Projects & Design

The idea is simple enough - all you really want is to shed water and hold heat in, right?

When I was designing the shop, I investigated several different methods for constructing a roof.  First was manufactured trusses...  I ruled those out because I knew I wouldn't be able to place them myself.  Another option was to use wood I-beams... This was a really tempting option, and now that I've finished, this is the route I would take today, if I were to do it over again.  Finally, I looked at doing it "old school" - with honest to God 2x10 rafters.

I didn't have any real reason for going that way except so I could say I did... a bit of a romantic notion, I think, of older methods.  I hadn't built anything with rafters for a while and was itching to try out my new Milwaukee circular saw, which I treated myself to as part of my savings for doing all the work myself.  My old saw has been dropped one too many times, and while it still works, it's just a little "shook".

Part VI

With the foundation finally out of the way, it was time for my part to start - framing. I find framing fun, so long as it's not my regular job... and I have done it in the past, so I wasn't too nervous about doing it, except for one thing - the wall framing would be full of angles and small complications that would challenge my abilities... but then again, I like a challenge.

I started by putting together a list of materials I would need, and set out to visit suppliers to get some prices. I'm fortunate to have a large number of building supply outlets all within a close distance to where I live... I didn't get to a fraction of them and I visited two borg stores, a lumberyard associated with a nation-wide chain, 1 local franchise lumberyard (several different locations, but all of them are located within a 100 mile or so radius), and two locally owned lumberyards to get prices. The borg prices were not all that far out of line - but those places simply aren't set up well for putting together large loads and they were the furthest from my house, not to mention the service was basically non-existent from these two places in my experience, so I ruled them out almost immediately.

Part V 

One of my favorite lines in a movie was in one of the Naked Gun movies (with Leslie Nielsen) where Ricardo Montalban was playing the villain.  When asked by Priscilla Presley how he could be so evil his response was something like:

"You forget I spent two years as a building contractor!"

Of course that's in jest (?).  You know - there are, of course, good and bad contractors, and I've dealt with my share of each - and the concrete contractor I used for this project was quite unfortunately of the latter persuasion.  I was really disappointed in his work - and I even gave him a second chance the next year to pour the slab out front of the shop for me - but that's for a later entry...  If you are looking for a general contractor, or even just a "sub" contractor, make sure you check references and investigate your choices with the local builders' association.  Above all - you will need patience and perseverance to be successful.  Don't expect perfection - but be ready to stand your ground when needed - and pick your battles well.  Know what's important, and what's not. At the time, there was a shortage of available contractors for me to hire, and I was not patient... 

Part IV 

All right then! Here it was, around the beginning of April, and I had a plan for the new shop (more or less) in hand. It was time to go ahead with the construction... or so I had thought, anyway.

I got a contractor lined up to do the concrete. I had decided that work was simply too much for me to handle on my own, and that it would probably serve me better to have it done by somebody else. I didn't have the equipment, nor did I have the help (or the back) to put down the concrete by myself. I might have mentioned that North Idaho was undergoing an unprecedented building boom at the time. What that meant for me was a wait for the permit. Permits usually take just a couple weeks. Usually, this might not be an issue, but the concrete guy I had lined up had a very tight schedule. Well, it turned out I had a couple of issues that permitting wouldn't allow, mainly the bathroom I had discussed previously. With that, I took the plan home and removed it entirely from the design (which actually helped me out budget-wise), but as it would have it I couldn't take the time off of work to get back to the permit office for two week. When I did finally, it was two more weeks before I got the plan reviewed and approved. I called the concrete guy up, and turns out I was past his window of availability. I would have to find another.

Part III

Alright - so I had gone through designing a basic setup, it was time to go the other way and design (at least in my opinion) the ultimate shop - at least within the approximate footprint that would fit within the space it was destined to be built, and within some reality of budget in mind - and with the cold/hot climate of the inland Northwest in mind.

I've always believed that the space you work in can have a positive or a negative affect on how you work. If you work in a soulless box, for example - your work will turn out a little bit more toward the soulless side. If, however, you work in a space that gives you pause because of it very presence, your work can only be positively affected.

Part II

It was the dead of winter - and I'd made the decision to build a new shop, but I hadn't decided on just what I was going to build. No problem, lots of time to go before the snow left, so it was a good time for a little research. I've been an architect for a while now, and have been building homes and involved in building in one aspect or another for my entire life, and if I've learned anything, it's that ideas take time to gel - and will, if you actively pursue them. You don't have to spend every minute obsessing over it, but spend a few hours when you can and check out all of the options for yourself. It's time well spent.

For the shop, I figured I had 2 choices... I could do either a stick frame or a pole barn style. I had to weigh out the pros and cons of each... I wasn't too fond of pole barns, but I figured since I'd heard so many talk positively about them that I should give it an earnest effort and find out if it was an answer for me.

Part I

This will be a journal of the steps I've gone through building a new shop for myself. I'll try and go through everything from deciding to build, to the design process, to getting the foundation laid, putting up the walls, roof, and everything right to the (not so) bitter end. Up to this point - with the exception of most of the concrete and (literally) one or two days of help - I have done all the work entirely by myself.

As I start this journal, I'm about halfway there - the shop is up, but not quite running. The exterior is complete, but I have yet to start the interior - including wiring, insulation, finish, and equipping...