Explore Our Portable Building Styles

Portable Buildings by Woodtex
How do you store your outdoor tools and equipment? You can stash those items in a garage, but then you have nowhere to park your car. Or you could put tools and equipment under a temporary structure, such as a tent or tarp, but those structures aren’t designed to stand up to storms and other rough weather.

Portable buildings give you additional storage space for those items that you don’t want to keep in your home but that you also don’t want to expose to the elements. But portable buildings aren’t just for storage. They have several other uses, too.

What Are Portable Buildings?
Portable buildings, also sometimes called sheds, are freestanding structures, often made of wood. You’ll often find the buildings in backyards. Some of the buildings are designed to match the style of the main house, imitating the color and features of the primary residence.

While some sheds or portable buildings can be on display or in full view of anyone who might pass by the yard, others are meant to blend into their surroundings. They might have a simpler style or be positioned behind the main house so that they aren’t easily spotted from the street or front yard.

Common Features of Portable Buildings
In some ways, portable buildings are very much like any other structure. They have several features you might expect to find in any building. Those features include:

1. Doors
   You can choose from a range of different styles of door when designing and purchasing a portable building. The classic “shed door,” either a single or double, is one option. “Shed doors” are made of solid wood and have visible black hinges and a wooden frame with a contrasting color. Other door options include a garage door, a fiberglass door with windows and garden doors, often with transom windows.
2. Windows 
   Speaking of windows, those are often another feature found on sheds, although not every portable building has windows. Windows can range in size from small to large. They can be transom windows along the top edge of the building or a double-hinged, openable style next to the building’s door.
3. Roof 
   Roof styles vary based on the type of building. Gable roofs, with steeply sloping sides, are a popular option. Another pick is a gambrel roof, which also slopes, but has two separate angles on each side.
4. Shutters 
   Shutters aren’t on every type of portable building. They are often an add-on feature for buildings that have windows.
5. Flower Boxes
   A purely aesthetic feature, flower boxes, attached underneath the building’s windows, can help to improve its style and appearance of any portable building.
6. Ramps 
   Since some buildings are used to store lawn mowers or other wheeled vehicles, movable ramps make it easy to get them in and out.

Uses for Portable Buildings
Although the first thing you think of when you think of portable buildings might be additional or outdoor storage, the structures have many more potential uses.

• Potting Shed 
  A small structure can serve as the ideal location for preparing your containers and for getting plants ready for the garden. It can also act as storage for your garden supplies.
• Kids’ Playhouse / Hang-out 
  A portable building, especially one with plenty of windows and maybe even a porch, can be a fun “treehouse” or hang-out area for children. For teens, it can be a place to go for some privacy.
• Separate Home Office
  If you work at home or run a small business, you can use a portable building as a separate home office or workspace.
• Guesthouse
  While you’ll probably want to add a few touches to make a portable building a comfortable place to sleep, it can serve as a guesthouse for overnight visitors.
• Pool House / Changing Area
  If your building is next to your swimming pool, it can serve as a place for people to change into their suits and to store their belonging while going for a dip.

Choosing a Portable Building
What should you look for when choosing a building? The answer depends on your needs, but there are a few details to consider.

• Size 
  Buildings come in a range of sizes, from a relatively tiny 8-foot by 8-foot structure to considerably more massive 14-foot by 28-foot buildings. An 8-by-8-foot shed can be ideal if you just need to store a few items or are looking for a playhouse for your kids. But if you’re going to be using the building as a separate office or are going to store mowers, snow blowers and other heavy-duty yard and lawn equipment, you’re going to want a bigger space.
• Shape and style 
  Many portable buildings are either square or rectangular, but some do have cut-out areas for a porch or the option of adding dormer windows to the roof.
• Color options
  The color of your building depends on your taste preferences and whether you want it to stand out or blend in. Many styles let you pick the color of the walls, as well as the color of any trim or accents.
• Materials
  Wood is often the material of choice for portable buildings, but there are models made from plastic or metal.
• Your Area’s Climate 
  One last thing to think about when choosing a building is the type of weather or the climate of the area you live in. If you’re in the dry west or south, you aren’t likely to need features like gutters. But if your area regularly experiences snow or rain, you’re going to want those gutters to whisk water away from the structure.

When it comes down to it, you’re able to customize a portable building to meet your needs. Whether you’re looking for a small amount of additional storage space or are looking for a structure to work or play in, there’s a portable building that’s just right for you.

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According to organizer pros, only 25% of homeowners are able to park their car in the garage due to other things cluttering the garage! In addition, one in four report feeling embarrassed by how their garage looks, and they try to keep the door closed so no one can see the mess.

The average car costs $33,500 – one of the biggest purchases you’ll make. Sadly, many of us are forced to park our cars outdoors instead of parking them in the garage because our garages are full of clutter. Parking your car in the garage has a lot of benefits, here are a few:

• Protects your car from sun, acid rain, and bird droppings 
  All of these things can cause the finish and surfaces of your car to prematurely degrade.
• Protects against theft 
  Cars that are stored in garages are less susceptible to getting broken into, or stolen.
• Stay out of the weather! 
  When you return home from a long day at work, it’s not fun to park outside and have to get out into the rain or snow before heading into the house.

Here are some ideas on how you can stop being embarrassed by your garage, and get your car back under roof. Some of these lessons come from personal experience – just a few weeks ago I went through this process and got my car back into the garage.

7 TIPS TO REGAINING YOUR GARAGE:

1) SKETCH A PLAN.

Even a quick sketch on the back of a napkin can help. What are the things you absolutely would want to store in the garage in a best case scenario? Would you like the car on the left, or the right? Is the lawn mower going in front of the car, or beside it? List your non-negotiable items that you know have to end up in the garage. For example, I recently did this exercise, and one item I had to make sure I had room for was the backup emergency generator. That’s a heavy item that has to have floor space, and has to be close to a door or window for ventilation if I need to start it up.

List items that you think you can store on the walls or ceilings, and estimate the amount of hardware / hangers you’ll need. Go to the hardware store and buy the shelves, hooks, and hardware you think you’ll need. Another great item to pick up at the hardware store is some stackable bins with lids on them. If you get clear containers, it’s much easier to find what you’re looking for after you’ve organized the garage.

2) GET EVERYTHING OUT OF THE GARAGE.

This requires a full day, so set aside a day that you know you can dedicate to this project. You may want to invite some friends or family over to help you with this. When I did this, I didn’t invite anyone over for a few reasons – one, I was embarrassed by how bad the mess was, and two, I find it distracting to have other folks around. For me to get into my organizational state of mind I need to spend a little time in the space without any distractions.

The goal is simply to get the garage EMPTY. 

In the four different garages that I’ve organized this step has been the most freeing and inspiring. Taking everything OUT of the garage is the best way to start a garage organization project. You can actually SEE everything that you own, for one. Another benefit is it that it sets you up for success in Step 3!

3) SORT ALL YOUR STUFF INTO FOUR PILES:

• Keep
• Donate – Goodwill, local church
• Sell – Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Craigslist, etc.
• Toss – 1-800-GOT-JUNK or contact your local municipality

I’ll caution you that this step is exhausting and a bit draining. It’s easy to get decision fatigue at this step. You’re making hundreds of decisions in a short amount of time. Even though I didn’t invite anyone into this process when I did it, my advice is that you may want to have an objective third party join you to help you make some of these decisions.

• The little red wagon that the kids used when they were young? Donate. 
• The 80 year old handheld wood plane that your great grandfather handed down to you? That’s a tough call – probably keep. 
• The pool floaty with a hole in it from two seasons ago? Toss. 
• The super duper bread maker you got for Christmas five years ago and never used? Maybe you can sell it. 

Lay down tarps or blankets on the ground and physically put these piles of stuff on each tarp, to keep the piles from spilling into each other and help visually separate the piles.

4) KEEP THINGS OFF THE FLOOR.

Before moving things back into the garage, install hooks, hangars, shelves and hardware to keep things OFF the floor. Your floor space is precious, and you should aggressively defend it. Even if you pare down your stuff, if you put it all back on the floor of the garage you still won’t have room to park. Here are some things you should consider getting up off the floor:

• Bikes
  If you use your bikes a lot, you may want to invest in a wall mounted rack that is easy to use, but find a way to get your bikes up off the floor.
• Kayaks / Canoes / Paddleboards
  These can take up a ton of space in the garage, but if you get them up off the floor it makes a huge difference. You can buy a ceiling mounted boat rack, or you can craft your own with some ratchet straps and hooks.
• Yard Tools
  It’s worth getting a wall mounted hook system to get your shovels and rakes up off the floor. This also keeps them easy to find when you head out to do a little work in the garden.
• Toolboxes and Storage Crates
  Put these items on shelves along a wall so that you can easily find what your looking for while minimizing the floor space used.

When you are considering what should get stored up on the wall or ceiling, think through how often you need to access it. If you use your fishing rod three times a week, you obviously won’t want to store it in a place where you’ll need a ladder or a step stool to reach it. Things that are rarely used can be hung up in more difficult to reach places.

Pro Tip:

A few weeks ago I learned of a wheelbarrow mounting kit! A wheelbarrow is the perfect example of something that takes up a lot of floor space but doesn’t get used very much. Since we only use our wheelbarrow a few times a year, I mounted it up on the wall with the mounting kit. Now it’s up and out of the way, but I can still get to it when needed.

5) USE A PEGBOARD.

The lowly pegboard is still one of the best ways to organize small items in your garage. It’s cheap, and keeps your small hand tools at hand. It takes up no floor space, and allows you to customize the hook spacing to fit your needs. Hang up things like extension cords, etc. as well. Along with a pegboard, consider a wall mounted small parts organizer. These have a bunch of small drawers for things like screws, washers, etc. Clear plastic drawers let you see what’s inside.

6) LABEL EVERYTHING.

One thing that contributes to clutter is not knowing where things are kept. I’ve found myself buying things that I already owned, simply because I didn’t know where to find it. Get a label maker and put labels on your storage bins and shelves so you can keep track of where everything is. This will save you money and hassle over time, since you won’t have to make a trip to the store to buy something that you already have, but can’t find. It will also make you more productive in the future. When you tackle your to-do list you’ll be able to finish more quickly because you won’t waste time looking for your tools and supplies.

7) CONSIDER A SEPARATE STORAGE SHED.

You may find that despite your best efforts, your ‘KEEP’ pile is still pretty big. If so, consider a separate backyard shed in your yard. You can apply the same organizational tips to your storage shed so that you can optimize that as well. A shed can usually be fitted with an overhead garage door, or with a standard utility door to best suit your needs. A ramp at the entrance makes it easy to store things like a motorcycle, zero-turn lawn mower, or ATV.

A storage shed with a garage door can act as a standalone garage, or it can be an overflow for your existing garage. You may choose to put things like bikes, kayaks, and generator in the shed, which makes it a lot easier to make room for your car in the garage.

Learn more about doing your own Garage Makeover!

OTHER BENEFITS

There are a lot of benefits to having your garage organized. I already mentioned protecting your car from the elements, but here are a few other things you’ll enjoy after organizing your garage:

1) WATCHING A THUNDERSTORM

Open the garage door and sit in a lawn chair looking out at the rain. This is a simple pleasure that takes me back to childhood, watching storms with my dad.

2) ENTERTAIN FRIENDS / KIDS / NEIGHBORS

A neat and clean garage is perfect to use as an extension of your house when you’re entertaining. Set up some folding tables, throw down a table cloth, and you can host a party. Throw open the big garage door, and you’ll have plenty of ventilation and it won’t feel cramped.

3) PLACE FOR THE KIDS TO PLAY WHEN THE WEATHER IS BAD

When it’s raining outside, it’s nice to be able to have a place where the kids can hang out. I used to have a remote controlled race car that I’d run around in the garage and entertain myself for hours. Mom wasn’t too keen on me running it in the house, as I recall, but the garage was the right place for it.

What Do You Think?

I’m sure you can think of many other ways you would use a well organized garage – please don’t hesitate to email me at blog@woodtex.com and let me know what other benefits you would enjoy with a spacious, clean, and organized garage!

Check out more of our organization posts here: Organization or Shed | DIY Shed Organization

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As a part of the Woodtex Spring Shed Extravaganza, we came up with several giveaways to help you kick off Spring and make room for the important things in life. We couldn’t be more excited that today has finally arrived as we are ready to draw the winners and give over $8,000 worth of stuff away!

Check out the video below to hear from our President, Bill Hampton, and VP of Marketing, Patrick Miller, and watch the LIVE drawings as we reveal 5 lucky winners from all over the country.

We want to thank all of you who participated and entered to win during the Woodtex Spring Shed Extravaganza in April. It is truly our privilege to get to serve you and help you Make Room for Life!

Stay tuned and connect with us on Facebook to hear more about the winners and what prizes they selected!

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As a kid, the garage was the second most important ‘room’ in the house. Other than the kitchen, no other space holds as many memories for me as the garage.

I was a ‘car guy’ as young as 3 or 4 years old, and when I went to kindergarten I could identify most every car that drove by our house on the busy state highway. Knowing the difference between a Pontiac Firebird and a Chevy Camaro was a cool thing for a five-year-old.

My dad nurtured that love by making sure we always had a great garage wherever we lived. When Dad showed up with a brand new 1981 Honda Civic–our first new car, similar to the one above–I remember he would carefully park it in the garage and warn us sternly about not letting our bicycles bang against the shiny new paint.

On Saturdays, we spent a lot of time in the garage. Dad was fastidious about his cars, and my brothers and I begged to help him wash the car on Saturday afternoons.

He would always wash the car in the garage. I had no idea until I was older that most people wash their cars in the driveway. He didn’t want the sun to dry the car too quickly, lest it would leave water spots on the paint. Even in winter, he’d fire up the old wood stove in the corner, getting it nice and cozy in there, and we’d shed our coats and get underfoot as he gave the car it’s weekly bath.

I remember distinctly when I was allowed to help with this routine. My introduction to washing the car was being allowed to start with the wheels and tires. He was concerned about having dirt in the water that might scratch the paint, so I was to wait to wash the tires and wheels until he had washed the rest of the car.

On the surface, these memories seem pedestrian–almost mundane. But that’s where life happens–In the mundane threads that weave our lives together into the fabricthat is life and family. The conversations that happen when father and son are tackling a project. The values that are imparted. The lessons learned.

It’s not a stretch to say that many Saturdays were spent almost entirely in the garage. It was our domain, where we could be dirty and greasy, and grow up from boys to men. But there was one exception to our total dominion over the garage: Mom.

Mom had one rule about the garage: When we’re done working, and washing the car, we had to get the garage floor cleaned up. Her clean house was not going to stay clean if the whole family tracked through a dirty garage to get to the house! So after the day’s work was done, we’d pull the car out, and work with a hose and a squeegee, and clean up the garage floor until it met her satisfaction.

As my brothers and I got older, the size and scope of our garage projects grew as well. The fastidiousness of my parents and my love for cars melded with our entrepreneurial tendencies, and I started a business with my brother right in our garage. I was 13, and he was 11, and we started detailing vehicles for friends and family. We’d start early on Saturday morning, and toil for many hours to get those cars as close to new looking as possible. We made some money too-I think we started out charging around $75, and soon raised our prices above $100 per car. That’s real money to a couple of adolescents!

Many Saturdays, we would be squeegeeing the floor after a long day of car detailing and the clock would turn past midnight. Sunday morning. We knew then that we’d better scoot. There was a strict prohibition against working on Sunday, and it was now Sunday morning. Time to put the stuff away, park the customer’s car proudly in the driveway, and carefully pull Dad’s car back into the garage.

Father teaches his son how to put oil in the family car.

Now that I have my own sons I realize again how important it is to have spaces like the garage. Space for boys to be boys, and men to be men. Where you can turn wrenches on cars, lawnmowers and bicycles. Or where you can just push the door up, set up some lawn chairs, and sit there and watch a warm summer rain while enjoying some of Mom’s chocolate chip cookies.

It’s deeply rewarding and humbling to be a part of creating spaces like this. Spaces where memories are made, treasures are stored, and lives are knit together. I’m incredibly proud to be a part of the Woodtex family, and I invite you to create your own ‘stories from the garage’!

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To help you in this process, we put together a guide of Garage Floorplan Examples, which can be also found on our Garages pages. These drawings will come in handy during your Garage ideas and design process. Ask your Woodtex Sales Advisor what size and style garage will be right for you.

GARAGE PLANS

GARAGE IDEAS

DESIGN YOUR GARAGE

Use this empty guide to start planning your garage today!

Are you on Pinterest? Follow Woodtex and use this image to Pin this post to your favorite board!

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This 16×40 garage with HardiePlank® siding sits on the side of a hill surrounded by pine trees.

David and Kay were an absolute pleasure to work for and we loved getting to know them over the time we spent working on their property. This property is near the gorgeous Stanislaus National Forest, and the garage is situated on a hillside.

A COUPLE OF INTERESTING FEATURES INCLUDE:

• HardiePlank lap siding (painted white)
• Full second floor
• Pineapple Weathervane (who doesn’t love that?!)
• 7’10” Ceiling Height on First floor

David will be using the first floor for his Porsche and they plan to finish out the second floor on their own. They’ll be able to use the space as extra living space!

GARAGE DETAILS

• 16×40 Two Story Garage, built on site
• White siding
• Black trim
• Black shingles
• Colonial-style overhead doors
• Full second floor

Interested in building a garage? Check out our article “Remodeling: 4 Ideas for a Detached Garage”

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Donna provides every little detail of this process on her blog, and it’s a great read for anyone who has an idea and wants to take action and make it happen! In fact one of Donna’s favorite quotes is, “If your dreams don’t scare you, then they aren’t big enough.”

The Pedini’s came to Woodtex after doing research on building construction. First they were thinking of a building with concrete walls. Then they thought a stick-built structure would be better. Then, they found Woodtex and realized we could do much of the hard work for them!

Donna wrote on her blog:

Did some research about buying a prefab building from a place called Woodtex out of Himrod, NY, over by Seneca Lake (basically a garage that has been customized to what we want), turns out we can get one delivered and set up on our site for not much more than having Vince do the construction himself. It is just the shell, but will save us months of work. Vince will still be doing the electrical and plumbing.

Just a few weeks ago, we delivered their building… here are a few photos from Donna’s blog.

We’re so happy to be part of building Donna and Vince’s dream! To read more about this project and follow the building of their business, catch up on Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the blog posts Donna has written over the last few months (and tuned for updates!).

Want more garage inspiration? Check out the Piccuci’s Garage!

The post From Idea to Distillery: Woodtex Garage Transformation appeared first on Woodtex.com Website.

We got to know Chip and Joanna Gaines (the stars of HGTV’s Fixer Upper) in July 2014, when they came to Travis at our Texas facility because they needed a big ol’ dependable storage shed for Magnolia Market, their Home Decor shop in Waco, TX. They ended up selecting The Classic Garage Shed with a ramp to meet their needs.

Travis was happy to deliver, of course.

By the way, if anyone at Woodtex was going to end up on National television, it would definitely be Travis! You can catch Travis delivering “Big Blue” on Fixer Upper Episode 4, Season 2.

Magnolia Feed + Supply

When Magnolia Market continued to outgrow their space, they came to Travis again for some help.

The shop has been packed with shoppers to the point where they’ve had to turn customers away. Our Texas Team built them an additional 512 square feet of shopping space, which is now located at their Silos location.

Can you believe this building is a shed?!
That’s right, they simply customized The Original Shed Model, by adding a set of double doors on the side.

The Garden Shed at the Silos

Next up, when Magnolia Market launched their new project at the Silos, they were in need of a well designed storage space, so, of course, they called Travis again. They customized this shed with Cedar doors and a classic cupola. We love it!

If you are a fan of this look, check out The Heritage Shed Model.

THE FARM

You may have seen this latest project Chip and Joanna added to their farm in Waco on another episode of Fixer Upper. Our Texas crew built a custom White Barn on the Gaines’ property, right next to their house.

We are so honored that Chip and Jo trust Woodtex to work for them, and construct a space that will add value (and room!) to their family. We had a blast getting this barn up!

Joanna posted this beautiful photo on Instagram:

Are you interested in a custom build like this? We can help with that too! Check out our Site-Built Garages page here.

If you like this, check out our collaborations with Shanty2Chic and Property Brothers.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE!

To receive updates on more projects we do in the future with our friends Chip and Joanna, as well as other tips and ideas on how you can Make Room for Life, make sure you sign up for our email newsletter at the bottom of the page! We look forward to helping you build the space you need for the important things in life.

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