Our house is officially grown too small. I want to build a school in the backyard.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Has anyone done this? What is the cheapest way? I'm thinking of building a nice storage shed and properly finishing it.

 

I'd rather just move to a bigger house. We really, really need to do that. Impossible because we are upside-down :( thanks to the housing situation around here.

 

Even if we can't move, something has to change. I can't even think clearly with such a large homeschool and a large family crowded into this little ranch house.

 

Which is cheaper, to build a school in the backyard or finish the attached garage?

[Susan in KY]

Finishing the attached garage would probably be cheapest, but then you don't have a place to park the cars, so I'd vote for a school house out back.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Finishing the attached garage would probably be cheapest, but then you don't have a place to park the cars, so I'd vote for a school house out back.

 

True. DH also fixes cars in the garage when they inevitably break down in winter. Very important.

[Susan in KY]

By all means, leave the man his garage. I have a friend whose husband is very sad about losing his....

[Momof3littles]

At our last house we often joked about adding a yurt out back for a school room ;) We didn't have a dining room. We had an EIK and a living room (no formal rooms to repurpose, no basement that could be refinished, etc.).

[Susan in KY]

Is there any attic space that can be converted?

[MtnTeaching]

Our zoning in "The People's Republic of B------ County" would not allow us to build out a finished building on our own property even if we have the room. The County Commissioners here are Nazis in diguise. (Sorry for the venom, you can probably tell we have had a few run-ins.):glare:

[Sahamamama]

:bigear: I wish I had some good ideas for you, because then I might also have them for myself! :D We are in a tiny, two-bedroom bungalow, with a small kitchen (can't fit the whole family in there to eat), a small living room, and two small bedrooms. Oh, and a bathroom. That is all. :glare:

 

We are also upside-down, of course. :nopity:It is what it is. Sigh.

I love the idea of a school room, but then I think it might not work to have a detached one until the children would be at a certain age/maturity level. If you have toddlers and preschoolers, would you leave them out there while you: switch out laundry, check the crock pot, make lunch, etc.? If you have older children along with littles, then a separate school room might work.

 

If all your students are old enough to really buckle down and study, then I would say go for the separate "Big Shed" approach. You could put a ton of stuff in there, go out and do school, get it done, shut the door and go "home." Oh that sounds so amazing.

 

Our walls are lined with bookshelves, our walls are hung with posters. This is our "living room." My husband really is oblivious, he says he doesn't care that the living room looks like a school house. He is proud of what we're doing here, and he works towards getting us out someday.

 

But the idea of a Big School School House in the backyard... hmm... Do you have Amish builders near you? They might put up something solid. Do you have a Big Shed/Little Barn builder near you? How would you heat it? Cool it? Light it? Get water to it? What would you do for a bathroom?

 

I have to admit, the logistics are unknown to me, but the concept is tempting! :D

[Sahamamama]

Our zoning in "The People's Republic of B------ County" would not allow us to build out a finished building on our own property even if we have the room. The County Commissioners here are Nazis in diguise. (Sorry for the venom, you can probably tell we have had a few run-ins.):glare:

 

This is true, you really shouldn't start dreaming until you find out what you are allowed to do with your own property. :tongue_smilie:

 

BTW, Mountain Teaching, I love your sig line... Hey, look, a chicken! :lol: That explains me. LOL.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Well, I just talked to DH and the garage idea is officially off the table. :lol: He's had his eye on the garage, too, and wants to fix it up for his own purposes. Fair enough.

 

Concerning fixed-up shed kits: How small is too small for a school? Four students, ages 7 to 15. It might be nice to put a half bath out there, just toilet and sink, or we'll spend the livelong day coming back to the house to fetch people.

[Momof3littles]

Sometimes yurts are not included as a permanent structure and can be put up in places where a more permanent structure would not be allowed. I have not personally navigated this (yet), but that's what I've read.

 

You would obviously want to research what the codes are in your area before going that route ;)

 

I just thought I'd mention that!

 

eta: have you ever seen the tinyhouse blog? Sometimes if the building is on wheels or below a certain size it is legal too. Obviously this really varies depending on the code and regulations where you live.

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

 

Some of these people have managed to navigate the legalities in their locales.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Dh added onto the garage at our old house. He used it for a workshop and more storage space, but could have finished it for a school room instead if that is what I had wanted. Are you able to heat either building?

[Mrs Mungo]

There is someone from this board who built a school room using a large storage shed and adding flooring and everything. I don't remember exactly who it was, but I think they were affected by Katrina and had partly used insurance money or something to finance the build? Does anyone else remember this? She had blow up models of the planets in it.

[Momof3littles]

Well, I just talked to DH and the garage idea is officially off the table. :lol: He's had his eye on the garage, too, and wants to fix it up for his own purposes. Fair enough.

 

Concerning fixed-up shed kits: How small is too small for a school? Four students, ages 7 to 15. It might be nice to put a half bath out there, just toilet and sink, or we'll spend the livelong day coming back to the house to fetch people.

 

Do you have septic or public sewer? Do you have a well or city water?

 

I think once you introduce a need for plumbing, it becomes more complicated to make a freestanding building pass code. It won't be a "shed" anymore, kwim? Cities often won't allow people to hook into the public sewer, and if you have a septic, I think it could get complicated too. Maybe a self composting ($$$ I think?) toilet would be an option but I'm not sure if there are work arounds for water, etc.

[gaillardia]

We keep kicking around the idea of fixing up our garage for more living space and putting up a cinderblock garage. Our home is definitely too small. We have a breakfast nook, kitchen, living room and something else we think is supposed to be dining room. I do not like the open concept!!! I like walls. I would love to have a library again.

Our rancher had a big eat-in kitchen, dining room, living room and an extra room (den?) we used as the school room.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

We're not in a HOA nightmare situation and our neighbors up the street recently added a building bigger than I want, so I think we'll be fine with rules and zoning.

 

Sahamamama, you are right that this wouldn't work with littles. My youngest is going into second grade and would have toys, etc. with his school things to keep him busy. My youngest two spend all their time playing in the backyard, anyway, so they can still do that. The other two are teenagers.

 

My real problem seems to be my own ADD. I desperately need to compartmentalize my life! We've had school in the dining room for seven years but it trails all over the house. I can see the schoolroom while I'm cooking and I can see the kitchen work while I'm teaching. Now that we are working with four students, and two at the jr./sr. high level, I am going bonkers.

 

I want to get up early, load the washer, exercise, shower, pack lunches, take a walk around the neighborhood, and then lock the house door. Then we'll go to 'school' and not even think about housework all day (except for ducking into the garage to load the washer, and hang it out on the line). When school is over, tidy up the schoolroom and lock that door, and go 'home' to just be housewife and Mommy all through the late afternoon and evening.

 

That sounds so, so, so nice, and it is starting to sound necessary for my sanity.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Septic. DH (who is in construction) said that minimal plumbing and electric would be no problem here.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

There is someone from this board who built a school room using a large storage shed and adding flooring and everything. I don't remember exactly who it was, but I think they were affected by Katrina and had partly used insurance money or something to finance the build? Does anyone else remember this? She had blow up models of the planets in it.

 

I'll try to search and find it.

[Mrs Mungo]

Amy,

 

We had a separate schoolroom in Hawaii. The owners had turned part of the *detached* three car garage into a finished room with a bathroom, cabinets, fridge and an extra (apartment-sized) washer/dryer. I *loved* it! It served us incredibly well. I could actually lock the back door and we could spend the day in the schoolroom.

[Sukale]

Also is this your forever home? If so make the room the best to suite your family. If not I would put in a small full bath with a tiny kitchen area to resell as in-laws retreat.

[Jryanbass]

I'

Edited April 23 by Jryanbass

[justamouse]

Has anyone done this? What is the cheapest way? I'm thinking of building a nice storage shed and properly finishing it.

 

I'd rather just move to a bigger house. We really, really need to do that. Impossible because we are upside-down :( thanks to the housing situation around here.

 

Even if we can't move, something has to change. I can't even think clearly with such a large homeschool and a large family crowded into this little ranch house.

 

Which is cheaper, to build a school in the backyard or finish the attached garage?

 

I think if you finish the garage it will add to the value (eventually) but I have an alternative solution which you may hate. What about getting a large shed from a home store? That way if you ever can leave, you haven't invested more $. You could make it really cute, too.

[Sahamamama]

Sometimes yurts are not included as a permanent structure and can be put up in places where a more permanent structure would not be allowed. I have not personally navigated this (yet), but that's what I've read.

 

You would obviously want to research what the codes are in your area before going that route ;)

 

I just thought I'd mention that!

 

eta: have you ever seen the tinyhouse blog? Sometimes if the building is on wheels or below a certain size it is legal too. Obviously this really varies depending on the code and regulations where you live.

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

 

Some of these people have managed to navigate the legalities in their locales.

 

Cool site. Here's another one:

 

http://www.morhaus.com/

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I've been studying and researching in snatched moments all afternoon and my mind is made up:

 

I want a yurt.

 

I really, really want a yurt.

 

As a matter of fact, I want to buy a 24' ft yurt to use for a school now, and when these people all grow up and move away I want to take my DH and my yurt and go live in the woods.

 

It seems that a modest yurt, finished, won't cost any more than a good shed, finished. Very comparable.

 

Also, if the economy gets any worse and we actually lose this house that we kinda hate, we'll have something to move onto my brother's farm with. Yay.

 

Watch this space.

 

(Jryanbass, I hope you share pictures if you fix up that garage!)

[Sahamamama]

Sahamamama, you are right that this wouldn't work with littles. My youngest is going into second grade and would have toys, etc. with his school things to keep him busy. My youngest two spend all their time playing in the backyard, anyway, so they can still do that. The other two are teenagers.

 

My real problem seems to be my own ADD. I desperately need to compartmentalize my life! We've had school in the dining room for seven years but it trails all over the house. I can see the schoolroom while I'm cooking and I can see the kitchen work while I'm teaching. Now that we are working with four students, and two at the jr./sr. high level, I am going bonkers.

 

I want to get up early, load the washer, exercise, shower, pack lunches, take a walk around the neighborhood, and then lock the house door. Then we'll go to 'school' and not even think about housework all day (except for ducking into the garage to load the washer, and hang it out on the line). When school is over, tidy up the schoolroom and lock that door, and go 'home' to just be housewife and Mommy all through the late afternoon and evening.

 

That sounds so, so, so nice, and it is starting to sound necessary for my sanity.

 

:iagree:So can you see the potential of training the teenagers to stir the crock pot and hang the laundry on the line? They are certainly capable, right? Then you can go right on teaching. Right? Right? :D (I know, I have the same brain. My husband calls it "pop corn brain." :glare:)

 

I have a friend who leaves messages like this on our answering machine, and we save them for months at a time. "Oh, hi, this is _______, I'm just calling to ask you... OH! I just remembered, did you know that _____ was... (speaking to her child), No, honey, you can't put the peanut butter in your hair... oh, where was I? It was so nice seeing you the other day... or was it last month? I don't know... so, how's David's new job...?"

 

My husband will not let me delete these. :lol: I have left a few of my own like this. He doesn't understand it's part of motherhood.

 

If I were in your shoes with four, 7 through 15, and could afford it, I would build a school room in the backyard. Good luck with it, and show us pics of what you put up! :001_smile:

 

http://www.shawneestructures.com/camping-galllary.html

[Sahamamama]

I've been studying and researching in snatched moments all afternoon and my mind is made up:

 

I want a yurt.

 

I really, really want a yurt.

 

Will the round walls prevent you from maximizing your shelf space? If you put straight shelves against the round walls, you'll lose some space (the space behind the shelf). Or are there individual flat panels that would provide a flat enough surface for shelving units?

[Maeintx]

Our Lowe's has a two-story, red, barn-shaped storage shed in their display lot. Every time I drive past it, I think, that is what we need. Storage upstairs, school room downstairs. I just think it would be perfect!

[littleWMN]

Oh dear, I smell a new homeschooling craze. ;) This has me thinking...

[Sophia]

There is someone from this board who built a school room using a large storage shed and adding flooring and everything. I don't remember exactly who it was, but I think they were affected by Katrina and had partly used insurance money or something to finance the build? Does anyone else remember this? She had blow up models of the planets in it.

 

Yes, I remember seeing the pics and being green with envy. :tongue_smilie:

[Carrie12345]

Just popping in to say I'm jealous. For months, I've been trying to figure out how to get this idea past my civic association and my bank account!!!

[AppleGreen]

Our Lowe's has a two-story, red, barn-shaped storage shed in their display lot. Every time I drive past it, I think, that is what we need. Storage upstairs, school room downstairs. I just think it would be perfect!

 

Yep, we had some friends do this a couple of years ago. The mom actually taught classes out of what I liked to call, "the little red schoolhouse". They did not finish the inside, so it was cold in the winter (although they used a little heater). I am not sure how much she used it with her own children, but it worked for a little group of kids.

 

If you have highly distractible kids, there isn't much space to separate kids.

 

Have fun dreaming and hopefully making it reality!

[Koerarmoca]

I have an empty 2 car detached garage that is screaming to be made over into a school room. Shame we are renters I would never invest on something I will see no return on.

[Momof3littles]

I've been studying and researching in snatched moments all afternoon and my mind is made up:

 

I want a yurt.

 

I really, really want a yurt.

 

As a matter of fact, I want to buy a 24' ft yurt to use for a school now, and when these people all grow up and move away I want to take my DH and my yurt and go live in the woods.

 

It seems that a modest yurt, finished, won't cost any more than a good shed, finished. Very comparable.

 

Also, if the economy gets any worse and we actually lose this house that we kinda hate, we'll have something to move onto my brother's farm with. Yay.

 

Watch this space.

 

(Jryanbass, I hope you share pictures if you fix up that garage!)

 

I hear you. We own a house in suburbia but DH's grandmother owns a 30 acre farm and we have considered buying it one day. The farmhouse is really a tear-down (sadly, but believe me, it is) but we have considered going the yurt route there eventually.

 

SOme people build in a loft space or frame out a bathroom and then you could use those walls for bookshelves ;)

 

Did you find this site yet?

http://www.livingintheround.org/

[Teachin'Mine]

I'd finish the attached garage for your schoolroom as it would be easier to insulate and provide heating and cooling as needed. It would also be more convenient to move from there to the kitchen and other rooms as needed. I'd build a shed to house the things normally kept in the garage. If you could get building approval, and could afford to do it, you could try to make this "shed" two stories and have a rec room upstairs as a fun place to escape to. It could even be a screen room or something similar.

[Mrs Mungo]

Found it!

 

http://stephanieandkids.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-08-30T15%3A45%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7