The Biggest Downside To Buying An Outdoor Shed From Costco

Warehouse stores are popular for buying items in large quantities, from food to sporting goods to anything in between. You could buy home products at Costco, for example, and frequently save quite a bit of money, and this includes buying outdoor sheds. Costco offers small, medium, and large storage sheds for purchase. You need to be aware of one significant potential drawback with these sheds, though: They can be quite challenging to assemble.

The delivery company brings the shed to your property as a kit that you must assemble. It's almost like building a small home, as you have to assemble the frame and walls. You also must put the roof on the top, including adding the shingles. You'll need to construct a foundation for the shed, usually a concrete or gravel pad, before anchoring the frame to the ground.

You'll need several tools to do the job, including a power drill with multiple bits, hammer, tape measure, caulk gun, ladder, and level. The kit will include all the fasteners and pieces you need to do the work. This is a complex installation that a complete novice is likely not going to be able to do alone. Reddit users who did the installation recommended having at least two people to do the work, and some recommend three people. The size of the shed means you should expect a day or two to finish the construction.

According to user reviews on the Costco website, these DIY sheds have some drawbacks. The Yardline Crestwood 14x8-foot shed, which costs $3,000, has a 3.7-star rating out of 5 stars from more than 650 reviewers. Nearly 16% of reviewers give it the lowest rating of 1 star. One reviewer said the materials included in the kit were poor, making use of lumber that was twisted and filled with knots. Another reviewer, who claimed to be a general contractor, said the kit did not include treated lumber made for ground contact, which made it worthless to use as a floor.

If you want to be sure you are receiving some of the most durable materials available in backyard storage sheds, pay attention to the exact shed that you are buying. Costco offers both wood and resin sheds. While wood sheds can last up to 25 years, resin sheds rarely deliver this kind of durability, usually lasting up to seven years.

The good news is that Costco offers a 100% risk-free satisfaction guarantee on purchases. If you do not feel you received your product with the quality that was promised, you can return it. However, returns of such large and heavy kits can be quite challenging.

If you do not have the tools or experience level to assemble the shed yourself, your local Costco may help you find a nearby installation company that can do the work for you. Costco does not publicize the assembly and installation option on its website, but you may be able to find more information when you visit your local warehouse store. You could also hire a shed builder or a professional handyman locally to assemble the Costco shed for you.

Another option is to look for a company other than Costco that sells sheds. You may have a local shed-building company that builds the sheds at its site and delivers them to you already assembled. The company can simply install the shed on your concrete or gravel slab, so you can begin using it immediately.

Finally, you might consider building your own unit from scratch, rather than relying on the prefab kit from Costco. This option allows you to customize it. The cost to build a shed from scratch could be anywhere from $5,000 to $16,000. If you don't want to build it yourself, you may be able to find a general contractor who can build it for you from scratch and obtain all the necessary permits.