I want to design an outdoor man cave near our pool, but also like to build a storage room separately. I don't want to have a tough shed, and man cave as that would look like too much in my backyard. One building providing me both options! Should I hire an architect to help me design this, or do you guys have any recommendations? Thanks and Gig'em

Budget?

PrinceofRA said:

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I don't want to have a tough shed

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Do you mean Tuff Shed that you can get through Home Depot? That's what I got and I don't regret my decision at all. You can get it custom designed to your needs and/or add your own personal touch. Much cheaper than hiring an architect and having one built. But like Milwaukee said, it all depends on your budget.

15-25k

That budget is not going to get you too far if you go with an architect and real deal build. It will get you a long way with a tuff shed option.

This is what I am thinking in my head. Get a big square tuff shed with roll up doors. Point one door towards the pool. Put up a thick vanity wall across the middle. The side away from the pool would be storage and such. The side facing the pool would be your man cave area. A big roll up door by the pool also allows it to double as a pool bar/tv area. When you want man cave time, roll the door shut and crank up the window unit. This should help get the wife on board too, though you risk the fam staking claim to your man room. Anyway, just my idea in your budget range.

Thanks for the input!

Located in Texas?

Corpus Christi to be exact so yes.

if you get a tuff shed route, i would get a door at both ends - doesn't have to be roll up, but just to get air flow. I am not sure the brand, but I have one I bought from one of the roadside lots and it is nicer and cheaper than tuff shed. I opted for the radiant barrier too and it really helps.

+1 on the radiant barrier! Another thing about Tuff Shed is they will offer free upgrades occasionally; not sure if it's certain times of the year but I purchased mine in March and got 3 free add-on features, so you might look for that.

PrinceofRA said:

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I want to design an outdoor man cave near our pool, but also like to build a storage room separately. I don't want to have a tough shed, and man cave as that would look like too much in my backyard. One building providing me both options! Should I hire an architect to help me design this, or do you guys have any recommendations? Thanks and Gig'em

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I'd take the time to sketch out your vision first and see if you can handle it. An architect is going to charge you whether you use his plans or not, and he may not understand exactly what you want. The more "customized" and out of the box he goes, the higher the price tag gets.

TLDR don't get an architect for something as minimal as a shed until you know exactly what you want in terms of size and design.