No Storage Unit, Still 24/7 Access: Tuff Shed's Employee-Owned Approach to Backyard Builds
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In the premiere episode of the San Antonio Home and Garden Series on The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie takes listeners to the floor of the San Antonio Home and Garden Show for a conversation with Richard Castellanos of Tuff Shed. The episode, titled "No Storage Unit. Still 24/7 Access: Tuff Shed," explores how this employee-owned American manufacturer is helping South Texas homeowners transform their properties.
Castellanos, a sales design consultant based at Tuff Shed's display yard near Loop 410 and Bandera, walked McKenzie through the practical side of buying a shed in the San Antonio market. One key detail: San Antonio's 300-square-foot threshold for building without a permit. But, as Castellanos noted, municipalities like Castle Hills and Alamo Heights have different rules—something buyers often overlook.
Tuff Shed structures are stick-built with 2x4s at 16 inches on center, with upgrades to 2x6 or 2x8 framing available on larger designs like the two-story barn. While residential use cases—studios, workspaces, garage overflow—dominate, Tuff Shed also serves commercial clients, including school districts, government entities, and San Antonio Air Force bases. The company's Woodmaster division builds truly portable structures, including popular chicken coops and greenhouses.
Castellanos emphasized that Tuff Shed's employee-ownership model is central to the customer experience. "It's not just me as a sales design consultant trying to sell you a product," he told McKenzie. "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." On what's driving demand, he was direct: "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 traced Tuff Shed's growth from founder and CEO Tom Saurey, who started the company 45 years ago, to its current footprint of 74 factories across the United States. Locally, Castellanos highlighted two locations south of Loop 410, plus a newer one off I-35 in New Braunfels. Turnaround time currently runs a week to 10 days from design to build slot, with most installations completed on site in a single day. Customers can also design their own shed online at toughshed.com before ever speaking with a consultant.
This episode is the first in a series recorded at the San Antonio Home and Garden Show, offering practical, name-by-name insights for homeowners and builders across Texas.