In Family Handyman‘s series DIY Diaries, real DIYers share the projects they’re most proud of. They recount the full story—from laying out the initial plans and wrestling with frustrating setbacks to celebrating their proudest moments. These candid accounts reveal the true ins and outs of DIY, and will leave you with practical tips that’ll give you the confidence to conquer your next build.
Family Handyman reader Scott McDermott’s DIY Diaries project is a fantastic shed transformation that serves as a testament to what can be accomplished with a simple framework and a vision. McDermott explains that the entire project came about when “one of my friends, Dan Michels, who is an architect, was visiting from out of town.” The two were walking around the property and discussing the possibility of adding on an office space when “we came to the old dilapidated shed, which was built in the 1940s.”
According to McDermott, “when Dan stepped inside, he really had an immediate vision of what the space could become.” McDermott explains, “I have that ability with gardens, but Dan has that ability with homes and structures. He was really the one who inspired me to take on this project.”
The Project Stages
What was the inspiration for this project?
When it comes to starting a project, McDermott gets a lot of his inspiration from “magazines, sometimes Instagram, Pinterest, old books, and other homes I have visited.” If he sees something he likes, he saves it. “I always start with idea boards to develop a vision,” he says. As far as this shed transformation goes, the goal “was to create a truly enjoyable space to work in; somewhere that I wanted to go.”
McDermott is a landscape designer, so he was looking to create his ideal workspace. “A quiet space where I can sit down for hours at a time and focus on work, separate from my home, away from all the normal distractions,” he said of his dream office. When it came to the overall feel of the space, he wanted it “to have a very minimalist vibe, comfortable and simple.”
Walk me through the stages of this shed transformation
McDermott’s shed transformation took roughly one year from planning to finishing since, in his words, “I was chipping away at it whenever I had time to spare.” Step one was the planning and design process, which McDermott says Michels, his architect friend, helped with. Michels “put together a basic floor plan with suggestions for things like new door placements and the addition of skylights and a wood stove.” Once the plans were in place, McDermott turned to his wife’s uncle, Kyle Engle, “to evaluate the existing framing of the structure, adding to it where needed.”
He and Engle “did all of the new framing work, insulating work (with rock wool), putting a new roof on, adding skylights, a new full glass door, new hickory flooring, drywall, restoring the original windows, and painting.” McDermott brought in professionals for one step: “I hired an electrician to re-wire the structure, add a ceiling fan, new pendant lights, and bring it up to code.”
Did you run into any setbacks?
When you’re starting with an old structure, you’re bound to run into some setbacks. Given that this shed was built sometime in the 1940s, “nothing was straight anymore,” McDermott says, “and the roof had a slight lean to it, so when we went to do anything, it was a challenge because nothing was square.” This means pretty much “everything had to be custom-cut – the flooring, the roof, even the insulation didn’t fit into the old studs, so I had to cut each piece.” The other major setback was “permitting and waiting for permits to clear in between the various stages of the project.”
Was there an aspect of this shed transformation that intimidated you until you tried it?
McDermott says that framing was initially intimidating, but Engle taught him how to do it. “You just have to make the right measurements, follow the right spacing, and it’s not that hard,” he says, “especially when you have a good chop saw and a framing nailer.”
Did you use any budgeting hacks on this project?
McDermott was clever with the project’s budget. “[I] used Facebook Marketplace to find some really nice Hickory flooring, which someone had leftover from a larger project,” he shares. He also used the marketplace “to furnish the space with all second-hand furniture.” When it came to other materials, he looked through the remnants of the original shed and “opted to save anything that I could from the original structure, including the original ceiling, original windows (which I restored), original siding, and one of the original doors.”
But perhaps “one of the biggest cost savings was the insulation.” Initially, McDermott was going to go with spray foam, but that would have cost $5,000-6,000. “Instead, I was able to insulate the entire space with rock wool for just over a thousand,” he shares.
Was there a specific moment where you felt most proud?
“The first time I was able to light a fire in my new office, and actually work out there was pretty special,” McDermott says. “Knowing that I had built it all myself was all the more rewarding.”
If you could have a do-over on this, what’s one thing you’d change?
McDermott’s main “do-over” concerns timing. “If I could go back in time, I would have started this project years ago! I didn’t realize how much use I was going to get out of it.”
Advice to Aspiring DIYers
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone before they start a similar project?
“If there’s one piece of advice I can give, it’s take it slow and do it right,” McDermott begins. “I didn’t rush this project, and as a result, I have no regrets.”
If you’re looking for inspiration or to learn, he recommends YouTube. “It’s amazing how much you can learn by watching a few short videos.” If talking directly to people is more your speed, you can follow in the footsteps of his uncle, who “used to stand in the aisle at Home Depot and just ask the people working there a million questions.” He says that “those people have a lot of built-up knowledge.”
What’s next for you?
Next up for McDermott? “Installing cobblestones in my driveway.”
Do you have a DIY project you’d like featured on Family Handyman? Email us your project at fhmfranchises@tmbi.com.
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