Premium line

Finished backyard buildings: built for people, not just storage

This is our premium line: complete, finished buildings in your backyard. Insulated, wired, heated and cooled, with real interiors, built for working, creating, hosting, and living, not for storing the mower.

Storage buildings and finished buildings are different products

A custom shed is a great answer to a storage problem. A finished backyard building answers a different question: where do I get another real room without moving or building an addition?

The difference is everything behind the walls:

  • Insulation in walls, ceiling, and floor, so the space holds temperature
  • Finished interior walls: drywall, tongue-and-groove, or panel, taped, trimmed, and painted
  • Electrical: a dedicated circuit or subpanel, outlets where you need them, proper lighting
  • HVAC: usually a mini-split sized to the building, so it's comfortable in July and January
  • Plumbing where the use calls for it: half-baths, full baths, kitchenettes, sauna and pool-house fixtures
  • Upgraded foundations: concrete slabs or engineered pier systems that carry a finished building's loads
  • Interior trim and flooring chosen for the use, from LVP in a workshop to hardwood in a guest house
  • Windows and doors specified for comfort and light, not just access
  • Exterior finishes matched to your house, because this building will be looked at for decades

The lineup

Every building below gets its own page with uses, pricing factors, and FAQs:

And if what you're picturing doesn't have a name on that list (an outdoor bar, a greenhouse-studio hybrid, a she-shed that's really a library) that's still us. "You dream it, we build it" is the whole business model. Tell us what you're imagining and we'll figure out what it takes.

Permits: the honest version

Permitting for finished buildings varies more than any other part of the job. What decides it:

  • Where you are. Metro Nashville, the City of Franklin, and unincorporated county land all have different rules.
  • Zoning and setbacks. How close to property lines you can build, and how much of the lot can be covered.
  • Utilities. Adding electrical usually means an electrical permit; plumbing raises the bar again.
  • Whether it's a dwelling. A studio you work in and a DADU someone lives in are different legal animals, even at the same square footage.

None of this should scare you off; it's paperwork, and we've done it before. We check the rules for your exact address during the quote, price the permit work into the number, and handle the inspection schedule during the build.

What drives the price

Size sets the baseline, then systems: electrical service, HVAC, and plumbing are the big steps. Foundation type, interior finish level, and window count move the number from there. Permit and utility-connection costs get their own lines in the quote. You'll see all of it itemized, so upgrading the flooring or dropping a window is a visible trade, not a mystery.

How the build runs

  1. Design and site check. We walk the yard, talk through use and placement, and settle the spec.
  2. Permits. Where required, we prepare drawings and submit; you'll know the timeline up front.
  3. Foundation and shell. Slab or piers, then framing, roof, windows, and siding: dried-in and weather-tight.
  4. Systems. Electrical, HVAC, and plumbing rough-ins, with inspections as required.
  5. Finish. Insulation, interior walls, trim, flooring, paint, fixtures, and a final walkthrough with you inside a finished room that didn't exist a month before.

Common questions

What makes a building 'finished' instead of a shed?

Occupancy. A shed keeps rain off your stuff; a finished building keeps people comfortable. That means insulation in the walls and ceiling, finished interior surfaces, real electrical on its own circuit, heating and cooling, and often plumbing. The framing may look similar from the street, but the spec sheet, the inspections, and the way you'll use it are completely different.

Do finished backyard buildings need permits?

Usually, and the requirements vary a lot: city versus county, zoning district, setbacks from property lines, whether you're adding electrical or plumbing, and whether the building counts as a dwelling. We confirm exactly what applies to your address before quoting a number, and we coordinate the permit and inspections when they're required. It's part of the job, not an extra.

What do finished buildings cost compared to a shed?

More, and honestly so. You're paying for insulation, drywall or wood interiors, electrical service, HVAC, better foundations, and in some cases plumbing, plus the permits and inspections that come with them. The result is year-round usable square footage at a fraction of the cost per square foot of a home addition. Every quote is itemized so you can see exactly where the money goes.

How long does a finished building take?

Longer than our 2–3 day sheds, because there are more trades and usually inspections between stages. Small studios typically run a few weeks from first post hole to paint; DADUs and guest houses with plumbing run longer. You get a real schedule with the quote, and we tell you when permitting timelines are outside our control.

Ready to talk about your project?

Tell us what you're picturing and we'll send a same-day quote. No pressure, no sales script, just a builder's honest answer.