Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT 14x20 Shop Build

[BD55]

Hi - after going through so many threads here to get ideas and with my wife’s urging to build a shop, here’s the start of my 14x20 shop. Goal is to get it watertight before we need to get going on the garden stuff…

This is my first ground up construction project, so go easy on me. I had wanted to get closer to the property line to go bigger, but the county requires 5’ setback, and our yard isn’t huge, hence the 14x20 footprint (ignore the 16x20 and the 2' setbacks on the second model below). I’ll have a patio door on the north side so I can be working in there and still be engaged with the kids playing in the yard, and an 8’ door on the west side. Still debating what kind of door to do. I really don’t want tracks that’ll take up headspace, and from what I can tell the roll up doors are garbage and are really pricey now. Might just go with a barn style door. I wouldn’t often use it anyways I think.

I’ve got 3” conduit up into the slab for future 100A sub panel. Something I still need to figure out is my main panel is in my basement - how the heck do I get individual conductors from the conduit through the rim joist to the main panel? I don’t know how I can protect them - I don’t think I can finagle a giant conduit from the rim joist to the panel if that makes sense.


Broke ground back in October and got the foundation dug and forms and rebar ready before Dec. Pic below doesn’t show the chairs I put under the rebar before I poured.

My youngest two thought the pumper was the coolest - with the greenhouse in the way I decided to get a pumper and it was totally worth it. This was their “small” one lol.

A friend helped with the truck scheduling and finishing work and man was his help appreciated. He even had my 3 yo troweling edges.

A new play surface

Framing and cleaning helpers

The west wall is up and I should have the north wall up later this week.

Finished the scissor trusses and my wife is very ready to have them out of the garage so she can park again! This was worth it to DIY also - quote for standard trusses was $1800. These were less than $500 to make even with the ten tubes of PL Premium. I was lucky and had picked up nearly all my lumber before the prices got so ridiculous.

 

[PileDriver]

Looks like a great start! Nice job making your own trusses.

What type of activities do you have planned for the shop? A 100amp service will support a lot of fun things.

 

[BD55]

Thanks! It'll mainly be used for woodworking and TIG welding projects. The main reason I'm going with 100A is I wanted to be able to use this energy monger in the shop as well as the garage. Also, my tablesaw, jointer, and planer draw pretty good current, and I want to eventually add dust collection, so I didn't want to worry about overloading anything..

 

[jbrentd]

Looks like it'll be a nice work shop. I'm in for progress updates.

Side note: How do you like that greenhouse? We have a similar one on the way that I hope to set up soon.

 

[BD55]

Thanks!

For the greenhouse, it's a Riverstone Monticello (8x12'). This is only the second year we've had it, but it was pretty well designed and decent material quality. The main thing I was concerned about was getting good polycarbonate, and it was name brand and should last a long time. The instructions could use some help in places and it took FOREVER to put together, but overall, it works great. We're in the teens at night and low 30s in the day right now and if the sun is out it'll get up to mid 80s right now. If I put in some black water tanks I could probably even out the temps more. In the summer I have to leave the door open even with the roof vents open all the way (which open/close automatically with wax cylinders - they're awesome) since it gets too hot. I put a shade in there which helps, but I need to also install a fan, thermostat, and intake vent and I think we'll get our temps pretty well controlled. Since it's made from extrusions, it lends itself well to modular shelving, etc. and that's on the list as well since right now we only have some simple plastic shelving for all her trays.

 

[jbrentd]

Thanks!

For the greenhouse, it's a Riverstone Monticello (8x12'). This is only the second year we've had it, but it was pretty well designed and decent material quality. The main thing I was concerned about was getting good polycarbonate, and it was name brand and should last a long time. The instructions could use some help in places and it took FOREVER to put together, but overall, it works great. We're in the teens at night and low 30s in the day right now and if the sun is out it'll get up to mid 80s right now. If I put in some black water tanks I could probably even out the temps more. In the summer I have to leave the door open even with the roof vents open all the way (which open/close automatically with wax cylinders - they're awesome) since it gets too hot. I put a shade in there which helps, but I need to also install a fan, thermostat, and intake vent and I think we'll get our temps pretty well controlled. Since it's made from extrusions, it lends itself well to modular shelving, etc. and that's on the list as well since right now we only have some simple plastic shelving for all her trays.

Thanks for the info! We have a lot to learn on all of that. My main concern right away is anchoring it down so it doesn't blow away when we get some storms.

 

[BD55]

Made some more progress - sheathing and most of the trusses are up.

 

[captain14]

Have you considered French Doors towards the yard so you can watch the kids? They will probably seal much better than barn doors.

Jason just installed them in his similiar sized build in the fall. He did find his in the clearance section at the big box store at a great price.

200 Square Foot Tiny Texas Workshop

I am excited to kick this off! I have always wanted a dedicated workshop, and while I've been able to work in my garages of the past, it's been a dream to design and build a space for my projects, hobbies, and "me time." A little background - we moved to the Texas coast last year from Austin...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[BD55]

Have you considered French Doors towards the yard so you can watch the kids? They will probably seal much better than barn doors.

Jason just installed them in his similiar sized build in the fall. He did find his in the clearance section at the big box store at a great price.

200 Square Foot Tiny Texas Workshop

I am excited to kick this off! I have always wanted a dedicated workshop, and while I've been able to work in my garages of the past, it's been a dream to design and build a space for my projects, hobbies, and "me time." A little background - we moved to the Texas coast last year from Austin...

www.garagejournal.com

Yes! That's the plan for the side with the two windows. I also liked what Jason was talking about doing with adding a small deck area for additional work area when weather's nice. For the gable wall with the 8' opening, I was planning on doing a roll up door but I think I've pivoted towards doing another set of double doors, with more of a barn-style look to them. I don't anticipate opening them often, and I'd like to have the advantage of better insulation compared to a roll up.

 

[BD55]

Luckily I paid attention to the weather the past couple days and was able to get the housewrap on and some plastic sheeting on the roof just in time for some much-needed snow.

 

[964haus]

I love that you thought of opening towards the yard. Looks like it'll be a wonderful place to work.

 

[BD55]

Thanks! We're at that stage where the kids are interested in everything we're doing and I'd like to be better about getting them involved in projects and see where their interests go.

 

[BD55]

Ready for shingles.

 

[captain14]

Looking good. Are you planning for a ridge vent? Turbine vent?

 

[BD55]

Looking good. Are you planning for a ridge vent? Turbine vent?

Ridge vent

 

[BD55]

About 60% of the total shingles done. That 8/12 pitch feels a lot steeper than it looks!

 

[captain14]

My roof is 6/12 and I think that’s bad. I had foreland some shingle nail pops(twice) and reattached the ridge vent once. I figured out how to make it safer for me. I had to extend the ladder from my neighbors yard to do this side. The blocks and bricks hold the ladder from sliding on the concrete.

 

[BD55]

That's a great idea - I may have to see if my neighbor would let me try that out from their yard to the other side of the roof.

 

[BD55]

Ridge vent and cap shingles on - I’m so happy to not have to get up there anymore!!!

Next need to finish siding then turn the pile of mahogany below into a pair of doors for the front.

 

[captain14]

I can’t wait to see what you do for the door!

How did you get up on the roof for the other side to complete the shingles?

Are you going to “learn” or practice on the backside first? I think the wall without any doors or windows will go up the fastest.

 

[BD55]

I can’t wait to see what you do for the door!

How did you get up on the roof for the other side to complete the shingles?

Are you going to “learn” or practice on the backside first? I think the wall without any doors or windows will go up the fastest.

The doors will be about 36x80 each and have a 3/4 glass insert and solid panel on the bottom 1/4. I'm planning on doing drawbore mortises on the rails so it'll be rigid and stay together really well. I'll finish it with Epifanes marine varnish, so it should weather really well, especially since it'll be on the north side and really shouldn't have much UV exposure.

For the roof, I ended up just getting up there and staying cautious. I'm sure roofing guys would roll their eyes at how slow I worked. It was pretty killer on the calves, but if I stretched beforehand it wasn't too bad. Just had to do about 10 minutes at a time then come down for a rest.

If you're talking about the siding, I've gotten the south side done and the east side is almost done. I just have to figure out my flashing strategy for the north and west doors since my order of operations is not normal - I need to put siding up before getting the doors done - then I will get the siding up. It's just vinyl dutch lap siding, to match the house, so it's pretty straightforward.

 

[BD55]

Flashing, soffits, fascia, and siding done. Now to start the doors

 

[captain14]

The shops looking good! Have you decided on the type of doors yet?

Gutters and an overhang on the gable end door? If anything else, it will keep the weather off the door and extend its life. After I added a 6x6 “porch” over my garage service door, the longevity of the stain has been higher.

Likewise with my back door to the house. Each door faces north and get the wind driven rain.

 

[BD55]

Thanks! I think gutters will be definitely in the future. I already hate the splashback from drips, and though I'll be putting rock around the perimeter which should help, gutters would look nice and direct the water better and it would be nice to not have a shower when entering the shop when it's raining.

 

[BD55]

Front doors will look like this

And the side door will be a double door as well but more barn style that I can insulate on the backside.

 

[BSAschields]

Nice looking project.... Its quite fun (and cheaper) doing it yourself. And it teaches your kids to be self sufficient too... I did some small woodworking projects with my son when he was small. Now he is remodeling his own house ... My own confidence comes from a few years of high school shop class. There is nothing that seems too big for me to try to fix or build (so far)

 

[BD55]

Thanks!
Mahogany’s all cut to rough length, jointed and planed. Now to cut to length and then start on the joinery. We’ll see how it goes!

 

[captain14]

I’m interested to see how you build the doors. Plenty of pictures.

What kind of glass will you be using? I think I remembered you wanted to be able to watch the kids while inside the shop.

 

[BD55]

Got most of the panel wired today - need to fix a couple things for correct bonding, but it went pretty well. Figuring this out as I go along, and thankful for great information online.

 

[BD55]

Making some progress on the mortise and tenons. First time doing these so taking it real slow…

 

[BD55]

Made some progress on one of the french doors. Still need to cut the mortises for the right stile (learning as I go - should have cut the mortise before the tenons, but you can see on the top rail I haven't cut the tenon yet, so yes I'm learning from my mistakes, ).

I picked up the glass inserts and they're going to fit perfectly. I'll make a lattice from leftover wood to frame in the inserts and break up the empty space of the glass, which should look nicer than the plastic frames they come with.

I've also got all the hardware in, including SS ball bearing hinges. They should help with how heavy these doors will be - I'm guessing easily 100lbs each . Mahogany's pretty light from what I've normally encountered, but the stock I picked up was very dense. I'm not complaining on that though - the wood is beautiful and has some really nice grain; I've always loved mahogany, and with finish the grain should really pop and look amazing.

 

[BD55]

Picked up this super cool rolling tool caddy off marketplace for $30 from a liquidator. Home built and well thought out, the builder obviously took great care in design, materials, and execution and did it with skill. Pegboard on both sides, and the small horizontal drawer opens from both sides. The hope is this will help me keep stuff nearby and handy during projects without cluttering the bench (which I currently always do and knock stuff off onto the floor).

It was worth $30 to me without the tools, but it included the pictured tools plus those on the other side and what you can't see in the larger side drawer (torque wrench, Hako soldering iron, transfer punch set, and laser level).

Most of the tools are not worth keeping and will go into my kids' toolboxes, but there are some nice Craftsman crow's feet and punches I'll hang onto.

 

[captain14]

Nice find. You need to post it in the wood cabinet thread along with the backstory.

Wood cabinets for tool, parts or nuts and bolts or even your socks. please show them

ALL: some of us have some nice ways to store our tools, parts, nuts & bolts or bits and pieces and not all of us use tool boxes. I started a thread with metal and since that is already ongoing how about a separate one for those wood ones. i've seen a lot of great ones, but can never do a search...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[BD55]

First door getting there. Now to make panel for lower 1/4 and lattice for glass insert. Then rinse and repeat for the other door.

 

[captain14]

Very nice. What type of glass are you going to install?

 

[BD55]

Made some progress on the doors. Got the latticework done on the first door and got all the joinery done on the second door. Here's the dry fit to ensure square before drilling the drawbores.

Here's the fitup to mark the tenon drawbores, which I've offset ~1/16". The tenons are so huge that the drawbores probably won't do anything, but they will look cool with the dowels (made some 7/16" dowels from scrap white oak so it should have a nice contrast). There will be some foam stripping around the panel to prevent rattles due to seasonal changes, and I'm hoping with glue up, good finish, and some clear silicone afterwards to keep water out of the joint.

Really simple mortise jig. Actually worked pretty great. Could easily make some micro adjustments to get the bit to the line. Harbor freight mortising bits - I used the 1/2" bit and it performed adequately. Can't complain - $14 for 3 bits! Plunged well and cleared chips ok. Just had to square the corners with a chisel and finish the mortise (routed from both sides and still had about 2" to chisel. Having the routed sides of the mortise to reference the chisel really helped but still lots of chiseling... I don't know why I made these tenons so huge ).

 

[mike93lx]

Looks great. I have a 16x16 going up (hopefully) this fall/winter for a pool shed/garden storage and (hopefully) a 12x20 for a workshop in a couple years. Gotta stay under the permit size limit!

How did you solve for your wiring question?

 

[BD55]

Thanks - haven't completed the wiring yet. Gotta get doors on the building then finish out the wiring.

 

[mike93lx]

Thanks - haven't completed the wiring yet. Gotta get doors on the building then finish out the wiring.

Got it.

You could put a junction box on the outside of the house and transition to SER, which eliminates the need for conduit indoors

 

[BD55]

Both door frames pinned and glued. One door lattice glued. Glass insert will be sandwiched by glued lattice and removable lattice. Probably didn’t have enough clamps!