The Journal Shop

[Bad67300]

Decided I better start a build/renovation thread after being a member for 8 years. So, here goes. I live outside of town and have a 42'x88' foot shop that I use for storage and a shop space. This summer my wife and I decided we needed to buy a building in town for our offices - we're both self-employed and I hate paying rent.

I've always loved old buildings with character, so after a failed attempt at buying an old gas service station (going to keep trying though), we bought a main street building circa 1889. It's 160' long with the first 70' being 25' wide and the remainder being 30'. It also has a basement under the first 70'. It was the location of the first newspaper in town, which was called "The Journal".

This Spring we'll be restoring the front of the building. The "JOURNAL" on the front of the building has neon letters that we'll be restoring back to working order.

 

[Kevin54]

Bad....Welcome to Garage Journal. Hope you stick around and post updates to your building.

I'll go easy on ya since you are a newbie, but when you post a post like you did, we need more than one pic. WE LIKE PICS!!!!!!

But Welcome aboard and post away

 

[Bad67300]

One of the reasons I liked the building so much is that it has one garage door that opens to the alley, plus another 9 foot wide opening that currently has a man door in it that will be replaced for a second garage door.

The shop area which is part of where all the printing presses were at is 30'x40'. While not meant to replace the other shop at home, it will be a place to escape the office from or take some long lunch breaks.

It's in pretty tough shape. There's been some water damage and a new roof on the back 90' is also going to happen this spring. Before it got cold, I did manage to get rid of some of the mold and rotten wood.

This was the view from the garage door.

And this is the view looking out towards the alley from the interior door.

 

[Bad67300]

There's an old oil burner furnace that was used for that section of the building. It doesn't appear that it's been in working order for quite some time, and I want to go with either natural gas or a electric furnace and AC.

I knew there was some mold, and there was some really nasty carpeting that had to go too.

The sheet rock on this wall is hiding a multitude of sins! Someone replaced the bottom 2' of the studs due to rot by just stubbing them in. The root of the problem (leaking roof) wasn't fixed. It also appears I'll be getting some experience in tuck pointing.

Because the big original windows were filled in with cinder block, which isn't very aesthetically pleasing, I'm leaning towards covering them up. After making sure they are structurally sound I think I'm going to have them spray foamed and then put up new sheet rock.

 

[Bad67300]

Unfortunately, because I have to have a place to work out of, I've had to take a break from working on the back shop space. Here's what the front area looked like when we took possession.

The newspaper had moved out years ago, so it was turned into retail space. The sheets of particle board on the walls were used to hold merchandise using all kinds of hooks and brackets.

After removing the grooved sheets, there was a horrible mess of sheet rock, some sort of ancient insulation board and plaster that was more than an inch thick in places. Here's a pic of the offices. The stairs on the left go down to the basement.

 

[Bad67300]

My wife wasn't keen on all the extra work it would take to get rid of all the plaster, but I had to give it a go at least in my office.

I also wanted to do some sort of wainscoting because the walls are so tall and figured it would look odd to have just baseboard and all brick wall. Lots of scrubbing to get rid of most of the plaster residue.

 

[Bad67300]

I also decided to do away with the track lighting and use porcelain lights on stems to give it more of an industrial feel. While not probably the most energy efficient, they have to be better than all the spot lights on the track lighting.

 

[Richard Cranium]

And the work just started. looks good so far, But I see a lot more to come...

 

[Bad67300]

Here's what the wainscoting looks like. I'm working on the baseboard trim now. It uses the sheet rock as the panels, which is pretty slick. I've done trim work before, but never something like this. It's turning out pretty good and I definitely like the contrast against the brick.

 

[Bad67300]

Wainscoting is done along the long wall and in the offices. Interior doors are hung. Here's the most recent picture, though it doesn't show all the progress. I'll shoot some more after getting the baseboards done.

 

[Bad67300]

Here's some pics of the basement. The walls are original and in really great shape. There used to be sidewalk stairs and an entrance which was filled in many years ago. Not sure what we'll do with this space, though a party is in the near future!

 

[Yamaguy]

Good idea on the wainscoting, great contrast with the aged brick!

 

[HOTFR8]

I am impressed.

 

[colt zantop]

Love the brick....but that basement is too cool! That would be a killer shop with a huge work bench!!

 

[Bad67300]

Thanks for the welcome and comments guys! Going to strive to have the offices done within the next month so I can jump back on the shop portion. There's also space between the shop and front office area that I'll have to figure out what to do with, but for now it's storage.

The previous owner left behind a number of steel desks, so plan on using those for something. Might try one for my desk and see how I like it.

 

[Bad67300]

Love the brick....but that basement is too cool! That would be a killer shop with a huge work bench!!

I agree! There used to be a hand operated service elevator that would have been perfect to use to shuttle stuff up/down, but it was removed before I bought the building and replaced with another stairwell.

I'll most likely keep it as a bar, lounge, pool table area for friends and family to hang out.

 

[hewey]

Great looking space, and loving your approach so far.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Love the basement.

 

[JCQuick]

very cool can't wait to see more

 

[thomascreation]

Awesome!

 

[1953mercury]

I agree! There used to be a hand operated service elevator that would have been perfect to use to shuttle stuff up/down, but it was removed before I bought the building and replaced with another stairwell.

I'll most likely keep it as a bar, lounge, pool table area for friends and family to hang out.

Great play area. It just kinda screams for a bunch of ale tankards and a whole roast pig on the table, along with a pair of large Mastiffs or all of your large bearded friends to throw scraps and bones to. Very nice space. Mike

 

[motofool33]

nice space

 

[jumpstart]

Great potential. Love the brick. Good luck!

 

[andyaus]

Looks good, I like the look of the brick The people of the town must be happy to see the space coming back to life

 

[Terranova]

Yeah. That basement screams local speakeasy.
And I may be mistaken, but because of the sheer coolness of the place and my slight jealousy, I think you qualify for a
"You ****"

 

[Bad67300]

Great play area. It just kinda screams for a bunch of ale tankards and a whole roast pig on the table, along with a pair of large Mastiffs or all of your large bearded friends to throw scraps and bones to. Very nice space. Mike

Funny you should mention Mastiffs.....we've had a number through the years. This one is a "pocket" Mastiff because he's only about 100lbs. His partner in crime is a Mountain Cur. Great guard dogs!

 

[jwhcars]

Your going to have a really unique office,shop,party room. You could operate a gaming room in the basement.

 

[Bad67300]

I'm going to keep posting a few updates here and there of the office space, but will step it up when I get back on the garage area.

There are 4 interior windows in the 3 offices. We wanted to have windows with steel panes in keeping with a factory/industrial look. With time constraints, I wasn't looking forward to being able to take my time and make them. Luckily I found some that came out of the old bus/trolley barn in Lincoln NE.

I'm taking the wire glass out because it's rather opaque and am thinking about replacing it with clear wire glass to keep the look. It's more expensive than I thought (like $15/sq ft) so not sure I'll go that route.

Each pane is held in place by a retainer. I've started blasting these, but will have to come up with a plan on how to clean up the frames.

I have some of these "ToughBuilt" sawhorses. What junk! The concept behind them is great, but poorly built and overly complicated. They are close to being thrown into the metal pile. Advice is to avoid these and stick with simple wooden sawhorses.