Hello, New Guy Here Need Advice

Hello all, I have been lurking around this site for a little while and decided to join. I have been wanting to build my own man cave for some time now and I am currently in the planning stages. Unfortunately, I own a small home but I do have a little bit of land. We are unable to do an addition to our house at this time but I am thinking I can afford a shed, I was thinking around 14x28. I can do the electrical side and the insulaiton, I would have to pay someone to do the dry wall. I am not sure about the shed thing though. What is the best way to heat and or cool the place? Do you leave it running all the time? I would think in the real hot days or like now (10 degrees) in the cold days you would have to run the stuff just to keep your prize possesions safe. I am hoping someone here has experience with a shed, I am really curious to see if it is a good idea. I am looking to spend probably $6000 before I even start putting my stuff in there so I want to make sure it is a wise investment. I would love to hear your opinions, thoughts...positive and negative. Some pictures would be great to if you want to post them or send them to me at, fiveonomo@yahoo.com.

Thanks everyone in advance for the help. The site is great! I look forward to meeting/talking to everyone here. Thanks.

Scott

Hey there fiveonomo. Welcome to MANCAVESITE.ORG. Lots of good people and ideas here. A request first if I may... Take a photographic journey from raw land to completed building. It will be worth it when it is done. I believe the easiest way to control the inside temp is with a programable thermostat. Set it for about 50 degrees for the time you normally go to bed and your day time temp for when you will be in it. For cooling I would do either a window a/c unit or an evaporative cooler, depending on your location on the planet. Evap coolers use a lot less electricity but they add a lot of moisture to the air. With your temperature range, your most important investment sounds like really good insulation. Just a few quick thoughts off the top. I am sure there will be some actual usefull stuff posted by others. Welcome again. Enjoy.

Thanks Luke for the reply! This is a great site packed with tons of information. I hear you on the picture thing, I will be sure to do that. I picked out a spot this am when I got off of work, it is wooded now and will need to be cleared, it is good that I have buddies with tractors. I looked at a building today, a two story barn style, however I think I want to keep it one level. Thanks for the advice on the climate control ideas, I will figure it out. I will keep you posted as I move through building my man cave. This will be a long process as we are taking our first trip to Disney this year and my wife booked some expensive stuff. Once I pay for this then I can move forward on the cave. Talk to you soon.

Any other thoughts?

Right on brother! Just keep your focus on the main objective and all will come out well. Enjoy the "Wonderful World of Disney", and then get back to work on the cave. lol.

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I put this up a few years ago 12x16 not a kit most of the mat. was free from work as we were taking down some walls . as far as insulation goes you could, it does get pretty hot in summer though, iam in WI.

Nice big shed 99, well done.

Fiveonomo, two thoughts. As much insulation as you can install. For HVAC, I'd suggest a combo window unit. I've got my cave in my 2.5 car garage w/ 10' ceilings and I bought a double 18K BTU unit from lowes that works great. I think I spent $600 on it and I'm cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Your 14X28 space is just a little smaller so it will work well for you also. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice Blake. I am still trying to decided exactly what to do. There is a possibility that we are going to put an addition onto our home, but that will be some years down the road and I am not sure how much space I would end up with anyway. Like I was saying earlier, I just want to make sure a shed is an ok way to go. Will it last? It should I guess, it is just that I am going to put all of my nice man things in it and I want them to be in a safe place. A ton of insulation and control the climate and I should be ok. I will keep you posted.

I have another question. How much should it cost me to sheetrock the inside of my shed 14X28, so I guess that is 392 sq.ft. I will do the electric, and I will hang the insulation, but I will need a sheetrock guy to come in and do that. I have no idea what this would cost. I am trying to get an overall idea of what kind of money I may be spending. Any help is appreciated. Scott

Wow, theres somebody else thinking the same thing as me! Im looking into building a 12x20 Shed with a loft. 99 do you have the plans from yours? I would probably do the same style as yours but with a treated wood floor to save some dough.

SORRY no plans built by the plans in my head just kind of went off others i had seen around....

Yeah im probably going to do the same. Ive been doing a bunch of research now its time to sketch something onto paper