Right now, my shed has an extension cord that runs from the house for electricity. My husband has promised permanent electricity this Spring, but honestly - the cord works just fine for me right now. Eventually I might need to rig up lights, heat mats, etc., but for now, I'm good to go.

As for water: well, I'm not too far from the outdoor spigot on the back of the house. My final solution for water could be something as simple as taking a milk jug of water out when I go, or, running a hose from the house to the shed. Right now, the milk jug mode is workin' just fine.

Basically, if money is an issue right now, I wouldn't worry about it until later. You can always 'make do' with what you have until you can upgrade.

You can just stub for the water and elec, that way when you want it, you don't have to knock anything apart. It hardly costs anything to drop a drain pipe and copper in, then some conduit for elec later on.
Tom

Did you get a quote on running those lines now? It may be considerably less to do it now, as part of your construction, than to do it later. Besides, just a quote should be free, and it will give some hard numbers to work with.

Then you've got several factors to consider. How do you plan to use this garden shed, and how often? How far will it be from your house? From water and electric? If you eventually decide to run underground lines (which you'll need to do with the water line if you want to have it available in winter) you'll have to dig a trench - We did it, it's hard work, expensive to rent a trencher, and makes a real mess of the lawn. How large is your property and is there a good chance you might want to have a water spigot and/or electricity available outside the shed (for watering plants, remote outdoor lighting, etc.) Just some things to think about.

When we ran the electric out to our garden shed and fish pond my adult son suggested running a water line as well ... buuuut I didn't think we'd need that ... Now I'm so sorry, 'cause I've since added a small greenhouse and carrying jugs of water the 70 feet or so throughout the cold months is tedious ... but worth it :-)

If there is any possibility that you'll have that garden shed sometime in the future, do it now. You will definitely want water and electricity, and it will be much easier and cheaper to bring it out now.

If there is any means for you to find the extra $, do it. You will very very glad later, when you have water, electricity, and if available, nat. gas out to the planned garden shed/garden and/or possible future GH location.

The materials for the lines are all cheap. It's the trenching that costs, especially, after-the-fact. And, you presumably don't have landscaping to worry about wrecking now.

Even in Z-6, you will want to cap the water line with a freeze-proof faucet. Then, you will not only have water for future construction, but a spigot in the garden, or available to construct around, should you ever succumb to the temptation of making your garden shed more, such as a shed/GH.

"You can just stub for the water and elec, that way when you want it, you don't have to knock anything apart. It hardly costs anything to drop a drain pipe and copper in, then some conduit for elec later on.
Tom"

Agreed. I'd include a natural gas valve ready to tap into (if your house will be on natural gas) . If everything is prepped then running various utilities outside is minimal work and cost.

Also, not all jurisdictions permit running various utilities underground for non-existing facilities. In our town, for example, 220 electric can be run if a permit is obtained to build a garage but not for some unspecified building. Non-dedicated lines underground can be a hazard if forgotten, new owners, etc.

alpiner makes a good point. I hadn't thought about the permitting bit, as we are rural and have no need for a permit to install underground lines on our own property.

However, the one line that would be the most messy and difficult in the future is water, as even in Z-6, a frost line needs to be considered, whereas nat. gas and electric can be laid just enough below the surface to be safe from a rototiller.

So I would still encourage you to get your water line in now, and cap it with a freeze-proof faucet.

As alpiner correctly notes, if you have your contractor install a tap for nat. gas and an outside electrical outlet; tapping into them and running a shallow trench later would be pretty simple.

Come to think on it; I recall an earlier post from a GH owner who only had LP gas and no place near their GH to keep another tank, or get a delivery truck to it, to fill one, so had to devise a means to tap into their main tank at the house and run a line out.

If you are going to heat with LP, you might want to think about heating your shed now. If you will want gas to it, plan for an additional connection on your main tank.

So many details to think about when construction a new house! Giving thought to a future potting shed is very proactive on your part, and smart.