How long does it take to build a custom shed in California?

Most Bedrock builds finish in one to two weeks from the day the foundation is started. A finished interior adds roughly another week. The two things that most often extend a schedule are permit timelines, which vary by city, and black-framed window and door orders, which carry a lead time of about ten to twelve days.

Do I need to be home while my shed is being built?

No. The crew needs access to the yard and a place to park. Customers are asked to be present for the site visit before signing and for the final walkthrough. The days in between are optional.

How much is the deposit on a shed in California?

Bedrock takes a $1,000 deposit, which comes off the final price. One thousand dollars is the legal maximum down payment a licensed contractor may take on a home improvement contract in California.

Does Bedrock Sheds handle the building permit?

Yes, when a permit is required. Bedrock pulls it under CSLB license #1087479, submits the plans, and schedules the inspections. A permit is required for any structure over 120 square feet, and for any structure with electrical regardless of size.

Can I finish the inside of the shed myself?

Yes. The standard build is delivered as a sound, dry, sealed shell with bare studs and structural sheathing, which many owners finish themselves. Electrical work should be done by a licensed electrician under permit.

The Process

How does a custom shed actually get built?

In your yard, over about one to two weeks, in six phases.

Nothing arrives assembled. There’s no trailer, no crane, no panels that get bolted together. Lumber, concrete, and materials show up, and a building goes up where you’re standing.

Get your price

Before We Build

How you get a number

Pick a sizeFour standard sizes, $15,000 to $18,000 — or tell us the size you actually want and we’ll quote it.

Send three photosA wide shot, the access path, a close-up of the ground. Phone photos are fine.

Get a real number the same dayFrom a person, not an autoresponder. Tell us any customizations you want and describe your dream shed. The number comes back reflecting what you asked for.

We come look at itEvery job gets a site visit before you sign anything.

We draw itCustom drawings for your build — the footprint, where the door and windows land, and any upgrade you asked for. The plan comes back to you before anything is ordered, so you see exactly what you’re getting.

Sign, and put down $1,000It comes off the price. $1,000 is the legal maximum a California contractor can take as a down payment.

What we’re doing at the site visit

Measuring setbacks. Setback rules are written city by city, so we look up the one for your parcel before we measure. This is the most common reason a planned location moves a few feet.
Checking the grade. How much fall is across the pad, how much dirt comes out, whether slab or piers is the right call.
Checking access. Where the concrete truck parks, whether the lumber goes through the side yard or over a fence.
Confirming the number, or putting any change in writing before you decide anything.

You get a written contract with the spec attached, so what you signed for and what gets built are the same document.

Permits

Permits, if you need one

Under 120 square feet, one story, twelve feet or under — no building permit. All four standard sizes clear that line.

Anything larger, or anything with power run to it, does need one. We pull it under CSLB #1087479, submit the plans, and schedule the inspections. You don’t stand in line at a building department.

Permits add time and cost. How much depends entirely on the city, and we’ll give you an honest read on your city at the site visit rather than a number we can’t control.

Setbacks and HOA rules apply whether or not there’s a permit. The city governs one, your HOA governs the other, and they’re separate conversations.

Construction

The build: six phases

All of it happens in your yard.

1. Foundation

Site prep first: leveling, grading, hauling out whatever dirt has to leave. Then the foundation you picked — slab or piers, same price, your yard decides.

2. Framing

Pressure-treated sill plate anchored with 5/8-inch galvanized bolts every 36 inches. 2×4 Doug fir studs at 16 inches on center. 4×4 posts. 2×8 Doug fir rafters. Then structural plywood — 19/32″ on every wall, 23/32″ across the whole roof. This is the phase that decides what the building is, and the best day to come out and look at it before anything covers it up.

3. Roof

Sixty-minute building paper, felt underlayment, drip edge, then Owens Corning asphalt shingles in the color you picked.

4. Windows and doors

One 24″ x 48″ window and one fiberglass door, or whatever you ordered. Standard white windows arrive in a couple of days. Black-framed windows and doors run about ten to twelve days — if you want black frames, tell us early. It’s the most common reason a schedule stretches.

5. Siding

Tyvek house wrap, then Hardie Board Cement Siding. If you chose stucco instead, the assembly changes to black building paper and wire lath before the stucco coats.

6. Paint

Prep, prime, and two finish coats in your color. It leaves finished.

Most builds finish in one to two weeks from the day we start the foundation. A finished interior adds about another week.

Handover

After we’re done

We leave it spotless

Every day, not just the last one. Materials stacked, offcuts and packaging hauled out, the pad swept, your yard put back the way we found it. You should be able to walk out at the end of any workday and not be able to tell we were mid-build.

We walk it with you

You look at everything, and anything that isn’t right gets written down and fixed. We pride ourselves on superior client service, because what we’re building has to be right. And it has to make you smile at the end of it. Giddy, like Christmas morning.

What we need from you

Access on build days. Gate unlocked or a code, and a spot the crew can park.
A decision on the foundation, made together at the site visit.
Your colors — siding and shingles — before we order.
Your HOA’s approval, if you’re in one. That’s the one thing we can’t do for you, and it’s the thing most likely to delay a start.

That’s it. You don’t need to be home while we build.

Questions People Ask

About the build itself

How long does it really take?

Most builds finish in one to two weeks from the day we start the foundation. A finished interior adds about another week. Permits and black-framed window orders are the two things that stretch a schedule, and we flag both before you sign.

Do I have to be there?

No. We’ll need access, and we’ll want you there for the site visit and the final walkthrough. The days in between are up to you.

Can I come look at it while it’s going up?

Yes, and framing day is the day to do it. That’s when you can see what’s actually in the walls.

Who actually does the work?

Our crew and the subs we’ve worked with for years, all running under our license.

What if it rains?

We stop. Framing and roofing in rain makes a worse building. It’s Southern California, so this is rarely more than a day or two, and we’ll tell you when it moves the date.

Is the deposit really only $1,000?

Yes. It’s the legal maximum in California for a home improvement contract, and it comes off the price.

Get Started

Get a real number

Tell us the size and where it’s going. We’ll come out, measure, and put a real number in writing.

Get your price