Turning tiny shed into workshop?

[DennisCA]

I've spent the last two years building a shed from my own plans and doing all the work myself on my own, except for hiring a digger to remove the topsoil for me. It's kinda small 5x5 meters or 16½ x 16½ feet but that way I didn't need a permit. Now it's about done and it has a gravel floor so far. I was thinking if I should get a concrete truck this spring and put in a concrete floor and use the space to work on cars as well. It's a bit small though, but it has one good thing going for it, ceiling height.



Anyone worked in such a small space before?

The length is a bigger issue than the width IMO, a lot of cars will not go all the way in. I was thinking though I would put a concrete slab outside too to extend the working surface. I did that on my main garage years ago and it's been super useful. And maybe in the future I can extend it length wise.

What I would really like is a way and a space to lift cars, I would love something like a two post lift, but I am not sure it can even fit in there. It does have good celing height though, all the way up basically, no trusses due how I built it.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I think a lot of guys grew up working on trucks and cars under the shade of the tree in the backyard....so even a small shed is a step up from that. It will keep you dry and out of the elements. Great job.

I am having a hard time imagining how you're ever going to get a 2 post lift to work though. If that's your goal, I would just pull the permits and build a proper garage.

 

[MR2FC]

Anyone worked in such a small space before?

Mine is half that! And compared to most of my friends, I'm lucky to have that to myself, not filled with Christmas decorations and other homely essentials...

UK vs US I suppose...

 

[MR2FC]

The length is a bigger issue than the width IMO

TWSS

I am jealous of your shed building skills. Glad mine was already there, would have taken me longer than you...

 

[DennisCA]

Christmas decorations yeah, just put them into the shed last week!

Unfortunately I don't really have the ability to put up a fourth building on my property.

I could see maybe extending this one in the future, making it longer, perhaps building sideways and turnig it into an L-shape.

I got a normal garage already and I gave some thought to the idea of moving my woodworking stuff into the shed but honestly it's not much better, in the garage, it's actually a bit narrower and maybe I only get like half a meter or 3' extra space before the car would hit the millling machine.

And my regular garage while insulated and heated has only a 250 or 8 foot ceiling height.

 

[cannuck]

One of my cousins has an 8 x 20 sea can for a workshop (rented home). Secret is to go vertical with storage and plan with extreme care. To be able to leave enough room in 5 x 5 for a lift would seem quite unlikely (about 3.5M wide) but remotely possible if you work on very small cars and don't intend to be able to stand up underneath.

 

[DennisCA]

Being able to stand underneath is probably something I would have to give up. I think I will have to start with jackstands and see just what is doable in reality.

Maybe something like kwik-lift would be more suitable, and portable.

 

[AldeanFan]

My first mustang restoration was done in my parent’s driveway.
They wouldn’t let me use the garage other than to store tools.
It worked well unless it was raining or snowing lol. The worst part was having to pack everything up at the end of each day and put it away in the garage.

To this day I don’t have a hoist and rely on jacks and stands. This frees up a lot of capital and space for other tools.

 

[DennisCA]

The weather in winter time is absolutely the worst for any kind of work. I was really nervous my fiancés car would fail inspection (mazda 6 2005) last week because of a lot of rust on the passenger side. Last summer I laid outdoors and replaced the whole drivers side sill from wheel arch to wheel arch with new metal but didn't have time to do it on the passenger side.

I just don't think I would've been able to handle that in winter time. Fortunately the inspector passed it.

 

[stubbsrodandcustom]

Personally, I would have a pit installed before a lift in your situation. Or an in floor scissor lift if you really want a lift. You may look at just bumping out the back wall of the shed to get to 20ft of length to put a car all the way in? Also the 16' width will require tool boxes or workbench to be on the open side to the right. The concrete floor will be nice but you need to know what way you're going with things. Do it once saves alot of headache. Look forward to what you decide to do. Look up some in floor scissor lifts on here, alot of great ideas.

 

[DennisCA]

An extension at this time isn't on the cards unfortunately and I would probably want to add like 3-4 meters or more then. But that's at least a year or two away I think before I have the time and funds to tackle that.

I was thinking about a pit too, but that's difficult to dig out and there's bedrock underneath very near the surface. I believe the most future safe decision is a simple, flat, but thick enough slab.

My idea is to have at most a rolling cart or similar in the shed, though I am filling the walls with shelves and storing things in the ceiling, I keep most of my tools in my main garage.

The shed is getting filled with **** already, photo from last summer. The lower shelves on the left will be an issue in the future I think.


But I got a lot of **** moved out of my garage which is looking better than ever, allowed me to free up a lot of space.

 

[CraigStu]

I would definitely go for a concrete floor. And extend it out front too. Not all in one but a typical concrete apron has a separator (that I can't remember the name of) and it is also a good idea to have it 2 inches lower then the garage floor. That keeps water from leaking inward. I am not sure how it will all work out for you especially when you say most tools are in the main garage. But I think concrete is so good to have that I would do it no matter how you end up using it. We would all like to have a 40x60 fully heated and cooled shop but we also make do w/ what we have. And yours is really nice looking so you will figure out a way to make things work I am sure.

 

[Garcky]

Well, if that shed will be mostly used for storage, you might consider using pavers for the floor, instead of pouring concrete inside the shed. Looks like a gravel floor, so you might have a stable enough floor area for pavers.

I hate pouring concrete inside buildings. Leveling it is always difficult, since you can't do normal screeding. Just a thought...

 

[finn]

Christmas decorations yeah, just put them into the shed last week!

Unfortunately I don't really have the ability to put up a fourth building on my property.

I could see maybe extending this one in the future, making it longer, perhaps building sideways and turnig it into an L-shape.

I got a normal garage already and I gave some thought to the idea of moving my woodworking stuff into the shed but honestly it's not much better, in the garage, it's actually a bit narrower and maybe I only get like half a meter or 3' extra space before the car would hit the millling machine.

And my regular garage while insulated and heated has only a 250 or 8 foot ceiling height.

That’s what I did. Had an 8’x10’ salt box shed with a PT plywood floor at the cabin , and later made a 10’x12’ addition. I insulated the whole shed so I can retain some heat for winter chainsaw work.

With the aid of a propane salamander heater and a few tarps, I changer the heater core on the plow truck in below zero temperature.

I use the larger part of the shed for chainsaw repair and storage and the other half has a noisy old 60 gallon air compressor with a long hose for yard use, but is primarily for my wife’s use.

Problem is that sheds become handy places to store things you really should get rid of. I keep tripping over what looks like a Harbor zFreight water pump powered by a 3 1/2 hp Briggs flathead engine, and the tasks I use that monster 60 gallon compressor for could easily be handled by the pancake compressor or a modern Milwaukee or Dewalt battery inflator, (freeing up a corner of the shed for other junk, I suppose)shed

 

[vrinner]

My first shop was a "Handy Hut" (Like a Tuff-Shed) that was 12 X 10 that me and my Dad built at the first house I owned. It was a lot of fun building it with him and then getting to build stuff in it. I cant imagine going back to something that small but it does sound appealing.

 

[nadogail]

Small shops lend themselves to small projects. If your idea of a good project is to restore a medium or large vehicle you will be frustrated. If you are willing to accept the limitations of a small space, than the small space can be just right for you.

 

[dougf]

That looks like a beautiful piece of land, and a very nice looking building! Don't get hung up on size, there's tons of advantages to smaller shops like easier to heat and cool, easier to clean, keeping clutter and junk to a minimum by necessity, etc...

 

[Zeus36]

I would not call that "tiny".

 

[Gunfixr]

I built a shop at the last place I lived, 10'x12', a wood deck floor on blocks, to avoid a permit. Had shelves built into one side, a full length work bench on the other, and an attic for storage. Came up with my own plans, and built most myself. Later ran power to it.
Did a lot of things in there, over about 15yrs, until I moved.

 

[Jacko264]

Hi I have a garage 5x5 mts with two doors the trouble is when working on a car if the car is sticking out the garage you can’t get by the car if you extend the garage I would put a nice wide door in the end
Graham

 

[Hank11]

Nice tools in your garage!

 

[DennisCA]

I would not call that "tiny".

I guess I see it as tiny because I am mostly seeing limitations at the moment. It was a fun build though, I really kept the costs down. Part scrounging some stuff like treated beams as sill plates, part doing all the work myself, even mixing the cement for the foundation in a mixer. I cut down some trees on my property and hand hewed them into shape for roof beams, a lot of axe work.

Hewing the logs was a lot of work, but also fun, imagine then that people used to build entire houses from hewed logs just like this (usually hewn to 6" or 8" wide).

 

[DennisCA]

Hi I have a garage 5x5 mts with two doors the trouble is when working on a car if the car is sticking out the garage you can’t get by the car if you extend the garage I would put a nice wide door in the end
Graham

If I extended the building I would indeed open up the rear wall as much as possible to make it as much a single long space as I could.

Width wise I think 16.5" should be just about enough, but cramped for a two post if it was centered in the middle. But it might be too cramped anyway.

I'm starting to think a ramp like the kwik-lift looks like a better idea, since it's mobile, one could even move it outside if one wished then.

I've sorta dismissed single post lifts until now too, but maybe I shouldn't?

 

[rsanter]

How about a car port in front of that with a concrete slab that you can put the 2 post lift on

 

[DennisCA]

I believe I will run into issues with it coming too close to the garage (fire regs), but I assume you mean something like this. Don't entirely like the idea of having such a device technically outside though. Wind and sleet can't be too nice to it methinks. I want a slab at any rate.

 

[Mike65]

Most of the restoration on my 69 Mustang was done at our last house in southern NJ in a two car driveway. The garage was so cramped with the car in it I just stored it there & had to work in the driveway. The garage had the work bench, tool box, air compressor, clothes washer & dryer, water heater, furnace, table saw, band saw, & a spare freezer in it so the only room left in there was to just store the car, & the house had no basement.

 

[CraigStu]

You could also put up a Sunsetter or similar awning over the door. Pull it out when working for shade or to keep a light rain off of you.

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[John in OH]

What an awesome project!! I certainly admire your dedication and commitment to such a neat building job.

 

[Mike65]

You could also put up a Sunsetter or similar awning over the door. Pull it out when working for shade or to keep a light rain off of you.

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Never thought of that, but that was our previous house that had the 1 car garage. When we moved into our "new to us" house here in southern Virginia we put up a 2 car garage so now I can work on it in a garage & not out in the driveway.

 

[DennisCA]

A bit of an update. I've put in a concrete floor now, insulated. I and a friend did the floor ourselves and none of us are professionals, but he has some experience in making floors.

And I've decided I am moving my woodworking setup into it. It's all going slowly and a bit in the wrong order (insulation and OSB boards will have to come later). But I am in a hurry to evac the garage so I can put in my new car there come winter.



Table saw is the 2nd heaviest thing I got to move, 250-270kg or so. Using my two ton hoist to lift it up on the trailer, balanced over the axle and I was able to easily move the trailer with saw by hand.



In the new building with the hoist (which was more difficult to drag over, but doable)



Garage is slowly emptying, disassembling the bandsaw, moved the enclosure and tables and wheels separately, it's a 24" cast iron bandsaw and the heaviest thing I got to move. The cyclone will be disassembled too. But I don't think I will put it back up. I won't bother using in the future, the impeller is just gonna live outside on the other side of the wall. It's made according to Bill Pentz plans.



This is the car I want to get into the garage for the winter, which I got this summer:

 

[nadogail]

Good looking car, it deserves a nice home.

 

[jonesg]

That’s what I did. Had an 8’x10’ salt box shed with a PT plywood floor at the cabin , and later made a 10’x12’ addition. I insulated the whole shed so I can retain some heat for winter chainsaw work.

With the aid of a propane salamander heater and a few tarps, I changer the heater core on the plow truck in below zero temperature.

I use the larger part of the shed for chainsaw repair and storage and the other half has a noisy old 60 gallon air compressor with a long hose for yard use, but is primarily for my wife’s use.

Problem is that sheds become handy places to store things you really should get rid of. I keep tripping over what looks like a Harbor zFreight water pump powered by a 3 1/2 hp Briggs flathead engine, and the tasks I use that monster 60 gallon compressor for could easily be handled by the pancake compressor or a modern Milwaukee or Dewalt battery inflator, (freeing up a corner of the shed for other junk, I suppose)shed

the more horizontal surfaces and shelves I have the more junk l retain instead of getting rid of it.