Anyone ever regret getting a shop?
- Thread starter Spoon33
- Start date
kjdhawkhill
Well-known member
I'm not exactly handy with wood, metal or mechanical, but I'd be better if I had a space I could escape from my two kids from.
I would imagine, for myself, that the free time calculation is a probability.
If you enjoy the learning process on small and large projects, go for it and set it up for wi-fi. Youtube/the inter webs
are great tools, presuming you pick the right teacher(s).
This is probably the biggest question.
For me, these questions don't apply. A small-lot suburban home with an attached two car is where I am, and where I'll be, for the short-term at least.
If you have the income/wealth to build it now, and would enjoy it for anything other than storage, then do it.
If you are looking at it as an investment, look for some comparables in the area and decide if risk of selling at that % loss on that investment.
If you know you'll do not much more than polish the boat and vacuum the deck-rug, then it might not be worth it.
mygarageone
Well-known member
Try building a shop at that price now days , plus the land and all the utilities . That's a steel from my point of view. If nothing else , you could rent half of it out and make it pay for it's self.
At that price I would call it a great investment.
At that price I would call it a great investment.
ford33
Well-known member
The opinions here are certainly biased towards building a workshop. I don't believe you will get many responses here stating they wish they didn't have a workshop.
At this stage in your life, why spend any money if you doubt you will use the space? You have young children that certainly need your attention. Instead of a high priced workshop, plan to spend money on family experiences, sports, theater, music and travel. Introduce them at a young age to different cultures outside the USA. Organize family activities and develop well rounded children who can think independently instead of being part of the herd.
If later you determine you need the workshop then you can decide how to pay for it.
Spending that much money to store a boat you use a couple times a year is not responsible.
At this stage in your life, why spend any money if you doubt you will use the space? You have young children that certainly need your attention. Instead of a high priced workshop, plan to spend money on family experiences, sports, theater, music and travel. Introduce them at a young age to different cultures outside the USA. Organize family activities and develop well rounded children who can think independently instead of being part of the herd.
If later you determine you need the workshop then you can decide how to pay for it.
Spending that much money to store a boat you use a couple times a year is not responsible.
metlmunchr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2011
- Messages
- 1,278
My house has an attached double garage and a detached 25x40 shop space built to match the house. Bought it like that when it was about 11 yrs old.
Based on square foot prices of heated living space for comparable houses in the area at that time, the detached shop cost me nothing.
While the shop was a big plus for me, and would be for anyone who's into hobbies like cars or woodworking that typically require a lot of space, for the average person its neither here nor there.
And then, there's a certain segment of people who would rule the house out when shopping because they wouldn't want the shop. No use for it, and would consider it nothing more than additional space to have to maintain over the long run and more property taxes to pay every year.
Realistically, a guy who's in his 30's and hasn't developed any "shop hobbies" isn't likely to develop them in the future. The presence of a building doesn't make it any more likely, just the same as having grass and bushes in the yard doesn't magically make someone interested in becoming an avid gardener.
Could someone like the OP regret building a shop? Definitely, and even more so if he eventually sells the house and finds it adds near nothing to the selling price.
Based on square foot prices of heated living space for comparable houses in the area at that time, the detached shop cost me nothing.
While the shop was a big plus for me, and would be for anyone who's into hobbies like cars or woodworking that typically require a lot of space, for the average person its neither here nor there.
And then, there's a certain segment of people who would rule the house out when shopping because they wouldn't want the shop. No use for it, and would consider it nothing more than additional space to have to maintain over the long run and more property taxes to pay every year.
Realistically, a guy who's in his 30's and hasn't developed any "shop hobbies" isn't likely to develop them in the future. The presence of a building doesn't make it any more likely, just the same as having grass and bushes in the yard doesn't magically make someone interested in becoming an avid gardener.
Could someone like the OP regret building a shop? Definitely, and even more so if he eventually sells the house and finds it adds near nothing to the selling price.
matemike
Well-known member
Very similar situation as you. 33 years old, two kids.
Low and behold, yes. I have regretted building my shop a few times here and there. But I do not now and do not foresee regretting it anymore in the future.
It was a push against the Mrs. for quite a while. Then one year for Christmas she told me she’s come to terms with it and that I have permission to build one.
I wanted the shop for the same reasons as anyone else; a place to work and piddle around that is away from the house and not inside our attached garage. We use our garage for the vehicles and bicycles, etc. When we started the build we had an 18 month old and knew #2 would be on the way soon. So we were planning for the future to purchase an SUV as the family vehicle. The wife and I came to an agreement that we both want to keep the truck and the sports car because we can surely afford it. So we’ll just add a third vehicle. She convinced me that the fam vehicle needs to stay in the garage and that her sports car should too. So I was left with keeping my truck outside. Call me a snob, but I really wanted to avoid that because I keep my truck waxed and spotless as much as possible. So there’s even more reason to build a shop now where I can keep the truck indoors.
So with the Christmas permission, We did the whole pacing it out and setting up ropes for the outline to vision the size of shop I want. We parked the truck on the grass in the outline to finally decide on a 30x40. I also wanted insulation, a 10 ft covered porch, three roll up doors, two walk in doors, three windows, and ridge vents. The thing was definitely getting expensive. Feeling the push back again I stopped all plans. I never said anything. A couple months went by and the Mrs. asked why we were not pursuing the build. She thought that I would have been all over it. Basically telling me I still had permission. So I pursued again. We went the cheapest route for concrete by going through a friend of a friend of someone’s former co-worker. That’s where things went south. The concrete job was horrible. I paid a man to do the forming and rebar laying and pouring/spreading, but he left me with purchasing and setting up the delivery of the concrete. Big mistake. It was a battle from hell to get the pouring crew to line up with available delivery times. I think four tries and the stars finally aligned. The concrete company was a joke. Trucks showed up hours after the previous, one driver smashed my metal gate on his way out and another got pulled over in my neighborhood. There was a gathering of three cop cars all with lights on. That guy was finally arrested on my property before that whole fiasco was over. Told myself right then and there, never again. Needless to say, that was a regretful moment.
Over the weeks of planning and coordinating for a company to erect the building I encountered many friends and co-workers claiming they’d come help put it up. “No problem”, they said. “Metal buildings are easy.” Wrong. But the worst thing is that my wife jumped on board with all this big talk and she’s thinking we’ll just erect this building over a weekend at the price of a few hot dog dinners for anyone who helps. What I’m realizing is that you could have 100 friends all tell you they’ll help, but they’ll never all be able to come over at the same time and honestly, all any would ever be able to give is a few hours every other weekend if you’re lucky. I would have had to rent a fork lift and kept it on my property for months at that rate which adds up quick. So I convinced my lovely wife that paying a professional building erector company is the way to go. Add that to the total expense.
Then I found out during the build that the erector company does not install the roll up doors or windows. So that was a big blind siding issue that I had to figure out. After the building was up I mounted all the tracks and brackets for the doors on my own which took me a day. Then I was able to get friends who had access to a scissor lift come over and hang the doors which took about three hours for three doors. Skated by that curve ball.
The building is up now and it is fabulous. Anyone who sees it, even the crews who erected it were very impressed with the quality of the building and the overall layout of the doors, windows, etc. It made me proud to hear those things because I did design the layout all on my own. It’s a Mueller building by the way.
I’ve since had a 125A panel put out there, which was another expense that I expected but the wife did not. So she just keeps seeing the dollar signs and I keep feeling the guilt.
The shop has been up for almost a year now and all I’ve really been doing is still “setting it up”. I’ve painted all the red iron beams white to match the insulation. It looks pretty sharp. I’ve got lights and receptacles in there. My air compressor is up and running, just no permanent lines installed yet; only the 50 ft hose is drug around to anywhere I need it. I’ve finally got my big awesome tool box out there too which is slowly being filled up. Next plans are to epoxy the floor and I want to build a 10x10 room with a loft on top in one corner and maybe someday install a flush mount scissor lift in the middle. I’m also going to bury a pex pipe line across my yard to have a sink out there.
My wife will tell you that one thing we did do right was we built the shop at the EXACT right time in our lives. 3 months after it was complete we had our 2nd child and purchased that 3rd vehicle. So my truck and 4 wheeler got the boot from the attached garage and they live out in the shop now. The 30X40 space fills up quick as I knew it would.
So do I regret having the shop now? No. I use it and like it. I think the wife likes it too. Was it worth it though? I won’t dare tell you the total final price, but it’s more expensive than I ever thought. Oh well, many lessons were learned. But we afforded it comfortably because we are blessed and well off I guess. The biggest issue is that the learning curve was tremendous for a first timer putting a shop on his private property. I think that’s where all the discontent came from in the beginning. So much so that I don’t think I’d ever do it again. Seriously.
At this time I still feel a little like I would have been out there more often, but kids do occupy a lot of time and I would not miss any of that for the world. They’ll continue to occupy more time as they get older and start school and sports. I’m prepared for that. At this time my daughter loves riding her tricyle in there. She loves coming out there with me and she does her thing while I do mine. Keeps her out of the house when the Mrs may be trying to rest. So there’s a bonus. My wife also does arial acrobatics (like the cirque de solei fabric dancers) from a legit dancing sheet that I hung from a sheave in the rafters. My daughter loves swinging around on that thing. Of course there’s a pad on the ground under it. I can’t wait to see everything that my son comes up with to do in there as he grows up.
So to sum it up, so far for 9 months it’s been a whole lot of fun setting it up all on my own at my own pace. I’ve learned many new things about construction and window installation and wiring up lights and receptacles. And I plan to continue on this path of DIY for everything which is how I’ve always been anyways. Like many have said on here already, it’s a long term investment with a long term return to be measured. I know better than to measure my shop’s worth in just the first 9 months of it being up. The kids will likely play in there more and more. I certainly do not think it was a waste or even an overall bad decision to put one up. If I HAD to do it again I’d go with the exact same size and layout but would have found a cheaper building considering what I actually use it for and I would have used a professional concrete company who does everything. Those are really my only woes to date; the concrete disaster and I admit I did pay too much. But it’s up, it’s staying and it’s good.
Low and behold, yes. I have regretted building my shop a few times here and there. But I do not now and do not foresee regretting it anymore in the future.
It was a push against the Mrs. for quite a while. Then one year for Christmas she told me she’s come to terms with it and that I have permission to build one.
I wanted the shop for the same reasons as anyone else; a place to work and piddle around that is away from the house and not inside our attached garage. We use our garage for the vehicles and bicycles, etc. When we started the build we had an 18 month old and knew #2 would be on the way soon. So we were planning for the future to purchase an SUV as the family vehicle. The wife and I came to an agreement that we both want to keep the truck and the sports car because we can surely afford it. So we’ll just add a third vehicle. She convinced me that the fam vehicle needs to stay in the garage and that her sports car should too. So I was left with keeping my truck outside. Call me a snob, but I really wanted to avoid that because I keep my truck waxed and spotless as much as possible. So there’s even more reason to build a shop now where I can keep the truck indoors.
So with the Christmas permission, We did the whole pacing it out and setting up ropes for the outline to vision the size of shop I want. We parked the truck on the grass in the outline to finally decide on a 30x40. I also wanted insulation, a 10 ft covered porch, three roll up doors, two walk in doors, three windows, and ridge vents. The thing was definitely getting expensive. Feeling the push back again I stopped all plans. I never said anything. A couple months went by and the Mrs. asked why we were not pursuing the build. She thought that I would have been all over it. Basically telling me I still had permission. So I pursued again. We went the cheapest route for concrete by going through a friend of a friend of someone’s former co-worker. That’s where things went south. The concrete job was horrible. I paid a man to do the forming and rebar laying and pouring/spreading, but he left me with purchasing and setting up the delivery of the concrete. Big mistake. It was a battle from hell to get the pouring crew to line up with available delivery times. I think four tries and the stars finally aligned. The concrete company was a joke. Trucks showed up hours after the previous, one driver smashed my metal gate on his way out and another got pulled over in my neighborhood. There was a gathering of three cop cars all with lights on. That guy was finally arrested on my property before that whole fiasco was over. Told myself right then and there, never again. Needless to say, that was a regretful moment.
Over the weeks of planning and coordinating for a company to erect the building I encountered many friends and co-workers claiming they’d come help put it up. “No problem”, they said. “Metal buildings are easy.” Wrong. But the worst thing is that my wife jumped on board with all this big talk and she’s thinking we’ll just erect this building over a weekend at the price of a few hot dog dinners for anyone who helps. What I’m realizing is that you could have 100 friends all tell you they’ll help, but they’ll never all be able to come over at the same time and honestly, all any would ever be able to give is a few hours every other weekend if you’re lucky. I would have had to rent a fork lift and kept it on my property for months at that rate which adds up quick. So I convinced my lovely wife that paying a professional building erector company is the way to go. Add that to the total expense.
Then I found out during the build that the erector company does not install the roll up doors or windows. So that was a big blind siding issue that I had to figure out. After the building was up I mounted all the tracks and brackets for the doors on my own which took me a day. Then I was able to get friends who had access to a scissor lift come over and hang the doors which took about three hours for three doors. Skated by that curve ball.
The building is up now and it is fabulous. Anyone who sees it, even the crews who erected it were very impressed with the quality of the building and the overall layout of the doors, windows, etc. It made me proud to hear those things because I did design the layout all on my own. It’s a Mueller building by the way.
I’ve since had a 125A panel put out there, which was another expense that I expected but the wife did not. So she just keeps seeing the dollar signs and I keep feeling the guilt.
The shop has been up for almost a year now and all I’ve really been doing is still “setting it up”. I’ve painted all the red iron beams white to match the insulation. It looks pretty sharp. I’ve got lights and receptacles in there. My air compressor is up and running, just no permanent lines installed yet; only the 50 ft hose is drug around to anywhere I need it. I’ve finally got my big awesome tool box out there too which is slowly being filled up. Next plans are to epoxy the floor and I want to build a 10x10 room with a loft on top in one corner and maybe someday install a flush mount scissor lift in the middle. I’m also going to bury a pex pipe line across my yard to have a sink out there.
My wife will tell you that one thing we did do right was we built the shop at the EXACT right time in our lives. 3 months after it was complete we had our 2nd child and purchased that 3rd vehicle. So my truck and 4 wheeler got the boot from the attached garage and they live out in the shop now. The 30X40 space fills up quick as I knew it would.
So do I regret having the shop now? No. I use it and like it. I think the wife likes it too. Was it worth it though? I won’t dare tell you the total final price, but it’s more expensive than I ever thought. Oh well, many lessons were learned. But we afforded it comfortably because we are blessed and well off I guess. The biggest issue is that the learning curve was tremendous for a first timer putting a shop on his private property. I think that’s where all the discontent came from in the beginning. So much so that I don’t think I’d ever do it again. Seriously.
At this time I still feel a little like I would have been out there more often, but kids do occupy a lot of time and I would not miss any of that for the world. They’ll continue to occupy more time as they get older and start school and sports. I’m prepared for that. At this time my daughter loves riding her tricyle in there. She loves coming out there with me and she does her thing while I do mine. Keeps her out of the house when the Mrs may be trying to rest. So there’s a bonus. My wife also does arial acrobatics (like the cirque de solei fabric dancers) from a legit dancing sheet that I hung from a sheave in the rafters. My daughter loves swinging around on that thing. Of course there’s a pad on the ground under it. I can’t wait to see everything that my son comes up with to do in there as he grows up.
So to sum it up, so far for 9 months it’s been a whole lot of fun setting it up all on my own at my own pace. I’ve learned many new things about construction and window installation and wiring up lights and receptacles. And I plan to continue on this path of DIY for everything which is how I’ve always been anyways. Like many have said on here already, it’s a long term investment with a long term return to be measured. I know better than to measure my shop’s worth in just the first 9 months of it being up. The kids will likely play in there more and more. I certainly do not think it was a waste or even an overall bad decision to put one up. If I HAD to do it again I’d go with the exact same size and layout but would have found a cheaper building considering what I actually use it for and I would have used a professional concrete company who does everything. Those are really my only woes to date; the concrete disaster and I admit I did pay too much. But it’s up, it’s staying and it’s good.
pmiranda
Well-known member
matemike: I'm also thinking of a Mueller building.. probably larger if we can afford/justify it. I've read enough horror stories to not try to cheap out on the concrete, especially since we've got alot of shrink/swell. I'm curious what cheaper choice of building you would consider? Did you look into using an overhead door with the Mueller? I think I want to use them to get the insulation but I don't know if there is anything different I need to specify when buying the building. If you don't mind sharing I would like to know what you ended up spending. You hear alot of stories about people's super-cheap victories but not so many real price tags.
Thanks for sharing your details!
Thanks for sharing your details!
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Add in taxes, utilities, insurance and maintenance, that roi is a lot longer than 10 years
jpcjguy
Well-known member
Spoon33,
I am in your exact situation. I have identical 6 year old boys and a 2.5 year old daughter. We moved from the city to a 2 acre plot about 2 years ago. Plan was to build a 36 wide by 30 deep garage with room for a lift. I have a 83 CJ7 that I like to work on. But the reality is - the jeep sits most of the time now. I am project kind of guy (at least my wife will tell you that I create all my own work). She asks me once in a while what the status of the garage is and I am having a hard time pulling the trigger to be honest. I was thinking stick built with attic truss for room up above. The thought was to insulate and install a mini-split. The $$$$ started adding up. Way more than I thought.
Now we also have thoughts on a boat - a 24' bow rider for next summer. That will run $20-25k. This purchase would put the garage off for a few more years. My dilemma is that the garage is for me. The boat is for the family - easier sell to the wife - and if we don't use it as much as we think - I can sell it. Garage is permanent.
I wonder how much time I will have to spend out there and is the money worth it. I am now considering going to a pole barn style steel building (like Morton - which a neighbor has) to keep initial costs down. Then if I use it a lot, I can frame the inside and insulate. Might not be the most cost effective long term plan - but if it ends up being a glorified storage space for my Jeep and the 2 off-road dune buggys I just bought (think go-carts) for the kids then I did not plunk down a ton of money.
As many posters have mentioned - there is more to life than "things" and spending quality time with your family is #1. Now if my kids get into turning wrenches, building, etc. - then spending money on the garage is worth it because we are doing it together.
Argh - hate this dilemma...
I am in your exact situation. I have identical 6 year old boys and a 2.5 year old daughter. We moved from the city to a 2 acre plot about 2 years ago. Plan was to build a 36 wide by 30 deep garage with room for a lift. I have a 83 CJ7 that I like to work on. But the reality is - the jeep sits most of the time now. I am project kind of guy (at least my wife will tell you that I create all my own work). She asks me once in a while what the status of the garage is and I am having a hard time pulling the trigger to be honest. I was thinking stick built with attic truss for room up above. The thought was to insulate and install a mini-split. The $$$$ started adding up. Way more than I thought.
Now we also have thoughts on a boat - a 24' bow rider for next summer. That will run $20-25k. This purchase would put the garage off for a few more years. My dilemma is that the garage is for me. The boat is for the family - easier sell to the wife - and if we don't use it as much as we think - I can sell it. Garage is permanent.
I wonder how much time I will have to spend out there and is the money worth it. I am now considering going to a pole barn style steel building (like Morton - which a neighbor has) to keep initial costs down. Then if I use it a lot, I can frame the inside and insulate. Might not be the most cost effective long term plan - but if it ends up being a glorified storage space for my Jeep and the 2 off-road dune buggys I just bought (think go-carts) for the kids then I did not plunk down a ton of money.
As many posters have mentioned - there is more to life than "things" and spending quality time with your family is #1. Now if my kids get into turning wrenches, building, etc. - then spending money on the garage is worth it because we are doing it together.
Argh - hate this dilemma...
The only regrets was bulidling two different shops.........within 18 months both times got a job transfer (mandatory if I wanted to stay employed) someone else got to enjoy my labors.
Retired ......I purchased home with a shop in place........just one regret 9' ceiling.......compromise is always a factory in every decision .
Retired ......I purchased home with a shop in place........just one regret 9' ceiling.......compromise is always a factory in every decision .
IMO do a bit of research I bet the resale will hold the value in the shop cost if not add a bit of value over the cost to your property. Worth the time to check out comps of homes with shops near by. Then you could do what I did for years and rent one side to a friend. I rented from a person I didn't know for years untill I built my garage. Also figure what you pay in shop rent over the next 10 or so years and see how that deducts from the cost? I would have just about paid for my garage by now if I was renting so the garage was a good investment for me.
Jeep Monkey RTR
Well-known member
Here are my thoughts:
I have a 6 and 4 year old and, like you, have little extra time to spare for anything personal.
I recently added a 24x17 storage area on the back of our garage for similar reasons. I needed a place to put lawn mower, four wheeler, kayaks, misc. yard equipment, plus the 4 million toys belonging to my kiddos.
I too was reluctant to spend the money but even my wife is glad we did. I can now organize the storage area plus our garage is free and clear of clutter so we can actually park cars in it.
Full disclosure: we did have a large tree fall on the garage late last year which prompted the expansion.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have a 6 and 4 year old and, like you, have little extra time to spare for anything personal.
I recently added a 24x17 storage area on the back of our garage for similar reasons. I needed a place to put lawn mower, four wheeler, kayaks, misc. yard equipment, plus the 4 million toys belonging to my kiddos.
I too was reluctant to spend the money but even my wife is glad we did. I can now organize the storage area plus our garage is free and clear of clutter so we can actually park cars in it.
Full disclosure: we did have a large tree fall on the garage late last year which prompted the expansion.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
finn
Well-known member
Asking this site if one should build a shop as like me going to a swimming pool site, if there is one, and asking if I should build a swimming pool.
You aren't going to get many objective answers here.
You aren't going to get many objective answers here.
I say: Build it! Build it bigger and as you have time....read up on this forum and set up your shop accordingly. You will be glad you built it and it will have many more uses than you ever planned. Life is short.....build it and enjoy!
pmiranda
Well-known member
Do a personal pro/con list... maybe:
Pros:
Spend less time going to the storage unit
Faster access to your stuff
More time with your stuff
More time with your family (in the long run)
No long-term rental cost
Better security, lighting, electrical, and organization possible than a rental
Cons:
It's alot of money up front
It's alot of hassle and conflict getting the thing built
In the short term it's less time with your family and stuff since you're building it
You will spend more than you expect on outfitting it better than you would bother in a rental storage unit
Something might happen (job loss/transfer, family illness, babies, relatives coming to live with you, global warming?) that make you want to move and all the money you sunk into the building is pretty much gone. (That is also an argument for building sooner rather than later... no point in letting somebody else get all the benefit.)
You should try to think of other pros and cons, and weigh them all for your family situation.
Pros:
Spend less time going to the storage unit
Faster access to your stuff
More time with your stuff
More time with your family (in the long run)
No long-term rental cost
Better security, lighting, electrical, and organization possible than a rental
Cons:
It's alot of money up front
It's alot of hassle and conflict getting the thing built
In the short term it's less time with your family and stuff since you're building it
You will spend more than you expect on outfitting it better than you would bother in a rental storage unit
Something might happen (job loss/transfer, family illness, babies, relatives coming to live with you, global warming?) that make you want to move and all the money you sunk into the building is pretty much gone. (That is also an argument for building sooner rather than later... no point in letting somebody else get all the benefit.)
You should try to think of other pros and cons, and weigh them all for your family situation.
There's a big difference between a shop and storage. If you were to outfit the building as a shop, sure you'd regret it. You need storage not a bunch of tools and machinery you won't use.
I would not like being without a small shop. My little ones (2 and 4 y.o.) are going to get a work bench in the upcoming shop remodel and I envision they'll really enjoy messing around on their bench while dad has other projects going on.
I would not like being without a small shop. My little ones (2 and 4 y.o.) are going to get a work bench in the upcoming shop remodel and I envision they'll really enjoy messing around on their bench while dad has other projects going on.
Have you considered finding another house with a shop already built? If you are interested, pm me. My wife was in banking for 15yrs and is now a realtor going on several years. She can answer questions about any step in that process. We are in SE okc.
I am kind of in the same boat. I have a green light on the shop but am hesitant to pull the trigger. Our hoa is a ltitle more lax... I have built a nice shed and a chicken coop though
some day I will post a thread on it.QwikKotaTx
Well-known member
As long as it will not put you in bad debt, do it! I wish I had land to build bigger.
Falcon67
Well-known member
My dad and grand father built a garage in our back yard when I was little, about 1964 I would guess. Have the pics still! It was possibly intended for a place to park the cars. Maybe. He had his Shop Smith in the center for building things, the ham radio set up in one corner and on one wall in the front a 4x8 table that folded down with our Lionel train setup on it. So as long as I remember, it was a place for hobbies and kid/dad times.
Both my grandsons have spent a lot of time in my shop here. For the older one, it was good I had tools because the mini bike, 4 wheelers, pedal bikes, etc always needed some service. For the 5 year old, its not so much about working on things as playing and such.
So IMHO it's not always just about the tools.
Both my grandsons have spent a lot of time in my shop here. For the older one, it was good I had tools because the mini bike, 4 wheelers, pedal bikes, etc always needed some service. For the 5 year old, its not so much about working on things as playing and such.
So IMHO it's not always just about the tools.
John in OH
Well-known member
Man, you need to slow down and give this a lot of thought. I see way too much fast thinkin’ going on here!
First of all, I totally love my workshop spaces (yes, I have multiple workshops) and I love working on stuff and doing farm maintenance, etc. However, I’m retired and you aren’t me …..
As I see it, since you aren’t a dyi sort of guy, then this should pretty much boil down to an economic decision. $32K is a lot to drop on a storage building. Yeah, I understand all the “go for it” comments and how it can be a man cave, a place for all the kids’ bikes/trikes/4-wheelers etc., etc. But keep in mind you’re going to have to spend a lot more to turn an insulated storage building into a man cave (big screen TV, furniture, frig, sink, microwave, fitted out bathroom, pool table, etc. etc. Or, you gotta buy all those kids toys!! Anyway, my point is you aren’t done at $32K. What about:
Landscaping costs? Higher insurance? Higher taxes? Maintenance costs? Added heating/cooling costs? How’s your college fund for the kids? How’s you and your wife’s retirement fund coming along? Planning on more kids? Cars all paid for?
And from what I understand, “in general”, a large detached building makes a property harder to sell, and the cost of building a detached structure is very seldom fully recovered on a real estate sale. But, you should check with a local realtor.
Look, it’s gonna be 5 to 7 more years before those boys have any real interest in working with Dad in a shop. And, it only takes 6 months or less to build a shop. Yeah, maybe it will cost a few bucks more to build in the future, but in 5 years you’ll have a much better view of where you stand financially and what you really want in a building. What’s the rush??
First of all, I totally love my workshop spaces (yes, I have multiple workshops) and I love working on stuff and doing farm maintenance, etc. However, I’m retired and you aren’t me …..
As I see it, since you aren’t a dyi sort of guy, then this should pretty much boil down to an economic decision. $32K is a lot to drop on a storage building. Yeah, I understand all the “go for it” comments and how it can be a man cave, a place for all the kids’ bikes/trikes/4-wheelers etc., etc. But keep in mind you’re going to have to spend a lot more to turn an insulated storage building into a man cave (big screen TV, furniture, frig, sink, microwave, fitted out bathroom, pool table, etc. etc. Or, you gotta buy all those kids toys!! Anyway, my point is you aren’t done at $32K. What about:
Landscaping costs? Higher insurance? Higher taxes? Maintenance costs? Added heating/cooling costs? How’s your college fund for the kids? How’s you and your wife’s retirement fund coming along? Planning on more kids? Cars all paid for?
And from what I understand, “in general”, a large detached building makes a property harder to sell, and the cost of building a detached structure is very seldom fully recovered on a real estate sale. But, you should check with a local realtor.
Look, it’s gonna be 5 to 7 more years before those boys have any real interest in working with Dad in a shop. And, it only takes 6 months or less to build a shop. Yeah, maybe it will cost a few bucks more to build in the future, but in 5 years you’ll have a much better view of where you stand financially and what you really want in a building. What’s the rush??
The comments about having a shop making it harder to sell is the exact opposite imo. Most people who buy acreage do so because of wanting or needing the space. A legit out building is a major plus for those kinds of folk. There are a few considerations if you look at it in this manor like making it tall enough, having the correct infrastructure to it and so on. But many of these things can be accommodated without incurring a huge cost. Such as building it with 10 or 12ft walls, for electrical just install a 50amp sub panel but run 1-1/2" or 2" conduit for it and make sure the panel is rated for 100amps or larger if you find the right deal. Simple things like that will make upgrades or better use of the space much easier to swallow the upgrade cost at a later date.