New and 1st shop!

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brian_hunt

New User
Brian
After about two months of very hard work, ~
75% by myself, I am ready to pour the concrete for my first workshop and/or man cave. I've been wanting to post for quite a while, but wanted to wait until I had something more substantive to show. Here you go!

floorplan layout:
floorplan_layout.PNG

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3D design:

virgin soil:
building the retaining wall for leveling the back yard:



Starting to build up the ground for the slab:

Had to dump piles of dirt and spread out by hand because trying to level with the bucket just dug the tires into the sand...ruining the base for the slab. Ended up spreading 3-4 inch layers by rake and then compacted with plate compactor.
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IMG_04134.JPG

View image in gallery​


An unbelievable amount of work up until this point:
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What's missing here is about a month of framing up the concrete forms....very hard work, very precise. My forms are only about two string diameters off in elevation, and no more than an 1/4 inch off in L or W, and not more than 1/4 off square.
......

Finally starting the plumbing:
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Careful placement of the building drain lines:
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In case you missed it, this is quite the footer!
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Getting the rebar placed in (bending rebar is definitely worth the $200 bender if you're doing steps in the foundation, or anything other than 90 degree bends; note: I did not and spent many frustrating moments trying to bend rebar in z-patterns, with mixed success)
This straight run turned out pretty well: (luckily for me, my wonderful wife was kind enough to help me tie these together and tie them to the anchor bolts; note: It's a lot tighter than it looks, so if you're not a small guy, better get yourself a petite lady friend to help with this step))
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Wrapped and ready to go!! (minus cutting off the 2x4 excess above the plywood)
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B

brian_hunt

New User
Brian
Not to brag, but I should have passed all of my inspections first time, but the plumbing inspector didn't understand the code requirements for a "wet vent" (you can PM or reply if you want to know more) (my brother who's a P.E. and designs plumbing systems commercially verified this with me) and I misunderstood from another code official that I could drop my anchor bolts in during the pour ( I was pressed for time, so I didn't put them in b/c of this), so 5 inspections later, I'm ready to pour the concrete! (if anyone would be gracious enough to help early Monday morning, we can work out a deal for exchange of labor (I work for you equal or greater time).
 
ehpoole

ehpoole

Administrator
Ethan
Congratulations on your new shop as well!

I just wanted to double-check one item after viewing your layout... The water heater is electric, correct? Just wanted to ask since locating a gas or oil water heater in the same closet as your dust collector would present some undesirable risks.

Otherwise my only advice is to multiply all the exterior dimensions by at least a factor of 2... you can never have too much shop space!

Enjoy your new lair!
 
Trent Mason

Trent Mason

New User
Trent Mason
Congrats on the new shop! :eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc Looks like you've been doing a LOT of work. :swoon: Can't wait to see it all come together. :icon_thum
 
Mike Davis

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
Very nice shop design, all the conveniences.

Are you going to have a separate building for wood storage? I did not consider that space when I built my shop and luckily I have an old barn to keep some wood in, but I could use another building as big or bigger than my shop just for wood storage.
 
MarkE

MarkE

Mark
Corporate Member
What a great shop and layout.

As someone going through the process, I can't imagine trying to do all that work myself. Very impressive. :thumbs_up
 
B

brian_hunt

New User
Brian
Yeah, it's electric. Some other clarifications... the 8x10 room is going to be a clean room for finishing with a pocket door. Figured I'd put in the bathroom for resale value and of course convenience for washing those paint brushes up. My plan is to finish the interior to match our house, but funds may not be available for that for a while. I'm not yet sure where to put the wood, but I have a wood rack that can fit in the left side for now. Any other suggestions on the layout would be very helpful. I simply did a rough layout to confirm that my dimensions were big enough.
 
eyekode

eyekode

New User
Salem
Looks great! That had to be tons of work leveling, grading etc.

My only comment on the layout is that most people recommend lots of natural light near your workbench.

I am jealous :).
Salem
 
Bill Clemmons

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
Mike Davis said:
Very nice shop design, all the conveniences.

Are you going to have a separate building for wood storage? I did not consider that space when I built my shop and luckily I have an old barn to keep some wood in, but I could use another building as big or bigger than my shop just for wood storage.
Click to expand...

I agree whole-heartedly w/ Mike: wood storage quickly becomes a big issue! I had the luxury of building a big shop (2,000+ sf) five years ago and what I thought would be way more space than I would ever need. Wrong! Today I find myself zigzaging around the shop, stepping over a pile of lumber I recently picked up at an auction. That's in addition to two lumber racks inside the shop, and two more stacks under tin outside the shop. I would suggest you add a lean-to on one side of the shop just for lumber storage. For resale purposes, you could disguise it as a covered patio overlooking the pool you might put in someday. :gar-Bi I'm contemplating a covered deck off the back of my shop just for lumber. Don't know what I'll do when that fills up. Wish I had an old barn like Mike.

Hey Mike, what are you going to do w/ all that wood when you move? :dontknow:

Bill
 
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