bams50
Well-known member
Hello forum!
My name is Bob and I'm from upstate NY, about 25 miles directly North of Syracuse, which is dead center of the state. I am a rural mail carrier and grew up in the used car/repair business. I did collision and resto work for 20 years before I went full time with the USPS inn 1995. Since then I owned a used car dealership which I closed in October 2011. At 50 years old I am looking to downsize and set up for the next 50
I have 6 years left until retirement from the USPS, but intend to work longer, God willing.
To that end, I have started planning for my dream retirement home. The plans consist of a pole building, 50' wide by 120' long. It will be divided into three sections- 50x50 shop in front, 50x45 showroom/display room/gathering room in the middle, and 50x25 apartment in the rear. Interior height will be 18', allowing plenty of room for a motorhome and occasional bigger truck. This will also allow a second floor over the apartment for spare guest room and bath, and a large game/TV room. The second floor will have a balcony reaching out about 5 feet over the showroom.
The shop will have one overhead door, 12' wide by 14' high, plus a walk-in door. The showroom will have probably the same door. Heat will all be in-floor radiant with separate zones for the three areas. Shop and showroom will both have Big-*** fans (yes, that's the brand name!) and both will be sprinkler protected. All interior in those two sections will be steel, including ceilings. Ceiling over apartment will be cathedral style with two opening skylights.
We usually get rather heavy 'lake effect' snow here off Lake Ontario, so the roof and structure will be overbuilt for strength and steel roof for snow shedding. Once I retire it would be great to walk from kitchen, through the showroom, and into the shop witout ever having to go outside, or even get a coat. I can get back to what I love the most, which is restoration and fabrication. I drove oval track race cars for 24 years but had to retire due to neck and concussion problems; but I am still heavily involved, and might want to build and field a car in the future. I picture the showroom as not just a place to display my cars, memorabilia, and neon, but a place for gatherings of family, friends, maybe local clubs. The beer will be cold and there will be a large roll-up screen with projection TV.
In any case, the actual usage can evolve over time. If all goes well, the plan is to sell off all other properties, and I think I can net enough to do this all, or mostly, for cash. That will let me be flexible in my hobby pursuit, and whatever else we want to do as the years go by. My lovely better half of 27 years is on board, and our son is a Senior in college, already paid for. So rather than fear the rest of my life, I'm looking forward to it!
So, please bear with me as I get used to the different areas of this forum, and what goes where; and my dumb, possibly previously covered questions. I'm here to learn all I can. My timeline will be determined by property sale, mainly the house, which might take a while. I'd love to be started before the end of 2012. We shall see...
One observation: As I started looking through some of the older Gallery threads, there were a lot that started as long-term threads, with beginning shots and discussion/questions, then abruptly ended with nothing further. I can see that if the person died suddenly, but there were too many for that to be the case. Were the back ends of a bunch of threads lost through a crash at some point?
REQUEST: If anyone knows of any threads where someone is doing anything at all similar to mine, would you please point me there? In particular, anyplace with living quarters in the back of the garage; and especially, ANY PICTURES GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!
Thanks for this great forum, it's just what I was looking for. I intend to be here frequently!
And of course, any suggestions greatly appreciated as well!
My name is Bob and I'm from upstate NY, about 25 miles directly North of Syracuse, which is dead center of the state. I am a rural mail carrier and grew up in the used car/repair business. I did collision and resto work for 20 years before I went full time with the USPS inn 1995. Since then I owned a used car dealership which I closed in October 2011. At 50 years old I am looking to downsize and set up for the next 50
I have 6 years left until retirement from the USPS, but intend to work longer, God willing. To that end, I have started planning for my dream retirement home. The plans consist of a pole building, 50' wide by 120' long. It will be divided into three sections- 50x50 shop in front, 50x45 showroom/display room/gathering room in the middle, and 50x25 apartment in the rear. Interior height will be 18', allowing plenty of room for a motorhome and occasional bigger truck. This will also allow a second floor over the apartment for spare guest room and bath, and a large game/TV room. The second floor will have a balcony reaching out about 5 feet over the showroom.
The shop will have one overhead door, 12' wide by 14' high, plus a walk-in door. The showroom will have probably the same door. Heat will all be in-floor radiant with separate zones for the three areas. Shop and showroom will both have Big-*** fans (yes, that's the brand name!) and both will be sprinkler protected. All interior in those two sections will be steel, including ceilings. Ceiling over apartment will be cathedral style with two opening skylights.
We usually get rather heavy 'lake effect' snow here off Lake Ontario, so the roof and structure will be overbuilt for strength and steel roof for snow shedding. Once I retire it would be great to walk from kitchen, through the showroom, and into the shop witout ever having to go outside, or even get a coat. I can get back to what I love the most, which is restoration and fabrication. I drove oval track race cars for 24 years but had to retire due to neck and concussion problems; but I am still heavily involved, and might want to build and field a car in the future. I picture the showroom as not just a place to display my cars, memorabilia, and neon, but a place for gatherings of family, friends, maybe local clubs. The beer will be cold and there will be a large roll-up screen with projection TV.
In any case, the actual usage can evolve over time. If all goes well, the plan is to sell off all other properties, and I think I can net enough to do this all, or mostly, for cash. That will let me be flexible in my hobby pursuit, and whatever else we want to do as the years go by. My lovely better half of 27 years is on board, and our son is a Senior in college, already paid for. So rather than fear the rest of my life, I'm looking forward to it!
So, please bear with me as I get used to the different areas of this forum, and what goes where; and my dumb, possibly previously covered questions. I'm here to learn all I can. My timeline will be determined by property sale, mainly the house, which might take a while. I'd love to be started before the end of 2012. We shall see...
One observation: As I started looking through some of the older Gallery threads, there were a lot that started as long-term threads, with beginning shots and discussion/questions, then abruptly ended with nothing further. I can see that if the person died suddenly, but there were too many for that to be the case. Were the back ends of a bunch of threads lost through a crash at some point?
REQUEST: If anyone knows of any threads where someone is doing anything at all similar to mine, would you please point me there? In particular, anyplace with living quarters in the back of the garage; and especially, ANY PICTURES GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!
Thanks for this great forum, it's just what I was looking for. I intend to be here frequently!
And of course, any suggestions greatly appreciated as well!
