I'm 62 and my shop needs serious work.

[930dreamer]

Here we go. Four acres with an old farmhouse in poor condition. 40x80 shop built from Texas oilfield pipe in the 1950's. Shop has original metal on it. Concrete foundation then I-beam sill with shop on top of that. 2023 wildfire burned all trees and vegetation and a lawsuit settled almost what I paid for the place.

No insulation but has a permanent panel but temporary circuits. I think structurally the foundation and steel is fine but who knows.

So what do I do now?
1. I've had a estimate to replace all the shop metal and that was more than I paid for the property. There's no patching this up, it's 100° inside in the summer and without the heaters running all the time in the winter it's cold or noisy.
2. Can I do the metal work myself? I think about this and yes I'm physically capable but do I want to? I see no less than a $100K budget if I do the work with rental equipment and materials myself. I could probably get 80% of all the needed repair, metal, windows, insulation, electrical hvac etc. I think doing the roof would be the hardest part.

3. Do I want to sink $100K into this place? Location location this isn't. It's an hour from my main residence. Buying/building in town just for a small lot (no acreage) would double that budget. I've searched for shops for sale and most are in undesirable locations. I set aside the $100K budget but can't decide what way to go.

4. Ideally having the farmhouse livable would be a plus.

That's all for now.

 

[loganb]

An hour away from the main residence, and doesn't sound like it's so where you want to live full time....tough call.

If you sell it and the current residence and take the $100k repair fund....can you find an acceptable place to live and play in the shop for that budget?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If you sold your present living quarters, what would that give you? Then either fix by yourself, or hire out the living quarters first.
Do you really need that big shop heated? Could you build a smaller insulated shop on the property to do your work in and use the big for storage?

 

[NUTTSGT]

A hour away from my residence would not be a consideration for a shop. I think I would sell and find something closer with the profit.

 

[930dreamer]

An hour away from the main residence, and doesn't sound like it's so where you want to live full time....tough call.

If you sell it and the current residence and take the $100k repair fund....can you find an acceptable place to live and play in the shop for that budget?

Well, my wife doesn't want to move. Our kids and all grandchildren live within a mile of us. I understand that. Dealing with my mom and her estate for the last two years have changed a few things with me. I sold my mom's house this week so there's that money also.
Building here is booming and I really want 50-100 acres somewhere and that would be way outside of town. So I keep going around and around with this. Dealing with property away from our main residence can also pose theft and trespassing issues.

 

[930dreamer]

A hour away from my residence would not be a consideration for a shop. I think I would sell and find something closer with the profit.

The thought of moving my stuff again hurts my head.

 

[loganb]

Happy wife happy life....so unlikely you're moving or if so not far

If it was me, I'd split your property wants apart.

A shop for the avg member here needs to be closer then an hour away. Personally I'd think 10 or 15 min would be my max distance.

The desire for land, that's different in my mind. Unless you're living on it, land like that is often a headache as you've found with the fire. I would want to understand what the long term goal with the land is and figure out where you need to be to satisfy that. It's a different set of motivations and needs then the shop space

With the insurance payout your basis on the existing land is low, so I'm still in the camp of find an appropriate existing shop structure close to your house and buy or lease it, sell the existing land and then take your time and find new dirt that meets your needs. With the proceeds from the estate hire professional movers to help with the process and get the new space setup well from the start.

 

[The Cobbler]

I can't imagine having a work shop an hour away from my home. I commend you for that dedication .

 

[Skellyii]

Well, my wife doesn't want to move. Our kids and all grandchildren live within a mile of us. I understand that. Dealing with my mom and her estate for the last two years have changed a few things with me. I sold my mom's house this week so there's that money also.
Building here is booming and I really want 50-100 acres somewhere and that would be way outside of town. So I keep going around and around with this. Dealing with property away from our main residence can also pose theft and trespassing issues.

I think you answered your own question.

Your wife doesn't want to move. Try prying a woman away from her children...and ESPECIALLY her grandchildren. I know people who have tried that. They either lost the fight outright, or got served divorce papers.

 

[kbuhagiar]

The thought of moving my stuff again hurts my head.

^^^This. Me too.

 

[Skellyii]

A hour away from my residence would not be a consideration for a shop. I think I would sell and find something closer with the profit.

Agreed.
I had the opportunity to buy into a great spot 45 minutes away...more than that during rush hour.
I'm retired, I don't want to deal with traffic anymore, especially if I'm not getting paid to do it.

 

[cvairwerks]

Mueller 40x60x16 bolt up kit is about 35k$... Not sure what adding a bay or two would add to the cost. This is for a basic building with two door openings. Doors and insulation and windows are extra. Mueller has a location there in Amarillo.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Agreed.
I had the opportunity to buy into a great spot 45 minutes away...more than that during rush hour.
I'm retired, I don't want to deal with traffic anymore, especially if I'm not getting paid to do it.

I am getting more and more to where I don’t even want to have to deal with anything outside our acre we live on. I just drove an hour each way this morning towing a mower and another to cut the grass at a property after a retired guy we had hired ghosted us after a stray rock broke the full view storm door glass. By the time gathering and loading needed items and unloading is included it burned 3-1/2 hours.

 

[Demon69]

Throw up some pics of what you're dealing with, sometimes the overwhelm can get a man down the rabbit hole. I find if im starting to overthink or catastrophise tasks just getting going can help, as can outside views

 

[930dreamer]

Mueller 40x60x16 bolt up kit is about 35k$... Not sure what adding a bay or two would add to the cost. This is for a basic building with two door openings. Doors and insulation and windows are extra. Mueller has a location there in Amarillo.

yup

 

[930dreamer]

Throw up some pics of what you're dealing with, sometimes the overwhelm can get a man down the rabbit hole. I find if im starting to overthink or catastrophise tasks just getting going can help, as can outside views

 

[Rst277]

Well, my wife doesn't want to move. Our kids and all grandchildren live within a mile of us. I understand that. Dealing with my mom and her estate for the last two years have changed a few things with me. I sold my mom's house this week so there's that money also.
Building here is booming and I really want 50-100 acres somewhere and that would be way outside of town. So I keep going around and around with this. Dealing with property away from our main residence can also pose theft and trespassing issues.

50-100 acres is a lot of land if you are not farming. 4 acres is plenty of land for farting around on. But if your wife wants to be close to the kids / grandkids then you need to look at a shop at your current house.

 

[finn]

Sell it, and ask what 50 to 100 acres has to do with having a nice shop.

Must be a Texas thing.

Three to ten acres should be adequate to have separation from the neighbors, and I’d bet most have less than that.

Make a list of amenities and prioritize them into musts and wants.

Your current property has zero musts, if you take the 100 acres off the list.

 

[930dreamer]

Sell it, and ask what 50 to 100 acres has to do with having a nice shop.

Must be a Texas thing.

Three to ten acres should be adequate to have separation from the neighbors, and I’d bet most have less than that.

Make a list of amenities and prioritize them into musts and wants.

Your current property has zero musts, if you take the 100 acres off the list.

I want a private firearms range. Can't safely do that on the four acres. I have a membership at a range, but I want to be the sole range master.

 

[finn]

I want a private firearms range. Can't safely do that on the four acres. I have a membership at a range, but I want to be the sole range master.

Your wants apparently conflict with your budget.

Life’s all about choices.

Like I said, make a list and prioritize it.

Your family and budget along with an accessible location would be at the top of the list for most people.

For most, a private range would be on page seventeen, especially if a public range was nearby, but I fully understand that people have different priorities.

 

[PoorUB]

I want a private firearms range. Can't safely do that on the four acres. I have a membership at a range, but I want to be the sole range master.

That is one item that is one heck of a lot cheaper to rent at the local gun range.

Like the other post, wants and what you can actually afford are often two different things.

I would like a few acres just to play with ATVs and dirt bikes, but it will never happen. I probably could afford it, but my brain just won't let me spend the money.

Realistically, I would sell off the lot with the shop and take the cash and do something closer to home. A large shop might be out of the question, but perhaps another stall added to the garage at your home would be possible. i large shop had always been my dream, but I gave that up that thought about ten years ago.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Here we go. Four acres with an old farmhouse in poor condition. 40x80 shop built from Texas oilfield pipe in the 1950's. Shop has original metal on it. Concrete foundation then I-beam sill with shop on top of that. 2023 wildfire burned all trees and vegetation and a lawsuit settled almost what I paid for the place.

No insulation but has a permanent panel but temporary circuits. I think structurally the foundation and steel is fine but who knows.

So what do I do now?
1. I've had a estimate to replace all the shop metal and that was more than I paid for the property. There's no patching this up, it's 100° inside in the summer and without the heaters running all the time in the winter it's cold or noisy.
2. Can I do the metal work myself? I think about this and yes I'm physically capable but do I want to? I see no less than a $100K budget if I do the work with rental equipment and materials myself. I could probably get 80% of all the needed repair, metal, windows, insulation, electrical hvac etc. I think doing the roof would be the hardest part.

3. Do I want to sink $100K into this place? Location location this isn't. It's an hour from my main residence. Buying/building in town just for a small lot (no acreage) would double that budget. I've searched for shops for sale and most are in undesirable locations. I set aside the $100K budget but can't decide what way to go.

4. Ideally having the farmhouse livable would be a plus.

That's all for now.

Assuming you got it all fixed up, what are your plans? Is this gonna be a second home or are you going to rent out the farm house? Are you planning on commuting there daily? Or will it just be a week end getaway?

 

[loganb]

I definitely get the desire for the range, biggest thing I miss from my Iowa house was the range out the backyard. Pushed a 6' tall berm up on the corner of the property, had a nice 15 or 20 yd pistol area then could get 100 yards or so shooting off some existing concrete.

Based on the size of property you're wanting, I'm assuming you're looking for longer range rifle shooting. That does make it tougher, but if you're just looking for private land away from others, looking for range only type land should lower the cost because you're not looking for anything suitable for housing...aka power, water etc don't matter.

It's going to come down to priorities....what do you want more....a closer to the house shop or the shooting setup? Does the current land work for the range desire? Are there any other private ranges or couple range bud's you can go together with to find an alternative range solution that has fewer members/works better for you without the cost of doing it solo?

Don't know squat about the Amarillo area, but leasing something like this:

Current Listings | Commercial Real Estate | GWECRE

Gaut Whittenburg Emerson Commercial Real Estate: Amarillo's leader in Office, Retail, Industrial, Land, Investment, Multifamily, Hospitality, Medical transactions.

www.gwamarillo.com

for a couple years and being close to it seems far better to me then dropping low 6 figures into a shop remodel on a building an hour away that doesn't have a livable house on it and doesn't seem like it's desired as a long term retirement/weekend destination location.

 

[mm08822]

How about calling a scrap guy to pick the steel? Is it too rusty for them to take even for free? (You be there to help load with your excavator.)

Cut the pallets up into fireplace size wood. Put in next to road - Free. I'd suggest a burn permit but never mind after you mentioned the brush fire.

Stop burying ****. It will only come back to haunt you.

I'd say clean up the acreage and plan to sell it. An hour away and site unattended is risky.

Is it possible to build a shop at your present location?

 

[Burt Shaver]

How often do you travel to your shop, if you calculated in your fuel, wear and tear on your vehicle plus your time traveling has value as well. I’m thinking it would be more efficient and cost effective to put the 100,000.00 you were going to put into the old shop into building a new shop in your property. If you sold your old shop and property as is you could put that money towards your new shop as well. If it cost you 20.00 in fuel round trip to go to your existing shop and you went there 4 times a week that’s 4160.00 a year in fuel alone plus 416 hours a year commuting to the shop,

 

[racecougar]

IMO, a shop that is an hour away from home isn't worth keeping. Heck, it's annoying to have to run back and forth between shops here if I forget a tool or part, and they're only a mile apart. I'd sell and figure out a plan that is closer to home.

 

[dukes909]

I am getting more and more to where I don’t even want to have to deal with anything outside our acre we live on. I just drove an hour each way this morning towing a mower and another to cut the grass at a property after a retired guy we had hired ghosted us after a stray rock broke the full view storm door glass. By the time gathering and loading needed items and unloading is included it burned 3-1/2 hours.

100% this. I'm 58 and just did an oil change and other routine maintenance on the Exmark and Mule. I hated looking at the hour meter gauges and adding them up. Love the place we're at but maintaining it seems less fun each year.

 

[JuncleJohn]

Sounds like enough land with room for a gun range is not realistic unless the wife is willing to move.

I would seriously consider selling both properties and trying to find something suitable for the both of you. At 62 years old you need to realize building something new by yourself could take you the rest of your healthy life.

John

 

[OccupantRJ]

At 62 years old you need to realize building something new by yourself could take you the rest of your healthy life.

John

This was also my first thought when reading the initial post.

 

[bugnut]

Well, my wife doesn't want to move. Our kids and all grandchildren live within a mile of us.

You know the answer before you ask the question.

 

[drivesitfar]

I’ve wanted to move for 20 years plus so I could have a big shop but my brides work kept us here. Now that I’m 70 having a huge shop doesn’t seem to be as important as being able to relax most evenings and plan a few trips. I have no idea what the costs are for just an acre or two within 15 minutes of you but building a shop close would be a good compromise and help a friend improve his 50 acres to shoot whatever you like there.

Buying a boat is a huge expense but knowing a boat owner that likes to go out with you and have fun is much better is maybe a good comparison.

Good luck and maybe let go of one dream to live another one.

 

[PhantomEB]

Mines the other way around. This place pretty much has it all with the exception she don’t got an indoor parking spot. She wants the land, I do too but I know I be doing all the upkeep.

 

[four.cycle]

A hour away from my residence would not be a consideration for a shop.

Dealing with property away from our main residence can also pose theft and trespassing issues.

Just my lousy two cents -
I would definitely be reconsidering the choice to locate your shop an hour away from where you sleep.

 

[Jackfre]

Over time this drive will become tedious at best. We moved cross county at 62 to get closer to the kids/grands. A good move but we left about a lifetime of friends and associates behind. Currently you have both friends and family and following your posts over the years you don’t seem anti-social. At 77 I can say with some certainty that your energetic work days will become fewer and shorter and I was in really good shape at 62 when I did a re-build. As to property you have to ask, do you have it or does it have you? Until we downsized what we did was take care of the place. Go become the rangemaster or asst at your current spot and keep taking care of the family…wether they listen to you or not

 

[Sleeper]

If building is booming there maybe you should sell the unused property to a developer, combine that money with your repair fund, buy the local range and fire the other range masters. If there’s any money left over build a giant shop on the range property and call it a business expense.

“It’s so crazy, it just might work!”

 

[cvairwerks]

Weld a couple of 40' high cube containers end to end and set up for shooting with pcp air guns. Lights, air conditioning and a clever arrangement of remote controlled oscillating fans and you can simulate outdoor shooting pretty easy. It's inside, temp controlled and you can shoot 24/7 and ammo is cheap. Go to the outdoor range when you get the itch to shoot the noisy sticks.