Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown • Hacker News Board

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#101

Post by marssaxman » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 5:53 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #3

For work-from-home, I can't emphasize enough how much of a game changer it is to have a physically separate building for your work, especially if you have a family with kids and noise and pets and things. Working from a spare bedroom, even one without a bed / outfitted as an office, is just not my thing. Even if your family "knows the rules" and let you work in peace. It subjectively still "feels like you're home". W…

If what you want is an office you can go to which is not in your home, it seems like it would be ever so much simpler to go live near your actual office, which your employer already pays for, than to move far enough away from everything that you can afford to buy a piece of property, build an office on it, and then have to deal with all the extra driving a remote lifestyle implies.

In my opinion it's commuting to the office which sucks, and not working in the office: I had a couple years where I walked in to work every day, and that was basically ideal. (It was, ironically, a job I started while living on the opposite side of the country: I then moved to a place about a mile from the office, quite a pleasant walk through the heart of the city.)

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#102

Post by orthoxerox » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 5:55 PM UTC

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #76

Jnr wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought my first minisplit ~4 years ago since none of the contractors were available in the hot summer. I bought the tools as well (vacuum pump, manifold, pipe cutters, etc.). It cost me ~650$ total. The next time I bought a minisplit (3.5kW one), I already had the tools and it cost me only 450$. A proper one meant for use during harsh winter would probably costs a bit more though, at around 1000$. So I have set up…

In my state they require: >160 hours of education/vocational training and 2 years’ verifiable experience in the trade To get the license to install minisplits (two years experience generally means working an apprenticeship). It's no wonder install costs are so much in the US. And as you've experienced, they're hardly rocket science to install. The 160 hours training would be more than enough, I'm not sure why 2 years…

What will they do if they learn you installed your minisplit yourself?

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#103

Post by lstodd » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:02 PM UTC

orthoxerox wrote: post #102

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my state they require: >160 hours of education/vocational training and 2 years’ verifiable experience in the trade To get the license to install minisplits (two years experience generally means working an apprenticeship). It's no wonder install costs are so much in the US. And as you've experienced, they're hardly rocket science to install. The 160 hours training would be more than enough, I'm not sure why 2 years…

What will they do if they learn you installed your minisplit yourself?

See the Brazil movie :)

Idk for Americas, but here in rural EU no one would give a fuck. Some will ask for help.

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#104

Post by lstodd » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:05 PM UTC

gehwartzen wrote: post #53

mtlynch wrote: post #32

I jumped to the end and saw $2.3k for the mini split and couldn't believe it. I've installed mini splits on two homes and the quotes were always in the $15-25k range for 3-5 head units, so $2.3k for a head + outdoor condenser unit sounded implausible, but then I saw he found a surprisingly good deal: > I got a ton of quotes for installing a mini split. They ranged from $4-$7k, which was higher than I expected after r…

Honestly, I would recommend just doing it yourself. Especially if you have a contractor pull in the electrical connection for it. I installed a pre-charged unit in a much more complicated attic setup (condenser mounted to outside wall on second floor, 20' of refrigerant lines run with lots of angles) and the whole thing took 6-8 hours with no experience. Mounting it to a shed where you're basically just cutting a hol…

Pulling in the electrical connection is actually simpler. So you might as well do that yourself too.

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#105

Post by copperx » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:05 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #3

For work-from-home, I can't emphasize enough how much of a game changer it is to have a physically separate building for your work, especially if you have a family with kids and noise and pets and things. Working from a spare bedroom, even one without a bed / outfitted as an office, is just not my thing. Even if your family "knows the rules" and let you work in peace. It subjectively still "feels like you're home". W…

It's smarter (and cheaper!) to live by yourself because your entire house is distraction-free.

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#106

Post by copperx » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:06 PM UTC

amatecha wrote: post #94

greenowl wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stepping back a bit, if you are working remotely that's likely a proxy for an increased likelihood of job loss due to AI. Why start and invest in a construction project for a building that may not be staffed long term? Perhaps renting a small coworking space in town is the safer financial move. And have your employer pay for it.

in the post: > I had tried coworking spaces but didn’t love the vibe or the idea of spending hours in a phone booth.

* Goes ahead and builds a $20k phone booth.

Fantastic.

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#107

Post by organsnyder » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:07 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #3

For work-from-home, I can't emphasize enough how much of a game changer it is to have a physically separate building for your work, especially if you have a family with kids and noise and pets and things. Working from a spare bedroom, even one without a bed / outfitted as an office, is just not my thing. Even if your family "knows the rules" and let you work in peace. It subjectively still "feels like you're home". W…

We built a new garage with an upstairs ADU when I started working from home in 2018. It is indeed a game-changer, and when we no longer need the space we can use it for a rental, guest house, etc.

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#108

Post by starkparker » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:11 PM UTC

> In Portland, I didn’t need a permit for the building because it was under the size threshold

You still need a structural building permit, beyond any electrical or plumbing permits, if it's both heated and used either as a living space or "for a business".

The city added the "for a business" wrinkle in 2024 and is very squirrely about whether using it as a work-from-home office counts as "for a business". It _does_ include working from it without bringing employees or clients into the buildling, but the way it's written implies that it's for people running a business out of their home address and not working for someone else's business.

It's a gray-enough area that I hope you got some solid legal advice. We ended up getting the permit to cover our bases in case I had to move to freelance/consulting self-employment.

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#109

Post by WesleyJohnson » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #3

For work-from-home, I can't emphasize enough how much of a game changer it is to have a physically separate building for your work, especially if you have a family with kids and noise and pets and things. Working from a spare bedroom, even one without a bed / outfitted as an office, is just not my thing. Even if your family "knows the rules" and let you work in peace. It subjectively still "feels like you're home". W…

I've been WFH since Covid and, when it first happened, my office was in a finished attic that was not well conditioned. I like it warmer so I didn't mind, and the lack of comfort for others meant I enjoyed more solo time.

These days, I may as well not even have a door. I put auto-shutting hinges on it, but that failed as reminder/deterrent long ago.

We've got a 10x20 out back that was supposed to be my workshop, but it's filled with all the things most Americans put in their garages - because we don't have one. I'm seriously considering a deep purge and converting at least 1/2 of to an office; the distractions and context switching are disastrous.

Re: Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown

#110

Post by 0xffff2 » Tue, Aug 25, 2026, 6:17 PM UTC

marssaxman wrote: post #101

ryandrake wrote: post #3

For work-from-home, I can't emphasize enough how much of a game changer it is to have a physically separate building for your work, especially if you have a family with kids and noise and pets and things. Working from a spare bedroom, even one without a bed / outfitted as an office, is just not my thing. Even if your family "knows the rules" and let you work in peace. It subjectively still "feels like you're home". W…

If what you want is an office you can go to which is not in your home, it seems like it would be ever so much simpler to go live near your actual office, which your employer already pays for, than to move far enough away from everything that you can afford to buy a piece of property, build an office on it, and then have to deal with all the extra driving a remote lifestyle implies. In my opinion it's commuting to the…

Everyone has different opinions about this stuff, but I for one found _working_ in the office to absolutely be the worst part. And since Covid, my workplace has torn down old buildings and reduced square footage per employee, so if I went back to the office it would be even worse.