Tuff Shed Pitches San Antonio on Ditching Paid Storage for Backyard Builds
On The Building Texas Show, Richard Castellanos of Tuff Shed joins host Justin McKenzie at the San Antonio Home and Garden Show to explain stick-built custom sheds, 300-square-foot permit thresholds, one-day on-site builds, and why buyers are cancelling storage units for 24/7 backyard access.
San Antonio, TX (Newsworthy.ai) Thursday Sep 3, 2026 @ 12:01 AM CDT
Tuff Shed
Photo: Tuff Shed
“A majority of our business is residential, obviously, but they want to get out of their storage unit that they're paying for, get something on their property that they can access 24/7. That's our biggest business now.”
The first installment of the San Antonio Home and Garden Series on The Building Texas Show, titled No Storage Unit. Still 24/7 Access: Tuff Shed and hosted by Justin McKenzie, brings listeners a floor-side conversation with Richard Castellanos of Tuff Shed, recorded live at the San Antonio Home and Garden Show. Published August 30, 2026, the episode unpacks how an employee-owned American manufacturer is helping South Texas homeowners reclaim garages, cancel monthly storage rentals, and add fully customized backyard structures that in most cases go up in a single day.
Castellanos walks McKenzie through the practical mechanics of buying a Tuff Shed in the San Antonio market, with specific attention to details that buyers frequently overlook:
Tuff Shed
Photo: Tuff Shed
“A majority of our business is residential, obviously, but they want to get out of their storage unit that they're paying for, get something on their property that they can access 24/7. That's our biggest business now.”
- San Antonio's 300-square-foot threshold for building without a permit, and how municipalities like Castle Hills and Alamo Heights differ
- Stick-built framing using 2x4s at 16 on center, with 2x6 or 2x8 upgrades on designs like the two-story barn
- Residential use cases (studios, workspaces, garage overflow) alongside commercial work for school districts, government entities, and San Antonio Air Force bases
- The Woodmaster's division for truly portable structures, including popular chicken coops and greenhouses
Castellanos frames the company's employee-ownership model as central to the customer experience, not a footnote. "It's not just me as a sales design consultant trying to sell you a product. It's actually me trying to get you an experience that one, you're going to recommend to your friends and two, is going to keepsake your valuables, your memorables that you're storing in your shed," he tells McKenzie. On the shift driving current demand, he is blunt: "A majority of our business is residential, obviously, but they want to get out of their storage unit that they're paying for, get something on their property that they can access 24/7."
The conversation also traces Tuff Shed's national footprint back to founder and CEO Tom Saurey, who launched the company 45 years ago and has grown it to 74 factories across the United States. Locally, Castellanos points listeners to two South Side locations outside Loop 410, a display yard at 410 and Bandera where he is based, and a new location off I-35 in New Braunfels. Turnaround, he notes, currently runs a week to 10 days from design to build slot, with the actual assembly typically completed on site in a single day. Customers can also self-design at toughshed.com before ever contacting a consultant.
About The Building Texas Show
The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, profiles the operators, tradespeople, and entrepreneurs shaping how Texas gets built. From job sites to trade-show floors like the San Antonio Home and Garden Show, the podcast delivers practical, name-a-name conversations for homeowners, builders, and small-business leaders across the state. Episode 1 of the San Antonio Home and Garden Series is available now wherever podcasts are heard.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How large a shed can I build in San Antonio without pulling a permit?
- According to Richard Castellanos on the episode, San Antonio allows structures up to 300 square feet without requiring a building permit, which he notes is a pretty large footprint. Municipalities within the San Antonio area, such as Castle Hills and Alamo Heights, do require permits, and Tuff Shed has a permit tech on staff who handles that process for customers.
- Are Tuff Shed buildings actually stick-built, or are they prefab panels?
- They are stick-built on site using 2x4 wall framing at 16 inches on center, the same way an interior wall would be framed. Castellanos says Tuff Shed will upgrade to 2x6 or 2x8 framing when a design calls for it, citing the two-story barn as an example that uses 2x6 walls.
- Why are so many homeowners buying sheds right now?
- Castellanos says the biggest driver in residential sales is customers wanting to cancel paid off-site storage units in favor of a structure on their own property with 24/7 access. Common use cases discussed on the show include emptying out garages so cars actually fit, plus studios and dedicated workspaces.
- Who founded Tuff Shed, and how big is the company today?
- Tuff Shed was started 45 years ago by CEO Tom Saurey and has grown into an employee-owned manufacturer operating 74 factories across the United States. Castellanos emphasizes that because every worker is a vested owner, the sales and design process is framed around long-term customer experience rather than a one-time transaction.
- Can a Tuff Shed be moved later, or is it permanent?
- Most Tuff Sheds are built on site and are not anchored to the ground, which makes them portable in most cases; anchoring typically only happens when a municipality requires a permanent building. For customers who need to relocate a structure repeatedly, Tuff Shed's Woodmaster's division builds truly portable units, including chicken coops and greenhouses.
- How fast can a customer actually get a shed built?
- Castellanos says current turnaround runs about a week to 10 days from design to a scheduled build slot, stretching to roughly two weeks during higher demand. The build itself is typically completed in a single day on site. Buyers can also start by designing their own shed at toughshed.com before contacting a consultant.
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