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Ask HN: Would you work out of a Costco shed over an open office setup?

17 points by steeves ↗ HN
I'm trying to think of ways to build cheap offices instead of the dreaded open office plan. My first stop was a recording both since they are basically what I am looking for but are way to expensive. Is there a way you could take a Costco shed, soundproof it, add a desk for under $500? Would you work in it?

For clarity, I am suggesting putting this inside an existing office space.

28 comments

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nathan_long
An office with no power, electricity, or plumbing?
steeves
No it would be a shed inside an office space.
DanBC
That sounds like a very expensive way to create workspaces.

What's wrong with the traditional stud wall, packed with insulation, and finished with plasterboard / drywall?

[dead] cat_trick
You don't always have control on how much you can alter an office space. Something more modular like a shed/booth could be moved easily for an expanding team.
calbear81
No permits required, can be disassembled and moved to another location more easily. They do have industrial versions of these "portable" offices that you can buy but they cost significantly more than a garden shed.
brudgers
Ask the fire marshal about permits.
calbear81
I believe that if it's classified as "furniture" then it doesn't need to be permitted. For example, this is just a bigger version of a wardrobe in your office.
brudgers
A fire marshal will typically listen politely to your beliefs [when not actively engaged in an emergency] then will keep you from putting people's lives at risk via such nonsense. Depending on your and their demeanor, you may get grandfatherly tones of wisdom; you may get bureaucratic handoff to the building department for their approval; or even a flat out "not in this town".

Seismic, egress, accessibility, sprinkler coverage, cumbustability, flame spread, smoke developed, UL listing etc. all come into play because people's niave intuition does not conform to actual life safety hazards, and it's not so much for the sake of styming your personal pursuit of a Darwin award as to prevent the answer to your implicit question "What could possibly go wrong?" from being answered via unfortunate events that result in other people dying.

burger_moon
Typically temporary structures standing more than 90 days ( your municipality may vary) will require permits. I ran into this at a previous job when the "temporary" structure had exposed wires running through it instead of conduit. It can be a hazard to your employees and wallet if anything bad happens.

In spite of that, it does sound like it could be an interesting solution.

jmcguckin
This has already been done. Pixar used to have something similar - i think they used wooden toolsheds to make office spaces that could be made private.
nickdude
I'd be happy to use a small shed as my office.

I'd probably take a dumpster over an open office plan though so take that for what it's worth.

ljk
like one of these? http://costcocouple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Lifetime-...

might have to add extra light inside since it gets darker. Also it might be too small for some people

cblock811
I would LOVE to have one of those in my back yard with a desk in it. Just run a cord out for a lamp... and good to go.

In an office space I would feel like I have a fake castle too. (Also a fan of this)

HeyLaughingBoy
I'm building a 8x12 garden/tool shed and I plan to put either a real window, or a sheet of polycarbonate in the roof for natural lighting.

Some time next year I'd like to build another one to use as an outside office since I've run out of space in my home lab.

osipovas
If it could be modified in such a way to provide good lighting and airflow, definitely.
cylinder
No thanks, I want natural light.
stray
The thing I hate about an open office setup is the noise.

The Costco shed wouldn't help with noise.

So no.

cisdale
Possibly. Lots more detail needed in a deployment plan.(lights/heating/cooling are just a some of the issues that would need solutions) While I can't find it now - I recall an article of a company that had individual work "offices" on wheels, that had dry-erase board for the exposed surfaces. Someone could become part of a given team by moving their personal office to the team area, and plugging in locally for power/connectivity/etc. I think it cost more than $500 - but at the time I though it was a very unique approach to making any open space (cheap unfinished warehouse?) into a "teamspace" with individual offices.
rdl
Yeah, people have done this before. Works surprisingly well.
stevesearer
Pixar (used to?) have some shed-like things is their offices: http://officesnapshots.com/photos/16765/

OfficePOD is a great solution for more of a room setting: http://officepod.co.uk/about-officepod/

Framery offers an excellent phone booth to give open plan spaces a place for calls: http://www.frameryacoustics.com/

For as many people as their are on HN that hate open office plans, it sure seems like we never hear of companies (other than Fog Creek) that actually give their employees private offices. Are there more? Or do people that hate open plan eventually find that going all-private is harder said (and more expensive) than done?

auxym
That pixar shot looks awesome!