# Metal Shed vs Wood shed for shop



## davester84 (Aug 28, 2012)

Hi guys, 
I am tired of having to share my workspace in the garage with my wife's car, so I am looking into getting a 12' x 24' portable shed in the backyard. 
I like the prices of the metal sheds, but like the look of the wood sheds.
I am wanting to fully insulate it and air condition it. The metal shed still has wood framing on the inside just like the wood shed. The only difference is the outside panels (metal or wood). 
The price difference is about $1000. ($4000 for metal & $5000 for wood).
My concern is insulation and cooling. I live in florida and it gets super hot. I am wondering if the metal shed will stay cool enough after insulating it with a window ac unit.
Also, does anyone have any reason to do one or the other? The only differences that I can determine are just the way it will look on the outside.

Here are sample pics of the 2.

Any and all input appreciated.
Thanks!
Dave


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

4-5 grand seems really high for 12x24.....


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## davester84 (Aug 28, 2012)

ryan50hrl said:


> 4-5 grand seems really high for 12x24.....


That price seems about average around here. I have checked around and they are all falling in that price range. Keep in mind that these prices are for sheds that are assembled on site by the company selling them...not me.
Unfortunately I am not experienced enough to build one myself nor do I have the time.

I'd defidently like something cheaper...money (lack there of) is tight.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Missed that part about built.... Thought that was just materials.


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## Oakwerks (Mar 24, 2013)

I put a 16 x 24 wood building behind the house for my shop.... I'm pushing 70, and wasn't interested in stick building one....

This one is made by Graceland.... It's all pressure treated, steel roof, and built to hurricane specs....
It was $6900 delivered and set up.... I insulated the ceiling with 15 inches of fiberglass, and r13 in the walls....
Paid for adding a house door and 3 extra windows....


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## davester84 (Aug 28, 2012)

would love to see some inside photos. Does this have a loft?
thanks for sharing!


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## Oakwerks (Mar 24, 2013)

davester84 said:


> would love to see some inside photos. Does this have a loft?
> thanks for sharing!


No, 8 foot ceilings with roof trusses.....
Not fancy by any means.... I used luan for the walls attached with brads... I wanted to be able to remove a panel to access the wiring, and add A/C in the future.... 
The ceiling is vinyl soffit material.... Ceiling fans, a power drop fished down through the center fan for the TS....
100 amp service, 120/240 power...


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The metal building will last 30 years without any maintenance. The wood building will need to be painted every few years. If they were insulated either would be able to air condition. My shop is metal and it just has the vinyl faced metal building insulation on it and you can't feel heat coming through the metal in summer in texas. If it was finished out on the inside it would be so much the better.


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## davester84 (Aug 28, 2012)

I found a couple of companies about 1 & 1/2 hours away that said they would come build a wood shed on site and they are giving me prices around $4000 for a 12x20 wood shed. So I think I might be going this route. Their sheds look good on their website....so sometime in the next few weeks I will try to go visit them in person to check them out and hopefully get something schedule for installation.

One thing I was wondering about is flooring....this will be a wood flooring. Should I have them insulate the floor when they build it? I plan on doing all of the rest of the insulation myself, but dont see how I could do the floor easily after it is built. Also, anything that I could put down on the plywood floor to make it more pleasing to the eye? I was wondering if a laminate or roll out paint of some sort would work? I like the rollout epoxy stuff for garages, but it is meant for concrete and probably wouldnt work well for wood?
Thanks


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Those metal buildings have very, very thin walls. I have a 10x12 in my back yard just for storage. I had only had it for a few days when a heavy piece of wood fell and tore a hole in the side.

You also have to look at the ceiling height very carefully. It is very low in most of the wood or metal buildings.

George


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If you're going to leave the building where air can blow under it then you should probably insulate under the floor. If you put some kind of underpinning around the building then you could probably skip it. There is no insulation under a pier and beam house. As far as the flooring, I like a rubber floor called Konecto. It comes in pieces about the size of a roofing shingles with sticky tabs already on it. You just piece them together without gluing them to the floor. The stuff is practically indestructible. Our Wal-Mart uses it on the floor in their clothing department and it's been there for at least 10 years and it's still in really good condition.


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## Oakwerks (Mar 24, 2013)

Steve.... How much is that rubber flooring.... Mine is PT plywood with 3 coats of poly...

Gets pretty hard after 5-6 hours on my feet....


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Oakwerks said:


> Steve.... How much is that rubber flooring.... Mine is PT plywood with 3 coats of poly...
> 
> Gets pretty hard after 5-6 hours on my feet....


 Actually looking into it again it's vinyl but it feels more like rubber to walk on. I put it in my brother-in-laws kitchen a few years ago. It was the easiest stuff to install I every worked with. As far as the current price my internet isn't working very well this morning. The only place I could find that gave a price was $4.00 sf. I know it could be found cheaper. There is also different brands. Lowes sells a similar product but I don't know the name of theirs.

If you didn't mind the appearance tractor supply sells rubber sheets about 3'x5' made for horse stalls. It's about 1/2" thick. That would even be easier on the feet. I've never priced it though.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I have both types of sheds. When I bought this house I installed two 10'x12' metal sheds from Sears. They were set up 2' apart, one was a north side, and one was the south side.

During hurricane Wilma, the storm tore the whole shell of the shed including the roof completely off the foundation and just took it away, leaving the contents of the shed. 
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In the above picture you can see the metal shed to the left still intact. So, I stick built a new shed to the existing foundation.
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The new structure worked out very well.
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That was 8 years ago, and the shed needs some renovating. I used T-111 and there is some rot at the bottom edges. I feel wood sheds can be more sturdy, but there is some maintenance that will be necessary. For the shear flimsiness of the metal sheds, plywood could be added to the interior walls for protection. If I were to go with a metal shed, I would definitely clad the interior. Wood sheds are cooler, depending on what is used for a roof, and the ventilation provided.



















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