Only
    Only thing I can think of is have your friend finish it for $300 and save nearly $400. It can't look so bad that for under $700 a carpenter could make it look really nice. Without seeing pics of either, it is hard to tell. I have a neighbor who uses a metal carport for wood storage and it looked fine until a section of the roof rusted under the snow.
  3. Lumber-Jack Minister of Fire

    $695 installed sounds pretty cheap, I'd be a little leery about the quality of the shed and sort of install. However if you like the look of the metal shed, and are satisfied with the way he plans to install it, the only down side might be is that you still have to do something with the other half finished woodshed.
  4. Backwoods Savage Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 14, 2007
    24,170 posts
    Michigan
    $695 does sound a bit low but we don't know the size. We see $795 around here but I don't remember the size right now.

    As for those carports working for a woodshed, they work very nice. I like that the sides and ends are open so that you can store wood in there and it will still dry. A neighbor put one up and loves it.
  5. Mr A Feeling the Heat

    joined: Nov 18, 2011
    437 posts
    N. California
    Your half done, might as well finish it. Post some pics, ask some questions. I'm sure a lot of people here are ready to help with their carpentry knowledge. Who cares if turns out looking like a crooked cartoon shed, you will gain some experience and ideas to fix it, or build a better one. Trick your buddy into helping with beer and barbecued meats

  6. Stegman Feeling the Heat

    joined: Jan 4, 2011
    252 posts
    Sterling, MA
    What would you do with the half-finshed shed if you bought the carport? As someone who also has [had] limited carpentry skills, I can tell you that roofing is one of the easiest things to do. It can be hard work, but it's pretty straightforward: Toss some plywood decking on there, cover it with roofing felt and a drip edge, and then shingle.

    In the past 18 months, I've built my own shed and woodshed. I had very limited skills/knowledge, but I did a lot of research and had a lot of fun doing both. There's something to be said for building your own building. [It doesn't hurt that my brother-in-law is a carpenter who provided a lot of advice and guidance].
  7. Stegman Feeling the Heat

    joined: Jan 4, 2011
    252 posts
    Sterling, MA
    Also, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to my eyes a good old handmade woodshed will always be more pleasing to the eye than a metal carport.
    Scotty Overkill likes this.
  8. Scotty Overkill firewood hoarder

    joined: Sep 24, 2011
    6,827 posts
    central PA
    I'd finish what you got, even if you gotta pay your buddy a couple hundred bucks to do the roof. It'll look much better than a metal carport......
    Gasifier and Shane N like this.
  9. Mr A Feeling the Heat

    joined: Nov 18, 2011
    437 posts
    N. California
    Dude! Roofs are easy! Every $5 dollar. Every Stanley speed square comes with a roof cutting lesson book. The simplest roof is to make one wall shorter than than the other side. Multiply 1/4 inch by the width of the shed, thats how much shorter.
    Well, easy for me, I'm almost a retired carpenter
    dave_376 likes this.

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