Ideas accumlated and time to post my project - Man 'scape

Well after a long time of lurking and gathering ideas I decided to make my first post and submit my Man 'scape project to the collective.
I recently bought a farm that my future wife at the time and I fell in love with. It had everything that we both wanted and we couldn't pass it up. (See http://www.starlightfarms.us)

Well after 2 years I started my dream of converting the 20'x40' shop into my dream shop. I started construction on the 2nd floor Man 'scape in October 30, 2010 and finished May 3, 2011. Future plans are to build out the downstairs for machining/welding and woodworking then enclose the other 40'x60' of the shop for automotive and motorcycles.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my project as I don't think I would have attempted this project without the motivation of all the garages on this forum.

Link to full size photos of the whole project --> LINKY

I wanted to build a clean climate controlled space for working on electronics, computers, and guns. So I went about added a 16' x 20' second floor into my existing shop.

OK, I thought I would add a Sketchup to give you an idea of the original plan. I had to make quite a few changes to adapt to the challenges faced during construction.
To elaborate on this project a little bit... This is my first major construction effort and I would appreciate any feedback as I have found many things that I would do differently next time. Thanks for looking guys!!!!!!








Initial load of lumber to start the partition wall and floor joists for the 2nd floor


First section of partition wall getting assembled



Partition wall assembled and and secured to the floor and rear wall



First side floor joist assembly

More to come...

Lookin good. Nice setup you have there

Ooh, this is gonna be cool. My 3 favorite things, electronics, computers and guns! LOL

Looking good. Did you se my storage wall in my build below? That wall in the middle can have shelves between the studs and hold a tone of small parts, or open bays can hold tall items like pipe and metal sticks. Something to think about before you close it up.

lg
no neat sig line

Part two...


Floor joists in and ready for sub floor


Sub floor down ready for framing


Back wall framed and positioned (My buddy Andrew helping out with the framing)


Side walls up (more on this later... had some problems later when it came time to do drywall)


Front wall section 1 up


Had to build another partition wall to support a small stair landing because my original plan didn't work out quite like I was hoping it would... So I made the best of it...


Overview of the progress. On the left side of the picture is where the door and stairs are going to be located


New landing for stairs and entry door


Landing finished


Lots of bracing on the landing


Door rough opening cut


Had to make a custom door and frame because I had such a short opening (78" rough opening)


Door hung and foam sealed


Decided to put windows in the back wall (this was a great idea after-the-fact because this is the shortest wall and it makes the room look larger)


Finished wall framing on the entry landing


Mockup of the window framing and test fit. Still need to cut out the metal siding.

More to come....

Part three


Electrical going in...



Electrical in and nail/screw guards in-place


Hung some lights under the 2nd floor. Made a huge difference it's like double daylight under there now!!!


I put outlets on the ceiling at each light and made one side of the outlet hot always and the other switched (to control the lights). This has been one of the most handy-dandy features


This is the side of the shop. The shop is actually a 40' x 80' with only 20'x40' enclosed (we have horses and this is the barn right now)


Decided to build a storage shed that will double as a stair landing


Ready for siding and door


My wife helping put up the siding on the stair storage shed


Siding up, door installed, and painted.


Trim installed, primed and ready for final coat of paint


Paint wasn't even dry and it's already getting filled up...


Overview of the downstairs work area


Final section of wall finished, cut out for heat/ac included, lights hung upstairs


It's bright!!!!!!


Didn't have any pictures of the stair stringer construction, but this is how it turned out (this is my first set of stairs). Also, formed a pad to make it easier to get in and out of the shop.

More to come....

oh yes, definately liking this! what's the height difference from the front to the back where it tapers down?

Part four


Stair railings installed


Drywall installed on inside of shop


Insulation installed


First row of drywall going in... (Should have started at the ceiling first)


This was another one of those but puckering moments in this build


Windows installed...


Outside shot of the windows installed


Stair landing and deck for man 'scape. I made the railing wide enough to hold a beer and a burger.


First course of drywall complete all around the room




Drywall hung and ready for mud... (did I mention that this was my first drywall project... I may pay someone next time )


Screws covered and corners taped




Joints seamed and second coat on the screws and corners





First coat of Kilz primer




First coat of color (kind of an butter creamish color)






Second color coat (battle ship grey)


AC/Heater installed






Big gap in the picture taking on my part... Here is the accent stripe, all the window molding installed, window sills fitted, door trim, and trim around the AC/Heater


More to come... Thanks for the comments thus far!!!

Cryptic1911 said:

oh yes, definately liking this! what's the height difference from the front to the back where it tapers down?

Click to expand...

Front is 7'8" back is 6' but the problem is that the perlins hang down 8"... Need to get some low head room warning stickers and some nerf foam to pad the beams.


-Zeb

Part five

As you can see we are getting close to being finished... That is good because I had a project deadline of May 1st-ish. Mainly because my wife was graduating with here PhD on May 9th and we were getting married on May 14th. So, I had to get all my gun stuff out of the house and move it to my man 'scape so we could have our spare bedroom back for guests.




VCT going down. Decided to go with a 2'x2' pattern




VCT and base mold installed. Ready for cleanup and wax/polish


Cleaned and first coat of polish down


Second coat of polish one more to go...



Gunsmithing and reloading bench moved in


Fridge in this shot is waiting for a dual tap kegerator conversion and the stand is waiting for a TV.

That's all I have done thus far. I'm still moving gun/reloading stuff up from the house. I still need to build my electronics bench and move all that stuff up as well.

Here is what I have planned for the bench:




Thanks!!!!
-Zeb

Damn that looks nice with the paint and the floor done.. might want to get yourself a rolling chair so you don't have to walk around and bang your head

Very nice space. I love the colors and floor.

Great job and nice space. I did something similar with a building I was renting, built without touching the walls around it. A couple nit picks I'd have:

1. I would put windows out to the shop, as well as bigger ones to the outside... always nice to see stuff

2. The AC unit they way you have it dumps all the heat into the shop area, I'd put that on and outside wall IMO.

3. Besides the studs, a stud wall construction actually relies heavily on the sheathing. Looks like the outside walls may be now dependant on the building steel, but I'd sheathe the inside partition in 7/16" OSB on at least one side to prevent racking.

Very nice! I see that you installed a deadbolt on the outside door - good job keeping any unwelcome creeps from getting inside.

ishiboo said:

1. I would put windows out to the shop, as well as bigger ones to the outside... always nice to see stuff

2. The AC unit they way you have it dumps all the heat into the shop area, I'd put that on and outside wall IMO.

3. Besides the studs, a stud wall construction actually relies heavily on the sheathing. Looks like the outside walls may be now dependant on the building steel, but I'd sheathe the inside partition in 7/16" OSB on at least one side to prevent racking.

Click to expand...

Looks Good! ^---- x2 on the window overlooking the shop

Soo glad I subscribed to this one! Looks great, did you run any suround sound wire before putting up drywall?

Awesome job!