Who works from home?

[TX_92_Notch]

That sounds optimal to me! Is it stand-alone or connected to the house? Did you convert a shed or was it a custom job? Not asking for any reason other than being nosy.

I bought a 14x16 building from one of the prefab places. I pondered buying a kit and building it myself but I just don't have time for that. It has metal exterior (walls and roof) over plywood on studs. The interior was unfinished but was prewired for electrical. I gave them a floor plan with locations of windows, the door, lots of outlets, electrical panel and two light boxes in the ceiling.

I installed insulation and completely finished the interior. Corrugated metal on the ceiling and vertical 4" siding on the walls for a rustic look. It came out pretty nice, though it wasn't cheap. I spent around $10k by the time I ran services from the house (did it all myself but copper ain't cheap!), installed a mini-split AC, etc.

I plan to work from home for quite some time so this was money well spent. Plus I got back nearly 30% of the money on my taxes.

[Baron Von Crowder]

That sounds optimal to me! Is it stand-alone or connected to the house? Did you convert a shed or was it a custom job? Not asking for any reason other than being nosy.



If I were you, and didn't have an extra room in the house for it, I would absolutely build a small 'office' into your shop. But short of that, there is no way I'd put it in the master bedroom. Even just putting the desk in a little-used dining room or formal living room would be better, IMO.

I wasted no time taking over the boys' rooms once they moved out, lol. I started in the back bedroom but was not a big fan. Now we converted Austin's old room into a shared office for both of us, and it's so much nicer. It's big enough for us to both have our desks, plus I have a workbench and she has a 'craft' area for her cricut and heat press.

Being at the front of the house, with the ability to look out the window without getting up, is great!

I'm likely going to be working 'from home' a lot more, and had already been thinking of renting some shop space. If I do go that route, I hope to find something with a small office area that is air conditioned. Kinda like the old shop you shared, though not likely stand alone.



IRS via an audit, I would think?

I was thinking about the formal living (because we NEVER use it and have two other living areas in the house) or the spare bedroom. The spare bedroom's benefit is that it has a door that I could close. The wife and kids wouldnt be so tempted to wander in to chat if the door was closed. But that kills anyone needing a guest room.

[Tx Redneck]

I bought a 14x16 building from one of the prefab places. I pondered buying a kit and building it myself but I just don't have time for that. It has metal exterior (walls and roof) over plywood on studs. The interior was unfinished but was prewired for electrical. I gave them a floor plan with locations of windows, the door, lots of outlets, electrical panel and two light boxes in the ceiling.

I installed insulation and completely finished the interior. Corrugated metal on the ceiling and vertical 4" siding on the walls for a rustic look. It came out pretty nice, though it wasn't cheap. I spent around $10k by the time I ran services from the house (did it all myself but copper ain't cheap!), installed a mini-split AC, etc.

I plan to work from home for quite some time so this was money well spent. Plus I got back nearly 30% of the money on my taxes.

Man, that sounds about perfect. I need that separation to be able to "be off work". I think when I'm able, I'll do something similar.

[JC316]

I view it like this....

[Chas_svo]

I’ve done it 3-4 days a week for most of the last decade. Most of the keys have been mentioned, but I would make sure you have an “office” with a door. I wish mine was further from the main room my kids hang out in during the summer. My home internet is much faster than the office, but all it takes is one asshole with a backhoe to screw that up. We also had many more power outages when they were building houses closer to us. That can suck. I do have a generator that should power the minimal of my house but haven’t tried it yet.

Good luck.

[Sgt Beavis]

I'm not 100% certain but I may be the longest lived telecommuter here. Since 2007, I've worked from home at EDS, HP, and now VMware. There is only a two month period that Meg Whitman forced us all back into the office that I wasn't working from home. Of course that was the final straw that made me leave for the awesomeness of VMWare.

Many of Ceyko's pros/cons hold true. All of the Pros are spot on, as are some of the Cons. I tend to work long hours but I actually enjoy my work. I also goof off a lot but I think that's because I'm actually pretty good at my work and do it rather quickly. My manager has worried at times that I'm overworked only to get reassurance from me that VMware is a friggin' vacation compared to HP.

I get up at 5am every morning, make an Americano, and read the news. I'll get in a workout and make coffee for my wife when she rolls out of bed. I usually start working around 7-8am. I quit somewhere around 5-7pm, depending on whats going on that day. I take care of customers, plan for PoCs, help with business justifications, work on my self-training (mostly in my lab), etc., etc., etc.,

TopGolf is opening on Friday, I'm going to start spending some days there since they usually have good wifi.

I only head out for business travel. That can vary a lot. I didn't travel a single day in June, but I was out every week in July. My travel is usually a single overnight trip. My wife is a stay at home Mom, so I usually have her to keep me company. This summer was my son's first out of kindergarten. So I may take a lunch at the community pool so he can go swimming. Also, because I work from home, I can live anywhere I want that has a decent airport. That's one reason I moved to Denver a couple of years ago.

All this and I still get all my work done and make a crap ton of money.

I pretty much will never take a job that doesn't let me work from home.

[Silverback]

I work from home 3 days a week. I choose to go into the office Tuesday/Wednesday, when i'm in town, to have some social interaction and team building/meetings.

My wife also works from home, so it's nice to get away a few days a week.

[Mysticcobrakilla]

Working from home sounds like a dream come true for me... then again I’d get fired within a few weeks, I’d have one hell of a yard though!

[silverranger]

Nothing to add, I love working from home

[silverranger]

Working from home sounds like a dream come true for me... then again I’d get fired within a few weeks, I’d have one hell of a yard though!

Haha yeah you would

[Chili]

I was thinking about the formal living (because we NEVER use it and have two other living areas in the house) or the spare bedroom. The spare bedroom's benefit is that it has a door that I could close. The wife and kids wouldnt be so tempted to wander in to chat if the door was closed. But that kills anyone needing a guest room.

Doors are always good!

How often do you have mid-week guests? If not too common maybe you could just suffer when they're in town?

My brother has a Murphy bed in his home-office, which is perfect. It even looks like a book case when it's stowed. I'm thinking about building one for our guest room, so all that space isn't wasted the 330 days a year it's not used..

[DON SVO]

I work from home a decent bit now, I use my man cave and converted it rather easily into an office. I despise traffic and like the productivity you get at the house, I legitimately get a ton more done and (like others said) I get back an hour and a half of my day from lacking a commute.

[Stoner]

Did not read the entire thread, but have been working from home for about 2-3 years. In I.T. and pretty much set my own hours.

Plus side:
1. low millage on car.
2. Not much use for gas.
3. Can watch tv while working.
4. Can surf pron too.
5. Ability to play with my dog and take her out as needed.
6. Cheap food as I can make what I want on the grill.
7. Take a swim whenever I want.
8. Shoot any intruders / burglars as I'm home to do this.
9. Able to keep an eye on my older neighbors to make sure the thugs don't break in while they're gone.
10. Do chores while working.
11. No traffic to fight.
12. No road rage A-holes to worry about.
13. Weather is not an issue. Always climate controlled
14. Backup generator should the power go out.
15. Can start drinking earlier.
16. Don't have to go far to smoke. Garage in the winter and a few steps outside in the summer.
17. No worries about packages being stolen as I'm always here.

Really I could go on and on.

Negative: Relating personally to people on a daily basis.
Hmmmmm. That's all I miss. I can go to one of my 2 offices, but why do that when I can do the same thing at home.

[Mysticcobrakilla]

Haha yeah you would

Hey look a weed....4 hours later, shit! I’ve got work to do!

[95DRGT]

Been doing for last 19years-flexibility is the biggest thing for since I work to deadlines not an hourly gig. Only con was when my kids were younger and couldn’t grasp the concept I was working when they came in from school