Above 1200 Sq/FT My Retirement Shop, Pole Barns, Old Truck and Questionable Decisions Thread

[SouthernIllinois]

The metal shop came thru with the expands steel for the back of my cart project before they closed for the weekend.

One side painted today, get the other painted tomorrow. Weld it on Sunday and the Mac Tools air tool rack and welding clamp rack are supposed to be here Monday.

Maybe by the end of the day Monday, I’ll have this wrapped up.

New scheduled start date for the other pole barn is now 8 Jan. Anxious to get non-project car stuff out of the shop.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

The finished product on my microwave to bodywork cart conversion.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Pole barn builder dropped off his equipment today.

By the end of next week the Annex, a smaller version of the shop, should be up next door to it.

24X24, same color, wainscot, shutters as the bigger building.

Mower, ladders, saws, weed whacker and all that sort of stuff will be moved out of the shop into this building to make more room for shenanigans.

 

[captain14]

Does that mean the Annex will get its own set of tools?

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Does that mean the Annex will get its own set of tools?

LOL - No, it's not even getting insulation or a finished interior. Purely storage.

 

[larry4406]

LOL - No, it's not even getting insulation or a finished interior. Purely storage.

The slippery slope begins.....

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Lotta construction going on around here.

RC Building got started on the storage annex and a 6 foot cat tree went up in the front room.

I think Dad would be pleased with the pole barns but I’m not so sure how he would feel about his living room’s transformation into a cat sanctuary.

 

[Michael B.]

Those RC guys don’t mess around!

 

[captain14]

Those RC guys don’t mess around!

If they are a quality builder, I am sure they have a full schedule to keep up.

And they have developed a plan to “Git Her Done”.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Those RC guys don’t mess around!

If they are a quality builder, I am sure they have a full schedule to keep up.

And they have developed a plan to “Git Her Done”.

When I moved back home, I asked everyone I could who to use to build my pole barns and looked at as many buildings as I could.

Almost without exception everyone told me to go with RC Buildings and I haven't regretted it for a second.

Family owned and operated. They have been building ole barns in our area for 50+ years. The head man on site is the son of the owner, the office lady is the owner's daughter and you deal with Darrel, the owner directly when designing and finalizing the plans.

I waited 9+ months for availability on the bigger building and "only" 6 months on this building. The only reason I got this building so quickly is because it's so small (24X24) with no interior work.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Day #2 progress report on the storage pole barn annex

 

[ericm]

Wow they are moving fast on the building.

That's quite a deluxe cat tree!

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Day #3 was cut short due to weather.

Too windy to hang metal.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Shed Annex Day #4 update

 

[Mr onetwo]

2 is always better than 1 IMHO

 

[zmotorsports]

Those two are complimenting one another great. Looks great and will be nice to have somewhere to store items not wanted in the shop.

 

[larry4406]

Are you pulling power for the Annex from the main shop?

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Are you pulling power for the Annex from the main shop?

Not sure yet.

The original plan was to not have any power at all to that shed since it was just to be used as storage but then I got to thinking I would like a dusk till dawn wall pack light on the far end of the new shed to light up the back end of the circle driveway.

To get power, we would have to pull it from the main shop.
The problem with that is there is 120 tons of rip-rap, a French drain and the downspout drain piping buried in between them.

 

[M.Brane]

Solar powered light?

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

You could hang it from shop to annex.

Don't look like you will traffic that area.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

You could hang it from shop to annex.

Don't look like you will traffic that area.

That is an option, No traffic thru there and it's not that far.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Solar powered light?

I just don't have much faith in those - I may be wrong but I have never seen or heard of one that was reliable in the long term.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

With the exception of some corner trim, shed annex is done. Now the wait for concrete weather begins.

 

[LanceMc]

Beautiful shop and accessory shed you have there! Really your whole compound is amazing. I'm sure your dad is smiling at the work you've put into the place.
Thanks for taking us along for the ride. You did a wonderful job of documenting and explaining everything. I just finished reading this whole thread over the last two days of being "snowed in" in central Texas. I was really sad to read about your cat Molly. I'm very sorry.
Good luck with the Corvair! Looks like a fun project. You'll be honing the body skills on it for sure.
One thing I think you mentioned several times is friends. It's great to see you have a bunch of friends. They are really important, especially as we get older. I'm about your age and also retired military, so I understand what it's like to not be around all your military friends.
I look forward to seeing the rusty cars and even some of the questionable decisions

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Beautiful shop and accessory shed you have there! Really your whole compound is amazing. I'm sure your dad is smiling at the work you've put into the place.
Thanks for taking us along for the ride. You did a wonderful job of documenting and explaining everything. I just finished reading this whole thread over the last two days of being "snowed in" in central Texas. I was really sad to read about your cat Molly. I'm very sorry.
Good luck with the Corvair! Looks like a fun project. You'll be honing the body skills on it for sure.
One thing I think you mentioned several times is friends. It's great to see you have a bunch of friends. They are really important, especially as we get older. I'm about your age and also retired military, so I understand what it's like to not be around all your military friends.
I look forward to seeing the rusty cars and even some of the questionable decisions

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words.

Things are kind of at a standstill around here - we have ~10" of snow and ice and it is crazy cold.

On the upside of things, we can always call Jenny for a good time since the weatherman gave us her number....lol

 

[LanceMc]

I meant to ask you about this toolbox-
What brand?

 

[SouthernIllinois]

I meant to ask you about this toolbox-
What brand?

That is a first gen / series US General - Harbor Freight box I bought probably 10+ years ago.
Back on the east coast it was used to store commercial fishing tackle in. We would buy hooks, crimps and stuff like that by the thousand and I came up the idea of storing them in a tool box instead of cardboard boxed scattered around my garage.

 

[linearg]

Nice job, where did you get the hook for your grinder shield and welding helmet?

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Nice job, where did you get the hook for your grinder shield and welding helmet?

Thanks

Amazon - They aren't overly strong - they work okay for the shield and helmet but won't hold say an extension cord.

 

[LanceMc]

Thanks you
It’s a very nice looking box. Is it a “griplatch” type or soft close? I looked at the new HF boxes and didn’t like the side slide finger pinch latch type. I’ve read the older boxes were not like the new ones.

That is a first gen / series US General - Harbor Freight box I bought probably 10+ years ago.
Back on the east coast it was used to store commercial fishing tackle in. We would buy hooks, crimps and stuff like that by the thousand and I came up the idea of storing them in a tool box instead of cardboard boxed scattered around my garage.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Thanks you
It’s a very nice looking box. Is it a “griplatch” type or soft close? I looked at the new HF boxes and didn’t like the side slide finger pinch latch type. I’ve read the older boxes were not like the new ones.

It is not soft close. It has a finger latch but only on the right edge of the drawer. The new ones have the finger latch that goes all the way across the drawers.

I have a new(er) series 3 bottom box and cart. I just removed the finger latches all together.

IMHO, the new boxes are nicer and better built than the earlier ones.

 

[LanceMc]

Thanks much appreciated

You mentioned it has been very cold there. How is the radiant tube heat working for you?

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Thanks much appreciated

You mentioned it has been very cold there. How is the radiant tube heat working for you?

I really like it - to be honest, I haven't been out there much lately and I just have it set at 50.

I am really waiting on the concrete and garage door for the smaller building to go in - I want to move a bunch of **** out of the bigger building into it before I put the Crusty Corvair on the rotisserie.

With the snow and ice, we have been parking our vehicles in the bigger shed and between those, the Corvair and all the yard **** there's not as much room as I want.

Based on the current weather and what they say is coming, it will be quite awhile before the concrete can go in.

 

[Hellpig]

Based on the current weather and what they say is coming, it will be quite awhile before the concrete can go in.

LOL, I think you left some of your weather back here, feel free to come get it. SOON...

 

[linearg]

Thanks

Amazon - They aren't overly strong - they work okay for the shield and helmet but won't hold say an extension cord.

thank you

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Some fish structure ready to drop thru when it thaws.

12 Christmas Trees and one trash can.
The trash can is for catfish to spawn in.

Thanks to those who donated Christmas trees including John Menard

Todays work motivated by Sir Ozzy and Busch Light

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Gonna be a few more days before they drop.
Supposed to be in the 50s, nearly 60 next week, so the fish should have some new cover and a love shack soon.



The catfish love shack

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Not much going on around here with the weather - the crazy low temps are gone and now it's mud season.

One thing I learned during the brutal cold snap was that my brilliant idea of running the water lines for my inside deep sink inside an exterior wall was dumb.

Froze up a couple times but not enough to bust the PEX.

Part of the reasons are;

1). I had the thermostat set at 50.

2) Part of those lines are inside a wall that is now in an enclosed tool room that I keep the door closed to. The radiant tube heater doesn't get much heat in there.

3) We had a week of sub zero lows along with an ice cold wind that blew on that wall.

Plumber is coming next week to run copper lines INSIDE the building.

These are the PEX lines that will be cut and replaced.



The new copper lines will run alongside this wall to the sink.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Not much news around here. The snow and the flu shut us down for awhile.

70 today

Finally got the parking bollards cemented in on the corner of the new shed. The north end of the circle drive comes kinda close to the corner of it and I was concerned about someone swing in too tight. Once the concrete floor and apron are in, it’ll have a plastic cover like the others.

With the warmer weather the pond thawed and my fish structure dropped. I anchored them so the tops stick above the surface so I know where they are at and can avoid casting directly on top of them.

 

[SilverJimmy]

Do you have to stock the pond yourself or is there a program with the local Game & Fish that does it?