One’s Not Enough, Part 1

10 Comments | Oct 27, 2015 |  Building of the Month

Spencer Gibb’s Growing Tuff Shed Infatuation.

For Spencer Gibb, Tuff Shed has become a sort of obsession. First introduced to Tuff Shed through a philanthropic project, Spencer began to see the possibilities these structures held. His Austin home had a Tuff Shed building from the previous owners used as storage and writing space complete with a window air conditioning unit and desk. After moving in, Spencer used the building solely for storage.

When he needed an office, Spencer turned to his Tuff Shed building and decided to modify it. He added wood panels to the inside walls, glass paneled doors for natural light, and a privacy fence. This basic remodel inspired Spencer to create something greater. Something like a guest house. And so he took down the wood paneling, added insulation and drywall, removed the loft, and sanded and prepared the floor.

The guesthouse remodel lit another creative spark for an even bigger Tuff Shed project. Spencer decided to add on and further remodel the existing building to create a full living space. He loved the look of the Premier Pro Studio, and felt the style provided opportunities for endless customization. He utilized multiple transom windows for a light, airy interior that reflected the design of a modern beach bungalow.

The original Tuff Shed building sat directly over the plumbing and water line, and was remodeled into the kitchen and bathroom space. The two buildings were joined together by demolishing the back wall of the original shed and half of the rear wall of the new Premier Pro Studio. The roof was specially constructed to attach both structures while allowing proper water runoff.

The vaulted ceilings and additional windows deliver a sense of spaciousness. Gibb credits his smooth process to Tim Thornton, his Sales Design Consultant in Austin. “Even when I came to him with crazy ideas for the space, he listened and found ways we could make it work.”

Follow Spencer’s unique Tuff Shed obsession throughout the next two blogs.

10 thoughts on “One’s Not Enough, Part 1

    1. Hi Rob,

      If you could email your Zip code and a good contact number to [email protected] we’ll put you in contact with a local representative to put together a quote and answer any other questions you may have. Thanks!

  1. Love this.
    How much to build this in 70119.
    Same type of doors , windows and able to put ac/heat etce.
    Thanks …for about 12 feet by 10

    1. Hi Terry,

      We think this is a great shed too! If you’d like to email a good contact number to [email protected], we’ll get you in touch with a local representative to put together a personalized quote for you. Thanks!

    2. Hi Terry,
      Just FYI, on the office building I made, that’s featured in the second part of this blog series, I had Tuff Shed put a rough-in into the wall that I measured out for wall A/C unit in so I didn’t have to waste a window. I don’t even think they charged for it, and if they did, it was minimal. Also, on the apartment in this feature, I installed a ductless mini-split A/C and heater, which are now pretty inexpensive and only require you to drill a hole in the wall about 2″ in diameter. Hope this helps.

  2. Hi Spencer,

    I posted on your office blog first, but wanted to say that I love what you have done by starting with a simple structure and using your imagination! I really like the transom windows, and the three-panel glass door on the office structure. It is like “Nana Walls” (which is a high-end glass door/wall company), but I imagine less expensive. Did you do the glass door installation yourself? I think it’s cool how they slide into the wall. Was this hard to do?

    I am in the process of looking for property, and think I might go the tuff shed route, at least for an initial living space. I don’t need much room!

    Oh, also like your simple kitchen lay-out.

    Thanks,

    Sage

  3. Also, did you make the sliding bathroom door? Very neat, and I did the exposed rail and wheels? Did you find those somewhere with recycled hardware, or buy new?

    Sorry for all the questions, but this design is helping me see some of the possibilities beyond just having a basic shed!

  4. Hi to all concerned (Sage especially!),

    First to address the Office Structure from Part 2. Thanks for the compliments on the vertical transom windows. Actually very easy to do. Just a case of “thinking outside the box”. Tuff Shed actually offer a wide selection of transom windows of different widths (and inexpensively), but not all are advertised, so just ask. I chose to mount them vertically. Easy to do if you just attach them to the 16 on Center studs, as they fit just about perfectly.

    The glass door installation was a little more tricky and yes, I did do it myself, but I worked it into the original design plans with Tim Thornton at Tuff Shed. So the structure was built allowing for the doors to be installed later. The ones I chose do slide all the way open. A mistake that I made, and to be quite honest, so did Homer at Tuff Shed (no offense intended, Homer), was that the header that was installed to support the doors was not strong enough to support the doors, even though I provided the weight, height and dimensions of the doors. It was an experiment that I know they had never done before, so I forgive. Anyway, simple fix: If you are going to copy my design, then install a stronger header at the front horizontal. This is because if you want doors all the way across, there are no supporting studs, A 2×8 at least or an LVL is needed. The latter can be expensive (around $100 for one piece of wood), but it will support the door with no sagging. Of course the problem with sagging is that the doors will stick, especially seasonally. I had to go back and fix this myself, which cost extra money, especially since I had to undo things that had already been done. So there you have it:) Talk to your Tuff Shed people in advance.

    Now to my bathroom door in the apartment from “Part 1”. I made it myself from reclaimed fence wood. Sanded, stained, sealed and laid over 3/4″ Birch Plywood. The sliding barn door rails were bought from Amazon for about $100 and are easily customizable. The door itself cost me about $30 to make as I already had wood from an old fence and then just bought stain and satin polyurethane. I make a lot of furniture and fixtures from galvanized pipe, so the door handle was about $10 to make. If you don’t have fence wood around, then use pallet wood. It’s free on Craigslist:)

    As for the kitchen, it was mostly IKEA, slightly customized by me, and all of the appliances were from Compact Appliances, who specialize in tiny house stuff. Not expensive either. I recommend calling them before you order, as the people’s there are super helpful and will give you great advice as to what products are getting the best reviews.

    I hope this helped!

    Sx

    I hope this helped!:)

    Hope this helped. Sx.

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