BigDawgDavao
Well-known member
Please bear with me on this, as I am doing it from China and sometimes I can't always connect properly and have to use VPN's and such.
I'm also kind of presenting it in reverse order. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of it from the start. I was used a storage area for rice and such for the previous owners rice mill. Walls and floors completely unfinished. The size is in the order of 8m deep x 10m wide x 3.2m high (26'x32'x10.5')
We bought the property about 1 1/2 years ago. After working on bikes under the carport for years, I finally now have an airconditioned fully functional shop.
After about a year of off and on working on the shop while I am back home on days off, I'm happy to say that I'm pretty much finished for now. Time to get back to working on the toys for awhile instead of the shop. Then after working it for awhile I can assess what I can change out for the better.
The only additional thing I will be doing to the shop in the next couple of months is putting is a lift. Just trying to source a decent one which is quite difficult over here in. Mostly unknown Chinese brands that have to be sorted through for quality. One I've looked at is an Equipt brand. Looked fairly decent.
Here's some of the front of the shop:
And before the doors were put on and front finished:
I went ahead and had the doors made to size to fit the existing holes. I could have bricked it in a little and added a smaller access door, but cost wise there wasn't much difference. For awhile I had to open the doors all the time just to enter, but the previous trip home I had a side door knocked out which gave me access to a bathroom also. Should have done that from the start but oh well, it's there now.
The last trip also saw me finishing off the bench. I ordered the gladiator cabinets and Triton pegboard from Summit. It wasn't cheap cause shipping always whacks up my cost, but hey...sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. I think it turned out okay. The ones with the drawers were about 40 bucks cheaper each than full cabinets. I wasn't sure about it, but saving 240 bucks helped offset the shipping.
Pegboard in and lights installed.
Delivery day
Building the lower section earlier:
Finished lower section:
Add don't flame me for overseas child labor. They volunteered! I went with some cheap slap together cabinets, just to save time. Later on I will change it out for something a little better. Maybe the lower cabinets with wheels or something:
Just a couple of shots of the painting process. I could have hired a guy for a couple bucks a day, but figured since it's my shop I'll do it myself. Took awhile, but turned out okay I guess. I learned a lot doing it as well.
I painted the walls before putting in the ceiling. It has a sloped ceiling, but I figured to put in a suspended ceiling to brighter it up and also cut down on cooling costs. I went with about 10'6" ceiling height. I could have gone higher, but didn't feel it necessary. Until I decided I wanted a lift.
The galvanized sheeting roof acts like a huge radiator and really heats up during the afternoons. Might also put some forced air ventilation up there as well to **** out some of the heat.
Had some issues with the floor. I should have done a little more homework. I followed the manufacturers instructions to the letter, and as it was old concrete was told it didn't need to be acid etched or more prepared that a good scrub and high pressure washing. Wrong! After the initial sealer coat I got a lot of large orange peel like texture on the coat. When I complained to the paint company they said..Oh, you need to wash it with lacquer thinner first. So that prompted a nasty email back saying, well, why wasn't that in the instructions then. No reply back.
I went ahead and finished painting it anyway. I do have plans in the future of reworking the floor anyway cause it's not very level and sags quite a bit in the center. Also the back walls have a really large slope. Just to get my toolbox level the front wheels are on about 1" board.
Here's a few pictures of the toys and main reason for the shop:
Looking out into the yard:
Back wall / box, with some signs from Garageart.com:
I'm also kind of presenting it in reverse order. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of it from the start. I was used a storage area for rice and such for the previous owners rice mill. Walls and floors completely unfinished. The size is in the order of 8m deep x 10m wide x 3.2m high (26'x32'x10.5')We bought the property about 1 1/2 years ago. After working on bikes under the carport for years, I finally now have an airconditioned fully functional shop.
After about a year of off and on working on the shop while I am back home on days off, I'm happy to say that I'm pretty much finished for now. Time to get back to working on the toys for awhile instead of the shop. Then after working it for awhile I can assess what I can change out for the better.
The only additional thing I will be doing to the shop in the next couple of months is putting is a lift. Just trying to source a decent one which is quite difficult over here in. Mostly unknown Chinese brands that have to be sorted through for quality. One I've looked at is an Equipt brand. Looked fairly decent.
Here's some of the front of the shop:
And before the doors were put on and front finished:
I went ahead and had the doors made to size to fit the existing holes. I could have bricked it in a little and added a smaller access door, but cost wise there wasn't much difference. For awhile I had to open the doors all the time just to enter, but the previous trip home I had a side door knocked out which gave me access to a bathroom also. Should have done that from the start but oh well, it's there now.
The last trip also saw me finishing off the bench. I ordered the gladiator cabinets and Triton pegboard from Summit. It wasn't cheap cause shipping always whacks up my cost, but hey...sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. I think it turned out okay. The ones with the drawers were about 40 bucks cheaper each than full cabinets. I wasn't sure about it, but saving 240 bucks helped offset the shipping.
Pegboard in and lights installed.
Delivery day
Building the lower section earlier:
Finished lower section:
Add don't flame me for overseas child labor. They volunteered! I went with some cheap slap together cabinets, just to save time. Later on I will change it out for something a little better. Maybe the lower cabinets with wheels or something:
Just a couple of shots of the painting process. I could have hired a guy for a couple bucks a day, but figured since it's my shop I'll do it myself. Took awhile, but turned out okay I guess. I learned a lot doing it as well.
I painted the walls before putting in the ceiling. It has a sloped ceiling, but I figured to put in a suspended ceiling to brighter it up and also cut down on cooling costs. I went with about 10'6" ceiling height. I could have gone higher, but didn't feel it necessary. Until I decided I wanted a lift.
Had some issues with the floor. I should have done a little more homework. I followed the manufacturers instructions to the letter, and as it was old concrete was told it didn't need to be acid etched or more prepared that a good scrub and high pressure washing. Wrong! After the initial sealer coat I got a lot of large orange peel like texture on the coat. When I complained to the paint company they said..Oh, you need to wash it with lacquer thinner first. So that prompted a nasty email back saying, well, why wasn't that in the instructions then. No reply back.
I went ahead and finished painting it anyway. I do have plans in the future of reworking the floor anyway cause it's not very level and sags quite a bit in the center. Also the back walls have a really large slope. Just to get my toolbox level the front wheels are on about 1" board.

Here's a few pictures of the toys and main reason for the shop:
Looking out into the yard:
Back wall / box, with some signs from Garageart.com:
Last edited: