About Historic Shed
Here's the latest News About Historic ShedSo many emotions come with this post, from sadness to joy to relief and everything in between. Today was a monumental day. We sold the shop that Historic Shed has worked out of for the past 15 years. With this comes a lot of changes all around.
The last six months or so have been really hard on us. We take great pride in providing a well-designed and well-built product, but material shortages were really getting to be a problem. The garage doors we prefer were taking 6 months to come in, LVLs were impossible to get, the wall sheathing we used was down to 2 sheets available at one store with no idea of when they would get more in, and the list went on. That meant that every time we sent out a quote, we felt really unsure of whether we would be able to deliver what we promised, and whether we were pricing things right since we often had a back log of 4 months or more. So, we stopped sending out quotes...
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At Historic Shed™, we want every product to demonstrate our commitment to historic preservation principles, craftsmanship and proper use of traditional materials and details. Our products are designed to be durable, useful and attractive so that they will be cherished as long as the historic buildings they complement.
The Historic Shed Story
The short version
While working on a large scale preservation project in Tampa, Craig and Jo-Anne recognized the difficulties that homeowners faced when trying to install a shed in a designated historic district. Off-the-shelf sheds didn’t complement the character of historic neighborhoods, so weren’t an option without a fair amount of remodeling. Therefore, in order to install an appropriate shed, a homeowner had to hire a designer familiar with preservation requirements, get approval from a local historic preservation office or board, have engineered construction drawings done for permitting, then hire a contractor to build the unit on site. It was a cumbersome process and expensive for the homeowner who just wanted to put their lawn mower away. A light bulb went off in Craig’s head: they could provide all those services in one-place from initial design through construction with the skills they already had. So they took a leap and created Historic Shed™, officially launching in 2008 in Brooksville, FL.
Starting a custom shed business that focused on complementing historic homes wasn’t a simple process. At the time, custom accessory buildings weren't a known thing. Historic neighborhoods were difficult to deliver to, with mature trees, fences, and tight backyards, making delivering whole sheds difficult to impossible. The business couldn’t operate like the big shed builders that cranked out multiple identical sheds since each had to be custom designed to complement the existing home. After lots of planning, a panelized system for delivery and assembly on-site was created, with certain design parameters that allowed character changes, but could be replicated in each build. Luckily, the system worked. After the first couple of years, Historic Shed began getting requests for larger and more complex accessory buildings, starting with a two-car garage, then some home offices, guest cottages, pub sheds and even two-story garage apartments. Using the same panelized system, Historic Shed™ can now build entire small (tiny) homes and cottages that look great in historic neighborhoods.
More About us
Craig DeRoin
Craig has over 30 years experience in renovation and restoration of historic buildings first in Massachusetts, then in Florida. You won’t find him on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook and he rarely checks his email (he finally has a smart phone, and occasionally texts). However, he reads every trade magazine from cover to cover and stays very informed about the construction industry the old-fashioned way. He is the main idea generator and trouble shooter at Historic Shed. And he’s the funny one.
Jo-Anne Peck
Jo-Anne has an undergraduate degree in Building Science, a Masters degree in Historic Preservation and is a certified Florida Building Contractor and Residential Wind Load designer. She’s been involved in consulting, design and construction for historic buildings in Florida for over 25 years. Jo-Anne is the voice behind the Historic Shed Facebook page, Twitter account, and serves as the head shed designer. You'll see her at Florida Tiny House shows and other events.
The Crew
When Historic Shed was first launched, Craig and Jo-Anne did it all from marketing and sales to construction and delivery. Luckily, they now have talented carpenters who do much of the shop building and field work. The crew size is limited so Jo-Anne & Craig can keep a handle on jobs; therefore also limiting the number of jobs they take on. The crew is responsible for a wider variety of tasks than just carpentry, including representing Historic Shed in customer back yards, so they are greatly appreciated.
