Big building. Lousy usage of space.

[supersaiyan93]

So last May, my wife and I put up a modular home on her grandparent's property (11 acres of bliss). Grandpa has a pretty large metal building (45' x 60') in the back that is essentially used for nothing more than a few pieces of woodworking equipment, storage for a giant RV from the 80's, and a bunch of junk. The only structure built into it is a small bathroom closet with a toilet in it.

Well, we are finally talking him into letting us go through and clean the place up, and I'll be moving some of my tools (I'm a car guy, he's a woodworker) into the shed and we'll be splitting the space.

I did a Sketchup render (seriously addicting and fun) of an idea I had to make an enclosed workshop to give us an elevated loft area to put some of Grandpa's junk (spare HVAC units, construction materials, etc.), including adding some stairs to get up there.

This render gives me a place for a lift (been on my wishlist for YEARS now), toolboxes, compressor, welder, etc and for his table saw, planer, workbench, dust collector, and wood storage, as well as his big*** old RV.

Any thoughts to the layout? Anything you would do differently if this was something you were laying out from scratch?

Thanks,
Trent

 

[bczygan]

Welcome to GJ!
Sweet building.
Got any photos?

You'll be swimming in all that space!

 

[supersaiyan93]

Thanks for the welcome!

I'll grab some photos tonight. We haven't really got in there to do any cleanup yet, so it's a MESS. I'll be looking for some advice on insulation as well (I know I know, I've searched), but this building was put together weird. Grandpa was in the oil field, so the support beams and trusses are made of drill pipe. The rest of the building is your standard 6" c-purlin. It'll make more sense when I post pictures.

Hey, say what you will about the engineering, but it withstood Katrina, Rita, Isaac, etc without so much as a dent in the building, so I've got that going for me....which is nice.

 

[larry_g]

One mans junk is another mans treasure. Remember this as you start to go through the cleanup as this 'junk' is grandpa's lifetime.

Does your rendering show where the doors are, and is the room in the building exixting or proposed? Is the motorhome currently parked there or is it on the other end where the double doors are?

Personally I would not want the wood working machines that close to the front of the car. Woodworking and cars don't exist nicely together, probably more so when two different people are involved. I would suggest that you spend a bit more time in your drawing accommodating grandpa's desires and equipment and you use the leftovers space fo your wants. If gpa looks at that drawing he will see little to no effort put into laying out his stuff and a lot of detail in yours.

Other than that it looks to be a good start.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[bczygan]

Put where you are located in your description.

And serious good work on the drawings!

 

[waggie]

as long as you're going in with the idea of sharing the space instead of taking over it should be ok.

 

[BRIANBB]

When was the last time that motorhome went on vacation? Maybe its time to let go of it and free up some space. You could use the money for upgrades that both you and Gramps deserve.

 

[roscoe2000]

It looks like you have some wood working equipment in front of a door. Considering it will need a power outlet, you may want to reconsider that location as it block vehicle access from that entrance. As you go thru things and it will be hard for him to get rid of a lot of things. So tread lightly.... most of all save any old oil field tools for late display. As they will be the reminder of your ancestry and conversation pieces.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Just remember he is letting you use his space....

 

[supersaiyan93]

Oh goodness, I'm sorry guys. I think I gave off the wrong impression. Grandpa and I are doing this together. I've known this man for years and I have the highest regard for him and his life's work.

The space laid out for him is by his input. There is another shed on the property that he uses more frequently than this one that has his primary workshop in it, his lawnmowers, welding equipment, etc. The only things that need space in THIS shed is his larger woodworking equipment, all of which are pictured in the sketchup render. I plan to add a jointer and a sanding station to it over time.

The huge building used to be used for a septic tank cleaning business. He retired from that years ago and the building mostly goes unused these days.

When I say "junk", that is a mutually agreed upon term. He admits he has a bit of a hoarding issue. He likes to collect scrap to "run across the scales to get a few bucks." He would call it junk. It IS junk. Literally. He needs help to put all this stuff on a trailer and cash in on it. I plan to help him with this and won't take one cent in the process.

To answer specific questions, yes I noticed the issue with the planer and the door. He rarely uses that thing, but when he does, the open door gives him a little more feedout room. And the light over there with the door open is good. We have a heavy duty extension cable setup for that. It's on casters, so it can be moved further away from the car when needed. I have thought about moving it over by the motorhome, but there's less natural light over there.

The doors are large steel frame doors, clad in the same corrugated steel as the rest of the building. They swing out to the outside on hinges on each side like a big french door.

Yes, the motorhome is currently right there, as pictured. No, it hasn't moved in years. He's attached to it so it's staying, free space be darned.

 

[jeepinjz]

Looks like it going to be a sweet setup nice building