R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press Smart-Shed founder Joe Skellenger takes a measurement for the next row of cedar paneling inside a sauna that is soon to be delivered to a customer in Stonington.

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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GLADSTONE — Smart-Shed is the second business brought to fruition and success by founder Joe Skellenger of Gladstone. Though it only officially got off the ground two years ago, Smart-Shed has already earned several dozen satisfied customers and last year began branching into saunas.

Skellenger, who graduated with a bachelor of arts in economics from Northern Michigan University in 2009, said that he’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit. The “smart” aspect of his shed-and-sauna-building business involves a process he’s developed to produce high-quality products efficiently, and he’s always seeking to optimize.

Noting that he’s always been handy, Skellenger said that he developed his construction skills by working with a contractor for a handful of years once his first business — Joe’s One Stop, a convenience store in Rock — had gotten off the ground.

The store, previously Hansen’s Hardware and Service, had been closed when Skellenger purchased it in 2010. In a few years, it was operational enough for Skellenger’s wife, Erica, to run it on her own while Joe sought other work, in part to support a growing family. From about 2014 for a period of about three or four years, Skellenger took on a job with a local contractor.

“We built some homes and did some major remodels, and I just sort of fell in love with the trade,” Skellenger said. “In the meantime, business kept getting better at the store. And after 2020, after the pandemic, business pretty much exploded.”

Despite the store’s success, the entrepreneur explained, he had lost the passion for it and began to look into selling the business.

Knowing a new path was a necessity, “I decided to try selling niche, higher-end storage sheds,” Skellenger said.

On Jan. 1, 2023, his brainchild, Smart-Shed, went public. In 2024, the sale of the store was complete.

Skellenger explained that the Smart-Shed model is different from that of other shed-building companies, many of which operate like car lots — offering premade products that people come to pick out, buy and take home.

Smart-Sheds are custom-made to fit customer specifications. Skellenger believes in transparency, so the prices for various sizes are listed on the website, as are the cost of various features like windows, ramps, workbenches, flower boxes and additional doors.

One major appeal to customers — which may contribute to their exclusively five-star reviews on Google — is the on-site construction that’s done both rapidly and well, which is able to be achieved through Skellenger’s pre-fab system.

After obtaining all the specs from a customer, Skellenger and sometimes part-time helpers build all the pieces in their workshop in Gladstone first, which is located at 824 Superior Ave. In a binder, pages of plans list which pieces are needed in what sizes for various shed dimensions. Using jigs and elements in the shop with measured markings that act almost like stencils, many of the parts can be produced to size without even a tape measure.

“There’s order every single time. We’re going to always do it the same way. The end result might be different, but the system and the process is the same,” Skellenger said.

In his trailer, there’s a place for everything being brought from the shop to the destination — flooring, siding, trusses, roof sheeting — and since everything is prepared in the shop, very little time is needed at the assembly site.

“The part that usually amazes people is, we show up, and by lunchtime, there’s a structure already standing there,” Skellenger said. “It might not have a roof on it or anything yet, but … it’s not only standing there, but it’s very good quality.”

Besides the craftsmanship, the materials are of good quality, too. Smart-Sheds are built with PVC trim, which resists weathering, and LP SmartSide siding, which comes with a 50-year warranty. Since the customer chooses their own features, though, some have opted for variations to match their home.

Smart-Shed has delivered and assembled products in Traverse City, the Grand Rapids area, and more. The Michigan Audubon Society hired them to build a waterbird viewing shack and install it at Whitefish Point.

Storage sheds, chicken coops, and playhouses are seasonal work for Smart-Shed. To branch out into something that could be productive in the winter, Skellenger started building Smart-Saunas. Instead of being made in parts at the shop and built at the site, saunas are made entirely in the workshop and then loaded onto a flatbed trailer and delivered to the customer whole.

The saunas are cedar, insulated, and also customizeable. They are made with Huum woodstoves and chimneys, and “I’ve gone as far as even having these proprietary stainless steel heat shields made just to make the saunas as safe as possible,” Skellenger said.

The first sauna was delivered downstate to Midland in March 2024. This year, a large one was delivered to a place on Highway 13, and Skellenger reported that before he’d made it home, the customer had already reached out to say how impressed they were with how fast the sauna heated up. Even structures with large windows are so well-insulated that they’re good at keeping the heat in.

Another sauna currently under construction is for a customer in Stonington.

While business was slow in the very beginning, after getting a few customers under the belt, Smart-Shed quickly earned a glowing reputation. Both the sheds and saunas have been received extremely well, and word-of-mouth has gained the company a number of new inquiries.

Smart-Shed is on Facebook and has a website at smart-shed.com. Skellenger can also be reached at 906-399-3613 and joe.smartshed@gmail.com.