Trauma wrote:
I probably fall on the DIY side, we converted a spare bedroom into a pain cave at my old place, have a temporary garage pain cave set-up right now, and have configured the basement in our new place that is being built so that I can easily convert that into a pain cave...
That said, as people have mentioned that most general contractors could build you something, but there's something to be said for specialized expertise... Plenty of people hire interior designers, but if you're designing a specific type of space, there's an advantage to people who context specific experience or expertise. People more familiar with the niche will be able to suggest options to the client, and talk about the pros and cons, whereas someone who just builds, might not be able to help the client out as much.
But if your friend really wants to make money, Pre-Fab is the way to go. As others noted, people won't pay for someone out of town to come and spend weeks doing a job for them, but there have been a number of companies that have sprung up to capitalize on mass work from home directives due to COVID, by creating pre-fab office pods that are beautifully designed, and then shipped to you on a truck, and then installed in your yard (you deal with the permitting and setting up a slab/electrical), in some cases with some option for customization. Some of those companies have started to move towards fitness spaces, as I've seen one company that has started to do a yoga room option... But gym pods could easily be a thing, with options for SBR, Cross-Fit, etc. the basics of the pod/shed could basically be the same, but the internal configuration would differ depending on sport set-ups. It's a balance, but typically most of them aren't ready made, and instead are made to order, so people would expect to wait 30-60 days for fabrication and then shipping/installation. So really it's making a really pretty prototype, kitting it with high-end equipment, and getting a good photographer and a a nice web-site. Obviously if there's a steady stream of orders, they might need help to keep up, although you could reduce build costs by sourcing stuff in bulk too..
For the fun of it I'm going to take a stab at pricing it out shorthand and see what seems realistic for profit. Figure suburban area for material prices.
Shed (just the shed) - 16'x20', 3/4" plywood sub floor, T-11 siding, shingle roof, figure concrete sonotubes with PT framing at the bottom. Single door, couple windows - $3,000. Add extra for aluminum siding or anything to match house.
Interior finishes - Sheetrock walls with insulation, floor (composite wood), hard ceiling - $2,500.
Electrical - 100A sub-panel, plenty of outlets, dimmable LED lighting, cabling for TV/PC interface, wireless access point, $2,000. Still need a local electrician to provide a feed out to the shed, pull permit, etc, figure another $3k for a trench, conduit, breaker, termination, permit.
HVAC - DX ductless split with heat pump. Northern part of country probably need electric trim heat. Couple fans for kicks. $2,500.
Goodies - TVs (2, one for movies, one for Zwift/TR/Whatever; $400 each), treadmill $2,000, Trainer $1500, various strength training free weights, bands, $500. Total goodies $4,800.
Straight up materials call it $15,000. Mark that up 10% so we're at $16,500. Labor I'm going to use $50/hr just as a base. Shed will take 3 days (24 hours). Interior, day for sheetrock, day for mud, day for sand, day for paint, day for floor, 5 days total. Electrical 2 days. HVAC 2 days. Misc cabling, goodie setup, 3 days. Total of 15 days. 15x8x50 = $6,000 labor. Seems a little low, I know trades would be higher hourly but I just wanted to use round numbers.
Materials $16k + labor $6k = $22k.
Endless pool would throw a total wrench in it all, you'd need a bigger shed, better heating/cooling to control humidity, waterproof materials inside plumbing and drain out to the shed. I have no clue what one costs but I'd say another $4k in materials, $6k in labor for the install and plumbing, then whatever the cost of the endless is.
With all that said, it would be a fun project to do during COVID for some side income.