In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, I knew this could happen and stupidly decided to push my luck. What also hurts me is my house is on the main street of the neighborhood and my backyard is visible from the main street. Most everyone else their backyards aren't street visible at all, so they can hide their sheds much more easily...
You just need more fents.
In reply to Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) :
I agree. The issue is now that the HOA knows I have the shed, will they agree to the taller fence option or still make me get rid of it? Also not sure if the covenants will allow me to build a taller fence, although I'm pretty sure the neighbor across the street from me has an 8' fence. I need to go take pictures and measure it tonight after work.
If a giant sign that says PISS OFF that is taller than the fents that blocks the shed is OK, I would do that. OR something uglier but still in the rules.
Ouch. I'm in the camp of "I'll get rid of it when EVERYONE ELSE gets rid of theirs".
That said, I've never had the misfortune of dealing with an HOA and hope to keep it that way.
Called Tuff Shed and ran a few things by them.
#1 Can they lower the height of the current shed?
They might be able to change the roof of it to drop it one foot. Not sure if that'll be enough. They're looking into whether they can also shorten the walls. This also depends on the response from the HOA. If they're cool with a shed as long as it's not visible than great,then I look into making the fence taller and the shed shorter. Preferably making the shed shorter because fences are expensive and I don't care to spend $6,000-10,000 on a fence to keep the height of this shed as is. If they don't care period then it's gotta go.
#2 Can they completely disassemble the shed into it's original walls/roof etc so I can get it out from my backyard and maybe resell it.
This appears to be "Yes" with the caveat that the roof shingles will need to be replaced.
#3 Are they willing to exchange this shed for a smaller sized shed that'll "hide" in my backyard behind the fence better.
They're going to ask management about this. I have no expectations on this one, it's my fault I bought such a large shed...
What are your HOA's rules on play structures? If they are jerks about it, decorate it and call it a kids play house.
In reply to Boost_Crazy :
I'm not sure but I suspect anything needs to hide behind the fence, although I do know some neighbors with swing sets that are pretty tall....
So if I can't raise my fence (which I don't think I can, turns out my neighbors fence is 6'), then I'm hosed and this shed needs to go. If the HOA will allow me to put 2' of lattice on my existing fence AND Tuff Shed is able to drop the roof a foot, then it'll hide behind the fence.
I'm currently waiting to hear from the HOA but I'm not optimistic about being able to keep the shed.
I like the idea of a sign that says "Lisa's Playhouse - no boys allowed!" shot over to the HOA asking if you should remove still.
UPDATE!
Finally heard back from the HOA, they've decided to allow sheds, lol! Up to 8x10, must look like the house, including the roof and they delineate where they can be placed.
Of course my shed still isn't in compliance, since I didn't get permission. Which is lame since the covenants said no sheds then. They asked that I ask for architectural control to look at it, which I've requested.
Luckily my shed is 7x10 and meets the placement guidelines. I have leftover paint from when the house was painted, so I'll paint it before the guy comes over. I'm having my roofer come give me a quote, I have the tile already.
I won't pay to get the roof done until the HOA guy says the shed is fine, which I expect they will.
At this point everyone in the neighborhood owes me a beer because I singlehandedly forced the HOA to amend the covenants to allow sheds.
Well, re-read the shed covenants and they want it attached to the house. I can't do that, on one side the shed is taller than the garage, on the other side I've got a vent coming out of the house. The shed is extremely close to the house on that side, so if push comes to shove I'll stick a piece of wood in that gap and say it's attached. I've asked the HOA about it, hopefully someone there has some common sense.
I'm waiting for them to review the plans and I guess for someone to come look at the shed. I've gotten a quote to roof it with the same cement tile as the house, I'll do that if they make me and after they've approved the shed. I don't want to spend a bunch of money and have them not approve the thing.
I would have a problem living with an HOA. Mostly because it would give me an organization to try to "out-petty."
"Terribly sorry my shed is too tall, Karen. I'll have my friend come over with the excavators 9:45 p.m. Sunday night to lower the ground underneath to your liking. All the removed dirt will be evenly spread over HOA board members' lawns..."
In reply to travellering :
Honestly I haven't had an issue with the HOA and I've lived in the neighborhood for 13 years. I knew this shed could cause an issue with them, as the covenants clearly state "no sheds". So I'm happy I've moved them off of that, the location and size of my shed is fine, the sticking point is the attachment to the house part. Which I can kludge if I have to. Whether they'll think that's acceptable or not I'm not sure.
While it'll suck to pay to have the roof done to match the house, if that's what it takes for me to keep the shed, I'll do it. It'll also look nice...
I have no problem with HOA's, when they are a known factor in your house purchasing decision. If I had kids, I'm sure I'd be one of the first to complain about rusty hulks in potential play areas. As it is, I'm the one with the rusty hulks..
Went to Home Depot, bought some wood and attached my shed to my house. I've since put a bead of silicone caulk to fill in any gaps. Hopefully this will suffice with the HOA...
I'm waiting for them to approve it, then I'll do the roof. Don't want to spend the money until they've approved the shed
docwyte said:Hopefully this will suffice with the HOA...
My township said even a single nail makes things "attached," for better or worse. Good luck with the HOA!
Just did a Rubbermaid shed last week so I could reclaim the space in my shop that was being occupied by yard tools.
The only caveat is that the base you build for the shed has to be laser- level and glass- smooth or you will have problems getting it to snap together and the doors to close and meet in the middle. Even being forewarned this caught me out because the pavers I used were patterned on the topside; I should have installed them upside down smooth-side up.
I went with the rubbermaid because I have had one of their garbage bins for over 20 years and it is only now showing signs of deteriorating. If the shed last that long I will be quite happy.
In reply to Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) :
Well, two people from the HOA came out today to look at the shed. I pointed out that the color matched, it was "attached" to the house, that I had a pile of cement roof tiles that are going to be installed etc.
They mentioned the height of the shed and I countered with that the updated covenants don't say anything about shed height, only depth and width. She agreed with me.
Annoyingly they're not the people who make the decision. Apparently it now has to go to the board, specifically the board President. Who she said also happens to have a non conforming shed. So I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens...
HOAs: not even once.
Got a call from the HOA president Friday. He came over with one of the architectural committee guys. Basically my shed is too tall. I showed him the covenants I got sent by the management company that have no mention of height. He agreed but told me that was an oversight and it'll be added. The shed can't be taller than the fence line, which means it's gotta be no taller than 5'11".
That's taking 3 1/2 feet out of this shed, which probably isn't cost effective. So I'm looking into seeing how much it'd be to modify it vs selling it and having another one built that is the proper size.
I did tell them this would take some time and they're cool with that. I also said I didn't want to do this level of work without having the HOA approve the shed. They told me to send in another request and it should get approved. Once that happens and I've gotten the bids for the work or maybe sold it, I'll go forward...
OK, well the HOA did approve a shed for me. The kicker is it can't be taller than the fence line. So it's gotta be 5'11" high at most. I'm a little irritated by that given that I can go around my neighborhood and see several other sheds that are well over the fence line. My exposure to the main street of the neighborhood is hurting me here.
Anyways, that means this shed is 2'7" too tall. I'm having someone come over tomorrow morning to look at it and see if that much can get taken out of it. If not I'll have to try and sell it and have another shed built that meets the height restrictions. At least at that point I can have the proper roof put on it from the get go.
I talked with an attorney that deals with HOA's and basically I'd be giving him more money than it'll cost me to just get a shorter shed, so I'm going to just modify/replace the shed
Had someone come out to see if it could be modified and it's not worth the effort. So I listed it on Facebook marketplace and sold it the same day. Apparently I should've asked more for it, oh well. He came over with some friends and took it down and away today, I helped where I could.
New shed is going to get built starting this Tuesday. In trying to make lemonade out of this situation, since the new shed is short enough to fit underneath the eave of my garage I'll be able to have it up against the wall of the garage. That means it'll sit back in another 2 feet or so, making it much easier to load the motorcycle in. The shed will be 7' wide and there's 7'3" between the wall and that downspout. Close, but it'll fit.
I also told the builder to lay the 2x4's down on their sides, so the framework will only be 1.5" high, not 4" high. That'll give me more room for overall height inside the shed and also make it easier to load the snowblower and motorcycle into the shed.
OK, new shed is almost done. I'm not happy but it's not the shed builders fault. The issue is my damn HOA and the height restrictions I'm working with. The overall height of the shed needs to be no more than 5'11" to fit underneath my 6' privacy fence. The framework did get laid down, so the floor of the shed is ~2" off my slab, which is great. However since I have to use the same roofing as my house, which is cement tile, the builder used 2x6 for the roof. That cost me 6" in height, plus the cement tiles sit 3" higher than asphalt shingles. So I lost almost a FOOT in interior shed height! Floor to top of the interior peak of the roof is only 5' tall, when I was expecting it to be more like 5'6".
The way the builder had the door configured there was no way my motorcycle would've made it through it. I talked with the builder, did some measurements on the bike and he's going to remake the door. Even with that the bike is going to barely squeek through and fit in the shed. I may have to take the front fairing off the bike and fold down the mirrors to get it to properly fit. It's also going to not be fun wheeling a 350lb bike into and out of the shed while crouching over so I don't whack my head on the shed.
I'm also worried with the lack of height, once I have the motorcycle in the shed I won't have the space I need for the lawnmower and the snowblower. Sigh.....
Aaaaand this is why HOAs are the debil. We are currently house hunting and HOAs are out. Funny thing is, we currently have (our first) an HOA, but it's only to pay for the private beech the neighborhood has. When we looked at this house 16 years ago and discovered there is an HOA involved we put the brakes on, put it in reverse-foot on the brake, and asked to see the HOA rules. If there was any mention of anything other than the beech, we would have walked away.
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