Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT The Mullet - 10+ year build recap

[Klammer]

Hello fellow Garage Journalists! My story is a little different than most since my home doesn't allow me the space to have a dedicated workshop on the property. Because of that, and my generally thrifty nature, my quest for some useable space led me to a commercial property that needed some attention.

I've been making steady progress on my shop since buying the property. Slower progress than I'd like, of course, but I didn't think it was too bad until I looked back at a post on here to see which pics I'd shared from when I bought the place and I saw that I have owned the property for 10.5 years already! Wow! I didn't think it'd been THAT long. I'm slow.

So why do a build thread/recap after all this time? Well, I've kinda always meant to. Like I said earlier, I've gotten a LOT of help and ideas from this forum and, although done on a budget, I'd like to think a couple of people might get an idea or two from some of the things I've done just like I've gotten ideas from so many of the builds I've seen here. I'm also pretty happy with how things are turning out so I want to do a little show and tell about it! My build is far from "done" (like most it will never be truly done) but is at a point where I feel it will be a good, useable, workshop for most any project I'm capable of doing and a fun place to hang out when I just need a break.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, time for some pics.



Why is it called "The Mullet"? Well, as a commercial property where I rent out the office space at the front of the building and my workshop is at the back, I realized it fits the classic description of a mullet pretty well - business in the front, party in the back. Maybe the partying in the back is why progress has been so slow? I've been fortunate that the rental income has allowed me to take my time when I've needed to, since this is a shop for me to work on hobbies.

Anyway, much like many of the builds here, most of what I did was done on a budget. While there are a few things that were bought new, most were bought at auctions, found used somewhere else, repurposed from home, or left behind (previous owners were a commercial construction operation so misc hardware was left, which has come in really handy).

I don't expect anyone to remember my first attempt at an intro post so here is what the place looked like when I bought it.



And more recent shots from a moment where it wasn't extremely messy. My intent with The Mullet isn't to have a spotless "showroom floor" build, though they are beautiful. I know my shop is going to get used and dirty and that's OK with me. With The Mullet imperfections are embraced, and sometimes even highlighted.



Either my camera or its operator weren't capable of panorama shots 10 years ago, so that's why I don't have more similar before/after pictures.

I will try to get back to the forum regularly and give some updates on the details of the shop - I'm not going to promise really frequent updates though I do plan to improve on my past frequency (I've only posted about 30 times in 10 years of being a member of the forum so it can't get much worse!). If there is anything that catches your eye and you'd like an update on, let me know and I can work that in.

 

[Klammer]

When I first drove by the property nearly 12 years ago I decided to pass. I wanted a garage workshop and it didn't have an overhead door. I wanted to do some woodworking projects, sure, but how was I going to work on a car? It did have a garage door at one time, but they had blocked over it at some point and at asking price I didn't have wiggle room in my budget to be making changes right away.

During that drive by I saw the building behind it and thought how that would be AWESOME if that was for sale but there was no sign :-(


Fast forward about a year - I was still in my search for a workshop and stumbled onto this place, again (business in the front view).


At a now reduced price it seemed a little more interesting. I could always put in an overhead door where they had blocked over one in the past, right? I scheduled a viewing with a realtor and during the showing he asked if I was interested in any other buildings because the seller had 2 more adjacent properties for sale. I wasn't in the market for multiple buildings. My budget was going to be stretched with one building. And, since it was shortly after the housing crash of '08, my wife wasn't thrilled with the idea of buying the property. So I told the realtor exactly what most of us would say - "Sure, what do you have?"

Yes, the 60x100 building I initially thought would be AWESOME was actually for sale even though there was no for sale sign on it. And I really liked the inside of that building, too. Huge laminated arched beams, a 60x20 mezzanine along each side, a dozen "stalls" underneath the mezzanines for a future car collection (and winter storage, for now, to help pay taxes), etc.


I ended up making a fair offer on building 1 with a first right of refusal on building 2 (I wasn't interested in building 3). They countered with asking price on building 1 with no contingency for building 2 OR they would sell buildings 1 and 2 right now at a very reasonable price. Reasonable or not, the price for 2 buildings was more than I could handle so I had to low-ball them a bit. We ended up meeting in the middle and, much to my wife's disappointment, I was the owner of TWO commercial properties!!!

You're probably wondering why I wouldn't have just bought building 2 only. Well, it turns out it was land locked, with no street address, so they had to sell it with one of the other properties they had. That's why they didn't have a sign on that building even though it was for sale. It also didn't have heat, water or restroom - kind of inconvenient for a workshop a couple miles from home. I've since acquired a strip of land giving access from the nearest street to building 2, so it is no longer land locked should I ever decide to split the properties.

I know this technically brings my sq ft above what I've listed for the build but the primary "build" was what I shared in the first post. This is just a bonus storage shed, right? Actually, since I've added the overhead door and 4 post lift to the other building I can fit most of my toys in there so I've started clearing out my other things from this building with the plan to rent it out for some extra income.

 

[Klammer]

I was debating whether I should go in (roughly) chronological order on future updates, or if I should focus on some of the more important projects for upcoming updates. As I thought about it I realized that this one is probably the next chronologically and one of the most important. Most important because it is what's been paying for me to keep playing here.

The office space remodel.

When I bought the property there were 7 different wall materials in 3 rooms - cinder block (painted and unpainted), painted drywall, at least 4 different types/finishes of wood paneling, and peg board. There were kitchen cabinets on the center wall of the largest room, there was a partially finished conference room with an arched tray ceiling that had a lot of potential but no door to access it, the florescent light covers were cracked and about 1/4 of the bulbs not working, and I know I'm forgetting some other things. It needed some work.




I knew it wasn't pretty but I didn't want to put money into a remodel only to have a potential renter come in and want it all re-done so I tried to list it as is. I had a few showings and, even though I told people I expected to help with remodeling to their specs, most of the people that looked at it couldn't see beyond what was there. At one showing the person didn't seem to want the cabinets so I reminded them they could be removed only to have them say a couple minutes later "I suppose I could put a refrigerator there...". I realized then that I had to remodel if I was going to get a renter.

 

[Klammer]

So the office remodel begins...

I tore off some of the paneling and replaced it with drywall


Cut an opening and installed a door to access the conference room

Finished off the conference room and installed some new lights and a splash of paint


And then decided to open things up a bit


Add some paint and some improved lights


By this time I was fortunate enough to find a renter. I gave them some money for new carpet (sorry, no pics of that) and put up a door so I could prevent the renter from accessing my workshop when I'm not around yet one that would allow me to access the restroom when needed


I have also been fortunate that the renter seems to be happy there so I just need to do my best to keep it that way

 

[Krfjkm]

Looks like a great spot!

 

[andyvh1959]

Cool from another Wisconsonite. Since I don't recognize your buildings I'm assuming its a town I've not yet rolled through on one of my many motorcycle wander rides. I, like many here, would love to have an older commercial building repurposed to our own personal shop.

Many years ago my brother and I were considering buying a typical midwest style old commercial building in a small town. You know, the style where the 1st floor would be all shop and garage, with high end living spaces above, maybe even a huge party deck on the roof. Type of building with no yard around it to take care of and now.

 

[Klammer]

Thanks for stopping by the thread, guys.

@andyvh1959 and if you're ever around Eau Claire you should message me and maybe I can give you a quick tour. It's always nice to "talk shop" with another like minded person! I like the idea you and your brother were considering. My property won't allow the high end living spaces, but I'd be lying if a roof top party deck hasn't crossed my mind. That would be down the road, though, as I have higher priority projects first.

Speaking of higher priority projects - I just ordered the fittings so I can run compressed air through the shop. I got some industrial 1/2" air line at an auction a while back and after buying the fittings I realized that for the same investment I could have gotten a MaxLine (or similar) system. Oh well, that would have been easier but this will have some valves to isolate sections and I'll have what I hope will be higher quality materials overall. I also ordered some vacuum line parts so I can have air coming and going at a few locations throughout my shop.

 

[Dankotaru]

Cool shop build, but the 4C is what caught my eye. Very nice!

 

[driftpin]

I think many members would like to have your budget and initiative. Looks like a great space. You might want to see what the AHJ says about separating the parcels. It's probably considered a 're-plat.' From working as a planner in south Florida, I know what goes into such efforts here, and it can be a debacle. It's something you might want to approach sooner rather than later. My advice is to find out what attorney locally is one of the oldest land-use attorneys, and approach him/her for a consult. It could be a very-wise expenditure. I expect you will need a survey showing the two proposed splits, and it should be much-easier if you are able to meet all zoning and land development regulations without asking for variances. Do yourself a favor and research the regulations for platting in your jurisdiction.

https://www.eauclairewi.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/37753/637747348706500000

Title 16 and Title 18 should be of interest to your intent.

 

[Klammer]

I think many members would like to have your budget and initiative. Looks like a great space. You might want to see what the AHJ says about separating the parcels. It's probably considered a 're-plat.' From working as a planner in south Florida, I know what goes into such efforts here, and it can be a debacle. It's something you might want to approach sooner rather than later. My advice is to find out what attorney locally is one of the oldest land-use attorneys, and approach him/her for a consult. It could be a very-wise expenditure. I expect you will need a survey showing the two proposed splits, and it should be much-easier if you are able to meet all zoning and land development regulations without asking for variances. Do yourself a favor and research the regulations for platting in your jurisdiction.

https://www.eauclairewi.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/37753/637747348706500000

Title 16 and Title 18 should be of interest to your intent.

Thank you for the suggestion and the link to my local code @driftpin . I don't think I made my comments very clear in my earlier post, though. Believe it or not, I was trying to be brief in that post!

The 2 buildings are 2 separate taxed parcels of land, and were at the time the offer was made. One had a street address, the other just the legal lot description. The seller wanted to combine the sale of the larger building with one of their properties that had a street address. Honestly, I don't think they would have HAD to do that, but technically, if someone bought only that building the owners of the adjoining properties could have restricted access to it the way it was set up. When I asked the owners of the neighboring properties about a permanent easement they assured me they didn't plan to restrict access but declined to volunteer the permanent easement. A bummer, but I probably would have done the same.

Since I didn't like the possibility (however slim it was) of having to access that building or the back of the other building via helicopter, I was going to walk away from the sale until we came up with the idea of an access strip so the property would extend to the street. I actually acquired the strip of land to the street from the seller (it was part of the parking area in the 3rd parcel/building they were selling). It was surveyed, marked, and platted prior to the sale of the property and that property has since been given its own street address. It all seemed to go pretty smoothly on my end but there were a couple of realtors and a former construction company seller that may have done a lot more leg work than I witnessed in order to complete a sale on a property that had been on the market for well over a year at that point, with no other offers, in a not yet recovering real estate market.

Please message me if I missed the intent of your advice. From my understanding I think the future division of the properties is all set if I ever choose to do so.

I also agree that I have been extremely fortunate to have the budget and opportunities to get a workshop like this. And the health and time to do a lot of the work myself in order to stretch that budget a little bit further.

Thanks, again, for the advice!

 

[andyvh1959]

For shop air I'm using black nylon air brake tubing, same product used on heavy truck air brake systems. Its easy to route, cut, bend, clamp and can be used with any common tubing fittings based on tube OD sizing. Truck air brake tubing is very stable and strong, rated for 150 psi working pressure and burst rated to 600 psi. I plan to run lines on three walls in my shop so I can locate at least two quick couplers per wall and at least one quick coupler near the service door.

 

[Klammer]

I have a full and partial spool of this 250 psi 1/2" tube. I got it at an auction a while back and I think paid <$50 for all of it.



I don't know the exact amount I have but I know it is more than I'll be able to use unless I decide to push air to the whole neighborhood! It is the same stuff used at my work to power some air-intensive equipment so it should be just enough overkill to make me happy.

Most of my fittings should be here this week so I can get started on this fairly soon.

 

[Klammer]

While I'm waiting for the parts to arrive for my air project I thought I'd share a past project - the office with storage underneath. It's kind of a low rise mezzanine.

When I bought the building this area was their break room. That would have converted well enough into an office, but with the room only using 8' of the 12' ceilings I felt it left a lot of usable space unused. Or would be a hassle to get things to if I just opened the area above.




So I tore that **** down. Oh, and put up a dividing door to separate my workshop from the rental space at the front of the building, while still allowing both areas to access the restroom.


I framed a raised floor for the office. I don't remember the exact height of the platform, but it allows the lower storage to have enough height to fit my Shopsmith stuff underneath and nearly 8' of headroom on top. I also store another cart and two Craftsman benches that have a 3 sided rotating section that I have some of my other power tools mounted to (miter saw, grinder, etc). They, like most other things in my shop, are on casters to allow them to be moved depending on the project or storage needs at the time.



I put up some insulation, a type of fiber board (to deaden sound slightly between my workshop and the office in front), sanded and stained some repurposed crates and put those up trimmed with 1x4's for the wall panels, I used a desk that the previous owner left behind, and put up a display cabinet



It stayed like that for a while as I thought about how to properly hide the lower section.

 

[Klammer]

To hide the storage below my office I framed out and threw some leftover sheetrock on some access panels, painted them, and stained some 1x6's for trim to match the panels above



The panels and stairs are hinged and open to allow access to the storage area underneath.



Its a little clumsy and sheetrock on a moving frame isn't real durable so the panels will be redone later but for now it is working. Eventually I will add a cable hoist to use for raising the stairs. I really like the extra storage underneath!

 

[Klammer]

To add a little fun to this area, I went a little "arts and crafts" on it. As a way to do a cheap floor finish that looked interesting I had planned to do a faux leather look floor using brown paper (kraft paper or grocery bags can be used). I took direction and original inspiration from this blog post:

Paper Bag Floors - A Tutorial - Domestic Imperfection

I tested a sample board using a grocery bag, glue, and stain I had around my shop and coated that with some poly. I thought the sample looked good so bought the roll of paper, a gallon of Elmer's glue, and some stain but, as with most of my projects, it seems there is a lag between the time I get the idea, buy the materials, and then finally start the project. Sometimes during these lags I realize that my original plan is not what I want at all, or I get new inspiration and it goes another direction. This was one of those times where I had new inspiration.

I was scanning the items at a local online auction and noticed a box of old road maps. Cool, I thought, but I didn't think I had a use for them. Then, suddenly, I had that lighbulb moment, and thought "how cool would it be to have a floor that is a giant map?" "Pretty dang cool" I thought, so I splurged and spent about $6 on the maps.

I did a test board and really liked it so I started doing the whole floor.


I started with Minnesota since I was born and raised there. It also happened to line up well with a seam in the floor. OK, it was probably more to do with the floor seam. I put a few other maps around to get an idea of how it would work.


I thought It looked good so after gluing down MN, I cut out the edge along the Wisconsin map (current home), rolled on some of the glue and water mix, and realized that even though the maps are to scale - they are not to the SAME scale from state to state! ****. OK, they're pretty close, I think I can make this work. The border between these two states was off by about an inch so I centered it, and made sure to leave extra along the map's leading edge on the rest of the states as I worked outward so I wouldn't have any gaps between them if the scale between states was off by more than I expected.



Apologies to my Canadian friends, but most of what should be Canada is random US cities. I would have preferred accuracy but much of that area is covered by the desk so I decided to move forward with the maps I had on hand.




Overall I'm really happy with how this turned out. It was kinda putzy, but I think it was worth the effort for this build. It's been about a year and it's holding up well, too. I was expecting to have to re-coat with poly every year or two and so far there is barely any wear so I think I'll see at least 3 before any touch up is needed.

 

[Klammer]

Well, so much for regular posts. About 10 months ago I mentioned waiting for some parts to install air in my shop. I already had the hose and some connectors. The hose was a good deal at auction. The connectors I bought on Black Friday without having done any research and they will likely be replaced sometime in the future as I’ve since found there are MUCH better options. Most other items were sourced from Amazon or Menards – some SST barb fittings, what appeared to be decent quality valves, and manifolds for the compressed air. Bulk 2.5” vacuum tube, clamps, gates, and various fittings for the vacuum system.

My plan was to place my air compressor and Shopsmith vacuum in the approx. 6’x6’ room that had a wood stove in it when I bought the place. Where the vent for the stove brought heat into the shop I would route the air lines in. Doing this would keep things a lot quieter and free up workshop floor space.


This could use some tidying of the lines, but you can see my current air compressor and a vacuum line going to the Shopsmith vac. It actually goes to a Dust Deputy, then the vacuum. You might also notice the smart plug both are plugged into. With the smart plug I don’t have to go outside to get to the air room to turn on the compressor or vacuum. So far the smart plug works great – it saves my hearing, I don’t have to go outside in the cold, and if I want to pre-start the compressor so air is up to pressure when I get to my shop I can start it up while I’m still at home. Or, as is more often the case, shut it off from home if I forget before I leave. Later I changed the setup to use my shop vac as that had more suction than the Shopsmith, which was needed for the height and length of the vacuum line runs.

I drilled holes in the drywall to fit the compressed air and vacuum lines I was using. The opening is backed with plywood so there is something solid to mount the fittings to.


The vacuum line comes inside to a “T” then splits to a few “Y’s” so the vacuum lines could be routed to several points in the shop. The air line goes up through the ceiling and is split to go elsewhere up there out of sight.


Around each of the drops I have a rubber or plastic grommet, of sorts. This helps give it a cleaner look, but mostly keeps the hose from getting cut on the sharp edges of the ceiling panels.



and I have my air setup working! There are compressed and vacuum ports at my workbench, in front of my lift, and between the man and overhead doors. There are additional compressed drops on the other side of the overhead door and to my lift. I have a floor mounted “sweep” dust collector, but I’m not sold that it is working well enough to justify having put that in place. I also haven’t securely fastened it to the floor, so that probably isn’t helping.