Chilly's Workshop

The property is 17’ wide and upon it stood an old shed with a dirt floor and a couple of boarded up windows. It was the perfect place for the shop. This project took two summers to complete, squeezing time in between working full-time and various projects.

I took out a permit to modify the existing structure as I couldn’t risk losing any more space due to property line setbacks, since the original building sat directly on the alley side of the property line with the city.

The footprint remains the same as the original building 11×14 and the slab was poured after jacking up the old building and plopping it back down where it was. From then on in, the structure was slowly transformed over the course of two summers, replacing pretty much everything save for a few pieces of nostalgia now buried in the wall.

The beams are all made from 9 laminations of spruce glued with West System epoxy and coated with the (now discontinued) Pratt and Lambert spar varnish. Having the curved roof really allowed me to make the most of potential height I would need. I can stand up a 10’ board in this place so despite its small size I’ve got lots of room to move around.

The walls were also built with staggered studding and sheathed in 5/8” drywall to improve the sound damping. I’ve got to put a proper buffer over the fan when it isn’t in use so it doesn’t nullify all the good in the walls. It does make a difference so I’m happy with that experiment since there is no going back on that (not really a big risk anyway since it meant nice cozy walls.

The roof is insulted in 3/8” P2000 on the outside with an extra 1/2” of polystyrene on the inside. The walls are Roxul and 3/8” P2000. Also P2000 under the slab. You can almost heat this place with only a candle. I superinsulated simply because I can’t stand spending money on heat flying out through the walls. Makes me nuts.
The shop is outfitted with an 8” exhaust and two Ouellet 72” ORC Sunshine radiant heaters that sit discretely on the back wall (These things are awesome and best of all, QUIET, no annoying forced air heater kicking on all the time)

I scored the front windows from a salvage warehouse. Double-pane fir and I got them all for 400 bucks when they originally were going for about 250 a piece so that was a good deal, I thought. The side and rear slit window are made from leftover Panelite that I had from a shower I built. It was an ideal material as it has great light transmission and insulating qualities and i can could cut it to any shape I wanted. Maximizing natural light was important.

It’s a 60A panel so I’ve got plenty juice for my needs.

Its pretty much a dream shop for me even if the size is a bit small. I managed to design it so I can swing around comfortably in it without any grumble about tight space. It’s more comfortable than my house and a perfect place to wander to and from sipping coffee or a cold beer, depending on the season. I also crack open both doors in the summer and treat the whole place as a gazebo of sorts. The overhang is perfect for keeping stuff out of the rain if I am working outside or sitting under during a passing summer shower.

I got the Tyndalstone for the patio in front from a good friend who is putting an addition on his house where the stone used to sit so a huge thanks for that! I’m in the process of building a really nice built-in seating area for his bay window in exchange (it’ll be done soon!).

I’m finally getting around to putting all the tools away in cabinets that I’m building here and there, getting the workbench made and all that other good stuff. Work and play is finally happening!

-- can't talk, woodworking -- p1g furniture design