hoyt
Well-known member
I own a commercial building, part of which was a machine and welding shop. The building is old (construction on the oldest part began in the late 50s) and has been enlarged through several additions. It used to have multiple tenants, but eventually one tenant occupied all 10,000 square feet. Encroachment from highway expansion reduced parking significantly and when the remaining tenant downsized, the "leftover" 3,000 square feet was not rent-able due to lack of parking, so I moved my auto shop into it. Since it was a machine and welding shop, the electrical service is a stout 208 3-phase at 400 amps. The downside is that the ceiling is only 10-1/2 feet high, so I had to sell my asymmetric Rotary lift (it needed a 14' ceiling), but I got a deal on a Benwil two-post and an Eagle four-post lift. Interestingly, when raised to the maximum height on the lifts, I can comfortably work under them sitting on a roll-around stool. I also have a Kwick-Lift mid-rise ramp on roller skates.
The original '60s-era shop building was long and narrow, the size of four single car garages laid end-to-end; that is now used for my machine shop area (3/4 of it) and air compressor/large item storage (1/4 of it). There was originally a detached office and garage the size of a two-car garage with a center dividing wall. In between these buildings was added in the late '60s a one-car sized area. a two-car sized area and the main space, a four-car sized area. I only have one 12x10 overhead door and two exit doors. There's only one very small window, but two skylights. It's all cinderblock construction and mostly metal roof, but the original two buildings have wooden roofs all covered now with rubber membrane roofing.
The space was last occupied by small-engine lawnmower mechanics and was . . . filthy. It cleaned up nicely and all the interior walls have been repainted white, which brightened it up considerably. There is no heating and A/C, but I have plans to insulate and condition one of the single-car spaces for use as an office.
At first I hated the idea of the space being so chopped up, but quickly realized that there was lots of wall space. In the main area, I put up 40 linear feet of pegboard along just one wall. It's certainly not palatial (I did install a very nice toilet, however) but I can keep all my stuff in one place, have plenty of room and am getting things well organized.
Before moving in, the main electrical panel was well-hidden by the junk-pile. 400A, 3-phase service!
One nice surprise, this GasBoy pump was used to pump Varsol (I could smell some that was left in the hose) and it was left on the interior wall.
My front door, before I made the tenant clean up. The smaller overhead door opening was filled in with cinderblock since the door was rotten and access was blocked by the storage containers anyway.
The back half of the main work area. there was a thick layer of dirt and grease all over the floor. The tenant left the exhaust fan because it "didn't work". I cleaned off the dirt, greased the bearings, replaced the fan belt, replaced the power cord -- good as new!
UPDATE: The fan motor finally self-destructed after 4 years of use and was replaced
The machine shop area. There were just two light bulbs in that room, only one of which worked. There was also a Korean War vintage fluorescent fixture hidden under an inch of dust and mill scale. The floor was covered in a layer of grease and dirt. It all cleaned up nicely.
Just inside the overhead door, this is a two-car sized area. The original office/garage area (that was a free-standing building) is just to the right. A single-car sized area is the the left; the machine shop area is further to the left. The two-post lift is now located here as you enter, the four post lift is in the far left corner of the main room and the Kwick-lift is straight ahead.
The machine shop area is shaping up. More lights certainly help. I added even more after this picture was taken. I should have painted the ceilings white as well. 8(
Still getting things organized. You can see how low the ceiling is, but the lift can get the car just high enough so that I can sit on a roll-around stool and reach under the car at a comfortable height.
This is the view to the right (from the camera's point of view) of the overhead door and is the front of what was the detached outbuilding. Office on the left, old garage on the right. Just to the left of that red bucket is the restroom (there's no light in it for now). It was the mechanic's restroom for 40 years - it did not appear to have been cleaned during that time. The room on the left may or may not become my wife's crafts work area because I have some tentative plans to add a shower stall. The area on the right (the old garage) will house parts I now have stored in a mini-storage facility and save me more than a few bucks a month.
This corner was just wasted space, so I built some workbenches. The blue tape marks where I'll cut some interior windows for that office I plan just so I don't feel cooped up.
Another shot of the four-post and Kwick-Lift. Again, note the low ceilings. It does help with the heat in the winter and the back door helps with a cross-breeze in the summer.
Every once in a while, I get a visitor. She likes to help clean up. That scaffold from Northern has come in very handy and makes a nice portable work table as well. Note the blue stripe on the wall. Each room has a different colored stripe (green, blue, red) and it makes it easier to tell the occasional helper where things are to be found, "It's in the blue room". The walls in the room with the air compressor are not painted and it has only one small light, so it got named the "dark room".
There is still a lot of work to be done on the space itself, but it's becoming more organized and fun.
The original '60s-era shop building was long and narrow, the size of four single car garages laid end-to-end; that is now used for my machine shop area (3/4 of it) and air compressor/large item storage (1/4 of it). There was originally a detached office and garage the size of a two-car garage with a center dividing wall. In between these buildings was added in the late '60s a one-car sized area. a two-car sized area and the main space, a four-car sized area. I only have one 12x10 overhead door and two exit doors. There's only one very small window, but two skylights. It's all cinderblock construction and mostly metal roof, but the original two buildings have wooden roofs all covered now with rubber membrane roofing.
The space was last occupied by small-engine lawnmower mechanics and was . . . filthy. It cleaned up nicely and all the interior walls have been repainted white, which brightened it up considerably. There is no heating and A/C, but I have plans to insulate and condition one of the single-car spaces for use as an office.
At first I hated the idea of the space being so chopped up, but quickly realized that there was lots of wall space. In the main area, I put up 40 linear feet of pegboard along just one wall. It's certainly not palatial (I did install a very nice toilet, however) but I can keep all my stuff in one place, have plenty of room and am getting things well organized.
Before moving in, the main electrical panel was well-hidden by the junk-pile. 400A, 3-phase service!
One nice surprise, this GasBoy pump was used to pump Varsol (I could smell some that was left in the hose) and it was left on the interior wall.
My front door, before I made the tenant clean up. The smaller overhead door opening was filled in with cinderblock since the door was rotten and access was blocked by the storage containers anyway.
The back half of the main work area. there was a thick layer of dirt and grease all over the floor. The tenant left the exhaust fan because it "didn't work". I cleaned off the dirt, greased the bearings, replaced the fan belt, replaced the power cord -- good as new!
UPDATE: The fan motor finally self-destructed after 4 years of use and was replaced
The machine shop area. There were just two light bulbs in that room, only one of which worked. There was also a Korean War vintage fluorescent fixture hidden under an inch of dust and mill scale. The floor was covered in a layer of grease and dirt. It all cleaned up nicely.
Just inside the overhead door, this is a two-car sized area. The original office/garage area (that was a free-standing building) is just to the right. A single-car sized area is the the left; the machine shop area is further to the left. The two-post lift is now located here as you enter, the four post lift is in the far left corner of the main room and the Kwick-lift is straight ahead.
The machine shop area is shaping up. More lights certainly help. I added even more after this picture was taken. I should have painted the ceilings white as well. 8(
Still getting things organized. You can see how low the ceiling is, but the lift can get the car just high enough so that I can sit on a roll-around stool and reach under the car at a comfortable height.
This is the view to the right (from the camera's point of view) of the overhead door and is the front of what was the detached outbuilding. Office on the left, old garage on the right. Just to the left of that red bucket is the restroom (there's no light in it for now). It was the mechanic's restroom for 40 years - it did not appear to have been cleaned during that time. The room on the left may or may not become my wife's crafts work area because I have some tentative plans to add a shower stall. The area on the right (the old garage) will house parts I now have stored in a mini-storage facility and save me more than a few bucks a month.
This corner was just wasted space, so I built some workbenches. The blue tape marks where I'll cut some interior windows for that office I plan just so I don't feel cooped up.
Another shot of the four-post and Kwick-Lift. Again, note the low ceilings. It does help with the heat in the winter and the back door helps with a cross-breeze in the summer.
Every once in a while, I get a visitor. She likes to help clean up. That scaffold from Northern has come in very handy and makes a nice portable work table as well. Note the blue stripe on the wall. Each room has a different colored stripe (green, blue, red) and it makes it easier to tell the occasional helper where things are to be found, "It's in the blue room". The walls in the room with the air compressor are not painted and it has only one small light, so it got named the "dark room".
There is still a lot of work to be done on the space itself, but it's becoming more organized and fun.
Attachments
Last edited:
