Our shop project - built 1952

[kenj]

Thought I would share some photos of our shop. It was built in 1952 as part of a concrete plant operation. Over the years has served many capacities, body shop, trucking business, and some unknown.

The larger bay has a 14' x 14' overhead door. Ceilings is about 16' clear with large beams going side to side for chain hoists. The roof structure is poured in place concrete about 6" thick.

The other bay has a 10' x 12' door with a wood trussed roof. This is another bay accessed from the side and a small office area.

Not knowing the last time it had been painted, we went through 27 gallons of the exterior and 36 tubes of caulking.

We are now working on the interior painting. Someone had the bright idea that a blue-green color was good for the interior.

We painted the office and I tiled the floor. Already loaded it up some with the fridge and gas pump.

The shop is about 2800 sq. ft. overall.

We have plans on replacing the overhead doors, but I am not really looking forward to that pricetag.

Thanks for looking,

Ken

 

[Jeff Ivers]

That's a sweet building! Be sure to post more pics of interior as you progress.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Lots of potential there. Will this be a work (business) shop or a place to unwind from work?

 

[kenj]

Personal shop. We have a collection that ranges from trucks to tractors to caterpillars and cranes. Bigger toys require a bigger shop. It was our buddy's shop until he passed away back in April. We had the fortunate opportunity to purchase it from the estate.

There was a time when you could not walk in the shop, due to the amount of stuff (and not all of it good).

It is nice to be able to pull something in and work on it out of the weather. (Been doing that for too long)

 

[kenj]

Electric and plumbing

I haven't posted anything in a while, thought I would take some time and do an update.

We go rid of the aged overhead electric line and went with a new 200 amp underground service.

Redid the bathroom with new flooring, paint and new fixtures. It is great having running water in the shop.

 

[kenj]

New garage door

Broke down and replaced the larger overhead door with a new insulated (R-16) one with an electric opener. Makes a huge difference from the old non-insulated fiberglass one.

Also included a shot of the interior of the large bay (it's filling up!) and a shot of the press that I picket up at an auction this year.

 

[BPJOOP93]

WOW did the doors make a difference. keep it up and keep us updated.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Missed the part about the concrete roof. That is a massive structure! Can't imagine what a place like that in Pennsylvania would cost to heat in the winter.

 

[kenj]

I am long overdue with some updates. We have a drainage way between the rear of our property and the adjacent PennDOT property. We took care of any issues with major rain from washing out our property with the stone. Also, I took some time to finally get the motor for the overhead door hooked up and wired up a few lights. The lights are 8' fixtures with 4 T8 bulbs using 6500K daylight bulbs. I still have to run conduit on the other wall to hook up those. Haven't done much work with conduit, bending the saddles to go around the poles was fun!

 

[kenj]

Took some time to swap out the pump on the compressor. The original Westinghouse compressor was complete and although it worked, it took forever to pump up the tank. Very understandable for being form 1947 (date stamped into tag on tank). The Quincy unit I saved from going into a dumpster on a job site. Also have been working on hanging some new light fixtures. Another save from the dumpster. They are T8 fixtures, much better light than the T12 8' tubes and the buzzing ballasts.

 

[foreverfalcon40]

Wow great

 

[jimkaniki]

Fantastic old building. All the cool stuff is in Pennsylvania.

 

[kenj]

Thought I would share a few of the "toys" that we play around with......

D2 is a 1949
D4 is a 1943 with a Letourneau overhead cable blade
DW10 with Euclid bottom dump trailer (early 40's)

 

[alden]

DW10 with Euclid bottom dump trailer (early 40's)

That is cool!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Great work!

 

[Mavawreck]

Welcome to GJ! Have to say that Strasburg is one of the prettiest places in I've ever been. Really like it out that way.

 

[kenj]

With so many pieces of equipment around, we have a lot of batteries. I found that Battery Tender makes a maintainer that handles 10 at one shot. I liked the first one so much I bough another one and I am finding that I could probably use a third. I picked up the cart from a school district before it hit the dumpster. It was used in the library prior to that.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Neat stuff. Keep it coming!