44hunter45
Well-known member
This thread is an idea riffing thread for me as much as a semi (quarter) live of the construction process. Call it a HT Agile scrum on the perfect man cave. This is a buy once, cry once build. I'm looking for ideas and warnings about potential gotchas down the road.
This being HT, I will get half of you cheering me on and half telling me I'm an idiot. I've been practicing with the ignore button and I like it. If you have input, tell me why and how much it will cost me (or save me)
It's something I've wanted since I was at my grandfather's knee in his series of shops. He started in a fire trap circular saw milled shed. His 6 sons built him a cinder block shop as his retirement gift. It too was finished out in locally milled lumber. That was 1968. It stands to this day. He is long gone but my aunt (last of her generation) lives in the family place.
I've always known that our equity here at our place would leapfrog with a quality shop. It's always been in the plan. Two years ago I was talking about a HELOC to build a pole barn shop. With my parent's death I now have some capital to proceed. I will have to plan carefully and watch my expenses, but there is enough to finish my dream.
I am close to retirement and want (need) a shop to stay out of MRS' hair and out of trouble. I want to do some car restoration and flip, build guitars again, whatever floats my boat.
Our house needs a foundation, so the shop will have to have an apartment for us to live in while I work on that project. (Phase two.) I decided I will put a new foundation under the house rather than pier lift it. (That is a whole different thread if I live that long.)
I already have a variance from the county to build the shop more than the requisite 100' limit from the house.
My idea of the minimum for a shop has grown as well. Most important has become SPACE. Room to store tools and projects, room to work. We started at 30x50, then 30x60, now at 40x60.
The roof line will extend into lean-tos on both sides to get my project cars out of the weather. That means a 64x60 footprint. More with a deck and gable on one end for the apartment.
The apartment was consuming too much of the floor space, so I've moved it to a loft in my concept plan. There will be a vapor room on the first floor for gun cleaning, paint spraying, etc. There will be a meat cutting area and walk-in cooler on the ground floor as well. Already have folks asking if they can use the walk-in! When the phase two of the house project is finished, this will all become a hunter's Vrbo.
In this post I will describe my dreams for what has to be in the prefect shop. I hope these are the minimum non-negotiables, but there is a budget. Some things, like a vehicle lift, will be added later as funds allow. Our current house has a grease pit in the garage and I spend more time managing water in it than working on cars. Never again.
I dabble in a lot of things. Carpentry and wood working, leather and saddlery, armoring (I dream of actual gunsmithing), auto and farm mechanics, metal fab, etc.
I'm handy and I'll try anything.
I cannot stand looking for lost tools and I cannot stand moving piles of stuff from one place to another before I can work.
I need space for:
Woodworking:
Space for tools with dust collection. This must include storage for all my routing patterns, jigs, etc.
Paint shop with vapor management and drying space
Hand and power tool storage
Mechanics:
Welding area.
Hoist system along the center of the trusses. (This will double as a load in system for the loft apartment.)
Vehicle lift. Four post preferred, but negotiable.
Storage for engine stands, rolling tool chest, welding supplies, etc.
Built in compressor with air lines throughout the shop.
Game Processing:
Walk-in cooler
Cutting and wrapping area. Stainless sink and counters.
Freezer.
Space to store Euro boilers, grinders, knives and saws, etc.
Handloading and gun tinkering:
Devoted, ergonomic gun working space.
Coating oven
Storage for handloading dies, tools, and components.
Space for two large safes for separate ammo and gun storage. (I may look again at the system @Big Fin put in his Bozeman office.)
I don't ever plan to have a big RV or Semi tractor, but it is conceivable a future buyer might. That means a tall main door and dedicated vertical space for the mechanic area.
Meaning that the loft space cannot extend more than 20' of the 60' feet available second floor. Maybe 25' - The county limits square footage for auxiliary dwellings to 1500 anyway.
Even it is costs more up front, zero or low maintenance is a design requirement. This means floor drains in key areas, grease traps, etc. I'm leaning toward radiant, but I will put the PEX in the floor either way because I cannot do it later.
This self contracted and DIY. I will use contractors only where I do not have the skills or manpower. I have a lot of engineering to do before I know things like floor truss depth for a 40' span, etc. Many of you have experience with this. Advice is welcome.
This being HT, I will get half of you cheering me on and half telling me I'm an idiot. I've been practicing with the ignore button and I like it. If you have input, tell me why and how much it will cost me (or save me)
It's something I've wanted since I was at my grandfather's knee in his series of shops. He started in a fire trap circular saw milled shed. His 6 sons built him a cinder block shop as his retirement gift. It too was finished out in locally milled lumber. That was 1968. It stands to this day. He is long gone but my aunt (last of her generation) lives in the family place.
I've always known that our equity here at our place would leapfrog with a quality shop. It's always been in the plan. Two years ago I was talking about a HELOC to build a pole barn shop. With my parent's death I now have some capital to proceed. I will have to plan carefully and watch my expenses, but there is enough to finish my dream.
I am close to retirement and want (need) a shop to stay out of MRS' hair and out of trouble. I want to do some car restoration and flip, build guitars again, whatever floats my boat.
Our house needs a foundation, so the shop will have to have an apartment for us to live in while I work on that project. (Phase two.) I decided I will put a new foundation under the house rather than pier lift it. (That is a whole different thread if I live that long.)
I already have a variance from the county to build the shop more than the requisite 100' limit from the house.
My idea of the minimum for a shop has grown as well. Most important has become SPACE. Room to store tools and projects, room to work. We started at 30x50, then 30x60, now at 40x60.
The roof line will extend into lean-tos on both sides to get my project cars out of the weather. That means a 64x60 footprint. More with a deck and gable on one end for the apartment.
The apartment was consuming too much of the floor space, so I've moved it to a loft in my concept plan. There will be a vapor room on the first floor for gun cleaning, paint spraying, etc. There will be a meat cutting area and walk-in cooler on the ground floor as well. Already have folks asking if they can use the walk-in! When the phase two of the house project is finished, this will all become a hunter's Vrbo.
In this post I will describe my dreams for what has to be in the prefect shop. I hope these are the minimum non-negotiables, but there is a budget. Some things, like a vehicle lift, will be added later as funds allow. Our current house has a grease pit in the garage and I spend more time managing water in it than working on cars. Never again.
I dabble in a lot of things. Carpentry and wood working, leather and saddlery, armoring (I dream of actual gunsmithing), auto and farm mechanics, metal fab, etc.
I'm handy and I'll try anything.
I cannot stand looking for lost tools and I cannot stand moving piles of stuff from one place to another before I can work.
I need space for:
Woodworking:
Space for tools with dust collection. This must include storage for all my routing patterns, jigs, etc.
Paint shop with vapor management and drying space
Hand and power tool storage
Mechanics:
Welding area.
Hoist system along the center of the trusses. (This will double as a load in system for the loft apartment.)
Vehicle lift. Four post preferred, but negotiable.
Storage for engine stands, rolling tool chest, welding supplies, etc.
Built in compressor with air lines throughout the shop.
Game Processing:
Walk-in cooler
Cutting and wrapping area. Stainless sink and counters.
Freezer.
Space to store Euro boilers, grinders, knives and saws, etc.
Handloading and gun tinkering:
Devoted, ergonomic gun working space.
Coating oven
Storage for handloading dies, tools, and components.
Space for two large safes for separate ammo and gun storage. (I may look again at the system @Big Fin put in his Bozeman office.)
I don't ever plan to have a big RV or Semi tractor, but it is conceivable a future buyer might. That means a tall main door and dedicated vertical space for the mechanic area.
Meaning that the loft space cannot extend more than 20' of the 60' feet available second floor. Maybe 25' - The county limits square footage for auxiliary dwellings to 1500 anyway.
Even it is costs more up front, zero or low maintenance is a design requirement. This means floor drains in key areas, grease traps, etc. I'm leaning toward radiant, but I will put the PEX in the floor either way because I cannot do it later.
This self contracted and DIY. I will use contractors only where I do not have the skills or manpower. I have a lot of engineering to do before I know things like floor truss depth for a 40' span, etc. Many of you have experience with this. Advice is welcome.
