Attached Shed

Stefanie wrote in, looking for information on build a shed that will attach to the side of her house.

While attached sheds aren’t quite few and far between, they’re not nearly as popular as their free-standing cousins. Attached sheds save space and can be fast and easy to build, requiring that you only build three walls and a single sloped roof (depending on your design, of course). And just as importantly, electric service can be quickly hooked up, without the need for messy, time-consuming trenching.

There are some important considerations with attached sheds, namely that when you tack something onto the main structure of your house, it may become part of your house from two key perspectives: insurance and taxes. This is a permanent improvement to your structure in the eyes of the law ... so get ready to fork over the extra bucks the next time you’re reassessed.

Depending on your municipality, you might need to have an architect draw up a quick plan for your addition. Some towns will allow you to draw the plans yourself. You might want to look for a ready-made attached shed plan ... while these aren’t as common as free-standing shed plans, they’re out there.