Outside Workspace

[randii]

I finally have the bucks, time, and the spousal buy-off to do my sideyard the way I want! This sideyard is next to a pretty good-sized shop, so the sideyard will be mostly cold storage, but if I can grind and weld outside, the shop will stay that much cleaner.

History: a while back, with Code Enforcement breathing down my neck, I half-assed the sideyard with pavers to soothe the anonymous whining neighbor with the County on speed-dial. It worked in the short term, but heaves and pitches badly (poor substrate prep).
I'm pulling up those pavers, trenching for a drainage tile, and then having a buddy scrape/grade the result to give me 2 inches of drop from the foundation to the fence for the whole 48x8 feet of sideyard. Excess soil will be spread behind the garage and graded to appease the wife's planting tastes.

I built the new fence stout enough and straight enough so that I can use conduit to build a 'temporary awning' (no permit required) by extending the eaves on the house side of the shed. The conduit will support a tarp when it raines and loose mesh the rest of the time to keep leaves and debris out (I may need to double up the fence posts that span 8' but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it).

I have motion-sensing floodlights at the man-door, and plan to put in switched floods on each end, facing inward. I'll put in weather-proof outlets on the shop external wall, with an air drop at each end and a 220 welder plug in the middle (I have enough extension to reach either end).

Those of you with sideyard shop/storage experience -- is there anything you wish you'd done different? While I'm grading, should I plan anything else? Keep in mind that the main shop space is a man-door away, or accessible to vehicles by pulling forward through a gate and rolling up the overhead door.

Randii

 

[agoogol]

PICS? I have same situation - Kind of wondering what yuors looks like right now.

 

[randii]

No pics right now... imagine an alley between the shop and the fence that is just under 8' wide. The shop is 48' deep, and the fenceline is 70' long... the space between is 10% full of stuff (County calls it 'refuse and junk' but we all know better, right?) that is gradually being sorted and moved inside. The front 12' is 'paved' with 1-foot square gray concrete pavers (~1.5" thick) and a treasured-but-otherwise-valueless vehicle sits atop them, hiding from County Code enforcement courtesy of a 6-foot fence. Where not covered with pavers, the ground is hard-pack clay and dirt, with an old, cracked sidewalk running along the back half of the shop.

It is rough storage space right now, but will be WAY more functional to me with concrete for easier cart and vehicle movement, and eventually, a 'temporary awning' over the top.

Randii

 

[qdvuu]

Depending upon where you live, heat under the awning may be a prob. If so, consider designing the awning so you can get good airflow, for example, in some places between the wall and awning.

 

[v8garage]

Where do you live? Never heard of county code enforcement. The great benefit of living in the county here is not having to deal with such as that.

 

[randii]

I'm in CA, so it is pretty mild... and I have a few beastly fans to assist if it ever gets too hot. The whole thing will be open on each end, as well.

Randii

 

[fireguy]

I have a neighbor who has decided I am the cause of all of his problems. He is constantly complaining about me. When I ask the code enforecemtn officer who complained she claims she cannot tell me. When the cops tell me I have parked my van for too many days in teh same spot, they claim they cannot tell me. Odd, they told my attorny who the complainer is. He is the unlicensed contrctor who works under the table for cash. Have your attorney write a letter.

 

[kbs2244]

My only concern would be taking care of rain runoff.
If you are in the dry part of CA it sounds like you have it thought out.

 

[wilbilt]

I'm in CA, so it is pretty mild... and I have a few beastly fans to assist if it ever gets too hot. The whole thing will be open on each end, as well.

Randii

I'm about an hour north of you. "Pretty mild"?

I guess our 108 degree days don't make you sweat, but they get my attention!

I have a metal carport attached to the side of a shed that has been enclosed. it gets very hot in there, although I can open doors at both ends to catch any possible breeze.

Code enforcement has been sniffing around here, too. Many of my neighbors' places look worse than mine, so I am probably safe for now.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Where do you live? Never heard of county code enforcement. The great benefit of living in the county here is not having to deal with such as that.

We have it here in Georgia. They write tickets for all kinds of things related to property upkeep and things like illegal dumping...

 

[v8garage]

We have it here in Georgia. They write tickets for all kinds of things related to property upkeep and things like illegal dumping...

As far as I know there is nothing called county code enforcement in Texas. Of course illegal dumping is a violation of state law and will be enforced by the Sheriffs Dept. under state law. The only two things the county commissioners court can enforce as far as law is to declare a burn ban and to ban the use (but not sale) of fireworks under dry conditions. These violations are also enforced by the Sheriffs office. You can build whatever kind of building you want to on rural property unless it is in a restricted subdivision.