Decks and outdoor structures
Shed cost
A 10 × 12 shed built on site costs about $6,817 on a gravel pad, painted — or $3,701 if you build it yourself from $3,059 of materials. A wood kit assembled is about $5,198, a prebuilt shed delivered $6,304. Built on site, every stud, sheet and bundle is counted below; the base is its own line whichever way you go.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-28 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Shed cost and materials calculator
The shed, its base and who builds it
Built on site, every stud, sheet and bundle is counted and priced. A kit, a prebuilt shed or a pole shed is priced by the square foot.
Common: 8x8, 8x10, 10x10, 10x12.
120 sq ft.
Framed on site from lumber: floor on skids, stud walls, T1-11 siding, a gable roof with shingles.
Base rock compacted inside a treated timber frame, a foot bigger than the shed all round.
6.4 ft rafters.
Primer and two coats.
No power.
A builder or installer.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
10 × 12 ft shed, built on site
$6,817
$57 a square foot · $4,676–$10,041
1.9 squares of roof, 377 sq ft of siding
Every material line below is counted from the size and the pitch, with 10% for cuts.
Before anything is ordered
Check the setbacks.
The model code exempts a storage shed up to 200 sq ft from a building permit; many towns draw the line at 120. Setbacks from the lot lines apply at any size.
Four ways to get it
10 × 12 ft on a gravel pad, hired.
Materials list
- Treated 2 × 6 floor joists and rims
10 joists at 16 in centers across 10 ft, and two rim joists.137 lin ft · $185 - Treated 4 × 6 skids
3 runners the length of the shed, rated for ground contact.36 lin ft · $122 - 3/4 in floor sheets
Tongue-and-groove plywood or OSB, glued and screwed.5 sheets · $300 - 2 × 4 precut studs
16 in centers round 44 ft of wall, corners, and kings and jacks at each opening.50 studs · $225 - 2 × 4 × 12 ft plates
A bottom plate and a doubled top plate.13 boards · $104 - T1-11 siding, 4 × 8
377 sq ft of walls and gables; the door is cut from the same sheets.13 sheets · $780 - 2 × 6 rafters and ridge
14 rafters of 6.4 ft at 24 in centers, with a 9 in overhang, and the ridge board.112 lin ft · $118 - 7/16 in roof OSB
174 sq ft of roof deck.6 sheets · $120 - Architectural shingles
6 bundles at 3 to the square.1.9 squares · $257 - Synthetic underlayment
10 squares a roll.1 roll · $115 - Drip edge
Along the eaves and up the rakes, 10 ft pieces.6 pieces · $78 - Ridge cap and starter
Ridge cap over the peak; starter strip along both eaves.2 bundles · $116 - Shed door
A prehung double door, or hinges, hasp and trim for one built from the siding.1 door · $300 - Windows
A small shed window, framed in.1 window · $120 - Nails, screws, hangers, hurricane ties
Priced per square foot of floor.120 sq ft · $120 - Carpentry
Framing, siding, roofing and hanging the door.$2,160 - Crusher run / base rock (ABC), 5 in compacted
168 sq ft pad, 1 ft past the shed on every side, with delivery.5 tons · $260 - Treated 2 × 6 pad frame
Two boards high round the pad, staked.104 lin ft · $140 - Excavate, level and compact
Sod stripped, ground leveled, rock placed and compacted in lifts.168 sq ft · $504 - Primer, paint and painting
377 sq ft of siding, a coat of primer and two of acrylic.$693
What it costs
National average. A 10 × 12 ft shed, built on site, on gravel pad, painted. Not included: shelving, a ramp, moving what is stored in it.
The pitch in rise over run, on the roof pitch calculator; the base rock, on the gravel calculator; the slab, on the concrete slab calculator.
Worth knowing
- Built on site, the materials are $3,059 — 50 studs, 13 sheets of T1-11, 6 of roof OSB, 1.9 squares of shingles — and the carpentry $2,160. Every quantity carries 10% for cuts and mistakes.
- At 120 sq ft it is within the 120 sq ft line most towns use for a permit — but setbacks from the lot lines, easements and HOA rules still apply.
On this page — 5 sections
Four ways to get a shed
The short version
- 10 × 12 built on site: $6,817. $3,701 yourself.
- Wood kit assembled: $5,198. Metal $2,704.
- Prebuilt, delivered: $6,304.
- The base is its own line: $904 for a gravel pad.
A kit arrives in boxes and is assembled on your base — by you or an installer. A prebuilt shed arrives whole on a truck. A shed built on site is framed from lumber like a small house, and it is the only one whose price can be counted piece by piece. A pole shed sets treated posts in the ground and hangs steel on them, which pays off only when the building is big.
| 10 × 12, gravel pad | Per sq ft | |
|---|---|---|
| Kit, wood, assembled | $5,198 | $43 |
| Prebuilt, delivered | $6,304 | $53 |
| Built on site | $6,817 | $57 |
| Pole shed (post-frame) | $13,404 | $112 |
$6,817
Built on site
10 × 12, hired
$3,701
Built yourself
60 hours
$5,198
Wood kit
Assembled
$14,320
16 × 20
Built on site
MaterialsEstimator, Storage shed price survey — kits, prebuilt, site-built and post-frame · checked 2026-09-28
The materials list
Built on site, a shed is a floor on skids, stud walls sheathed in T1-11, and a gable roof of rafters at 24 in centers, OSB and shingles. For a 10 × 12 with a 6/12 roof, every quantity below is counted from the size and the pitch, with 10% for cuts:
| Quantity | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Treated 2 × 6 floor joists and rims | 137 lin ft | $185 |
| Treated 4 × 6 skids | 36 lin ft | $122 |
| 3/4 in floor sheets | 5 sheets | $300 |
| 2 × 4 precut studs | 50 studs | $225 |
| 2 × 4 × 12 ft plates | 13 boards | $104 |
| T1-11 siding, 4 × 8 | 13 sheets | $780 |
| 2 × 6 rafters and ridge | 112 lin ft | $118 |
| 7/16 in roof OSB | 6 sheets | $120 |
| Architectural shingles | 1.9 squares | $257 |
| Synthetic underlayment | 1 roll | $115 |
| Drip edge | 6 pieces | $78 |
| Ridge cap and starter | 2 bundles | $116 |
| Shed door | 1 door | $300 |
| Windows | 1 window | $120 |
| Nails, screws, hangers, hurricane ties | 120 sq ft | $120 |
The roof is 174 sq ft — more than the floor, because of the overhang and the pitch. The siding is 377 sq ft of walls and gables, and the door is cut from the same sheets. Treated lumber goes only where it touches the ground: the skids and the floor frame.
MaterialsEstimator, Decking, framing and railing price survey · checked 2026-09-16
MaterialsEstimator, Roofing price survey · checked 2026-09-16
The base under it
| 10 × 12 shed | Base alone | |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete blocks | $6,021 | $108 |
| Gravel pad | $6,817 | $904 |
| Concrete slab | $7,206 | $1,901 |
Every shed needs a level base, and most installers will not set a kit or a prebuilt shed without one. Blocks are cheapest and fine on ground that drains. A gravel pad — base rock compacted inside a treated frame, a foot bigger than the shed — keeps the skids dry and the floor level for decades. A slab is for a workshop, a heavy mower or a pole shed floor; on a slab the wooden floor frame goes away.
MaterialsEstimator, Delivered aggregate price survey · checked 2026-09-16
Permits and setbacks
The model building code exempts a one-story detached storage shed up to 200 sq ft from a building permit. Many towns use a smaller line, often 120 sq ft, and every town applies its zoning: setbacks from the lot lines, easements and height limits apply to a shed of any size. HOAs add their own rules on size, color and where it may stand.
International Code Council, IRC R105.2 — Work exempt from permit (2021) · checked 2026-09-28
What goes wrong
Before ordering
- Setbacks and the permit threshold checked with the town.
- The base built and level before delivery day.
- A clear path for the truck, if it is prebuilt.
- Door wide enough for the mower.
- Treated lumber wherever wood touches the ground.
01Setting it straight on the grass
The skids rot and the floor goes out of level.
Instead — Blocks or a gravel pad.
02A low roof with shingles
Below 4/12 water backs up under them.
Instead — 6/12, or metal on a flat roof.
03Buying for today's mower
Every shed fills.
Instead — The next size up.
04Skipping the paint on T1-11
Bare plywood siding weathers in a few years.
Instead — Primer and two coats, and keep it off the ground.
- 01Check the rulesSetbacks, HOA rules, and whether the size needs a permit in your town.
- 02Pick the sizeWidth and depth; add a foot all round for a gravel pad.
- 03Choose how it is builtKit, prebuilt, built on site or post-frame.
- 04Choose the baseBlocks on ground that drains, a gravel pad, or a slab for a workshop.
- 05Count the materialsBuilt on site: joists, floor sheets, studs, plates, siding, rafters, roof deck, shingles.
- 06Add paint and powerPrimer and two coats on wood; a trenched feed if it needs light.
Tons of base rock for the pad, with the compaction and delivery counted.
The base rock- Skids
- Treated timbers the shed floor sits on, rated for ground contact. They let a shed be moved and keep the floor off the ground.
- T1-11
- Grooved plywood siding in 4 × 8 ft sheets that is also the wall sheathing — the standard shed siding.
- Gravel pad
- Compacted base rock inside a treated frame, a foot bigger than the shed on each side, so water drains away from the skids.
- Pitch
- The roof's rise in inches per foot of run. 6/12 is common; below 4/12 shingles need a doubled underlayment.
- Square
- 100 sq ft of roof — three bundles of shingles.
- Post-frame
- A pole shed: treated posts set in the ground carry trusses and steel roofing and siding, with no stud walls.
- Prebuilt
- A shed built in a yard and delivered whole on a tilt-bed truck.
- Setback
- The distance zoning requires between a building and the lot lines — it applies to sheds of any size.
Common questions
- How much does a shed cost?
- About $6,817 for a 10 × 12 shed built on site on a gravel pad, painted, with a door and a window — $57 a square foot. A wood kit assembled is about $5,198, a metal kit $2,704, and a prebuilt shed delivered $6,304, all on the same base.
- How much does it cost to build a shed yourself?
- About $3,701 for a 10 × 12: $3,059 of lumber, sheets, shingles and a door, $400 for a gravel pad you level and fill yourself, and $241 of primer and paint — about 60 hours with a helper. Hiring the carpentry adds about $2,160.
- How much does it cost to build a 10 × 12 shed?
- About $6,817 hired and $3,701 yourself, on a gravel pad. On concrete blocks it is $6,021; on a slab, $7,206.
- What materials do I need for a 10 × 12 shed?
- With a 6/12 roof: 137 ft of treated 2 × 6 floor joists, 36 ft of 4 × 6 skids, 5 floor sheets, 50 studs, 13 plates of 12 ft, 13 sheets of T1-11, 112 ft of 2 × 6 rafters and ridge, 6 sheets of roof OSB and 1.9 squares of shingles — $3,059 with a door, a window and fasteners, 10% waste included.
- How much does a 12 × 16 or 16 × 20 shed cost?
- About $9,663 for 12 × 16 and $14,320 for 16 × 20, built on site on a gravel pad with the permit most towns ask for at that size. Building the 16 × 20 yourself is about $6,604.
- How much does shed installation cost?
- Assembling a kit costs about $5 a square foot with a minimum near $600 — a 10 × 12 wood kit is $600 to put together. The kit and the base are extra: $5,198 in all on a gravel pad, or $3,641 if you assemble it yourself.
- How much does a gravel base for a shed cost?
- About $904 for a 10 × 12 shed: a 12 × 14 ft pad of compacted base rock, 5 tons delivered, inside a treated frame, with the ground leveled. Concrete blocks under the skids are $108; a 4 in slab with a thickened edge, $1,901.
- How much does a pole shed cost per square foot?
- About $22 a square foot enclosed and roofed, before the floor: a 24 × 30 pole shed on a gravel floor is about $19,672 and a 30 × 40, $32,344. Below about 24 × 24 most post-frame builders charge a minimum of around $12,500.
- How much does a resin or plastic shed cost?
- About $2,121 for an 8 × 10 resin kit on blocks, assembled — $18 a square foot for the kit. Resin tops out around 8 × 12; past that, wood or metal.
- Do I need a permit for a shed?
- Under the model building code, a one-story storage shed up to 200 sq ft needs no building permit — but many towns set the line at 120 sq ft, and zoning setbacks apply at any size. Running power to it needs an electrical permit either way.
- Is it cheaper to build or buy a shed?
- To build it yourself, by far: $3,701 for a 10 × 12 against $5,198 for a wood kit assembled and $6,304 prebuilt. Hired, building on site ($6,817) costs more than a kit but gives a heavier frame and a real roof.
- How much does it cost to run electricity to a shed?
- About $1,500: a trenched cable from the house panel, a circuit or small subpanel, a light and two GFCI outlets. It is often the biggest single extra on a small shed.
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About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
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