The wood bug bites
After painting the house and finishing the shed, I got heavier into woodworking. I had now built several tables, and other projects, but was frustrated by lack of space to work.
The garage had been demolished by a previous owner so any wood projects meant driving to class or hauling my tools out of the shed and basement.
The backyard when we bought the house. Note the dead trees and the massive eucalyptus stump from a tree that had fallen 20 years earlier.
The dilapidated fence and my first metal shed. Now gone. The blue tarp on my neighbors side is gone too! Thank you world.
Other corner of the yard.
We had paid tons to get the trees trims. By fall of 200 4 I had torn down the fence and built a new redwood privacy fence. Kristin had also planted a very nice garden.
We hired a local architecht at the end of 2004, went through the joy of project approval at the historic planning department and in October of 2005.
We found a great carpenter who let me work with him to build the garage/shop.
Now it’s on
The foundation is framed. You can see my two sheds in the background. Poor Kristin’s yard was dug up.
Pouring the concrete. I stayed home to “help”.
My shop takes shape. I helped lift the walls but Dennis, our carpenter, built the ceiling alone!
Framed.
The shear panel is on. Here I did the electrical trenches. Very amusing to my wife to watch me struggle with this machine.
The trim goes on. We lucked out and the lumber yard sent rough mahogony ply for the exerior (accidental upgrade). Wonderful wood grain.
Closer on ply. Electrical was now roughed in.
We decided to stain the building instead of paint. No priming and you can see the grain of the ply. We also stained the concrete foundation. We had custom stain mixed to match our house colors. Here Picasso cuts in with tiny brush. My fence on the left.
By Spring 06, the shop was built and stained. The brown trim is actually paint. We added the battens to give the shop a farm feel. I installed the lights.
I took on the drywall work. Drywalling the loft sucked.
Here is the first door I built and installed. By now the shop was painted. I think everyone should build their own shop doors.
Second door is in. The finished shop. I hung my trusty sawblade at the top. It is a gear that I have carried around for 15 years. It finally found a home. You can see some landscaping in the back of the shop as the garden starts to return to normal.
Hope you enjoyed. Next time.. We get serious about the interior…
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
15 comments so far
PanamaJack
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4452 posts in 565 days
posted 481 days ago
Do you have a “day” job Giz? (kidding) How’d you find enough time to do all this and be a teacher?
You did a great job on the doors, they look great and very sturdy.
I did enjoy it Giz! Thanks for sharing.
-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,
gizmodyne
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1479 posts in 577 days
posted 481 days ago
Panama. It did take 8 months. Also.. I get a little crazy during summer and vacation and weekends. I will work on a project for 12 or more hours straight. Plus my wife helps me. I have also learned to pay people for tasks that I don’t want to learn or don’t like to do. Concrete…. Plumbing…. Insulation.. Maybe drywall in the future.
Good news. It is the last day of school today. The kitchen project starts Friday!
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
mot
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4837 posts in 524 days
posted 481 days ago
Nice, giz! Really nice!
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
MsDebbieP
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11931 posts in 648 days
posted 481 days ago
That’s wonderful….. might just have to do that “farm look” on our new little shed.. Sure does look purdy :)
(School—my daughter was celebrating this morning as well. Last day of classes and now just exams to go through. Of course her computer crashed last night and she had to re-enter a lot of stuff last night and she didn’t leave the school until 9:30 PM. And people wonder why teachers get summers off?? !!! )
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Bob Babcock
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1807 posts in 573 days
posted 481 days ago
Great job Giz. I have workshop envy….not only is it a nice size space but a great look too.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
BlueStingrayBoots
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314 posts in 489 days
posted 481 days ago
Awesome choice of colors! How do you keep the doors from sagging or scrapping the cement?
Don
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2586 posts in 664 days
posted 480 days ago
Gizmo, I am really enjoying this journey – can’t wait to have a look inside the shop.
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/
gizmodyne
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1479 posts in 577 days
posted 480 days ago
Thanks for the compliments gang.
Stingray: The doors are a modified mortise and tenon. The diagonal prevents some racking. They are pocket screwed and glued together as well. I used strong t-hinges and bolted them with lag bolts. So we will see if they sag later.
Don.. Check out my workshop video tour.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
Steffen
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233 posts in 523 days
posted 480 days ago
Very nice work Giz…I like what you did with the stain.
-- Steffen
PanamaJack
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4452 posts in 565 days
posted 480 days ago
Giz you’re going to have to make up a book on your home remodel and sell it! Nice work. I’d pay for drywall anytime, especially the finish part. I do most of the plumbing and electrical here and for friends, who aren’t in a hurry. I have no problems with it I’m just slower than a snail, mostly to make sure it’s right. Insulation itches too much!
-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,
gizmodyne
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1479 posts in 577 days
posted 480 days ago
Hi,
We have thought about writing something. Not sure who would read it?
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
MsDebbieP
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11931 posts in 648 days
posted 480 days ago
When Rick started at his new job he said, “I don’t do drywall”.
He’s doing drywall. lol
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
mjpierson
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55 posts in 480 days
posted 480 days ago
awesome! Kinda what comes to mind when I think of the “dream” building for my shop!
noticed the ADT sign – did you wire the place for security? just curious, I promise I am not casing it!
-- Mike - Columbus, Ohio
gizmodyne
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1479 posts in 577 days
posted 480 days ago
Yes the shop is monitored for security and fire. (This photo was taken by an armed guard).
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
PanamaJack
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4452 posts in 565 days
posted 480 days ago
I have an “armed guard”! He is armed with very sharp teeth and weighs just 85 pounds.
-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,