Living in a shop

[Stuart in MN]

I lived in Anchorage. Alaska all of my Teen Years and until a month before my 22nd birthday. I saw more than a few "Hope Houses". A Hope House is where they put in a basement and the sub floor, cover the ground floor sub floor with tar paper and move in to the basement while they Hope they can put together what it will take to build the above ground portion.

I remember seeing those around Minnesota as well when I was a kid.

 

[finn]

I remember seeing those around Minnesota as well when I was a kid.

We had them in the UP, too, when I was growing up in the fifties. Flat topped basements with tarpaper decks and a triangular stairwell with door, sewer vent stack, and chimney protruding above the deck. Some on small subdivision lots before zoning codes or building permits, some on propertied hogged out of the rural wilderness.

I had forgotten about them, as they gradually got built out to small post WWII sub 1000 sf ranch style houses. As a kid, I always assumed they were built by returning GI’s working low paying jobs. No kids that I knew at the time lived in one. I sort of felt sorry for the occupants at the time, although I was probably well under ten years old then.

Sort of makes me a little nostalgic for simpler times.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

If you're single, that kind of lifestyle may limit your dating prospects.

Having been there and done that, ( lived in a storage rental unit ), youd be amazed...., youd be right too, but youd be amazed !

 

[Sumboodie]

On the topic of shop size, what do you all think is a reasonable sq footage for a place to tinker on trucks, equipment, etc?

My current garage is about 600 sq ft and a 9ft ceiling, so this would be doubling in size and almost in height.

 

[finn]

No matter how big you build it, it will be too small at some point. It really depends on your demeanor, though.

An organized person may get by with a 16’x20’, and be perfectly satisfied. My 48’x75’ is a cluttered mess.

 

[dcg9381]

On the topic of shop size, what do you all think is a reasonable sq footage for a place to tinker on trucks, equipment, etc?

My current garage is about 600 sq ft and a 9ft ceiling, so this would be doubling in size and almost in height.

Way too "use case" specific. Plus it's going to depend on how large your stash of tools, supplies, and parts is.

One way to do it though - with a 16-18' wall, you basically have a possibility of a 2nd story. It's way cheaper to build up than it is to pour concrete these days.

 

[mepstein]

You can do what you want. Just don't tell the city

My friend built a living area in his shop that was located in an industrial park. He lived in there for a couple years so he could put money back in the business to grow it. Nobody from the town ever checked on him. Typically, unless you make trouble, nobody cares where you live.

 

[Metal-Marc]

77 Knorr Rd, Drums, PA 18222 | MLS #22-1238 | Zillow

For sale This 2700 square foot single family home has 2 bedrooms and 2.0 bathrooms. It is located at 77 Knorr Rd Drums, Pennsylvania.

www.zillow.com

 

[IOWAPUB]

Do a title search before you sign. Do it yourself, it's easy and people there will be more than happy to teach you. It is addicting though.

 

[nadogail]

With sufficient imagination and motivation you can make almost any thing adapt to your needs.

 

[Sumboodie]

Moving-in in a few days. Looking at a cabin to put there to live in though.

 

[Glemon]

My friend built a living area in his shop that was located in an industrial park. He lived in there for a couple years so he could put money back in the business to grow it. Nobody from the town ever checked on him. Typically, unless you make trouble, nobody cares where you live.

I was going to say the same thing, though I generally don't suggest it is wise to break or ignore a law, and different jurisdictions are different, but generally speaking enforcement efforts are proportional to how visible the violation is and if any harm is being done. Running a noisy or highly visible business in a residential zoned urban neighborhood, they will shut you down fast, living in a shop in the country? Keep quiet and don't think anybody will notice or care much.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

How many missing teeth did she have?

And missing limbs?!

 

[brownbagg]

one issue i see. you can never get the shop tight enough to keep the bugs and roaches out

 

[Sumboodie]

one issue i see. you can never get the shop tight enough to keep the bugs and roaches out

No worse than a house with a garage. That's all this is, just a big garage.

 

[My Old Tools]

The biggest issues for this type of project from most lender's perspective is land size and Loan to Value ratios. Large acres of land make the mortgage harder to sell on the secondary market and the lenders will usually want to lend a lesser amount (80-85% LTV vs 95% LTV) to hedge their risk.

When I bought my place it was 11 acres. I told the bank it was a "lot". They said 11 acres wasn't a "lot". I told them the minimum "lot" size was 10 acres in that subdivision. They made the loan for a "lot". The difference between a "lot" loan and acreage loan was 5% on the loan rate.

 

[My Old Tools]

one issue i see. you can never get the shop tight enough to keep the bugs and roaches out

Sure you can. You build 2x4 walls inside just like a house on a slab.

 

[kj_mustang]

one issue i see. you can never get the shop tight enough to keep the bugs and roaches out

One of the reasons I used closed cell spray foam. It did a very good job. We had very few insects.

 

[dcg9381]

one issue i see. you can never get the shop tight enough to keep the bugs and roaches out

Disagree. With "rat lip" to drop the R-panel into and foam insulation, ain't nothing getting in the walls (or anywhere else). The biggest issue is sealing around the bottom of the garage doors, but that's the same issue as modern residences that tend to have "garage doors" for ingress egress to living areas.

Once doors are in, I get busy with silicone and expanding foam sealants to seal up any bug gaps at the bottom of the roll-up doors. I also add pesticide around the doors every 3 months or so... A robot vacuum does a little clean up in the shop and makes a big difference.

If you're not going to use spray foam, another option is to install In-wall pest control system, IE they work through a network of tubes that run through your home, before attaching to an outside port.

 

[Sumboodie]

Started cleaning and sorting and this place sure had a bad mouse problem at one point.

I haven't seen any damage so far aside from one kitchen drawer had chew marks in teh corner of it. BUT plenty of poop and stink.

Seems like it's all old though, I've not run into anything fresh or seen any mice. Nothing caught on traps, but I will keep bucket traps setup anyhow. Going to bush hog around the place too so the grass isn't 4ft tall.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Likely due to loss of easy food

Live there a few weeks and they’ll be back, growing with a vengeance as colder temps approach

 

[CraigStu]

Started cleaning and sorting and this place sure had a bad mouse problem at one point.

I haven't seen any damage so far aside from one kitchen drawer had chew marks in teh corner of it. BUT plenty of poop and stink.

Seems like it's all old though, I've not run into anything fresh or seen any mice. Nothing caught on traps, but I will keep bucket traps setup anyhow. Going to bush hog around the place too so the grass isn't 4ft tall.

This is going to be exciting to follow so plenty of updates please.

 

[Sumboodie]

This is going to be exciting to follow so plenty of updates please.

Probably not. I don't have time to try and make other's relive my day. Shoot, most would end up needing a nap before I got to lunch on many days!
Working 3 jobs. Only on here now because I'm stuck at work for 3 weeks and it's sort of slow. But when at home, it's busy.