Bwprince
Well-known member
Hi all! Its been 5 years in the making (probably more like 20), but finally got started on my workshop! I'll post this in parts as best I can to give you all an idea of my experience so far. My writing is not as colorful as some I've seen on here. I'm sure, as most of you are, the experience of building a shop could consume hundreds of pages. I'll try to keep it from becoming a novel though 
The Backstory
About 5 years ago, I decided that my 2 car garage just wasn't going to be big enough for my hobbies. At that time, the wife and I were in the process of preparing to send our daughter off to college so funds for a workshop were far from my wife's mind. I on the other hand was having daily dreams of the perfect workshop to house my woodworking tools, stereo, TVs, friends, you name it. I just couldn't shake the need, it was like a drug. I had to have a dedicated and detached workshop!
Enter Google Sketchup:
What a great tool first off. If you are planning, building, or simply dreaming of a new garage/workshop, this is without a doubt the first stop. Without this little free tool, I honestly don't think I'd be where I am right now. It took my vision from "would be nice" to "Honey what do you think of this" to "I'm doing this for sure!". I began drawing my vision about 4 years ago using this little nugget. I'd download the latest version as soon as it was available, just to see what was new. I learned so much during the first year of its use. My first drawings were not very good at first, but I was able to see how much room I really needed and it really helped visualize my goals for a build. By the end of my first year of use, I was drawing buildings and designs that any architect would be proud of ;-)
4 years ago, I began finalizing my workshop build. I had a complete Google sketchup drawing, went to my HOA, got approval and began getting bids to complete my 24' X 36' castle in the back yard! It was actually going to happen since my daughter had obtained a scholarship and all of her school was going to be paid for! This is where the dream took that “Turn”. You know the one. The one where something more important comes up and all that money you had thought you’d spend on you garage is spent somewhere else? Or, that one where you find out that your going to pay three times more for something than you thought. Or in my case both :-(
Some photos in the old workshop of projects completed in the last few years will be posted as soon as I can figure out how ;-)
To be continued…
The Backstory
About 5 years ago, I decided that my 2 car garage just wasn't going to be big enough for my hobbies. At that time, the wife and I were in the process of preparing to send our daughter off to college so funds for a workshop were far from my wife's mind. I on the other hand was having daily dreams of the perfect workshop to house my woodworking tools, stereo, TVs, friends, you name it. I just couldn't shake the need, it was like a drug. I had to have a dedicated and detached workshop!
Enter Google Sketchup:
What a great tool first off. If you are planning, building, or simply dreaming of a new garage/workshop, this is without a doubt the first stop. Without this little free tool, I honestly don't think I'd be where I am right now. It took my vision from "would be nice" to "Honey what do you think of this" to "I'm doing this for sure!". I began drawing my vision about 4 years ago using this little nugget. I'd download the latest version as soon as it was available, just to see what was new. I learned so much during the first year of its use. My first drawings were not very good at first, but I was able to see how much room I really needed and it really helped visualize my goals for a build. By the end of my first year of use, I was drawing buildings and designs that any architect would be proud of ;-)
4 years ago, I began finalizing my workshop build. I had a complete Google sketchup drawing, went to my HOA, got approval and began getting bids to complete my 24' X 36' castle in the back yard! It was actually going to happen since my daughter had obtained a scholarship and all of her school was going to be paid for! This is where the dream took that “Turn”. You know the one. The one where something more important comes up and all that money you had thought you’d spend on you garage is spent somewhere else? Or, that one where you find out that your going to pay three times more for something than you thought. Or in my case both :-(
Some photos in the old workshop of projects completed in the last few years will be posted as soon as I can figure out how ;-)
To be continued…Attachments
Last edited:
