40x60 backyard shop build

[jawillis]

Thanks for all the kind words, guys! I can't wait to post pictures of the finished product. Well... as finished as a shop can ever be.

Progress has been fairly slow now that it's up to me to do the rest of the work. I have to do most of it on the weekends because there's barely enough time to get started in the evenings before I have to hang it up...
So far, all I've been able to accomplish is mounting the meter loop and main breaker box. Unistrut is cool stuff, but the fittings are so overpriced! I can't wait until I can move my stuff in, because walking back and forth to the house for tools is getting pretty old. I'm expecting doors sometime next week. Stairs and guardrails will probably begin next weekend.

Here's the installed meter loop. This is and the main panel inside are all I've done. I need to finish a few outlets inside before calling the city for framing/electrical inspections.
20160410_185216 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

-Jason

 

[jawillis]

Re: Smash and Crash 40x60 shop build

How was your experience dealing with Mueller? did you use one of thier recommended erectors? I am outside of Houston and have gottwn a quote from them but do not know anyone that has worked with them.

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Mueller was pretty great to work with. My sales guy worked with me quite a bit and never seemed to get annoyed when I called him to say, "What about if I do this? How much will that cost?" For me, a lot of the planning and layout depends on the price tag associated with it, so the overall plan was developed in parallel to the ordering/quote process.

I believe my erector is on the recommended installer list, but that's not how I got in touch with him. I was referred by a neighbor who recently had a similar shop built. I'm pretty sure my neighbor got the erector's name from Mueller, though.

My erector was also able to provide referrals for concrete and engineering (drawings required by the city for permitting).

One thing I will say, my erector expressed to me that he really enjoys working with Mueller. He mentioned that getting damaged materials replaced was very pain-free, as opposed to other steel building suppliers that he has worked with. Also, he works with the Mueller sales guys pretty regularly, so he's able to have a direct dialog with them instead of routing all questions through me.

Where in Richmond are you located? I used to live in Pecan Grove and drove through the prison on the way to school every morning

-Jason

 

[tx_mike]

Re: Smash and Crash 40x60 shop build

Thanks for the info. I am actually just west of pecan grove across from the swinging door. The area has changed a lot in the last couple years with 99 going in and more development.
Who was your contrsctor i may give him a call.

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[BoomerangJ]

JA-any updates? We want more!

 

[jawillis]

I haven't updated in a while - mostly because I'm embarrassed by the slow progress I've been making.

The electrical inspection went off without a hitch and the power company hooked my up with 200 amps of power goodness. I no longer need 200ft of extension cords to operate in the shop.

The spray-in insulation has been installed, which you'll be able to see in the photos below. I'm not very happy with the installer since he apparently has no concept of overspray control. My brand new overhead doors are now speckled on the outsides of the doors. There is a considerable amount of overspray on the floor in various places. I'm going to have to rent a floor machine from Home Depot again and hope that it does a fair job of removing it before sealing the floor.

Here are the completed stairs to the mezzanine. I still have yet to enclose the stairs on the right side and put in a hand rail to meet code before final inspection.
20160625_134908 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

The guardrail (half wall?) also mandated by building codes. Pfft! Safety. Bah!
I considered many different options for enclosing the guardrail, including cable and balusters made from wood or metal. I settled on OSB because it was easier and cheaper. Also, to keep stuff from accidentally falling onto people or cars below. Mostly it was laziness, though.
20160704_171434 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

Here's the view from up top.
20160704_171545 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

I never did post a photo of the inside breaker box, did I? Here are all 3 circuits. More will come, but hopefully this will get me through the inspections.
20160424_004914 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

Next on the agenda: Complete guardrails and handrail so that I can get the final inspection, clean the floor, seal the floor (I chose TLPPC as my sealer), enclose the lounge area and build some workbenches. Oh yeah, and install the lift, more electrical wiring, lighting, compressor install and plumbing for air throughout the shop. You know, the little stuff

-Jason

 

[BoomerangJ]

Looks fantastic! I may have to come over soon for a personal inspection! Too bad about the spray foam installation over spray. I have a pet peeve about cleaning up someone else's mess!

 

[Justanoldguy]

Very nice.
My kind of shed.

 

[Toyotero]

The shop is lookin' fantastico amigo.

I was surprised how comfortable the insulation made the inside of the building, even on a hot day. I need to get some kind of insulation up in my shop, at least on the west side... and a build thread here on it I guess.

Generz.

 

[gnab2]

I am just outside of Wimberley. Your build looks good. Hove is the spray foam working?

 

[jawillis]

Wow... I really let this go a long time without an update! I was waiting for some sort of milestone to report on. Since I have no idea what that milestone is, I'll just let you guys know the current state of affairs.

For one, the lift is finally installed. A bargain used lift isn't such a bargain anymore after you replace the grooved and sloppy plastic slider blocks with massively overpriced replacements. The replacements for the worn and basically non-functional arm restraints were also quite expensive, but a little more understandably since they're more than just hunks of plastic.
You can also see that I started skinning the walls with OSB for the first 8 feet and installed some electrical outlets.
20161022_201635 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

A few more shop-toys followed me home the other weekend. These are major incentives to start making some progress!
20161022_201646 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

This weekend was quite productive (for me). The wall that separates the workshop from the office/lounge was framed and skinned with OSB on one side. The outside wall was also skinned with OSB.
20161029_202458 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

Today some friends stopped by and helped install the sub-panel for the workshop. Note to potential shop-builders: Think about how you're going to route the wiring before you start building the shop. Some conduit in the slab would have been much easier/cleaner than going up and over a big overhead door!
20161030_191329 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161030_191336 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161030_191343 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161030_191256 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

For those who decide against conduit under the slab; find a friend who owns scaffolding and offer to store it for him!
20161030_194411 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

-Jason

 

[jawillis]

I am just outside of Wimberley. Your build looks good. Hove is the spray foam working?

The spray foam has been great all summer. The interior of the shop is much more comfortable to work in, especially with some cross-ventilation.

-Jason

 

[jawillis]

Oh yeah. I built a table, too. Two 4x8 sheets of plywood glued together with a 2x6 frame and 4x4 legs. It's sturdy.
20161024_095359 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

-Jason

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Nice work on the shop!!

What are the specs on the lathe and mill?

 

[jawillis]

The lathe is a 1973 Burke Millrite MVN. The lathe is a Central Machinery 13x40 of unknown vintage. They came with a bunch of tooling and accessories, plus some aluminum and steel stock to get started with. Coming home with all of it was like early Christmas.
20161016_200725 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161016_200755 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161018_221511 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161018_222328 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161018_214650 by Jason Willis, on Flickr
20161018_214711 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Damn, nice haul!

 

[Jo Diesel]

Any of the spray foam that is going to be left exposed MUST BE PAINTED. My brother is a certified installer with a $100k rig and all spray foam will photo degrade from light. Any cheap latex house or barn paint is fine. Have been in buildings with the foam falling off the walls after it started breaking down.

 

[jawillis]

Any of the spray foam that is going to be left exposed MUST BE PAINTED. My brother is a certified installer with a $100k rig and all spray foam will photo degrade from light. Any cheap latex house or barn paint is fine. Have been in buildings with the foam falling off the walls after it started breaking down.

Thanks for the tip! I've considered painting the foam for aesthetic purposes, but didn't think about it as an actual protective measure. You've certainly moved it higher on my priority list. I've got an airless sprayer and some scaffold, so I guess I had better stock up on drop cloths.

-Jason

 

[jawillis]

I got some work done in the workshop area under the mezzanine.
Two coats of the cheapest latex paint from Home Depot got the walls a more-or-less uniform color, covered up the writing on the OSB and (more importantly) brightened up the space quite a bit. There was a little bit of delamination of the OSB due to the water-based paint, but it doesn't really bother me all that much. I considered an oil-based primer, but ultimately decided against it because cleaning the sprayer becomes a huge hassle when using oil-based products.

A friend came over yesterday and we got some lights installed. The lights are basic T8 fixtures with Philips LED replacement bulbs. We hung them between the rafters to provide a little protection from inadvertent damage. Rather than modifying the fixtures in order to hard-wire them, we simply installed three 4-gang outlet boxes in the ceiling. This gives me flexibility to change things around once I live with this arrangement a while.

The stretch-goal this weekend was to get power to the lathe and milling machine, but that will have to wait for another day.

20161113_190422 by Jason Willis, on Flickr

-Jason

 

[Toyotero]

Hey J, what's the status of your bad *** shop? :-D