Above 1200 Sq/FT Abandoned Heliport | Studio + Garage

speedminded · Aug 19, 2017

After 13 years of being jealous of everyone's setups on Garage Junkies/Garage Journal, I finally have a place to implement all the great ideas I've learned from here!

History:
Since the FAA doesn’t register privately owned heliports, it was a bit of a challenge to research the history on the property—the zip code changing sometime in the past 2 decades didn't help either! For the first several months after closing it was only speculation of it once being a hangar based on the building and door style but, upon further internet sleuthing, I discovered that the property was indeed a heliport in the 80’s-90’s! A North American directory of helicopter operators lists it being home to five aircraft in the mid-80's.

Update: I have since found the original owner/builder and will hopefully have photos of it being a heliport once he returns from traveling!!! (Reply #100)

Details:
The wooded property is now zoned residential and has two insulated red-iron beam warehouses on it: one is 48' x 38' x 18' with a 48' x 18' bi-fold hangar door and the second is 40' x 30' x 12' with two roll-up doors. There's also a 3rd building constructed using two 45' semi-truck trailers with a shed roof over them.

Plan:
The initial plan was to turn half the hangar into a living space with loft and the other half into a garage for 4 cars, separated by a wall of glass. The second smaller building would be a workshop with lift on one side and a clean room for doing vehicle graphics on the other.

Update: Not wanting to take out a loan and be bound to a required construction timeline, I have postponed the hangar living buildout and elected to convert it into a photo & film studio. It will also give me a clean, well lit, space to do vinyl wraps and graphics on larger vehicles between shoots. I do eventually want the hangar as a home but must first generate some income and build out the other structures as a garage and workshop!

tjdux · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Thats some sweet real estate there. Good deal bud.

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Richard Cranium · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

I like both the buildings.

n20junkie · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Yea, that definitely looks like a small heliport. Seen many of them.

colt zantop · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Cool *** buildings!! Keep us posted!

930dreamer · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

I'd love a buy a hangar, nice find.

C_F · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Wow, nice find! When are you bringing home a helicopter? :bounce:

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the buildings.

2fat2fly · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Very nice find. Now you need an old warbird restoration project.

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Hilltopmasonry · Aug 19, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Maybe there was a grass landing strip there at one point instead of the heliport theory ... most of your smaller propeller planes can easily land on grass. Either way congratulations on the new place how cool is that! Looking forward to see what projects are in the future

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TRS63 · Aug 20, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Great building, looking forward to see the next steps!

Antoine

speedminded · Nov 27, 2017

Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Progress has been slow but steady!

After pulling out all the electrical that wasn’t to code, and getting an inspection, I️ have power! Luckily for me it was just in time for the end of daylight savings time.

Also spent the last couple months cutting and clearing most of the trees within 10-15’ of the structures before they did any [more] damage to the buildings or concrete.

With power being on I’ve been able to begin construction! The first challenge repairing the water damaged areas of the 2-story wood structure inside the hangar.

Bigdukaaa · Nov 27, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Really cool property. Endless possibilities.

NTCRS · Nov 28, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Following! Cant wait for updates

Mpower5266 · Nov 28, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

A hanger and an E36 m... Im in!

ADSR · Nov 28, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

cool project!

Cris B · Nov 28, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Following. Looks amazing...

speedminded · Dec 10, 2017

Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Last week had highs in the 60’s and even hit 70 at one point. This week it got down into the 20’s and we had a couple inches of snow Friday. Welcome to Atlanta! Luckily I was able knock out a couple more things on the to-do list before it got cold.

The first task was a 2-day bonfire burning of all the vegetation cut and gathered the past several months: everything from limbs and tree tops to truck loads of briars, brush, and leaves. Burning is probably horrifying for those out West, but fortunately for us we can check with our local fire department then get a permit from the state Forestry Commission...

A ‘weed cutter’ is one of the greatest hand tools I’ve ever used! It works like a sickle and I highly recommend this $16 purchase if you ever need to clear light brush, briars, etc.

Mpower5266 said:
A hanger and an E36 m... Im in!

Ah, another local bimmer fan! This one is the gf’s daily beater then we have another e36 and e30. I’ll definitely be having a BMW meet in the spring when this place is a bit more cleaned up.

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Mpower5266 · Dec 10, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

speedminded said:
Last week had highs in the 60’s and even hit 70 at one point. This week it got down into the 20’s and we had a couple inches of snow Friday. Welcome to Atlanta! Luckily I was able knock out a couple more things on the to-do list before it got cold.

The first task was a 2-day bonfire burning of all the vegetation cut and gathered the past several months: everything from limbs and tree tops to truck loads of briars, brush, and leaves. Burning is probably horrifying for those out West, but fortunately for us we can check with our local fire department then get a permit from the state Forestry Commission...

A ‘weed cutter’ is one of the greatest hand tools I’ve ever used! It works like a sickle and I highly recommend this $16 purchase if you ever need to clear light brush, briars, etc.

Ah, another local bimmer fan! This one is the gf’s daily beater then we have another e36 and e30. I’ll definitely be having a BMW meet in the spring when this place is a bit more cleaned up.

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I'm in for sure. Do you fly? I work at aircraft spruce and have grown up with airplanes.

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classicJackets · Dec 10, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Sweet, another local! Looks like an awesome property. Excited to see where you take it from here.

speedminded · Dec 10, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Another Craigslist score! About a month ago I picked up a load of Atlas industrial high-bay lights off the old ‘list of shade’. They were from a church that was being renovated and after a couple weeks of them trying to sell without luck, they were posted for FREE.

Only one major problem. Even if I could supply them with 480v, I’m quite certain my power meter would spin itself into a fiery centrifuge of death. In order to prevent a guaranteed quadruple digit power bill, and inevitable bankruptcy, I disassembled one to see how I could convert them to something moderately more energy efficient.

The housing contains a transformer, capacitor, and ceramic E39 socket. That seems simple enough. The only question being do I toss the E39 socket and try to retrofit an E26, keep the E39 socket and use an E39 base bulb, or use an E39 to E26 adapter.

To the internets!

Nope. Too. Many. Options. So being a hands-on kind of person, I stopped by a local LED light & sign supplier to physically touch what I was seeing on the web.

Holy ****. No trip to Home Depot or Costco could prepare you for this. Having converted most of my house to LED, I knew there were numerous changes and innovations in lighting technology...but this is just nuts.

After checking out all the various products that I didn’t even know were possible, like these 175w 2x4 panels 3/4” thick that put out about 20,000 lumens:

And these 30,000 lumens panels:

I finally ventured over to the screw-in bulbs.

How about this 150w corncob LED that emits 18,000 lumens?

Or 100w 12,000 lumens?

Then they let me compare several of them on their nifty test bench.

I finally settled on a 60w corncob LED that’s approximately 8,000 lumens. Only buying one to test...

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speedminded · Dec 10, 2017

Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

...continued.

Got home and immediately spliced an old power cord to the E39 socket to test out this silly looking $40 light bulb. It even has a fan on the heat sink!

I knew how it looked in the store with dozens of other lights on around it but how would it look in the real world?

For comparison, that is a 23w fluorescent pigtail (100w equivalent) above the garage compared to the 60w corncob, sans any reflector.

Then I hung it in the hangar inside the high-bay fixture.

I suddenly came to the realization that there is no single right answer. Just a few of these and it would be lit like a doctors office. Ten of them and you’d have to walk around wearing welding goggles.

This may be great when working on something but being a flex space, this intensity of light would be a bit obnoxious. Even after separate switches and zones, I may have to go down to a 30w bulb.

In the mean time, and before it got too cold, I went ahead and disassembled all the lights in preparation for paint. I realize they’ll be 16’ up but that 80’s computer beige had to go!

I would love for them to be all black, or dark charcoal, but I didn’t want them 2-tone and I wasn’t confident in getting a clean even coat on the large shade with a rattle can. I was also concerned with how much dust would show with a dark color. So I painted the housings ‘aluminum’ silver to somewhat match the shade.

Before and after:

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speedminded · Dec 10, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Mpower5266 said:
I'm in for sure. Do you fly? I work at aircraft spruce and have grown up with airplanes.

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I have flown aircrafts a number of times but I’m not a pilot, yet at least. I do however love Aircraft Spruce! I didn’t even realize they had a location here until just now. Some people grew up with the JCPenny catalog but I always preferred McMaster-Carr and specialty catalogs like Aircraft Spruce lol!

I originally had the idea of turning this place back into a helicopter hangar but it’s zoned residential and you have to have at least 5 acres of agriculturally zoned land and a pad 200’+ from any adjoining residential property.

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Mpower5266 · Dec 10, 2017

Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

speedminded said:
I have flown aircrafts a number of times but I’m not a pilot, yet at least. I do however love Aircraft Spruce! I didn’t even realize they had a location here until just now. Some people grew up with the JCPenny catalog but I always preferred McMaster-Carr and specialty catalogs like Aircraft Spruce lol!

I originally had the idea of turning this place back into a helicopter hangar but it’s zoned residential and you have to have at least 5 acres of agriculturally zoned land and a pad 200’+ from any adjoining residential property.

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Gotcha. I actually run the will call store at the ptc location so if you come in I'll be the guy that's not the 23 year old brunette chick. Haha.

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Terranova · Dec 10, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Go for the "welding goggles" bright. You can never have enough light in a shop. Wire them up to switch on 3/4 of them and add the last quarter when you really need them.
Great set up in the making.
T

patrickg20 · Dec 10, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Nice job so far!

Terranova said:
Go for the "welding goggles" bright. You can never have enough light in a shop. Wire them up to switch on 3/4 of them and add the last quarter when you really need them.
Great set up in the making.
T

I agree. I would wire them up where you have obnoxious bright as an option when needed. But, then wire enough to one or two switches for other occasions. You would probably be surprised how much you would use all of them if you have that option. For me, I can never have too much light when I'm working.

Whitey1 · Dec 10, 2017

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

I cant wait to watch the transformation on these buildings.

speedminded · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Priorities vs. Responsibilities vs. Everything Else

Plan A:
The initial plan was to build the hangar out into a modern industrial style loft space but it would take me many years to complete it the way I want: polished floors, mix of corrugated metal and concrete wall panels, tongue & groove ceiling with exposed steel trusses, commercial kitchen, glass garage doors, polycarbonate windows, and glass walls with a few cars parked inside!

Basically a garage condo combining a dream house and dream garage. I even modeled the entire proposed build in 3D using Sketchup...

Then reality sets in. I started creating a budget for everything proposed. Then compared that budget to what I can spend. I estimate it would take 3-4 years to complete the build while living in a tent eating rice twice a day. Nope, not happening yet!

Plan B
The most logical thing to do is build the hangar out for income. With a background in photography and having rental studios before, it only made sense to turn this into a rental space for photographers, film, and small gallery events. Plus, I can use the space for installing vehicle graphics on larger vehicles when it's not occupied.

So Plan B it is!

speedminded · Feb 8, 2018

Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Due to income restraints, the modern industrial loft plan quickly turned into a rental studio plan. Why spend money when you can make it right?! The large space is perfect for photographers and film and the existing 2-story structure inside will be made into a lounge upstairs and a dressing room with makeup & hair workstations below it.

But first it needed some much needed love! The first step was to pull off the OSB paneling to assess water damage and actually see what's holding up this structure. Having a background in architecture, construction, and deck building does not allow me to compromise on structural integrity. It's unbelievable what some consider safe...

Upon stripping the walls I discovered the upper floor is held up with nails into the sidewall girt and is resting on top of a toe-nailed 4x4...lol.

First, I cut all the water damaged flooring 3 feet from the back wall. Not only would this allow me not to have to worry about water coming into the remodeled structure, it also allows me an area behind it so ladders, tables, chairs, etc. can be stored.

Next was to replace the single 4"x4" with two pressure treated 6x6's and notch them so they can be through bolted. I even used metal deck post bases on the bottom with large nails into the concrete. These aren't moving and I can mop and clean without rot issues. Maybe a little overkill but having a peace of mind is worth it!

The entire time I'm planning how I can integrate all the french doors I've collected for free off Craigslist into a window wall. I would love steel windows but at $100+ p/sq. ft, and being on a ramen budget, this is the compromise. My original design was corrugated metal with black painted french doors to slightly resemble the look I’m going for.

Then, the same night I finish framing up all the french doors I discover something new on Craigslist: an ad for salvaged sliding patio doors from a newly remodeled mid-century home.

Well, damn. I might be back to the drawing board...

speedminded · Feb 8, 2018

Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

As suspected, something closer to what I was looking for appeared the moment I put the french doors up. At least I hadn’t painted them yet!

The next day I picked up (4) 6’ wide, (2) 4’ wide, and (2) 3’ wide aluminum framed sliding doors from an early 70’s house that was in the process of being remodeled.

Got them to the hangar and pulled a few french doors to see how the “new” glass would look...

As much as I wanted to use these large glass panels in one of the other buildings, they literally could not have been made to fit better for this application. Three large ones down the long side and 2 mediums ones on the front with a small one for the door.

So I cleaned them and pulled all the french doors to begin building it out...

Ah, much better. Aside from some obvious safety concerns, 29’ of glass in a 12x18’ room is exactly the look I was aiming for! I even have one 6’ panel and one 3’ left over to use elsewhere.

GLTHFJ60 · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Wow.

TiFJ · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Very happy I clicked this journal... it's gonna be awesome!

GDPossehl · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

GTFO. Your dream renderings were the exact vision I had for a commercial space I lusted after but was not for sale. Awesome that you're local-ish! What part of town is this in?

speedminded · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

GDPossehl said:
GTFO. Your dream renderings were the exact vision I had for a commercial space I lusted after but was not for sale. Awesome that you're local-ish! What part of town is this in?

I’ll PM you in effort to make it slightly more difficult for the internet to find me lol!

Homebody · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

I'm in! Great buildings!!

TomcoPDR · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Impressive. Love the rendering of plan A, hopefully that'll materialize

speedminded · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

TomcoPDR said:
Impressive. Love the rendering of plan A, hopefully that'll materialize

Thanks! I went back and forth for months on this. Decided I didn’t want to get a construction loan and the time it would take for me to collect all the materials and built it out would render the space useless for a few years. I’d rather have an additional source of income vs. what would feel like a never ending project lol!

C_F · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

I like where you're heading with this now, and the current doors sure do look much better than the previous ones. :thumbup:

Looking forward to your continued updates!

Lelandwelds · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

I like where you are headed. My wife would not let me even consider a plan like this. She preferred to live with in-laws for two years!

She did come around to stained concrete floors.

apollo11 · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Nice work.

KMinAF · Feb 8, 2018

Re: Hangar Living + Garage + Shop

Liking your resourcefulness!

Above 1200 Sq/FT Abandoned Heliport | Studio + Garage

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