Reconstructing old cellar to workshop (29x19)

[Valts]

Hi!

I found this forum a year ago and since then, visiting it regularly. I have found tons of useful information, inspiration and motivation from the site. Most of you guys have awesome garages, here in Europe garages are small and used for storing cars, bikes and other junk, very few people are building or fabricating something in their home-workshops.

I`ve been working as log house builder last 5 years, but my real passion has always been metalworking and old american cars. In winter times when building here in northern-europe is a bit problematic, and we have a vacation, I have had a change to practice my sheetmetal working skills in my friends workshop by restoring old cars, specially car bodies.
In last september, I finally decided to quit my job as builder and start doing sheetmetal work. Had a little savings, and I managed to bought the neighbor site of my parents house in countryside. It was about 20 000 sq/f and covered with big old barn, big cellar and several sheds. Tons of junk, few old car wrecks and stuff included

So after a two months of full-time working at the site, it was much more clean and organized. It was finally time to think about building a garage-workshop. At the beginning I wanted to restore that old barn, but soon understood that it is at least 2 year project and decided to build something smaller and cheaper. Old cellar seemed quite proper for the first shop.

So I called the backhoe in:

The cellar is on the left and stone walls that remained from the barn on the right. There is a 13 feet gap between two buildings and that side of the cellar is the only place suitable for a garage door, cause 20 feet long concrete ceiling panels are cross the building. So I just have to brake in the door.
Here is the picture when the backhoe left and first truckload (13 tons) of rubble was delivered. I dont have to mention that due to all that digging-driving and rain it was pretty muddy in there

Now when the dirt is removed, a thick wall made of concrete blocks, can be seen. The blocks are 7 feet long, 20 inches thick and 23 inches high. Pretty heavy too, about 3800 lb a piece.

After the rubble was layed out, it was much more dry and comfortable.

Now I can start breaking in the hole for the 12 feet wide door. It has to be that wide, cause only then you can turn the car in.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I assume you're going to sawcut the opening, but tell us you're planning on fabricating a structural steel door frame opening? A 12' wide opening is a BIG hole to open up in an old masonry wall. Do you know if the wall has rebar in it? If so, you'll be cutting it. What are you planning for falsework while you fab the structural frame? Best, Dan

 

[Valts]

Actually, all this happened in Nov-december, by now, the workshop is almost done, except some work that can`t be done in winter (we have about 15 inches of snow and -50 to -70 F out there).

Also forgot to apologize my not-so good english, haven`t had much chance to practice it.

Anyway, when all the dirt was removed and some filling got done, I started to break in that door opening. Did it all by myself with very limited hand-tools, took me about 4-5 days. It was hard, but cost me nothing and I don`t mind some real work. Luckily, there was no rebar in the wall.

It was easy to break the concrete from the block joists, but when the actual block itself needs to break, then I drilled some 20-25 holes thru it, cut as much as it was possible and finally broke it loose with big metal wedge.

Heres, the first big block already broken loose.

In some days, it all looked like this

Also added a beam above the door opening to support the roof a little, but it was not really necessary.
Then a friend came by and said: "Now you should connect that cellar roof to the barn, then it leads away rain and you get some more storage room." As it seemed like a neat idea, we immediately pulled up some old wooden beams and fastened these to barn wall.

After that, we had some fun demolishing inner walls of the cellar. Man, that place is like bomb shelter

 

[Grizz1963]

Where in Europe are you ?

Well done for following your dream and passion.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

I always thought that cellar was synonymous with basement and found underneath the house...

 

[Valts]

It was time to bring in some heavier machinery to remove those blocks away. Fortunately, a good friend owns that nice loader and he was more than happy to help me a little, for FREE

When all the junk-blocks were removed, we lifted three bigger ones into the wall, to stop some more dirt falling in front of the door. I couldn`t remove all the dirt from that side, cause my property ends just behind that cellar, and I didn`t want to upset neighbors with my build. That way it also stops some wind.

After that we removed all the broken bricks and stuff from inside.

It`s good ta have friends who can work for you whole day for lunch and some beers

That kind of machine is also unbeatable in construction.

Next time, some progress.

 

[Valts]

I always thought that cellar was synonymous with basement and found underneath the house...

That kind of cellar is pretty common here, in that particular one potatoes, beets and gabbages were held. It is built in 1990, but was used only 7-8 years.

And I`m from Estonia by the way. It is one of three Baltic countries. Next to Finland and by the Baltic sea.

 

[autoist]

I really want to see photos of the roof you built between the cellar and the old barn wall...I thought of that immediately....heck, it adds to the size of your building.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

That kind of cellar is pretty common here, in that particular one potatoes, beets and gabbages were held. It is built in 1990, but was used only 7-8 years.

And I`m from Estonia by the way. It is one of three Baltic countries. Next to Finland and by the Baltic sea.

I've always wanted to visit that part of the world. I've always wanted to see the fjords of Norway. I've heard that Estonia, especially Tallin, is one of Europe's best kept tourist secrets.

 

[Bull]

And I`m from Estonia by the way. It is one of three Baltic countries. Next to Finland and by the Baltic sea.

Great project...it looked a bit dangerous in that one photo of you working one of those huge blocks loose with a bar. If it fell and even glanced you, it would have done some real damage!

My ancestors are from Lithuania, your neighbors (sort of.) I missed my chance to visit the Baltics a few years ago. Seems like an exotic place to me.

 

[Valts]

Nothing really exotic in here actually, it was, some 15-20 years ago when we got our independence from Soviet Union, but by now its like any other European country
And our capital Tallinn is beautiful indeed, you are welcome.

Ok, about the build.
As the winter was coming closer, my first step was to put up that roof. Dont have many pictures of that. Just pulled up three main beams and rafters on them. Nothing new in there. Used old roofing tables from the barn.

I did it very simple, cause I want it look like old building, used as much old wood as possible. In spring I`ll smooth the beams over with grinder and wire wheel and treat with special oil.

Then fastened some steel to the concrete walls, to weld door hinges to these. The wall was also not straight enough for the door. Now its much better.

All done, it looked like that. The main purpose of the roof is give some protection from the rain and smooth the build out nicely. I can also park my own car under it.

 

[Valts]

As I am not much of a stone-work guy, a good friend helped me a bit and rendered some parts of the inner walls. Surroundings of the man entrance and some more injured spots here and there.

I started fabricating the garage door at the same time. At first I wanted to use lift-up door but the dealer asked some 2000 $ for it, so I passed. Made 4 inches thick doors myself for 200$. It is still a budged project, have to save some money for the big barn build.

Mock-up of the door, to measure and check hinge placing. Again, used old blacksmith made hinges from the barn. Sandblasted and painted them black

Some real carpentry job- been there done that.

When the door frames were ready, we placed them on spot and welded the hinges on place.
Thats me on the picture, placing first two panels.

Picture from inside, when the door was half-way insulated. 2 layers of 3/4 inch wind-proof wool inside the frame and extra 2 inches of regular wool on top of it.

Later, covered it with 3/8 inch OSB.
Unfortunately I dont have the picture when its finished outside, have to take on.

 

[Grizz1963]

I take it the "cellar" is thick walled for keeping the vegetables cool in storage till ready for market.
Those doors and the whole roof build it great.

I used to know a guy in Estonia, Margus, who rides a BMW 1150GS, he takes stunning photos, and used to record all his travels and share them.
I would say Estonia, and Tallin are undiscovered jewels.

I really like what you have done so far , looking forward to more updates.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Very nice, Good space. What is the structure to the right of the pictures ? Is it just walls ?

 

[t. jones]

I like it ! I think your Temp. conversion may be off It's not -70* F ?? (even in Winterpeg)
Thanx Trevor

 

[Valts]

I like it ! I think your Temp. conversion may be off It's not -70* F ?? (even in Winterpeg)
Thanx Trevor

Yeah, correct. I use that page to convert the measures. http://www.metric-conversions.org
Didn`t use minus, right now, its -13 F outside.

Sorry for that.

OK, after we had completed the rendering and smoothing out most of the block joints inside, it was time to paint. White and light-blue was chosen.
We also poured some quarter of inch self-leveling concrete to the floor, to smooth out small holes and cracks of the old floor. That old concrete was real poor quality stuff, its much better now.

The back wall of the room got insulated and covered with 1/2 inch OSB. Behind that, is another part of the cellar, still in use of storing some vegetables.

Also installed new metal man door, looks nice and keeps cold outside.

Then another friend who is an electrician jumped in and helped me out with wiring.

We put up 8 lamps (2x58w each), some 220V and 3 380V plugs. It all went pretty easy, took only 3 evenings.

Here you can see it all coming together.

One good thing in this building is, that the temperature inside is almost same all the time, about 40-60 F summer and winter. Its due to thick walls and dirt behind it. Currently I use electric heater to raise the temp, but will buy heat pump in spring.

Like this, my workshop is almost ready. I`ll continue the build in spring when its warmer outside, but till then have to start my new, metal working career.

 

[Valts]

Very nice, Good space. What is the structure to the right of the pictures ? Is it just walls ?

Thanks, these are just concrete-block walls that I saved when ripped down old barn. These are pretty strong and make a good startpoint for new building.

 

[Valts]

Now when the shop is usable, i started doing some basic workbenches and shelves. I have a vision in my head where and how the cabinets, benches and shelves should locate and how these are made. But as the first customer already wants to bring in his car, I have to postpone my cabinets-build to spring or summer, when rest of then construction work inside and outside the garage will be completed.

Still fabricated a simple bench, where I can add drawers sometime later.

Also gave new life to that old self-made drill press. Disassembled and cleaned everything, changed some bearings-nuts and bolts, painted the parts and put it back together.

It is quite small and simple machine, but still something to start with. Got it from one friend who`s grandpa built in the 80-s.

Setting up my new welder, Lincoln Powertec 250 C, made in europe for our market.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Valts, very interesting thread. You've got a lot of good, talented & generous friends, congratulations. What are you planning for wall colors, graphics, etc?

As for your English, NO need to apologize. You write using better English thanabout half the people on American websites!

 

[Valts]

Valts, very interesting thread. You've got a lot of good, talented & generous friends, congratulations. What are you planning for wall colors, graphics, etc?

As for your English, NO need to apologize. You write using better English than about half the people on American websites!

Don`t have much plans for wall graphics and things like that, it is still a metal fabrication room and in some weeks it will be one dusty cave. Maybe just add a stripe between white and blue.

By now, the workshop looks like this:

Some real basic tools and benches right now, more to come in few weeks.

I have an air compressor mounted outside, so I dont have to hear that noise all the time.
Some poor tools, small room but You know, gotta start from somewhere.
I still have some hopes on that barn.

And finally, THE car, my first big body-restoration project in my own shop.
Doors, front fenders and hood are already done, restored these last winter in my friends workshop. Now it`s time to deal with the rest of the car.
Frame-off and complete resto.

I am sorry, I cant give you the overall picture of the room, dont want to open main doors with those temperatures outside.
Thats it for now, some workshop building news in spring.

 

[autoist]

Yep. but that's some job....keep us appraised as you continue the shop build - and the Caddy build!

 

[jeff51]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bevis]

Thanks for sharing... Nice work so far.

 

[jwhcars]

Nice looking job and good luck with your new shop. We like to see pictures of your body work also.....keep posting updates.

 

[Jey]

great post, keep the pictures coming please

 

[thomask]

GREAT JOB by you and your good friends.

We will keep watching your restoration of the cadillac.

How did it end up in your part of the world.

Good luck to you and keep us posted.

 

[widerberg]

I have to agree with everyone. What an interesting, neat build. It looks like it's built like the proverbial brick sh_thouse. I could definitely use something like that here in Florida, with our crazy tornadoes. I really like the use of the reclaimed wood, too. Most everything here just rots away from the humidity, heat, bugs, etc.

 

[kbs2244]

From root celler to warm and dry work shop.
Just get started and keep going.
God job.

Now...
About that car....

What the heck is it??
With those fins it has the look of a 1960's Car Show "Concept Car."

 

[Stuart in MN]

Now...
About that car....

What the heck is it??
With those fins it has the look of a 1960's Car Show "Concept Car."

It looks like a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.

 

[Gregg K]

What a cool garage! I've never seen anything like that.

It looks like you had a lot of fun.

 

[Valts]

It looks like a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.

Correct, I will keep you updated about the prgress.

Thanks for your support!

 

[Enloe]

Awesome awesome awesome

 

[rsanter]

for metalworking information, you might want to also look at metalmeet.com

bob

 

[idoine in toronto]

Great build and good to see you're starting with a "small" project inside.

 

[Valts]

Hi!

Is it allowed to update the topic ONCE IN A 2 YEARS?....

If yes, then I tought I put up some small progress pics. Done during past 2 years, small overview.

As I started my build in november and it was really heavy winter after that, then in spring....... one morning when I went into the workshop, there was 3 inches of water......

Remember my shop was built in old cellar and its about 30 inches below groundlevel, that makes it the lowest point in my yard and ofcourse, water came in.....

Anyway, in summer I removed all the dirt from one side, did the drainage and put about 100 ft of pipe to lead that water into to trench.
As you can think, it was a real mess...

When it was finally backfilled, then also treated cellar walls with hygro barrier, covered walls with 4inch insulation foam and rendered it.

Now it looks like this: rendered once more with final layer, put up some limestone walls, backfill and some small pines.

(sorry for the crappy picture)

It seems that the drainage works well, havent had those water problems anymore and humidityin shop has also decreased.

The workshop is now heated with Fujitsu air-air heat pump,, it works great even in our long cold winters.

Its pretty complicated to sum up 2 years into one post, many small repairs and modifications were also made but dont have any good pics.

Still have to replace the mandoor and walls above it....hopefully summer 2013.

 

[Valts]

When looking back to the top of the page, you can see how empty the shop was when started, now its a bit different view:

I have spent some money to buy (or build myself) many new tools, mainly sheet metal fabrication stuff:

Lincoln MIG, Everlast AC/DC TIG/MMA/PLASMA, big spotwelder, old screw press restored, 2 sheet metal brakes, sheet metal shear, pullmax, powered bead roller, sandblasting cabinet, drill press, many handtools and other stuff (rotisserie, workbenches, etc). Most stuff is old but in great working order or restored. As you all know, OLD TOOLS ARE COOL

Some bigger stuff like shear and sheetmetalbrake does not even fit in the shop, these are in another building.

I`l try to find some pics of the tools.

 

[pitterpat]

Nice work and it has filled up in 2 years.

Have any pictures of that Cadillac you had in 2010?

 

[ODIS]

Wonderful job on converting the cellar to your shop. Looks like you have had some interesting projects as well. Please try to keep the pictures coming and posting the progress on the various projects you take on.

Ody

 

[power wagon]

wow, i really like what your doing ,i would like to see more updates on your shop, at present one of my faverite shops here ,i wish it was closer so i could vist

 

[ConCretin]

I for one am glad you posted again after two years. Otherwise I would probably have missed your build entirely. You have made great use of under utilized space and created a very nice shop. Even more impressive is the amount of work required to do so. Fantastic job!