Debate: Should I have paid $200 for a prepper shed or built my own from scratch?

Last month I had to choose between buying a pre-built survival shed from a guy in Boise for $200 or building one myself with scrap wood and tarps. I went with the shed because I'm no carpenter and figured it was a steal. Thing showed up with a cracked frame and no water seal though. Now I'm wondering if I should have just spent the weekend nailing stuff together in my backyard. My buddy says preppers who buy ready-made kits are just wasting cash on junk. But I've seen his DIY shelter collapse in a windstorm so I'm not sold on his approach. Has anyone else had to make this call and what did you pick? I'm leaning toward rebuilding mine from scratch now but I'd love to hear which way worked out better for you.

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sage_rodriguez9d ago

That's exactly what happened with my shed, the frame cracked in the first week. 200 bucks sounds cheap but you're basically buying a headache in a box. The guy in Boise probably knew that thing was junk and offloaded it on you. I say scrap it after you salvage any decent wood and just go DIY with some 2x4s and heavy duty tarps from Home Depot. My buddy built one for like 50 bucks and it's still standing after two winters. You'll learn more from fixing your mistakes than from paying for someone else's shoddy work.