A backyard office in Portland: shed conversion for $19,478

Kyle Lambert, who has worked remotely for most of his career, has published a detailed breakdown of the backyard office he built behind his house in Portland, Oregon. The family lives in a small home, and once their baby became a toddler, daytime noise made remote calls difficult and disruptive. After briefly considering a larger house and ruling out coworking spaces, he and his wife decided to put a separate workspace on their own property instead.

Shed frame versus prefab pod

Two options fit the budget. An Autonomous.ai prefab office pod starts at $16,500, but shipping (about $5,000), assembly and a mini-split HVAC system pushed the price toward $30,000 — more than he wanted to spend given uncertainty about how long the family would stay. Converting a shed frame promised a cost of roughly $15,000–$20,000 and far more control over layout and lighting, which matters during Portland winters.

The build: foundation, frame, power and insulation

He configured a Tuff Shed Premier Pro Tall Ranch through the company's online designer, settling on 8 by 10 feet with tall ceilings, a fully glazed door, a small skylight and two large windows (6x4 ft and 4x4 ft) that he bought separately. A concrete contractor poured the pad, and the concrete needed three weeks to cure before installation could be scheduled. The prefabricated shed went up in about five hours; one window rough opening was too small and had to be reframed. Installing the windows himself with a friend saved about $700.

An electrician ran 60 amps to the shed, dug a trench, installed four outlets, LED lighting and a disconnect for the mini-split, and handled permitting. Building permits were not required in Portland because the structure fell below the size threshold, but the electrical work did need one. Lambert then filled the trench halfway and ran a ground-rated Ethernet cable to the office.

Costs and lessons

Total project cost came to $19,478: $6,148 for the Tuff Shed shell, $4,350 for electrical work and materials, $3,650 for insulation, drywall, flooring and trim installation, $2,300 for a Daikin mini-split and its installation, $2,000 for the concrete foundation, $533 for windows, $420 for flooring materials and $77 for window installation supplies. HVAC quotes ranged from $4,000 to $7,000 before he found a lower-priced contractor.

His advice: buy larger windows than the shed vendor offers, think carefully about siting and sun direction, collect multiple quotes, prefer small one-person contractors, install more outlets than you expect to need, and run hardwired Ethernet. A CO2 monitor showed that the sealed space needs ventilation. Hiring a company to handle everything, he writes, would have cost $40,000 to $50,000.