Several years ago, I was at a local nursery and saw a very cool garden shed kit. It was actually called “The Cabana” by Cedarshed, a manufacturer of dozens of prefab cedar kits.

It was decided that I had to have this kit (thank you), and it would become my “backyard fort.” Today it’s called a Man Cave, but when I was little ‘fort’ was the popular term.

One Saturday morning, a half-ton flat pack was delivered to my front yard. I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?”

The only way to get it into the backyard, was to unpack it. I soon learned it was a bunch of panelized pieces with four shingled roof sections. Actually, it looked like I could really build this kit.

The most difficult issue, was where to place it. There was really only one location, and it was on a slope. After much discussion, I hired a guy to remove what turned out to be 20 yards of dirt! Of course, then I needed a retaining wall. There was no way I could have done this job myself. Not cheap, but well worth the cost.

Alright, looks great! The next step was to layout the flooring. I used some retaining wall blocks as my foundation piers.

Once the floor was installed and level, I began putting up the panels. These actually went up very quickly. It was really fun to see it “coming together.”

The challenging part for me was lifting the shingled roof pieces in place. This is really a two person job, but after nearly falling off the ladder and crushing my rib cage, well… it turned out great!

Over the years, I have modified the fort with interior shelves, a foldable desk, side window, a skylight Cabana Skylight Project and a bubble window project Bubble Window.

These kits are nicely layed out for the weekend warrior. If you are thinking about building a Man Cave or a fort, this is a good way to go!