jtpr wrote:
I was thinking of a lean-to style shed on the side of my garage. 3
sides with the doors in the end, maybe about 15 x 8 or so. How
difficult an undertaking is this?
The floor could be deck like, or
even gravel that I could cover in plastic. No windows or anything
fancy. Any idea, very ballpark, what this would cost? $500, $1000,
$2000? It should have clapboards to match the house.

Moderate difficulty. A shed style is the easiest roof style to
construct. The detail where the shed meets the garage could make it
tricky, however. The interface with the garage clapboards will be bit
tricky since you will have to cut away enough garage siding to attach
the support for your shed roof. You will also have to have metal
flashing where the shed roof meets the side of the garage. So it's
tricky.

How much it will cost depends on the exact details. You will save some
money since the garage will provide support for half the shed. What
type of foundation support you use on the remainder will affect the
cost a lot. The cheapest will be if you use a pole type construction
where you bury treated posts or poles directly in the ground. Any type
of concrete footing will add a lot to the cost.

Clapboard is an expensive type of siding. You will have to buy plywood
(or chip board) to attach clapboard to. That will add a lot. The
siding and plywood will be a large part of the cost of this shed. You
could save a lot by using a different type of siding. You could
concievably use plywood siding and then upgrade to clapboard later.

The type of door you use will affect the cost. If you buy a real
garage door that will drive up the price. If you use a site-built door
you will save some. This is something that could also be upgraded in
the future.

The type of roof will also affect the cost. Shingles will be expensive
because you will have to buy plywood. A metal roof will save money
because it does not require plywood to install.

Lawrence