964haus
Well-known member
My 10x16 Workshop (Micro-garage) Shed: Scope creep, rain, an x-ray, and a bike
“No problem. It should only take us a couple of weekends”. These encouraging words by my dad when I first mentioned to him that I wanted to build a shed set in motion the construction of my new workshop/shed. A bit of background:
First off, many thanks to all on this forum. I’ve learned so much following numerous build threads, getting my beginner questions asked, and just seeing what other people are doing with their space. I’ve been inspired by all the builds, but in particular, those by marcmcm, 3PedalMINI, Jack, webb70, fortyfour, abstamaria, Gustav_t, mmhouse.
I live on a typical city lot (typically tiny for here) - 33'x122' - but with no garage. 90 year old house that we renovated and added to 8 years ago. Ended up with the ‘bigger brother’ of our original house, just as we intended. But still no garage. Our back yard is small, and we have a wonderful, mature apple tree that often becomes the meeting and play place for our kids and their neighbourhood friends. It needed to stay. And it was right in the middle of the yard. And this is my first building project.
So the plan was to build a small workshop that could be my slice of man-dom, carefully inserted between the neighbour’s existing garage and the tree. As such, the maximum size that would fit was 10x16. Some other design considerations:
- it had to fit with the architecture of the main house, which is a craftsman 2 1/2 storey
- it had to be on a temporary foundation
- it had to be big enough to allow me to store and work on my new toy, a KTM adventure bike, as well as provide me with a workbench and a place to work on other stuff.
- it had to have access to the rear lane.
- it must have a red couch, TV and playstation, reading loft, fridge, and toys (my kids’ requirements, but we’ll see how I do with those...)
- it had to be done in a few weekends (by me and my dad)
- it couldn’t cost a lot.
- and it couldn’t look like a shed (my wife’s requirement)
My first step was to design it. I’m fortunate to be in the design industry which, as anyone in the design industry knows, means that it takes 10 times longer to design anything for yourself than it does for someone else. I spent ages thinking about proportion and scale, details and trim. I went around and around on siding materials and windows, but eventually finished with a full digital model and a pretty good idea of what it would look like. One last minute addition (scope creep) was when my wife happened to see a photo of a shed on my desk that had a shed dormer on one side. “Oh, I think that’s really nice and would definitely make it NOT look like a shed”. So on went the dormer, which at the end of the day, made the construction of the roof much more complex (for a new builder like me). And I had to keep reminding myself that it was just a shed...
A few photos of the site and the model:
^ This is the SketchUp model I built in order to visualize the space and understand a bit better how I was to actually build the thing. The windows were pre-purchased at a salvage shop so they helped to dictate some of the scale.
^ You can see here the narrow space I have to work with. The concrete path is poured in place so moving it wasn't really an option. Plus, the protected apple tree is just to the right of the dog (you can see its canopy extended over the path).
^ Here you can see the first of the foundation coming along (plus the first of the rains). I chose to use 3 - 4x4 PT skids as there is a slope across the yard and I figured it was simpler to level this way than it would be to use separate concrete piers which I had originally drawn up. I set the skids on a pile of crushed gravel and used a tamper to get it level.
^ My optimistic dad giving me a hand like he's done all my life. He's a firm believer in "teaching a man to fish" and so I've picked up a few skills over the years. We lay the 2x6PT across the 3 skids, then glued and screwed down 3/4" T&G plywood. Blocking used to keep it all sturdy given the weight of the bike that would be in the shed.
^ First of the wood deliveries while the flooring is just getting finished. Note that the skies are really dark gray and rain is an ever present threat
^ Perhaps another reason for the slower than ideal progress - a dog that wanted to help in her own way...
^ Here are my helpers. You'll notice the dog (again) in similar poses throughout the build. She's a rescue dog, and I think so grateful to have found a home that she just chills out. My kids are working together to tap screws into the plywood and then screw them down. You'll also notice the tarp protecting the floor (it'll be a reoccurring theme in the photos)
^ Another shot of my helpers.
The shed was designed to extend into the yard only as far as the tree canopy currently does. We're still left with a yard, and while I know it's nothing compared to the acres often seen on this board, it's functional for the kids and dog. Our neighbour with the green garage is really cool too, which helps for a build like this.
I'll update as soon as possible. Just happy to finally be part of this group as a build contributor and not just a watcher.
More to come.
Matthew.
“No problem. It should only take us a couple of weekends”. These encouraging words by my dad when I first mentioned to him that I wanted to build a shed set in motion the construction of my new workshop/shed. A bit of background:
First off, many thanks to all on this forum. I’ve learned so much following numerous build threads, getting my beginner questions asked, and just seeing what other people are doing with their space. I’ve been inspired by all the builds, but in particular, those by marcmcm, 3PedalMINI, Jack, webb70, fortyfour, abstamaria, Gustav_t, mmhouse.
I live on a typical city lot (typically tiny for here) - 33'x122' - but with no garage. 90 year old house that we renovated and added to 8 years ago. Ended up with the ‘bigger brother’ of our original house, just as we intended. But still no garage. Our back yard is small, and we have a wonderful, mature apple tree that often becomes the meeting and play place for our kids and their neighbourhood friends. It needed to stay. And it was right in the middle of the yard. And this is my first building project.
So the plan was to build a small workshop that could be my slice of man-dom, carefully inserted between the neighbour’s existing garage and the tree. As such, the maximum size that would fit was 10x16. Some other design considerations:
- it had to fit with the architecture of the main house, which is a craftsman 2 1/2 storey
- it had to be on a temporary foundation
- it had to be big enough to allow me to store and work on my new toy, a KTM adventure bike, as well as provide me with a workbench and a place to work on other stuff.
- it had to have access to the rear lane.
- it must have a red couch, TV and playstation, reading loft, fridge, and toys (my kids’ requirements, but we’ll see how I do with those...)
- it had to be done in a few weekends (by me and my dad)
- it couldn’t cost a lot.
- and it couldn’t look like a shed (my wife’s requirement)
My first step was to design it. I’m fortunate to be in the design industry which, as anyone in the design industry knows, means that it takes 10 times longer to design anything for yourself than it does for someone else. I spent ages thinking about proportion and scale, details and trim. I went around and around on siding materials and windows, but eventually finished with a full digital model and a pretty good idea of what it would look like. One last minute addition (scope creep) was when my wife happened to see a photo of a shed on my desk that had a shed dormer on one side. “Oh, I think that’s really nice and would definitely make it NOT look like a shed”. So on went the dormer, which at the end of the day, made the construction of the roof much more complex (for a new builder like me). And I had to keep reminding myself that it was just a shed...
A few photos of the site and the model:
^ This is the SketchUp model I built in order to visualize the space and understand a bit better how I was to actually build the thing. The windows were pre-purchased at a salvage shop so they helped to dictate some of the scale.
^ You can see here the narrow space I have to work with. The concrete path is poured in place so moving it wasn't really an option. Plus, the protected apple tree is just to the right of the dog (you can see its canopy extended over the path).
^ Here you can see the first of the foundation coming along (plus the first of the rains). I chose to use 3 - 4x4 PT skids as there is a slope across the yard and I figured it was simpler to level this way than it would be to use separate concrete piers which I had originally drawn up. I set the skids on a pile of crushed gravel and used a tamper to get it level.
^ My optimistic dad giving me a hand like he's done all my life. He's a firm believer in "teaching a man to fish" and so I've picked up a few skills over the years. We lay the 2x6PT across the 3 skids, then glued and screwed down 3/4" T&G plywood. Blocking used to keep it all sturdy given the weight of the bike that would be in the shed.
^ First of the wood deliveries while the flooring is just getting finished. Note that the skies are really dark gray and rain is an ever present threat
^ Perhaps another reason for the slower than ideal progress - a dog that wanted to help in her own way...
^ Here are my helpers. You'll notice the dog (again) in similar poses throughout the build. She's a rescue dog, and I think so grateful to have found a home that she just chills out. My kids are working together to tap screws into the plywood and then screw them down. You'll also notice the tarp protecting the floor (it'll be a reoccurring theme in the photos)
^ Another shot of my helpers.
The shed was designed to extend into the yard only as far as the tree canopy currently does. We're still left with a yard, and while I know it's nothing compared to the acres often seen on this board, it's functional for the kids and dog. Our neighbour with the green garage is really cool too, which helps for a build like this.
I'll update as soon as possible. Just happy to finally be part of this group as a build contributor and not just a watcher.
More to come.
Matthew.
Last edited:
......glad to hear nothing broken...
