Above 1200 Sq/FT In-N-Outside the shop

[Danny]

Hello, my name is Dan. I’ve been dreaming of a shop since I was a teenager pretending I knew how to weld. I rented a house in my 20s for a few years that had a little 15x15 detached garage but because of my job and lifestyle I haven’t had anything besides cheap plastic carports since.

Well now the wife and I have 2 kids & a third on the way so we bought a place towards the end of last year. The place was part of an illegal marijuana grow that got busted and almost all the associated **** was left on the property for the new owners to clean up. Not too big of a deal for us given the size of the garage and location. The previous owner couldn’t afford to clean up the property and the house had been on and off the market for almost 2 years. They were ready to sell and we closed on the place September 1st 2022.

It’s on a little over 5 acres of land with a seasonal creek and plenty of room for the kids to play. According to our neighbors the shop was only erected a couple years before we bought the place.

Here’s the outside of the shop before I got too far into cleaning up. It’s 40x60x14.

 

[nadogail]

Joined in 2018 and this is your only post? Welcome to the Forum from the shore of San Diego Bay.

 

[NORDFORD]

Better show the pics of Trash-e!!!

 

[Danny]

Joined in 2018 and this is your only post? Welcome to the Forum from the shore of San Diego Bay.

Yeah, I was lurking hard back then and figured I should join up.

And thanks!

 

[Danny]

Here is what the inside looked like. No electrical hooked up so no lights yet.


Junk and debris everywhere.


These are after I already started cleaning, first pass was just picking stuff up with the loader and going right into a 30 yard dump bin. Once we could walk in there we started to sort some things out that were worth keeping, there wasn’t much besides a couple paint brushes and some pipe fittings, etc.

 

[Danny]

Among all the different kinds of **** there was one constant throughout the garage…

All the weed!

There was even some drying on a little makeshift rack.


By the looks of things someone was drying there weed right there with all the junk around them.

 

[Boostingaz]

Did that go in the save pile

 

[Danny]

13 big bags of this stuff just piled up in the hot building was becoming obnoxious.


Wanted to get rid of that smell so I took it behind the building.

Did that go in the save pile

Haha, kind of. I still have it around but now it’s in this pile with the rest of it.

 

[Boostingaz]

@Danny

Holy! I can only imagine. There is a legit grow operation near me and it's inside a block building with all the windows bricked closed and you can just smell it driving by. I am genuinely curious and really want to know what their power bill is lol, the have what looks like about 30 units on the building. Does weed grow better in an igloo

 

[Danny]

@Danny

Holy! I can only imagine. There is a legit grow operation near me and it's inside a block building with all the windows bricked closed and you can just smell it driving by. I am genuinely curious and really want to know what their power bill is lol, the have what looks like about 30 units on the building. Does weed grow better in an igloo

Probably a couple thousand/month at least. There were a couple other places up here that did similar grows and they were paying the owners for a year or two of rent in cash, like 30k up front. They convert the house to an indoor grow and the place is ruined within a month or two. I looked at a house where half the foundation was jackhammered out, house looked totally normal from the outside then you walk in the front door right to a damp dirt floor.

Fortunately for us our place was an outdoor grow and all the mess was outside.

 

[Danny]

Then it was just a matter of cleaning up junk and sweeping the floors.


I was also working in a bunch of other projects around the house before we could move in so I was limited on time for the shop.

I tried to clean a 10x10 square anytime I was working at the property.

Mostly cleaned up here. If you look at the wall behind the little kubota you can see where someone cut a walk through to where the crops were located.

 

[yellowbox]

So it was an illegal grow operation, but all that weed was left there ? I don't get it , isn't possession of that amount a felony?
Isn't it illegal for you to even have it on the property?

 

[250]

Welcome "back". What part of CA are you in? Half expected some sort of reference to In N Out by now given the thread title...

 

[CombatNinja]

Looks to be in surprisingly good shape given it's previous caretakers' clear lack of diligence. I'd figure out a way to either patch up that makeshift door with a proper wall panel or just shrug and have a proper door installed, seal the floor and get down to business. Good luck with it!

 

[Danny]

So it was an illegal grow operation, but all that weed was left there ? I don't get it , isn't possession of that amount a felony?
Isn't it illegal for you to even have it on the property?

All that weed was left behind by the sheriffs after they raided the property. I guess they took the bulk and didn’t care about what was left. A lot of people up here grow weed and are visited by the sheriffs occasionally to make sure they aren’t growing too much (not sure what too much is, maybe 12 plants in my county?), like the operation they had going on at this place.

The only time I was worried about law enforcement was on the drive home after cleaning up. Didn’t want to get pulled over smelling the way I did.

 

[Danny]

Welcome "back". What part of CA are you in? Half expected some sort of reference to In N Out by now given the thread title...

Thanks!

I’m in the foothills East of Fresno, about 45 minutes from Kings Canyon NP. Right in the middle of CA.

Edit: I like IN-N-OUT

 

[Danny]

Looks to be in surprisingly good shape given it's previous caretakers' clear lack of diligence. I'd figure out a way to either patch up that makeshift door with a proper wall panel or just shrug and have a proper door installed, seal the floor and get down to business. Good luck with it!

I know we were surprised too. There was an extra wall panel by the barn that I am going to use to repair the hole. And thanks!

 

[Danny]

Crop area 1 of three was the first to get removed. That black plastic around the perimeter is dug into the dirt about 6” deep and 2’ in.


Removed this large piece of plastic and stashed it in the barn. It will make itself useful at some point, it’s very thick.


Then removed the cage thing with my borrowed kubota.


More junk for the dump.

 

[Danny]

Did a little work with the box scraper and bucket.

Trying to get the area somewhat flat, ground was pretty hard this time of year.


I cleaned up this spot first so I can have a spot for my RV. Already has water and power hook ups.

Then removed this little corral by the barn.


While I had the little tractor I went ahead and cut a fire break around the perimeter of the property. Also makes for a nice little service road.

 

[ovscrider]

should be a cool build

 

[loganb]

Nice work cleaning stuff up...that'll be a nice looking shop! Dare I ask what shape the house was in?

 

[Danny]

Nice work cleaning stuff up...that'll be a nice looking shop! Dare I ask what shape the house was in?

Not even bad, that might have been a deal breaker. It needed appliances and a good cleaning from being vacant for a while.
It’s just too small for our growing family, fortunately we love the property and plan to build a new house in the next few years. And thanks!

 

[Danny]

Moving on to crop areas 2 and 3, both located behind the garage.


The close proximity to the shop is why there was a stupid passage cut into the shop wall.


Started cleaning up the soil one (very small) truck load at a time.


Second crop done. This area is part of the seasonal creek that someone did dirt work in to accommodate their weed growing needs.


Here’s the start of the pile. It almost tripled in size since this picture! I have been slowly using it and giving it away. One of my neighbors took about 12 ‘buckets’ worth for her flower garden and I recently gave my Mom about 20 bucket’s worth for her cactus garden. I planted a tree out front of the shop I’ll show later

 

[rixtrix1]

13 big bags of this stuff just piled up in the hot building was becoming obnoxious.

Wow, you could probably pay off the property with ......LOL. Fantastic place to start out with a new shop. Congrats!

 

[Danny]

Since the location of crops 2 & 3 is fairly flat I made an access road down there for future use and to make clean up a little easier. It’s wide enough to fit my dually… and my son on his jd.


But because that’s part of the seasonal creek it stays pretty wet.


Which means I was only able to clean up about 90% of the junk before it turned into a jungle. I took this picture yesterday and there is still some water flowing down there.

 

[Danny]

Wow, you could probably pay off the property with ......LOL. Fantastic place to start out with a new shop. Congrats!

Haha, thanks!

 

[Danny]

Working my way to the barn, what a mess!


While cleaning up I found some 1” drops and a pound of er70 tig rod, that was kind of a surprise.

Both sides have an awning, and they were both fenced in. I still haven’t been insidethis area.

Somebody built a wall behind the barn doors, I will need to remove those so I can hide a vehicle out 2 inside.

Removed a lot of the fencing on this side and did an initial clean up, still some **** laying around at the moment. Looks like **** without the stall doors.

This side still has the stall doors, they removed them from the other side but they are still at the barn. Going to put them back on when I get a chance.

 

[Danny]

Inside the barn. They put up some insulation that seems to work well. Even though the barn is in full sun all day it stays relatively cool inside. I need to address these inside walls though, looks like a stud or two was borrowed from them. The barn is already serving as a place for overflow area for things… I don’t want in the shop and the wife doesn’t want in the house.


More weed! There is a junction box outside the barn but no lines coming in. I still need to remove all the wiring from here.


Little more dirt for the heap.


Last of the weed being cleaned up, all from the barn.


Truck bed needs a cleaning now too, lol.

 

[Danny]

The junk welded to the bollards out front were really bugging me. I’d get annoyed walking down to the shop but coming home was the worst. I felt like it was someone else’s shop still and I thought they looked absolutely stupid.


So I cut off the plow, water pump, and hydrant. I hung onto the fire hydrant, it’s in the barn. I also dug a big hole and used some of the potting soil I had to plant a little palm tree.

 

[manwithtools]

Nice start to new life. Best of luck to you and your family.

 

[Danny]

Nice start to new life. Best of luck to you and your family.

Thanks man, I really appreciate it!

 

[Danny]

Little fort they had behind the shop.


Tore that thing down, removed their buried 2x4s and …. Wires?


I guess it got scary after dark and they needed a night light?

 

[Danny]

This is something I made a while back, it’s been kicking around at my parents house for a few years. I had to confiscate it recently.


Looks like I built it in December 2014.


It didn’t always have these spikes, I added them 5 or 6 years ago when I moved it to my parents house.


The spikes after a few years in the dirt, good for another few decades probably.


It’s known simply as the buggy.

I ended up moving it about 10 feet to the right to make room for something else. I also turned it to face the shop door. I don’t like it as much in the new location but the ground is too hard to move it now.

 

[Danny]

Starting on projects finally.

This slide was given to me a while back.


It was in rough shape, not much sliding ability left. Had to remove about 2 inches of oak leaves to expose the rusted metal.


Started out sanding it with 60 grit on the DA.


Getting closer.


Painted.


Set up. Kids love it! I even use it occasionally. I wanted to get the slide up and running asap for the kids to enjoy.


Looking out the man door. The buggy to the left hiding between the trees for now.

 

[Jayman17]

You are making good progress! I might have been tempted to keep the hydrant where it was although I'm sure you will have an idea for it.

 

[hardtop5000]

Great pics, Dan. They tell a fun story. You've done a lot of hard work just to get to the starting line so I hope you're feeling satisfied.

 

[MacTexas]

That's a lot of work but it will be worth it in the end. Nice piece of property.

 

[Danny]

You are making good progress! I might have been tempted to keep the hydrant where it was although I'm sure you will have an idea for it.

Thanks! I am planning on adding one or two 4k water tanks in the future and I would like to plumb them into the hydrant. I don’t know if that will happen or not but outside the shop on the bollard just wasn’t for me.

Great pics, Dan. They tell a fun story. You've done a lot of hard work just to get to the starting line so I hope you're feeling satisfied.

Thanks! It does feel good making improvements, especially after they’re done. The best part is not having to ask permission to do so like when I was renting.

That's a lot of work but it will be worth it in the end. Nice piece of property.

Thanks!

 

[Danny]

Rusting black pipe isn’t really my preferred color so I prepped the bollards for paint. Getting started…


Even before we bought the place I remember thinking how cool the shop would look if the posts out front were painted. I just so happened to have almost 2 quarts of this gloss safety yellow enamel.


Before.


After.

Functional and visually pleasing… to me anyway.

 

[Jayman17]

Love that chevy p/u too!