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Prefabricated sheds are like kits in that they also come with the dreaded two words "Assembly Required." However, the main advantage prefabs have is that many models can be modified at the store (typically doors and windows can be relocated) before ordering to suit a homeowner's needs. Most prefab sheds are made of wood, so they have the solid, traditional feel of a small home.

Instant gratification doesn't come with a prefab shed because it has to be ordered, and delivery can take a few weeks. When it arrives, it still has to be built.

The time it takes a homeowner to put together a prefab depends a lot on what a store means by "prefab." Eline says, "84 Lumber stocks prefab models in which the floor joists, wall studs and rafters are pre-cut to length and joined together with metal gussets. In addition, the siding, roofing material and doors are preassembled. Then, there are prefab sheds that are nothing more than a stack of stock-size limber, along with an over-photocopied sheet of directions."

The saving grace for many homeowners is that stores often include in the price the construction of a prefab on site. This doesn't necessarily push the price into a prohibitive range. Heartland Industries (through Lowe's) offers a basic 8-by-8-foot prefab for about $1,000 installed, while its top-end, fancier, barn-shaped 12-by-20-foot Country Manor runs about $4,000 built on site.

However, there is still the question of quality. With prefab sheds -- and kits, for that matter -- there are good ones and bad ones, Eline says. "What I mean is, inside of the components sent from the factory, how many of the boards are usable?" he explains.

"As a former builder of prepacked structures, I have seen good wood mixed in with poor quality lumber."

Custom built

If a kit or prefab shed isn't amenable to your landscape design, but a perfect design online (and you'll find a ton of them if you search under "garden shed plans") has caught your eye, then you need to choose a custom-built project. And if your skills with a hammer and saw fall under the category of "Risky Business," you probably will need to call in an expert.

Such trained carpenters can not only transform the hieroglyphics of a building plan into the reality of a garden shed, but they often include their time-tested techniques and skills to help make it a better building. For instance, for a sturdier frame, Eline places his wall studs 16 inches on center, while many kits and prefabs come 24 inches on center. In addition, he prefers to use a high-grade spruce, and he chooses the lumber himself. "In the case of All Build Sheds, the project begins with an on-site review of the projected build area, " he says.

For competent carpenters, even detailed plans aren't a complete necessity. Eline says, "We have built sheds from blueprints as well as rough drawn, penciled drafts, photos and magazine pictures. We have also done smaller scale duplicates of existing homes."

One would think that such expertise comes at a high price. Well, it depends.

More elaborate designs will often cost more. But surprisingly, a basic structure built by a trained carpenter won't necessarily break the bank.

Eline's company has a basic 8-by-8-foot design that costs $1,200 installed. On the high end, he offers a 12-by-24-foot model that he can build for about $6,000.

Do-it-yourself

There are, of course, people who don't always see the easiest way as the best way to do something. John Taggart is just such an individual. When he decided to build a garden shed himself, he did -- and it took him nine years to do it. Taggart readily admits, "I wasn't in a big hurry."

Plus, there is the fact that Taggart's garden shed is not your regular, run-of-the-mill garden shed. In 1995, when the lot for his new house in Stone Falls Trail was being cleared, he didn't want all of the large trees that were being cut down to go to waste, so he had the logs stacked on the side of his yard. A year later, a friend suggested he could use the logs to build a timber frame building. Although he didn't have a clue how to build one, Taggart liked the idea and proceeded to get himself a hands-on education.

He found a sawyer who cut the logs into beams and planks, and then he left the wood to dry for a few years. Taggart wisely used the time learning the time-tested art of mortise and tenon joinery. After having the beams planed and a stone foundation built, Taggart hired professional timber framer Peter Bull to help him do the joinery work.

In June 2003, Taggart invited 70 of his friends over for a "shed raising," and by the next winter, he and his wife raised the rafters and, with a bit of professional help, installed the roof.

Taggart is now the proud possessor of a very sturdy, 16-by-18-foot garden shed.

He admits, "It's over-engineered," but says, "When the next hurricane hits, that's where I will be!" Perhaps more important -- and this is something for all handyman wannabes to consider -- he also has something else, as he notes, "When I started the project, my carpentry skills were nonexistent. Now I consider myself a decent amateur."

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