Not one staying put for too long I wanted the shop to look like a barn so that it fit within the the look of the local rural community and in the event we sell, it could double as a horse/livestock barn.

I felt I needed a working footprint of 1,500 sq feet, measureing 30’ x 50’ with 12’ ceilings. In hindsight I should have made it 24’ 60’...............that would saved money on materials and trusses but whats a man to do once its there.

Had a hole dug for the footings and foundation walls and there the challenges began. Because the township wouldnt let the hieght of the “shop” exceed the hieght of the roof of the house, we had to call it an “agricultural building” which in turn made everything escalate in price because the building codes change. So the footing needed to be reinforced with steel rod (lots of it) and needed to measure 16” deep x 30” wide and the foundation needed to be 12” thick and lots of steel rod.

The shed roof of the side of the building needed footings measuring 4’ x 4’ x 16” thick to support 16” dia concrete pileons.

Then came the floor. Ridgid insulation 2” thick, followed by thick poly, followed by miles and miles of tubing hand tied to the steel grid for radient heat…..........I walked funny for weeks afterward.

The walls were framed in 2×6 and the ceiling trusses were assembled in three sections. While we assemmbled the three sections of the second floor trusses, others framed the four walls, a crane was brought in and lifted each wall, then lifted the first section of the upper floor, loaded the subfloor on that, some sheeted the floor and the crane dropped the next section, sheeted that and then the final section, then swung around and lifted the roof trusses up. The floor trusses are 3’ thick on 16” centers so that I didnt need any columns on the inside. You could park a cement truck up there.

gotta love the flag and view up the driveway

and the roof trusses on

and the shed roof on

and finally while battling snow, freezing rain and high winds we finished up the steel roofing

just in time for winters onslaught

pardon the mess on the inside but much has changed since this picture was taken (mind you the mess is forever lurking around the next hour

The outside is finally complete, done in a vertical pine shiplap with white aluminum fascia and soffit. the leaks are finally gone, the back up heat system is in…...........next year I hope to open up the second floor and frame in the walls of the shed roof area, add a door from main shop to shed area and use faux stone on the walls of the shed…..............maybe even enlarge my windows to the original size.

or fencing

or re surface the drive

or insulate the second floor

or get my wood boiler

or maybe do like I occasionally do, grab a small cooler, fill itup with brown trout, put a lawn chair in the mddle of the field and stare at it <vbg>