Above 1200 Sq/FT Drafty Barn into Everything Workshop - the VolksBarn? (100x40) (U.K.)

[VolksWomble]

The guys came back this week and cleared up after the control joints were cut. Now I need to figure out whether the put some kind of flexible filler into the joints.

The floor has had about 12 days to cure now, so I figure it’s time to start filling it backup again - it would be very nice to sort out the sides, the roof issues, lighting and electrics before ‘moving in’ but sadly that isn’t going to happen, and all that good stuff will happen over time.

So today I went over to my old(?) workshop to retrieve the first of the two vans that were stored there. The workshop is in a state of chaos, but I took a few pictures…

This van is my current long term project, and will get moved before I can pack the workshop up.



I also need to move by Snap On toolbox collection…





and the mezzanine with all my useful stuff too…



However, todays objective was to get this van…



I will put some more stuff in here tomorrow…

 

[roger440]

- it would be very nice to sort out the sides, the roof issues, lighting and electrics before ‘moving in’ but sadly that isn’t going to happen, and all that good stuff will happen over time.

The exact same problem i have............................

 

[VolksWomble]

i spent the afternoon putting some things back in the Barn. Having unloaded the white van I discovered that it wouldn’t go into gear. looks like the hydraulic fluid has been leaking and I’ll need to bleed it. so it just got pushed to the back of the barn in the middle for now. Not the most efficient parking, but keeping the edges clear means I can work on the siding.



also put some racking up to empty the box trailer onto



for those interested in other projects, we are also building out the stables into a gym. I don’t think I put pictures of the stables up, but they are a basic timber framed building but attached to the side of one of the shipping containers.



This has become a bit of a dumping ground and overflow for the house when we moved in. the Plan is to insulate and line it to get the temperature a little more stable, but for the time being I just wanted to get the gym equipment in one place, and tidy, and some lighting up so I can continue working on it during the evenings.



homes still to be found for the random furniture, but at least we can see. Next job in here after clearing stuff out will be to get the rack back up and some flooring down, and at least it can be used then.

 

[jagwinn]

there’s also a very dubious construction in the corner, which needs to come down so we can break up the concrete that’s there.

As you get older...and the "facility" gets farther....you may regret not having a place to...to...

 

[VolksWomble]

As you get older...and the "facility" gets farther....you may regret not having a place to...to...

Worry not! There are plans…

As if by magic* all the big toys are home…



* by magic, I mean 7 hours of driving…

 

[VolksWomble]

not Much barn progress to report… other than the occasional acquisition to help fill it.

A small (5ft) flail mower for the tractor so I can cut the field grass - not managed to try it out yet as I’m still sorting a power steering leak on the Iseki.



despite also being quite broken, I managed to unload this with the forklift. I really love the expanse of solid smooth floor! Also I really need to fix the forklift!

also managed to complete the Gym install for the time being. Some additional flooring came via FB marketplace.



lastly I did another run over to the old place today - ostensibly to get as many toolboxes as I could get in one go, along with the welder and associated kit so I can add some more support rails to the barn side. I’ve not yet unloaded, but here’s a picture part way through loading…



loading toolboxes on your own is quite the test of forward planning and ingenuity. There are 8 boxes in the trailer in this picture… I’m not quite sure how I’m going to get them all out again… it’s definitely a tomorrow problem tho.

 

[roger440]

I couldnt find a second hand flail anywhere when i needed one! Not much danger of using one at the moment though. And more rain to come this week!

Looking for a power harrow next. Oh, and a box grader. Never ends does it?

Oh, and my forklift is broken too. Which is stopped any useful progress in the barn for 3 months now

 

[VolksWomble]

I’ve spent the last couple of months looking for a sensible sized flail. I would have preferred a 6ft but this one will work - as you say, when this rain eventually dies off!

I don’t have any plans for our fields other than mowing them... So I’m hoping the need for harrows and graders are fairly minimal… hoping…

the forklift needs ahead gasket and a water pump. It starts and runs (sometimes) but seems to like to leave quite the oil slick behind it, so it’s kind of usable for about 5 minutes… it’s on the list of projects, but the tractor is taking precedence at the moment!

 

[roger440]

I’ve spent the last couple of months looking for a sensible sized flail. I would have preferred a 6ft but this one will work - as you say, when this rain eventually dies off!

I don’t have any plans for our fields other than mowing them... So I’m hoping the need for harrows and graders are fairly minimal… hoping…

the forklift needs ahead gasket and a water pump. It starts and runs (sometimes) but seems to like to leave quite the oil slick behind it, so it’s kind of usable for about 5 minutes… it’s on the list of projects, but the tractor is taking precedence at the moment!

Shame. I might be selling mine now the fields under control. 6ft too. Though i will say, in hindsight i sould have gone smaller due to the weight.

At least your fork truck sort of works. Mines lost all hydraulics. All electronic control. No one will fix it. No cheap forklifts out there, well, not electric ones.

 

[VolksWomble]

Shame. I might be selling mine now the fields under control. 6ft too. Though i will say, in hindsight i sould have gone smaller due to the weight.

At least your fork truck sort of works. Mines lost all hydraulics. All electronic control. No one will fix it. No cheap forklifts out there, well, not electric ones.

Drop me a message when you do decide to move your flail on

Second hand industrial equipment seems to go for very strong money these days, even if it’s only clinging on to usefulness - tractors, forklifts, scissor lifts, etc

 

[roger440]

Drop me a message when you do decide to move your flail on

Second hand industrial equipment seems to go for very strong money these days, even if it’s only clinging on to usefulness - tractors, forklifts, scissor lifts, etc

Will do.

If it ever stops raining, and i get to try out my new mower, after that i will make a decision.

Be nice to keep it, but it will basically sit there, and i need a power harrow and a box grader and fork attachements yet. All costs money.

 

[VolksWomble]

i managed to unload the box trailer with my wife’s help this afternoon. Finally got to put most of my SO boxes together after collecting them over the last few years. There are still a couple more top boxes to bring over, along with some of my older boxes, so this isn’t everything - but it is the vast majority.

what’s really odd is that I did a couple of jobs and had to remind myself that my ‘real‘ tools were here after all! It’s finally starting to feel a bit like I’ve moved in.

 

[tr4a]

Man, I am a sucker for old buildings! They just ooze character.

 

[VolksWomble]

not a huge amount of progress with the Barn, we’ve had visitors the last couple of weekends. That hasn’t necessarily curtailed the acquisitions…

grass cutting has been a major theme as a) it’s spring so growing happens and b) it’s just about dry enough underfoot to go do something about it…

The Iseki and flail have had a couple of goes round the top field which has both shortened the grass and lengthened the jobs list… the flail needs some new blades and the throttle on the tractor needs a stern looking at.

it has also generated a lot of cut grass which I am hoping won’t kill the underlying grass as it’s quite thick. Too much to collect so I’ll just need to go over it and break I up.

I also got slightly fed up with the mower we acquired with the property, and it’s tendency to only cut sometimes… it’s an MTD Cub Cadet and despite low hours it’s very ‘used’. Despite working well as a tug, its future is uncertain. Having gone and ogled new ones, I convinced myself that a Husqvarna articulated out-front mower would be ideal, but rather balked at the cost. Facebook Market place did yield a suitable alternative tho..



having used it 3 or so times now, I’m very pleased with the improvement.

I also appear to have acquired another tractor…


Several months before we moved, during a chance conversation with our Facilities Manager at work, he suggested they were thinking about getting rid of some grounds maintenance equipment. It took the best part of 6 months to get to the top of his to do list, and through our corporate disposals process, but after a sealed bid auction I won it for what I assumed was a cheeky low bid… (noting I had already bought a tractor in the meantime, as I got bored waiting…). Its a bit under powered, and I’m not entirely sure what we are going to use 2 tractors for… but hey.

Also, on the subject of acquisitions, FB marketplace also yielded a rather nice scissor lift table, to help me get toolboxes and drill presses etc out of the trailer and into their new (higher) homes…



first test will be tomorrow as I spent today playing toolbox Tetris at the old workshop...

 

[roger440]

Ive had a Husky Rider 13 for 8 years or so. Been a great machine. Looks like yours has the mulching deck if im not mistaken?

 

[VolksWomble]

Ive had a Husky Rider 13 for 8 years or so. Been a great machine. Looks like yours has the mulching deck if im not mistaken?

Yes, indeed. It’s a Rider 15V2 with a mulching deck, which works very well, provided I don’t leave it too long between cuts. You can turn it into a rear discharge deck if required, but I thnk it will still struggle with the longer stuff…

 

[VolksWomble]

i attacked the front field today - it was far too wet really, but I needed to get the nettles down before they took over. Its still a swamp sadly down the far end…



we took the opportunity to sow some wild flower meadow seeds whilst the grass was down. We don’t have a firm plan on what to use this field for, but wild flower meadow is a firm possibility in the immediate term.

also had fun unloading the trailer and using new toys equipment…

the drill is rather heavy - a Meddings Paciera which I paid £20 for from a scrap man clearing a factory near where I was working a few years ago.





scissor lift table starting to earn its keep…





sadly, my estimation of the strength of the bench was somewhat lacking… so I needed a different plan. Decided to put it on a pallet for the time being. The flaw with the scissor table is that it’s still about 12” off the floor at its lowest - possibly more. Decided to try out the little Kubotas front loader, which performed perfectly…



so, its proving it’s worth already

Next job for the scissor lift table…



all ready to finally get all my SO boxes together for the first time for a family picture…

 

[VolksWomble]

Small update for the external buildings today - decided that the existing brick and concrete garages will need to be replaced to make then suitable for what we want, but that is not going to happen immediately. So in the short term we have swapped the leaky rotten shipping container (connex box) for two new (1 trip) containers.

the one on the left was in a very poor shape…



so these landed today. Nice and clean, dry and structural… one will be storage, and the other will be a Machine shop.



and just for fun, it turns out the aurora borealis were visible from here tonight, which is a pretty rare occurrence!

 

[STINEY]

Any progress over the summer? I have enjoyed following your progress thus far...

 

[VolksWomble]

Thanks for the prompt, I have been meaning to post an update… been trying to make best use of daylight to get things done! I have a few things to post updates on which I’ll catch up on in the next few days!

 

[VolksWomble]

So, there‘s a fair few parallel projects to update on from the summer, I’ll group them together rather than sticking to chronological order…

since I was talking about the arrival of the shipping containers in the last post, ill continue with those…

first job once levelled was to spray an anti condensation coating to the ceiling. I was worried about them sweating and causing corrosion, and I’ve seen good reports of how well the anti condensation coating works, so before anything went in the ceiling got sprayed.



despite the instructions suggestin half an hour to apply to a 20’ box, it took me most of the day! The hopper gun is quite heavy when full of rubberised coating held aloft!

both containers have also had lighting and power added (albeit not yet actually connected up…) using LED battens hung from catenary cables.



We have been using them for storage of house stuff whilst we have been doing some internal works to the house (see another post later on..) rather than the planned parts storage. However, it has now been Racked out (courtesy of various FBM purchases) and is rapidly filling up with Campervan parts as I continue to bring stuff over from my old workshop.

another FBM purchase was some benches for use in the machine shop…





next job is to start filling it up with machine tools - but that’s a job for next week…

 

[VolksWomble]

Since this is covering other projects as well as the barn and workshops, I thought I would add some of the work we are doing to create a studio for my wife’s printing and other craft activities.

our move here was predicated on both of us getting space to do the things we want to do. As well as the barn and other outbuildings we also gained an old static caravan (single-wide?) that had been partially stripped and refurbishment started. This felt like a good start for MrsWomble’s studio. the caravan is quite old, but is dry so we will make use of it until either it becomes too far gone or we can afford a better log cabin type affair. So we are attempting to make it usable without spending loads as it’s likely to be replaced in 5 years or so…

firstly, it’s not pretty, so we set about softening it a little. We are not gardeners by any stretch of imagination, but decided a couple of planters with some bushes and climbers would do a good job of prettying it up.





it turns out a 6’ long trough is rather bigger than most garden centres round here consider a ‘planter’… and making trellis from roofing batten is also significantly more structural than most commercially available affairs…



they seem to work tho.

next problem to solve was access - the 18” drop from either of the doors was apparently not practical, so I made some steps



and tidied up a little more withe some half price panelling from Wickes (U.K. diy chain)

 

[VolksWomble]

So, now we can get in and out, I suppose we should start on the inside.








the tables and desks were being stored here, but will be repurposed in the studio. The sofa was in there when we moved in… this last picture does t really do justice to how awful the floor was…

first job was to remove the manky kitchen units, extraneous walls and the terrible sofa…

the wall met the Makita Recip saw…



I’ve no idea how the sofa got in, as it didn’t fit through either door,,, so it also met Mr Recip..



then to start attacking the floor…



sadly very few in progress shots, but after a visit to a reclaimed timber place (also courtesy of Facebook Marketplace) we had enough 22mm flooring boards to redo what hadnt been done by the PO…





which just about brings us up to this last weekend on the caravan project.

the plan is to freshen the walls up with some paint and put so laminate flooring down (FBM, again) before building a wet work area in what was the kitchen. Oh, I also need to rewire and replumb it too…

 

[VolksWomble]

I should probably add, we are a Makita household, and have been for 20 or so years… MrsWomble commented that it was good to have an excuse to get all my LXT tools out… sadly it wasn’t even close to all of them!

 

[VolksWomble]

Quick, random interstitial update… Today, I have mostly been moving machine tools across the country…





Lathe, Milling Machine, Bandsaw and bench Drill (hidden) ready for a ride from Kent to Worcestershire

 

[VolksWomble]

While I still have a number of other things from over the summer to post, I have had a busy week on the barn, so thought I’d post it up.

After getting the floor in, the next major barn improvement was to get the sides rather more waterproof before the winter. On the north side is hit and miss Yorkshire boarding - we’ll come back to that in a later post. On the southside is perforated galvanised steel sheeting - and that’s what we’ll focus on.



At some point in the past (possibly at construction) the inside of this wall has been covered in polythene, held via battens screwed though the cladding. This has succumbed to UV and the strong winds we get here, so the first job was to strip that off…

it started off like this…





and comes out like this



next job was to add an additional support rail (girt?) for the new cladding, as the gap was just over 6’ with the minimum for the new cladding being 4’. in keepin with the existing rails, I used 6mm (1/4”) steel angle mounted on new brackets welded to the uprights. This required the aerial welding rig…



and after 2 days effort ended up with



doesnt look like much, but was hard work!

anyway, after a day out to collect my machine tools from my Dad‘s shed (see previous post), I also grabbed my dad for a couple of days, and we cracked on with the new cladding…







after 2 days working together we pretty much got to the other end…



it’s difficult to see from this picture, but we still need to finish off the las 2’ or so, and sort out the corner and guttering downpipe, so a bit of faffing about, but I’m really pleased with how far we have got in between the rain showers!

 

[ayer]

I have that same Husqvarna mower and love it. I can nose it in under my evergreens and keep the yard looking good. But you are right it does not like tall grass or wet grass. Love your barn. it is coming along nice.

 

[STINEY]

I was wondering about those sidewalls, lol. Great transformation, the color really works. Is that British Racing Green?

 

[littlebean]

just read from the beginning - that's a few projects to keep you busy

 

[VolksWomble]

I was wondering about those sidewalls, lol. Great transformation, the color really works. Is that British Racing Green?

It seems to be commonly known as Juniper green, it’s bit brighter that BRG… but it’s pretty close. You don’t see many racing barns tho…

 

[VolksWomble]

Thought I would add a quick picture of the inside, for anyone curious..



a vast improvement I think… and it will never be this clear again!

today‘s job was to attempt to stem some of the roof leaks and remove the remnants of an attempt at a chimney. this essentially involved (ab)using some flashing tape over* the holes.

* I say ‘over’, I cant easily get onto the roof, so several were done from the inside, so the tape went under the holes - hopefully it will last till I can do it properly.

what I will say, is that it’s a long way up! I am still getting used to the scale of this barn!



the cherry picker is not necessarily a comfortable way to work, but it serves a purpose. I think I may attempt to trade it for a scaffold tower at some point in the near future. (The tower in the previous pictures has been hired, but wasn’t tall enough to work above the eaves).



the next major project will be attempting to make the North side watertight too - different plan for that side.

 

[roger440]

Are you going to seal up the gap between the new cladding and the concrete block wall?

 

[VolksWomble]

Yep, there is currently a ~80mm gap between the wall and the back of the cladding, so the plan is to cap the wall with timber which will sit against the back of the sheets, assisted by some foam fillers. Just waiting for some materials to make themselves available (ie I’m looking on FBM…)

 

[VolksWomble]

Minor update on the caravan project this afternoon. We made a start on the laminate flooring, which will run throughout eventually.



I should add that this front section has had a lick of paint too. We’ll move the stuff from the kitchen area into this space and then give it a cleanup and new flooring.

 

[VolksWomble]

In lieu of progress, here’s a few more things from over the summer…

I have been spending (seemingly) half my life scouring Facebook Marketplace for materials and equipment. I have also found a few nice benches and cabinetry which will be put into use eventually.

I already mentioned the desk and bench which are currently in the machine shop container, but I initially enquired about these small benches



it turns out the chap was shutting down his shop, so I got these, another similar Talco (not a name I am familiar with) fully populated with drawers and the desk/bench already mentioned. I don’t have a plan for them, but the bigger drill press is currently residing on one for now. Sadly the 3-phase converter is just too big to fit underneath…



I also found a tool cabinet, which needs a little attention



seen here awaiting that attention, and therefore stored on a pallet. Currently everything needs to be mobile - so on wheels by design, on a dolly, or on a pallet - until I have finished sorting the sides out.

talking of wheels, I am also thinking about how to work and wanting to have common tools available wherever I am, so when I saw this Koken service cart I grabbed that too

 

[VolksWomble]

The other big FBM find was a Mezzanine floor to provide some smaller ‘rooms’ within the barn.



this is a 5m x 7m (roughly 16’ x 23’) mezzanine complete with some of the flooring to go on top, but no steps… it is effectively 2 bays, split 3.2/3.7m.

i have pretty much settled on a layout in the barn where the mezz can provide 2 bays of parking that are enclosed - garaging you might say - for vehicles which don’t want to be covered with grinder dust from the workshop.

at least I thought I had. I am now thinking about using one of the bays as the machine shop, rather than the container - making the walls insulated will mean it can be heated.

I solved the rest of the flooring issue as I found a person on FBM giving away more than enough boards to do the rest of the floor



stairs I also have a plan for, but no pictures. I will start to get the mezzanine up once the sides are complete. Hopefully the forklift will stay working long enough to get the main RSJs up, and then to fork the 2 pallets of flooring up too…

 

[VolksWomble]

ive been using Visio to play with scale layouts and moving things around. So far I’ve only used dimensioned boxes, but wondered if anyone had any better suggestions for laying out the workspaces?

i know @tig put some good looking layouts up when he was planning his amazing new shop.

 

[roger440]

ive been using Visio to play with scale layouts and moving things around. So far I’ve only used dimensioned boxes, but wondered if anyone had any better suggestions for laying out the workspaces?

i know @tig put some good looking layouts up when he was planning his amazing new shop.

I did it with graph paper and then cut outs to represent cars, lifts etc.

 

[roger440]

The other big FBM find was a Mezzanine floor to provide some smaller ‘rooms’ within the barn.



this is a 5m x 7m (roughly 16’ x 23’) mezzanine complete with some of the flooring to go on top, but no steps… it is effectively 2 bays, split 3.2/3.7m.

i have pretty much settled on a layout in the barn where the mezz can provide 2 bays of parking that are enclosed - garaging you might say - for vehicles which don’t want to be covered with grinder dust from the workshop.

at least I thought I had. I am now thinking about using one of the bays as the machine shop, rather than the container - making the walls insulated will mean it can be heated.

I solved the rest of the flooring issue as I found a person on FBM giving away more than enough boards to do the rest of the floor



stairs I also have a plan for, but no pictures. I will start to get the mezzanine up once the sides are complete. Hopefully the forklift will stay working long enough to get the main RSJs up, and then to fork the 2 pallets of flooring up too…

Ive done it the other way.

I have (well, will have) what im calling my dirty room, so welding, grinding, spraying etc under my mezz. As you say, this can be heated. I also have my clean room as per my thread, which again is heated. Leaving the main area unheated.

It does mean regular mechanical work on cars will be done in the unheated part, but until or unless i insulate the main roof, there isnt much option.

The artivities in both dirty and clean roof are much more sensitive to moisture and damp, so it makes sense, at least to me!

 

[VolksWomble]

I’m resigned to the fact that fabrication and mechanics will not be in the heated areas, but, hey, it’s a barn…

Some timber arrived today… just got to make it into barn now…



if anyone has any thoughts on high bay lighting, I started a thread

and new bits of wood are all fun and games until a poorly balanced bit of 6x2 drops on your thumb…