Shop space...
It seems that every time we move to a new house I end up without shop space to work in and I have to convert a tiny garage, or prop up some derelict old building and try to make it a suitable work shop. It really sucks. We just bought some property in August, and it's really nice, but once again there's no useable shop space. Aarghh. So here's what I have to work with this time....
20 feet square, with a dividing wall down the center.
It dangles over the edge of a hill just a bit. I think a little more support would be nice, eh?
I've already removed the rotten roof and the rottenest part of the floor.
Getting ready to rebuild the front part of the shop. Some support under that wall might be nice.
Once the shop is "fixed", then the next task is to get electricty to it. Oh joy, 270 feet of trench to dig and lay conduit in...
Are we having fun yet?
You don't often see this style of construction anymore.
Much of the lumber in the shop (and under the main house) is irregular pieces, split and cut with an axe. There's no
such thing as "dimensional lumber". This stuff is all random sizes and rough hewn.
The flooring is 4" thick redwood planks that vary in width from 12 to 17 inches. I'm sure the only reason this building is
still standing after all these years is the sheer mass of the timbers it's made from.
The shop is too small and needs a concrete area where I can weld stuff. Time to extend it 14 feet forward.
From the front.
The concrete truck has been and gone. Even a small slab like this sure makes a full day of hard work.
Now I get to frame it up. Oh boy.
It's got some siding on the new part, and the roof is mostly finished.
Being on a roof scares me. I'll be glad when I've got that last bit of ridge cap done.
Needs some more paint and some doors. My roll up door should be here soon.
Once the front doors are in, I'll remove the old doors between the front half and the back.
The doors are in, it's got 240V / 200A electrical service, and it just needs a bit more paint.
Yippee! A place to build stuff!