new introduction hello

[BSAschields]

Hello , I am a commercial photographer in New York City. I am originally from York PA and still have family there. Since I have always been into muscle cars, I have needed to maintain garage space in PA . We now have an old farm with several outbuildings that will be converted for garage use. Thats what lead me to this site... I am also into British motorcycles so one of the buildings or a new one will be a workshop as well.... Thank You for all the great ideas already

Here is a run down of my progress so far and my dilemma laced building....

My first project started here

see how its leaning over

Meet the neighbor with the right tool and make it straight.

Then get the floor concreted and the foundation stabilized . Once that is done then it my turn to start my end of the job....
Remove bad siding on end walls. This one was full of poison ivy and since I have never had it before I started ripping and tearing with my bare hands only to wind up in Gettysburg hospital with the worst case they had ever seen.

No time to rest since the project list is long and the wifey wants me to start the house projects ASAP
So back to work

Then I get to the fun part

This building is now the garage as is but looking for ideas for the inside. I want to maintain the look of the beam structure inside but insulate the walls and put a ceiling in as well. Not for the purpose of heating it but to keep the birds and spiders and other creatures from destroying the car parked inside. Essentially sealing up the structure. Then finish the trim ect. and paint the outside...

 

[BSAschields]

I should also add that I am handy but even though I will be doing most of this work totally on my own , the only building experience that I have is being a helper on a construction crew 25 years ago... So I hope "handy" gets me through !

In between other projects and finishing the first garage. The second building needed attention before it fell down... After you see the photos you will say I should have let it fall down.... I got prices on building a new , bigger , stronger, better building and I cant afford it so I need to make this one work for now... I do have possible plan in the near future if money allows.... So keeping that in mind...
This building could be a workshop or a garage or both for now . Workshop is winning in the thought process at the moment.

Right hand wall looks very pregnant here....I have since pulled it in with three cables so it is now straight awaiting proper trusses to hold it in place permanently.

This inside is really cobbled together... Trusses I think will make it stable and then insulation on the cheap for now will make it usable for either workshop or garage hopefully

My future plan could be to double the width of the building on this side and putting a new roof on the whole thing or sloping the roof down from the now peak to the far side of the new bay.

I wish I could tear it down and start over but thats not i my budget for now. Getting the most out of what I have already is the goal.

I guess besides dreaming about the amazing craftsmanship and layout of some of the garages I have seen here since discovering this site last night, my hope is to learn some basic building skills here.... I have no hopes of grandeur with these projects. Just to make them as good as they can be for now... I do take pride in my work and since we have plenty of land (5 acres) the "Yacht" garage can be built at a later date, at a different location on the property .

 

[BSAschields]

One last thing..... While doing my budget renovation I am asking the imposable when I say that I care what it looks like aesthetically . One reason being that I am a professional creative in my job , and two- the property is already gorgeous with the exception of those two buildings in question... Clearing out the junk left by previous owner is already a big job.... But I am up to the task.....See you on the keys

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Welcome to the site! From the looks of your projects, you are going to fit in here just fine.... Don't hesitate to ask for help but be prepared for finding out 4,693 different ways to do something though

 

[murph3204]

you've got your work cut out for you. Nice job so far!

 

[BSAschields]

Thanks!

On the second (white ) building, I was thinking of trying to keep the braces as high as possible but low enough to actually hold the wall in place. If you can tell from the photo with the tractor in it, If I put the first horizontal brace halfway up the first rafter, plus vertical braces from there up would that seemingly hold the roof and walls in place?
Lower at the roof / wall junction would hold the best but it would be at about 7 feet. Doable for my purposes but not ideal.. If the higher brace wont be enough then I would go lower.... Suggestions please

 

[Bull]

I've got some love for this property and these projects of yours; right up my alley.

What was involved with pouring the concrete/repairing the footings for that first garage you were working on?

 

[Amitygravel]

Welcome BSA. Nice property and work so far. Let's see some photos of any Brit motorcycles you have.

 

[BSAschields]

I've got some love for this property and these projects of yours; right up my alley.

What was involved with pouring the concrete/repairing the footings for that first garage you were working on?

Thank You! I too love the idea of my projects and the good feeling I get when I see my progress.... I have big dreams of more or bigger garages but a shack budget at the moment...Another wish that I have is to have a secure and safe building for displaying my photography collection . A gallery of sorts Not sure how to go about this goal....
I had a relative do the concrete work but what we did was solve the footing issue as the right hand wall was spreading out at the bottom because of the footer were only sitting on top of the ground basically ... So we pushed the building straight then supported it from inside....(temporary) then dug a three ft deep support wall(footer if you will) to keep the original footer from moving. Then they poured the floor . I believe they dug out the dirt first and laid stones under the concrete but I was not there for that process ...

 

[BSAschields]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89555
Is a thread I started on some of my bikes..

 

[5lima30]

Wlcome to GJ, I'll be looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[BSAschields]

Thanks 5lima30,,,I will do keep you posted but it will be a slow process till warmer weather kicks in....

Does anyone build cement block buildings anymore? I'd like the "gallery" to be fire proof and be able to control the humidity if necessary . For photo preservation... and viewing purposes.... Now I am really dreaming.... I had also thought a second story over the garage could work but that doesnt seem to be any cheaper or easier then a separate building.

 

[Bull]

I don't suppose you have any pictures of any parts of the footer/floor process?

It's not fireproof, but if you want a building that would be an awesome gallery space and also blend in perfectly with your property, go to Geobarns.com and look at the gallery. George Abetti is the owner of the company and an absolutely wonderful human being. He is very good about working with people on a budget, too. I know that first-hand. I can link you to my build thread, if you'd like to see it.

 

[BSAschields]

Please do send me a link.... Unfortunately I dont have any more photos.... I wasnt there for most of that process.... I might have a photo of the hole that they dug for the footer but thats definitely it ... You can see the leaning footer in the second photo and a corner of the new one in the 7th photo... Not much help I am sure..... I will check out your guys site THANKS

 

[JoeMopar]

Welcome. After reading all you have here I can tell that you realize that the further down you put the ceiling joist in the second building the better it will hold it in place.

Looks like you're doing a fine job.

Now...............show us a picture of your muscle car.

 

[Bull]

Here is my build thread. I have a lot more pics than are in that thread, of all the stages of the building, so let me know if you want to see anything in particular.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10752&highlight=geobarn

Also, if you go to the gallery forum here, and search for the term "geobarn" you will see a couple of other builds, too. One gentleman built to geobarns at once even; I was very jealous.

 

[BSAschields]

I recently saw a photo of a joist where someone put it in as a "x" that looked really good but I wonder if it would be enough to hold the wall in place. Wish I had the photo to show you but basically it went from the lowest point to the next joint up on the other side and then repeat for the other side.... It looked good in their application but allowed for more head room as well...

 

[BSAschields]

Bull - that looks great . I do like that project... Love the Goat as well.. I will read more of your post later but the photos are great....

 

[BSAschields]

One possible inspiration for the second garage if I do it as a workshop

 

[BSAschields]

Thought Id post a few updates here. Not as much progress as I would have liked but it does make the buildings usable which make life easier. I have to keep reminding myself that we are only working on this on weekends and thats after a 3 hour drive to get there. So I guess I should be happy.
And the house gets a lot of attention as well. Some thing were necessary just to unpack. Like this book shelf from scratch is holding a room for of boxes alone. It took a year to unpack that room.

This building was a priority that first summer because I needed the storage and it was falling down before I added the rafter beams. Added metal to the seams on the roof to stop the leaks and now it hold my muscle car safely. Bigger plans for this building in the future but the wife wants a kitchen first. And a fireplace !

(before pictures above)

This gap was ruining the structure of the building and had to be fixed on both sides of the building

While doing these projects life does continue with its distractions like these

Started building a stone wall from rocks we keep digging up while gardening

Other unexpected projects

Repaired the existing window

Which turned into more gardening to force the water to drain away from the barn

The house from the barn area

Another veiw of the house from the other side

 

[BSAschields]

This is the builing that was falling down in my original post. Painted now and it really solid. Cleared away the brush one both sides and I will add two windows on the side facing away from the road.

Before

More distractions like cleaning up brush

This door in the basement was an eyesore but when 'er in doors" through a stone through it with the weedwacker it had to be replaced. took me 4 weekends

I was at a loss when it came to building a frame in a stone wall but I think it turned out well. No rain came in during the hurricane so I guess I did OK

More gardening some how I get sucked into doing

 

[rburke65]

Welcome from Ohio, to GJ! Great looking house.

 

[BSAschields]

More problems in the yard. Dont lift the bucket too high when its full of rocks.

You can see why the misses wants a new kitchen.

Thats where it started
Tore out the top cabinets and added a big window.

Replaced the siding on the outside and that satified her for now. But the fact that the kitchen has no insulation and we dont have an oven anymore. It want be long till the whole thing get gutted . As soon as I find some used cabinet bases that project will get bumped up the to do list

I managed to squeeze in a couple tool boxes thanks to coupons found on this site . Thanks Guys!!! Barn getting organized is a good thing but long way to go.

While the wifey stripped and painted the gazebo . I replaced the rotten shingle roof with cedar . That took me 8 weekends too.

Had to replace half of the railing too

Not too bad for my first ever roof of any kind and the cedar was not easy to figure out. Lots a Googling research ....

Then more rotten wood roof repairs in the metal garage

This is never going to end is it??

 

[BSAschields]

Welcome BSA. Nice property and work so far. Let's see some photos of any Brit motorcycles you have.

Here is my oldest one Amity

Its a 1951 BSA 500 Single GS

 

[BSAschields]

Welcome from Ohio, to GJ! Great looking house.

Thanks I have been here for awhile but I thought I'd give an up date since I mostly lurk instead of posting . When I have a garage worthy of being in the Garage Gallery I post it there. But I learn so much just listening you other peoples projects here

 

[ed_v]

Welcome aboard.

Thank you for sharing your projects with us. Great job so far. I look forward to the updates.

Ed

 

[Sunbimmer]

You can see why the misses wants a new kitchen.

No I can not, why does she.....???

Seriously I admire your courage to take on a project like this, and I love the place you have there.
Please keep the updates coming

 

[Openboater]

That's a gorgeous house, BSA... t

 

[MoparTrucks]

You have a beautiful place and your outbuildings just add character to the farm, particularly now that you have fixed them up. There is just something about the smell and feel of an old barn or shed that cant be duplicated with new construction.

I have an old large dairy barn that common sense says I should just tear down and build something new instead of putting money into it but on a rainy day I can spend hours in the hay mow discovering new things I havent seen before and just enjoying the old grizzled structure.

Your creative bent certainly comes through.