# Workshop Build



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Clearing the land*

This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.










We live on 8 acres of land and chose a spot we could clear of trees and debris that was conveniently close enough to the house and the driveway. In September of 2007 my husband rented a backhoe and began clearing the spot. It was full of trees he had to remove, as well as huge boulders and a lot of tree roots and branches. Here it is cleared:










Weeping tiles were laid in the spot under where the garage would sit.










It took 20 loads of gravel to fill in the spot enough to bring it up to level.










The last photo was from Sept. 16, 2007. We waited over the winter for the snow to come and go so that it would settle enough for us to begin building in the spring of 2008.

Feb. 2008 we had a big open flat area waiting for us, but no sign of spring:










I hope to update this soon!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


Looks like a great start


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## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


Good start, what are weeping tiles?


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## westside (Nov 14, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


Looks great. I'm feeling very jealous. Good luck to you and your husband and I hope it comes out better than you both expected!


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## unisaw2 (Feb 2, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


Nice start, the old shop is also pretty cool. Please keep us updated on the progress.


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## jasony (Dec 21, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


WOW! I love seeing custom shops come together. Please keep us up to date!


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


rtb: Here we call it weeping tiles, but I guess it is better known as drainage pipe. The plastic perforated pipe collects water from around the foundation and takes it away. It's covered with a filter fabric to prevent dirt from clogging up the system.


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## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


OK I've always heard it called a 'French Drain" I think its a very wise move, although with 20 loads of gravel I wouldn't think that you will have to much of a drainage problem.


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## SteveC (Oct 15, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


Hey Julie, Gonna be sweet… you'll be kicking the old man out of the other half of the garage to expand your shop in no time …LOL 

Btw, French drain usually refers to a pit with gravel etc where grey water is piped for drainage (like a dry well).
Weeping tile, tile drainage is what you have around your footing (Big-O), and it's always covered with clear stone to assist in drainage


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## SteveC (Oct 15, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Clearing the land*
> 
> This is a blog about the building of my workshop which has been ongoing now for almost 3 years. My husband wanted a garage for car storage and working on cars and I wanted a workshop for woodworking. We decided on a 40' x 40' building with one half for him and one half for me. It was my job to sketch up a rough version of what the building would look like. The plans were drawn by both of us and an architect was needed, according to the by-laws in our township, to design the floor system only. All the building was done by us except the laying of the cement floor.
> 
> ...


One more thing about weeping tile… I was told once that the origin of the term comes from before perforated plastic pipe when actual short clay pipe sections were used for the same purpose. I dug a couple hundred feet of them out of the ground on my first house. The stuff that we used to do…ha. That same house used PAPER SEWAGE PIPE doped with tar to connect the house to the septic tank as well! 30 years later guess what happened to that paper…duh


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Preparing the foundation*

In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:









Forms being built, leveled and straightened:










Styrospan had to be laid under the cement foundation:










We decided to heat the whole garage and shop floor with in floor heating which would be heated with the use of an outdoor wood stove. Since our home was already using hot water heating, the house was piped and ready to be switched over from the oil fed system to the new wood stove.

Rebar was needed around the perimeter and up the middle trench. Wire mesh was put over the whole area to enable us to use it to attach the piping that would heat the floor.










View of whole site:









... to be continued…


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Wow.

What a great start. What a great setting. What a great opportunity (to do it from scratch).

Two rooms in our house have radiant heating (electric mesh, in thinset, under the tile). I wish I'd done the whole house with it. What a luxury.

Have fun proceeding. I KNOW I'll have fun watching


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Doing it right will really pay of.


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## davemurray (Nov 15, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Looks like this will be a nice workshop, I'll be following your progress. I didn't keep very good photo documentation when I was building my shop(only about a dozen photos). also I'd be interested to know how the floor heating system works. Do I understand correctly that that will be the only heat source.


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## jasony (Dec 21, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Ah, dangit Julie, quit teasing us! At this rate it'll be a year before we see the whole process! 
Thanks for the posts. Really enjoying them.

Jason


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## Jimthecarver (Jan 14, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


I cant wait to see the new shop…..Good luck and happy building. I hope all goes well for you in this project.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Wow that's looking sweet well done I wish you many years of happiness there.Alistair


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Great progress, and hope nothing is in the way that may hinder its pace.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Julie, this is a nice start on your shop.


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## alexbarlage (Jan 26, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Radiant heat is the way to go, no matter how warm my shop is, the concrete is always freezing.


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## Maclegno (Jan 6, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


Hello Julie, I noticed your'e building a workshop from scratch, lucky you. My workshop (called a Studio here in Italy) is a 2 car garage. As is common here the floor is tiled (tiling is pretty cheap). I find it very useful for laying out and squaring large projects like a wardrobe wall unit etc. Also its easy, using chalk or markers, to draw pieces full size to decide on proportions and see how things look. Just a thought if you have to decide on a type of flooring anyway. Hope the weather improves.
Gerard


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## Maclegno (Jan 6, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Preparing the foundation*
> 
> In May 2008, after a long winter and very wet early spring which delayed construction, we dug the trenches for the forms and the footings:
> 
> ...


I once spent a year in Holland in a rented house with hot water underfloor heating, at one point in the middle of winter the heating failed. We didn't even notice for 3 or 4 days. You will love it.
Gerard
PS the only problem is if you have (as did we) an upper floor.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Laying infloor piping*

In June 2008 it was time to start getting the in-floor piping and the electricity hook-ups into the foundation before the cement could be poured.

The wood stove that will heat the new workshop as well as our house will be placed in between the two buildings. It will sit at the side of the driveway approximately 50 feet north of the house and 75 feet south of the workshop. Since our hookups will need to be at the farthest side of the house, a trench needs to be dug about 75-100 feet each way from the wood stove location. This trench will house the piping that runs the hot water as well as electric wire from the house to the shop and another wire from the house to power the stove's electrical needs.

Here you can see in the foreground is where it will go into the house and on the right where the stakes are is the spot where the wood stove will sit. In the background to the left of the tractor is where the new workshop is:









This is the piping that takes the hot water and the corregated piping that holds the wire to supply power to the shop. The smooth 5" diameter pipe is insulated and carries two 1 1/4" diameter hot water pipes inside it (one takes the hot water to the workshop and the other returns it). So from the wood stove we have to send out the insulated piping two ways, north to the shop and south to the house. This is the trench towards the workshop, partially filled in:










A view taken from the deck on our house shows the two pipes coming out of the trench that will enter the wood stove:










After all was filled in, here is the mini foundation for the wood stove to sit on with the hot water piping as well as an electrical wire from the house, coming up through the inside:









The insulated pipe had to come up through the bottom of the foundation to connect to the infloor piping, this came through at the bottom right hand corner of the shop (southeast) along with the electrical wire.

All the piping had to be laid, which we did alongside the Heatmor wood stove dealer, who connected up the system. There are six loops, three heat the garage and three heat the workshop. The piping is attached to the wire mesh grid with plastic ties.



















Here is the piping coming out of the foundation area, ready for the concrete to be poured, after which point it will be connected to the manifolds, pump and control system.










Now ready to get the floor poured!

... to be continued…


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Laying infloor piping*
> 
> In June 2008 it was time to start getting the in-floor piping and the electricity hook-ups into the foundation before the cement could be poured.
> 
> ...


right on julie

you must be excited.

After three years with originalintentions of getting an outdoor wood boiler I changed my mind and got a gas fired boiler and it arrives today.

how cool is that. I put an extra line in so that when I use myspray booth, it trips a limit switch which activates an in wall radiator so that it draws in hot air.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Laying infloor piping*
> 
> In June 2008 it was time to start getting the in-floor piping and the electricity hook-ups into the foundation before the cement could be poured.
> 
> ...


That's the only way to fly. a great way to heat a shop.


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## lumberdustjohn (Sep 24, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Laying infloor piping*
> 
> In June 2008 it was time to start getting the in-floor piping and the electricity hook-ups into the foundation before the cement could be poured.
> 
> ...


Nice project!
Nice tractor!
Outdoor furnace would be great.
Wished I would have done the tubing in my shop.


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## unisaw2 (Feb 2, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Laying infloor piping*
> 
> In June 2008 it was time to start getting the in-floor piping and the electricity hook-ups into the foundation before the cement could be poured.
> 
> ...


If I had it to do again I would definitely do in-floor heat. Nice job.


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## lotsaglue (Dec 30, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Laying infloor piping*
> 
> In June 2008 it was time to start getting the in-floor piping and the electricity hook-ups into the foundation before the cement could be poured.
> 
> ...


It would definitely be nice to have floor mounted receptacles for some tools. Another thing that I always thought would be trick is to have the dust removal plumbing in the floor. If you did that you would have to know once and all for sure that is where you want your equipment. I went with mine in the ceiling and am glad I did for the number of time I have moved stuff.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Laying infloor piping*
> 
> In June 2008 it was time to start getting the in-floor piping and the electricity hook-ups into the foundation before the cement could be poured.
> 
> ...


Hey Roman! The only negative thing about the wood stove is that I am not getting younger and the huge wood pieces I throw in it seem to get heavier!
John- Unfortunately the tractor isn't ours, we rented it 
Karl - I have a Clear Vue cyclone that isn't yet piped in, but will run across the ceiling. I can't imagine figuring out how to get it in the floor with the heating pipes there.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*The pour*

My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.

Here's the pump truck starting the pour in the north east corner:









Pouring in the north west corner:









Close up:









Finishing up:









All done:









And the pad for the wood stove to sit on:









...to be continued…


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


well done ,
leave the cement to guys that do it everyday ,
it's always worth it !

happy days !


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## ratchet (Jan 12, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Looking good already!


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Looks like a great start to a new workshop. I buily my new shop a little over 2 years ago and remember the slab being poured as if it were yesterday. I sat out by the slab area for most of the day and kept visualizing all details of the shop I would be building.
Building my shop and building all of the cabinets and workbenches can be as enjoyable as building projects.
What size is your shop? Looks like a very nice slab…


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


enjoying the progress pictures..always fun to see a shop come together and your dream realized..look forward to the rest


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Greg, this is part 4, maybe you missed the beginning of the blog. You can check it all out by clicking on my Workshop blog at the top of this page.

The whole building is 40' x 40'. Facing the building, my husband has the left side, it's 20' wide x 40' deep, with a 16' garage door. My workshop is the right side, also 20' wide x 40' deep, with a "man" door at the front.


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## Rickoman (Feb 15, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Can you post any information about your radiant heat system you installed? It looks like radiant heating tubes in the pour.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


you are going to love that heated floor.

Question…............did you cut the concrete shop floor the next day?...........otherwise they tend to develop nasty cracks


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Nice start!


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Rick you can see the installation of the piping at Part 3 of this Workshop blog
here

I wouild be glad to answer any other questions about the radiant heat.

Roman, no, we didn't cut the floor, and yes, we do have a few cracks


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Getting closer.


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## Rickoman (Feb 15, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Julie, what is the spacing between your loops? I have a pour in a few weeks but have gotten a lot of conflicting advice on spacing - everything from 12" to 24". So far everyone has agreed maximum loop length of 300ft.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


Rick, there is an excellent guide to in floor heating at the www.pexheat.com site.
See the *Watts Radiant Design/Installation Manual* on that page, it really explains everything.

The conflicting advice you have on spacing may be due to your climate, what type of floor you are putting it in or what tubing you are using.

We used 12" spacing, which was figured out by the Wood stove distributor/installer by using graph paper and designing the loops. Since we had the wire mesh down, with 6" squares, it made it easier to figure out where to lay the piping. (You can see that in the photos in my blog part 3) We have 6 loops in total which worked out to approximately 1600' of total tubing. I do believe we were told that 300' was the maximum loop, but also what is important is to have all the loops approximately equal. In our climate we needed the 2" extruded insulation under the piping.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *The pour*
> 
> My husband and I did almost all the work in building the new shop but we did hire a group of men to pour and smooth the new floor.
> 
> ...


it's never too late to score that floor and not saying you have to but having 30 years exp.,in the construction field…........I sure would.

A client of mine built his dream garage, he didnt score the floor insisting it wasnt needed because of the tube heating…..........1 year later,..........lots of speed bumps. I have yet to see a floor, that wasnt scored,that didnt heav.

Rick, if you go to the supplier of the furnace you purchase, they most often give you a grid and zone pattern for free.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Blocks and insulation*

It was July 2008 and since our foundation was all in, we were on to the blocks and then the framing. Our plans called for one row of blocks sitting on the foundation.










Blocks were not put at the doorways at the front and side of the building and also where the large garage door would be.
This shows the front workshop door area:









2" thick styrofoam had to be placed vertically around the whole perimeter of the building. We have cold winters and this is to hopefully keep the heat in from the in-floor heating system. There is a middle dividing wall with an inner door between the garage (his) and workshop (mine) which will allow wood, tools and finished furniture to be transported through the large garage door and into the workshop.
Here you can see the side of the garage with the styrofoam in place and the opening for the side door:










This is a view of the opening for the front 16' wide garage door as well as the middle dividing wall:










Styrofoam also had to be added horizontally around the place where the deck posts would sit.










...to be continued…


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## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Blocks and insulation*
> 
> It was July 2008 and since our foundation was all in, we were on to the blocks and then the framing. Our plans called for one row of blocks sitting on the foundation.
> 
> ...


This is real progress and I think that you both spent a lot of time planing so that you covered all the details in advance.


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Blocks and insulation*
> 
> It was July 2008 and since our foundation was all in, we were on to the blocks and then the framing. Our plans called for one row of blocks sitting on the foundation.
> 
> ...


I LOVE THE PROGRESS SHOTS..I GUESS ITS DONE BY NOW…THESE ARE TEASER SHOTS…LOL…BUT THANKS FOR POSTING THEM….GRIZZMAN


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Framing*

Finally time to frame the walls! We used 2×6 lumber and 8' foot lengths for the studs that are 16" OC. These are placed on a 2×6 plate and with two 2×6's for the top plate. Of course this sits on top of the blocks and so it makes the wall height about 9'. We put the walls up in sections and used the top 2×6 to run across sections to hold them together. We did have anchor bolts that came up from the foundation, through the holes in the blocks and then up through the plate.

This photo shows the walls going up starting with the east wall which is for my workshop. There will be a door at the front and three windows along the side, so framing was done to leave the space for these:









On the west side, which is my husband's garage, there will be two windows and a side door. Also as stated in a previous blog posting, there is a center wall to divide the garage from the workshop and also for the soon to come trusses to sit upon:









My workshop will have an assembly room in the front that is about 10' deep x 20' wide (the width of the workshop), to divide my section up into two rooms. That dividing wall will be added later, but here is the view from my front door:









The framing was finished by the end of July 2008, including the opening for a 16' garage door:









Unfortunately, at this point, I had to have carpal tunnel surgery and was not much help to my husband for the next few months of construction, other than supervising  It's amazing to think all the work he did on this big project while still having a full-time job. Now if we (he) can just finish before the snow flies!

...to be continued…


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Framing*
> 
> Finally time to frame the walls! We used 2×6 lumber and 8' foot lengths for the studs that are 16" OC. These are placed on a 2×6 plate and with two 2×6's for the top plate. Of course this sits on top of the blocks and so it makes the wall height about 9'. We put the walls up in sections and used the top 2×6 to run across sections to hold them together. We did have anchor bolts that came up from the foundation, through the holes in the blocks and then up through the plate.
> 
> ...


Sorry to learn you have had a surgery. Wish you get well soon to see your new shop's progress.
Good luck!


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## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Framing*
> 
> Finally time to frame the walls! We used 2×6 lumber and 8' foot lengths for the studs that are 16" OC. These are placed on a 2×6 plate and with two 2×6's for the top plate. Of course this sits on top of the blocks and so it makes the wall height about 9'. We put the walls up in sections and used the top 2×6 to run across sections to hold them together. We did have anchor bolts that came up from the foundation, through the holes in the blocks and then up through the plate.
> 
> ...


Nice job.


----------



## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Framing*
> 
> Finally time to frame the walls! We used 2×6 lumber and 8' foot lengths for the studs that are 16" OC. These are placed on a 2×6 plate and with two 2×6's for the top plate. Of course this sits on top of the blocks and so it makes the wall height about 9'. We put the walls up in sections and used the top 2×6 to run across sections to hold them together. We did have anchor bolts that came up from the foundation, through the holes in the blocks and then up through the plate.
> 
> ...


Hope your recovery from surgery was fast and painless. It's nice to have that dividing wall between garage and shop. My husband is always complaining about sawdust in his car/garage stuff.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Framing*
> 
> Finally time to frame the walls! We used 2×6 lumber and 8' foot lengths for the studs that are 16" OC. These are placed on a 2×6 plate and with two 2×6's for the top plate. Of course this sits on top of the blocks and so it makes the wall height about 9'. We put the walls up in sections and used the top 2×6 to run across sections to hold them together. We did have anchor bolts that came up from the foundation, through the holes in the blocks and then up through the plate.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately surgery didn't go so well. I developed RSD, which is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, caused by an overactive nervous system. It is pain, swelling and discomfort after an injury or surgery. So, in a nutshell, I have pain all the time in my hand, something I didn't have before surgery.


----------



## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Framing*
> 
> Finally time to frame the walls! We used 2×6 lumber and 8' foot lengths for the studs that are 16" OC. These are placed on a 2×6 plate and with two 2×6's for the top plate. Of course this sits on top of the blocks and so it makes the wall height about 9'. We put the walls up in sections and used the top 2×6 to run across sections to hold them together. We did have anchor bolts that came up from the foundation, through the holes in the blocks and then up through the plate.
> 
> ...


So sorry to hear the surgery didn't go well. Let your surgeon knows your problem. Get it done promptly before it gets worst.

Wish you get well soonest.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Floor/Ceiling Joists*

In order to be able to have a 40' building without interior walls other than one right down the middle, we needed to have joists that would carry across the width of the building and give us room above for storage. Regular trusses don't allow for much empty space for storage, so we had joists designed with our particular needs taken into account.

The joists are I beam style, 40' long and sixteen inches deep. They needed to be placed 16" OC, so that meant an order of 30 plus rim board, a 1" thick 16" deep board that runs around the outside of the joists.

We rented a backhoe and used the front bucket to first move the joists as close as possible to the front of the garage and then to raise each joist up to balance on the framing.



















Rim board was attached around the whole perimeter of the building, starting at the front.









Each one then had to be placed in position, first at the front so that we could start the plywood upper floor and give my husband a place to stand on to get the rest of the joists into position.

First four front joists:


















The joists which were initially laid down flat, were pushed to the back to keep them out of the way of the other joists that were stood up and attached one at a time, working from the front to the back.










Plywood on first joists to make a platform:









Fun, eh?

...to be continued…


----------



## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Floor/Ceiling Joists*
> 
> In order to be able to have a 40' building without interior walls other than one right down the middle, we needed to have joists that would carry across the width of the building and give us room above for storage. Regular trusses don't allow for much empty space for storage, so we had joists designed with our particular needs taken into account.
> 
> ...


holy cow..you could probably park a back hoe on that roof…looks like a lot of fun there…look forward to the whole projects pictures…cant wait to see the finished job..


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

followyourheart said:


> *Floor/Ceiling Joists*
> 
> In order to be able to have a 40' building without interior walls other than one right down the middle, we needed to have joists that would carry across the width of the building and give us room above for storage. Regular trusses don't allow for much empty space for storage, so we had joists designed with our particular needs taken into account.
> 
> ...


Nice looking building.


----------



## unisaw2 (Feb 2, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Floor/Ceiling Joists*
> 
> In order to be able to have a 40' building without interior walls other than one right down the middle, we needed to have joists that would carry across the width of the building and give us room above for storage. Regular trusses don't allow for much empty space for storage, so we had joists designed with our particular needs taken into account.
> 
> ...


Great job, fun to follow the progress.

When we built our shop we used the same 16" I joists. They go up fast, and provide a great, large area for insulation. We added the top plate on top of the joists (instead of below), so that the rafters did not cut into our insulation space. Our heating costs in Chicago are really low because of the extra efforts in construction and insulation.


----------



## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Floor/Ceiling Joists*
> 
> In order to be able to have a 40' building without interior walls other than one right down the middle, we needed to have joists that would carry across the width of the building and give us room above for storage. Regular trusses don't allow for much empty space for storage, so we had joists designed with our particular needs taken into account.
> 
> ...


I am a little envious! OK, more than a little! LOL


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Covering the outside*

It was still August 2008 and since we had rented the backhoe to help moving the joists around, we also made use of it to place our outdoor wood furnace, that will heat both the workshop and house, into position on the pad:









The backhoe was then used to lift plywood up on top of the joists: 








This was used as a floor for the upstairs loft area:









It was time for aspenite to go on the outside of all the framing. It ran from about half of the blocks to the top of the ceiling/floor joists.
Here is the start of putting on the aspenite:









Here it is all finished:










The next step was to put some windows in and cover the outer aspenite with typar. 
Here's the west (garage) side:










and the front:









...to be continued…


----------



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Covering the outside*
> 
> It was still August 2008 and since we had rented the backhoe to help moving the joists around, we also made use of it to place our outdoor wood furnace, that will heat both the workshop and house, into position on the pad:
> 
> ...


Hi Julie;

Great blog.

It will be a wonderful shop when you get it done!

Lee


----------



## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Covering the outside*
> 
> It was still August 2008 and since we had rented the backhoe to help moving the joists around, we also made use of it to place our outdoor wood furnace, that will heat both the workshop and house, into position on the pad:
> 
> ...


yep i love to build..i enjoy the whole process..but being a wood worker does give me more pleasure then rough carpentry..you guys are doing a great job..fun to watch it all…


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Covering the outside*
> 
> It was still August 2008 and since we had rented the backhoe to help moving the joists around, we also made use of it to place our outdoor wood furnace, that will heat both the workshop and house, into position on the pad:
> 
> ...


You know, more than once my husband has said to me… and I quote…

*"We aren't building furniture you know!"*


----------



## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Covering the outside*
> 
> It was still August 2008 and since we had rented the backhoe to help moving the joists around, we also made use of it to place our outdoor wood furnace, that will heat both the workshop and house, into position on the pad:
> 
> ...


you are only as good ,
as a sharp pencil .

in the union they give them a 1/4" leeway !

great shop , julie .

i'm happy for you both .


----------



## OneTimeTreeMan (Feb 17, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Covering the outside*
> 
> It was still August 2008 and since we had rented the backhoe to help moving the joists around, we also made use of it to place our outdoor wood furnace, that will heat both the workshop and house, into position on the pad:
> 
> ...


Jealous of your outdoor wood furnace. Your shop is coming along. Looks good.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*The attic *

Now where were we?
Oh yes… we have to start the upper floor, I am going to call it the attic.

Let me remind you that my husband did all of this part completely on his own. I was recovering from carpal tunnel surgery and unable to carry anything or hammer or do much at all other than supervise! There were no stairs yet, so all the pieces had to be pulled up from the front or brought up on a ladder. It was a lot of heavy work for one person and a heck of a lot of pieces.

He started by making the upper front wall in two pieces:









He then made, similarly the back wall and put up a roof ridge and two 4' tall knee walls.










A view from the attic of the roof ridge and knee walls:










Rafters then had to be placed that met the ridge and were notched to be rested on the knee walls and again on the top edge of the side walls:










Here is a view of the roof rafters taken from the floor of the shop where the stairs will go:










And a view from the attic:









From the front:









And a view of the overhang:










Across the front and back, lookout rafters had to be added:









It's now Sept. 2008, can we get the roof on before the snow flies?

...to be continued…


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The attic *
> 
> Now where were we?
> Oh yes… we have to start the upper floor, I am going to call it the attic.
> ...


Looking great! Keep the pictures coming. I am looking forward to seeing the finished shop. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The attic *
> 
> Now where were we?
> Oh yes… we have to start the upper floor, I am going to call it the attic.
> ...


A super build an interesting blog.


----------



## OutPutter (Jun 23, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *The attic *
> 
> Now where were we?
> Oh yes… we have to start the upper floor, I am going to call it the attic.
> ...


I can see the progress photos are being posted and there must be many more. At first I forgot you were catching us up and not following as it goes. It must be a nice place by now. Looking forward to more.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The attic *
> 
> Now where were we?
> Oh yes… we have to start the upper floor, I am going to call it the attic.
> ...


Yes,Jim, sorry about the confusing wording. I am trying to get up to date, but it's taking time to get the photos figured out and uploaded and posted. I try to do some every few days and right now I am up to Sept. 2008 in the blog build, but it's really March 2010 and I just made a lumber rack!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*The roof*

It was Sept. 2008 at this point and the next step was putting plywood on the roof. Of course all of this plywood (to cover a garage of 40' x 40') had to be lifted up through the attic and most of it was nailed from the inside and reaching out. 


















We put up the garage door and got a truck load of fine gravel to keep the front area smooth and neat for the upcoming winter season.










Because I thought it was dangerous for my husband to do and we were running out of time before the cold weather struck, we hired a local roofer to put up the steel roof:



















At some point during this time it was my job to make the stairs. They lead up to the attic from the back of my workshop and across the back wall. Since I am the chief photographer, somehow I didn't take shots of the making of these stairs as I went, I'm not sure why but I wish I had them. It was my first attempt and turned out really well after all my calculations. This is all I could find from that time:









The inside of the shop was hooked up with the iPex controls for the floor heating system:









…to be continued…


----------



## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The roof*
> 
> It was Sept. 2008 at this point and the next step was putting plywood on the roof. Of course all of this plywood (to cover a garage of 40' x 40') had to be lifted up through the attic and most of it was nailed from the inside and reaching out.
> 
> ...


I will wait and hope that I'm not overcome with suspense.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The roof*
> 
> It was Sept. 2008 at this point and the next step was putting plywood on the roof. Of course all of this plywood (to cover a garage of 40' x 40') had to be lifted up through the attic and most of it was nailed from the inside and reaching out.
> 
> ...


this is awesome! looks like a great workshop in the making.


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The roof*
> 
> It was Sept. 2008 at this point and the next step was putting plywood on the roof. Of course all of this plywood (to cover a garage of 40' x 40') had to be lifted up through the attic and most of it was nailed from the inside and reaching out.
> 
> ...


Julie - very nice. I look forward to your next installment. It's so neat to rejoyce in other people accomplishments. This web site is great for such comradery.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Insulation and wall covering*

At this point, the building was up, it was winter (Nov. 2008) and time to insulate. Batts were placed in the attic walls between the studs at the end walls. Also we placed insulation between the ceiling joists, leaving an airspace at the top.
























Over Christmas there was a big wind storm that knocked down some trees. This one was beside the new garage and fell away from it, most likely because some of the roots were cut while clearing the space for the foundation:








Here's a view of the east side wall of my workshop before it was insulated:








By the spring of 2009 we were back to working in the shop putting OSB on the walls. Here it is on the back wall, the garage side, and you can see through the middle wall to my workshop side:









The car is in the garage and OSB is being put on the middle dividing wall:









This is the front of my workshop, you can see the front door and window and the electrical panel in the corner:









Excuse the mess, but here's the stairs at the back of my workshop: 









The area looks so big, and bright that it's exciting to see everything coming together!
...to be continued…


----------



## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Insulation and wall covering*
> 
> At this point, the building was up, it was winter (Nov. 2008) and time to insulate. Batts were placed in the attic walls between the studs at the end walls. Also we placed insulation between the ceiling joists, leaving an airspace at the top.
> 
> ...


I wait on each installment and remind myself that if I ever build another shop I have everything done by a contractor, I couldn't stand the suspense.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Starting to paint, the woodsheds built, soffit and fascia*

In June of 2009, I got started on the painting on the garage side before all the OSB was up on my workshop side. I used Kilz Original and put on two coats. This was hard to do because you really have to push hard on the roller to get it in all the recesses in the OSB and my hand pain problem was not compatible with all that roller work. Anyway, I did do it, here is the back wall of the garage and the dividing wall with one coat:










I started moving my tools into the shop so I could work on some things while it was still being finished off.

At this point we stopped working on the garage and had to make wood sheds to hold the wood that would heat the garage/workshop and the house for the winter. The previous heating season we piled wood beside the outdoor furnace under tarps, which was not so much fun in -30C weather. We designed a shed for each side of the furnace that would each hold about 20 face cords.

Here's the first wall going up:








the outer frame:








the roof rafters on:








the steel roofs on and wood inside (remember we made two!):









Then in Sept. my husband put up the soffit and fascia around the outside of the garage/workshop so that no more animals or birds could get into the eaves, as we had birds nesting there in the spring:










We still haven't decided on an outside covering for the garage/workshop, and we don't have a colour picked out although we do want something to look nice with our green roof. We would like something basically maintenance free, so it may turn out to be vinyl siding.

...to be continued…


----------



## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Starting to paint, the woodsheds built, soffit and fascia*
> 
> In June of 2009, I got started on the painting on the garage side before all the OSB was up on my workshop side. I used Kilz Original and put on two coats. This was hard to do because you really have to push hard on the roller to get it in all the recesses in the OSB and my hand pain problem was not compatible with all that roller work. Anyway, I did do it, here is the back wall of the garage and the dividing wall with one coat:
> 
> ...


really nice set up julie..ive got a friend in michigian who has had one of those wood heaters installed . he really likes his..it burns very efficient ..you should have plenty of fire wood there…i bet the shop is working out really nice….


----------



## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Starting to paint, the woodsheds built, soffit and fascia*
> 
> In June of 2009, I got started on the painting on the garage side before all the OSB was up on my workshop side. I used Kilz Original and put on two coats. This was hard to do because you really have to push hard on the roller to get it in all the recesses in the OSB and my hand pain problem was not compatible with all that roller work. Anyway, I did do it, here is the back wall of the garage and the dividing wall with one coat:
> 
> ...


Good job there! How long did it take you guys to fill the wood shed and do you have a "play area" in back of the wood shed?? ;-) I envy you guys! Keep it square, level and plumb.

Erwin


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Starting to paint, the woodsheds built, soffit and fascia*
> 
> In June of 2009, I got started on the painting on the garage side before all the OSB was up on my workshop side. I used Kilz Original and put on two coats. This was hard to do because you really have to push hard on the roller to get it in all the recesses in the OSB and my hand pain problem was not compatible with all that roller work. Anyway, I did do it, here is the back wall of the garage and the dividing wall with one coat:
> 
> ...


Man that's some firewood. My firewoodbin is about 3' X 5'... don't seem to use much in Florida!!! Julie - your building is nothing less then inspirational.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Front Room Painting and Casings*

This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!

My shop is divided into a front room that will be used for assembly and finishing and the larger workshop part at the back. Here's a rough sketch of the layout:










The OSB walls have all been painted with 2 coats of Kilz original primer, here's the east side wall of the shop part before the paint:










and with the Kilz primer:










The front room with insulation only:









with the OSB:









and with one coat of primer:










I put a second coat of primer and then painted with white paint because I could still slightly see lines from the OSB through the primer:










The front window and door badly needed some casing:









First I made the window jambs, the bottom extends out and makes a sill: 
(these aren't curved, it's just poor photography on my part)









The casing is pine, covered with many coats of polyurethane:









The door has a matching casing style:









It looks so much nicer this way. The side windows will have a matching casing style, but I can't finish them yet because they are not in their final position. The shop doesn't have siding on it and the side windows need to be moved out with strapping. We hope to get to that this summer.

...to be continued…


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


This has been a great build well done.


----------



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


Your shop is looking great. It is a fantastic feeling to have a nice roomy and organized shop.


----------



## LateNightOwl (Aug 13, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


I just read through your entire series on the build. Excellent blogging! You and your husband are hard workers and have done a great job on the building. I can imagine what your excitement level must be at this point. I look forward to seeing it finished with all your machines and tools in place. It's going to be a dream shop!


----------



## JAGWAH (Dec 15, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


Great job. Celebrate and go buy another tool.


----------



## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


Greetings Julie….. Stellar job on the shop, my lady, stellar job. You and your mate are gonna have one heck of a nice place to make sawdust and mechanic work (?). I know the feeling of a new shop. When I built mine back in '02, couldn't wait to get it painted and move in….. it's better than moving into a new home…lol lol.
But… by the time you get your equipment all set up and arranged, you'll want an even bigger one. Mine is a 40' x 50', and I wish it was a 60' x 100'....... lol. I just needed a little more land and it would have been…....
Again, congrats on the new shop, and I'll be following up on the finished product…. I like looking at shops on LJs. Great ideas on here. Take a look at mine sometimes, and we'll compare notes…..... later.


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


Looks good, Juile.


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


Hi Juile

Your shop really looks great! I am sure you are looking forward to having it all set up and running. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom


----------



## SteveC (Oct 15, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


You've come a long way Julie.
The casing and window stools add a nice touch. Since i moved my shop and had to remove some casing some of my doors remain in that state (without casing) and at the rate I'm going here likely will for quite some time
Keep at it, it will get there


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Front Room Painting and Casings*
> 
> This spring I was finally getting the workshop painted and ready to use!
> 
> ...


That's some good advice from JAGWAH! "Celebrate and go buy another tool."


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*The "Man Cave"*

I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.




























We painted the floor with Behr 2-part epoxy, and painted the walls, the door and windows still need trim. (The right corner houses my Clear Vue Cyclone, which is not fully hooked up yet.)

...to be continued…


----------



## SuperDave (Apr 4, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


very nice Julie


----------



## SteveMI (May 19, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


Where are the recliners and plasma going to be?

You are way good, Julie.

Steve.


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


that mancave is realy toooooo clean
you better not come near it anymore…..lol


----------



## 559dustdesigns (Sep 23, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


looks nice I like the floor.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


Mighty fine


----------



## Eagle1 (Jan 4, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


Real nice! I know just where you can move it to. I have just the spot for it. LOL


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


That's a work of art. And I see that he has the Adarondac chair you made him. That was the forst project of your that I saw many months ago. You are very talented. Nice That you and your hubby work together and have tackled such a big project. You are both blessed.


----------



## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The "Man Cave"*
> 
> I have been focusing on the workshop in our build, since this IS a woodworking site. But the other half of the building is for my "other half" and is his garage… also known as the "Man Cave." I thought some of you might like a glimpse of that as well.
> 
> ...


I like it how you made the cyclone have to go into your husband's space; good move!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Making an interior window*

As said in the previous post, my shop has a front room that is divided from the shop with a wall and doorway. I decided I would like an interior window between the shop and door so that I could see into the front room while in the shop, plus to allow me more natural light. While framing the wall, we used 16" OC studs but left a wider opening between the 2"x6"s where I wanted the window to be ( I believe it was about 24").

OSB was put over the wall on the shop side, but not in the front room side yet.

Here's the wall where the window will go:










I drew a line to saw on that was between the two vertical studs and horizontally where I figured the size of the window would be appropriate. The cut started with four drilled holes in the four corners:










Then I jigsawed out the opening:










... and actually made it larger in height than I originally thought I would:









On the front room side I had not yet put up the OSB so that I could nail in horizontal 2×6s exactly where the top and bottom of the hole cut was:










After this was done, I then put the OSB on the wall:










Back to the view from the shop side:










To match my window jambs and trim (from my previous blog post) I made a one piece bottom jamb with a built-in sill:










I added the side and top jambs:









... and then the window trim. I used a piece of plexi-glass for the window, held in by 1/2" x 1/2" trim on each side:










...to be continued…


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Making an interior window*
> 
> As said in the previous post, my shop has a front room that is divided from the shop with a wall and doorway. I decided I would like an interior window between the shop and door so that I could see into the front room while in the shop, plus to allow me more natural light. While framing the wall, we used 16" OC studs but left a wider opening between the 2"x6"s where I wanted the window to be ( I believe it was about 24").
> 
> ...


very cool.


----------



## ropedog (Mar 26, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Making an interior window*
> 
> As said in the previous post, my shop has a front room that is divided from the shop with a wall and doorway. I decided I would like an interior window between the shop and door so that I could see into the front room while in the shop, plus to allow me more natural light. While framing the wall, we used 16" OC studs but left a wider opening between the 2"x6"s where I wanted the window to be ( I believe it was about 24").
> 
> ...


very nice, you got to love natural light in your shop.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*The Lumber Rack *

Planks on the Floor, 
Planks on the Floor,
Lookin' Like a Fool 
with your
Planks on the Floor…

Sorry, just had to do that…

My small collection of pine was sitting on the floor, waiting for somewhere nice to go:









This wall was the decided place, it allows me to enter the open garage door on the garage side of the workshop with a load of wood and then bring it through the middle door that divides the garage from the workshop:









I decided to use 2×4 uprights screwed to the wall, so I pre-drilled the holes for the lag screws:









I coated the uprights with two coats of shellac and then the first one went up with 4" lag screws and washers, on a 2×6 wall stud, from the floor to the ceiling:









The rest went 32" apart from the first. A few shorter uprights were put at the bottom in between the others, for shorter wood pieces:









I was using 1/2" plywood for the brackets, that were attached to the sides of 2×4s. I decided on 12 1/2" long 2×4s and the plywood would be about 14" because it goes right to the wall so that the sides of the brackets are screwed to the uprights. (This will be clearer in photos coming up) So I needed squares of plywood about 14 1/4" that I would cut at an angle that would give me two brackets from each square. This quick "jig" was made on my sliding cutoff sled:









The two pieces I get from the square of plywood will then attach to each side of the 2×4:









Pile of 26 - 2×4s cut and waiting:









Pile of 52 - plywood pieces:









Here's one bracket and you can see where the 2×4 fits into the back:









Brackets waiting to go on the wall were all coated with two coats of shellac before being attached to the uprights:









I didn't want any of the brackets to be up too high, since I wouldn't be able to reach wood up there anyway, so I just figured out heights that looked good to me. The first one at the top was put on and then the remaining ones were leveled to be the same height:









All the brackets were screwed from the sides into the uprights:









And then the wood from the floor was placed on the rack:









It really makes quite a difference to get that wood off the floor.

...to be continued…


----------



## thenickedfinger (Feb 17, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Those brackets are sweet! Good idea.


----------



## KentS (May 27, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Looks great

Thanks for sharing


----------



## JAGWAH (Dec 15, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Very handy! Doesn't it feel good when a plan comes together?


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


very cool construction! much better than planks on the floow


----------



## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Greetings Julie:.... I have already commented on your rack in your Project post, so I won't say anything here.


----------



## Abbott (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Great, more pics.


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Julie - this is a great idea, wish I had the room in my workshop. I had to suspend my lumber from the cieling. While it's out of the way… it not convenient to get to.


----------



## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Great Julie. You really will be surprised at just how much wood you can stack on these.


----------



## donjoe (Feb 6, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Very nice job on the storage rack. A useful project indeed.


----------



## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


I always like the looks of storage racks. I don't think I could ever make one big enough. Like my shop, it would just keep getting smaller…....You put some nice planning in yours.


----------



## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Julie, very useful project. I would like to hear how you made the jig, do you draw a line on the first piece and then attach the jig hold-downs? Pat


----------



## bigike (May 25, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


nice work, looks simple enough to make i need a new one myself.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Thanks for the kind comments (and the additional verse from Autumn).

I should have mentioned that, the sides of the brackets are screwed into the 2×4 uprights and can easily be moved. I saw similar racks where the brackets were made in a curved design. Perhaps that would allow for more wood to be placed on the rack because the planks on the brackets below would have more room. I don't have a bandsaw and didn't want to have to cut those 52 curvy plywood brackets with a jigsaw, thus the straight cut at an angle that left me with two bracket pieces.

For the jig I basically figured out the size I would need to leave me the correct amount of wood, hard to explain, so I'll draw it: (I normally buy rough pine that is about 6" wide, so I wanted two to be able to fit side by side)









So, I really did just draw a line on the plywood square, as Pat said, and then put it on my cutoff sled at the right place. I cut two scrap pieces of plywood and screwed them right into the sled to the left and right of the cut line, so that my plywood would sit at the correct angle.


----------



## colin2000 (Apr 10, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Great job! I've bieng looking for just this sort of thing to put up in my workshop thanks


----------



## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Well, it was such a good job, I've started making my own version. I don't think mine will be as nice, but even if it isn't, it will still be pretty good. One thing that surprised me is that I was able to snap a 5/16th lag screw. One thing I'm thinking of doing is just using scrap ply and mdf for my brackets. I know it won't look as nice as using 1/2 ply, but it will allow me to clean up some scrap while building shelves. Thanks again for posting this project. I think it is just what I need!


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Jolly good show great job Julie


----------



## bvdon (Feb 22, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


perfect job… now I need to find wall space


----------



## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


wow, great idea, I hope you don't mind if I borrow it!


----------



## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Julie
You did an awesome job. I am working on somthing like that, however, the lumber will be vertical with a 3"x36" platform under the bottoms. I am in a wheelchair so the horizonal storage is harder to get wood for me.
Arlin


----------



## rob2 (Nov 27, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Very cool design. I built something similar but I made the brackets too deep 45 deg instead of 30 like yours. When I get them cut back I'll gain a bunch of room. I have seen this same style wood storage with 3/4 conduit as the support but I like the flat surface for storing project wood and no chance of the galvanize on the metal conduit staining the wood. Nice job!!


----------



## happy_budah (Jan 1, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


great job, did you ever get around to posting those extra photos? what did u use to attach the brackets with? what size screws?
thanks


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Oh dear, I can't remember, but screws went through the brackets into the side of the uprights. So, long enough to hold solidly.
What extra photos were you referring to? This was/is a series about my workshop and is always in progress.


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Nice work. It will save you a lot of room.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


----------



## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Julie, thanks for the extra info on the jig. It might be helpful if you added the dimension for the plywood pieces along the support stud, I'm sure its not super critical but might be easier than having to experiment.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Belg1960 - the plywood pieces are cut from a square that is 14.25" on all four sides.
So you get two identical pieces when you make the cut which leaves 1.5" on the short side of the "triangle." 
The other ???? side would work out to about 12.75" minus the saw kerf.
Hope this helps.


----------



## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Julie, my rookie status is showing thru again. Thank you, Pat


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


That's okay Pat, I appreciate the questions and I like to help. Many woodworkers have helped me along the way, so I'm just trying to do my part.
If you make a lumber rack please post photos!


----------



## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


I like this. A lot. Was thinking of turning 2x's sideways and drilling holes so the supports could be moved up and down. And your "curveless" supports look fine. Pretty official, actually.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Kelly, I'm sure you could make it adjustable. I had to take mine down because I moved, but it's waiting to be put back up somewhere in my new shop I'm working on.


----------



## tomted62 (Nov 29, 2015)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


This is AWESOME!! Started mine today. Thanks so much for sharing!!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Lumber Rack *
> 
> Planks on the Floor,
> Planks on the Floor,
> ...


Quite the coincidence that you started one today, tomted62. I just (one year later) got mine out of storage and brought it to my new shop today! Hope yours turns out great!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Cleats - Getting things on the wall*

Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.

Here's the wall where the racks will go, in my front assembly room:










I am using the French Cleat system and will have two rows of cleats on three walls of the shop. They are attached with screws every 16", where the studs are under the OSB. My cleats are painted white, the same colour as the shop walls, that way they don't stand out:










I have a rack that is made for screwdrivers. I drilled holes along a piece of scrap maple, then cut a dado in another piece of scrap to fit this piece. It is then glued and screwed in from the back, with a cleat attached.










Since I had a magnet strip for holding chisels and assorted tools, I just screwed that strip into a maple board and attached a cleat.










I don't have a lot of clamps, but what I have always seemed to be on the floor somewhere… no more! I set my clamps on wood pieces to see how much space I would need around them. My Bessey's need more room side to side than my F clamps. The clamp racks are made on a slight angle upwards so that the clamps don't slip off:










To make the slots I just used a system similar to making box joints on a table saw, easily done:










I also decided on a pegboard rack. I had a piece of pegboard so I made the frame to match the size that I already had. The frame has a rabbet on the front face to hold the pegboard. Screws are put in around the edges:










It can hold all sorts of things with the different hooks you can buy:









Here are the racks as they currently sit, but they are easily moved around:









Today I am working on finishing up two bookcases to hold all my woodworking magazines and books. They will also go on the cleats. I will post them in a few days, when finished.

I didn't go into much detail, because cleats have been done here many times, but I will gladly give directions, sizes, etc. if anyone asks.

...to be continued…


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cleats - Getting things on the wall*
> 
> Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.
> 
> ...


Very good system Julie. The more flexible a shop is the more efficient and comfortable to work in. You've made a great start there. I wish I had done that when I built my shop.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cleats - Getting things on the wall*
> 
> Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.
> 
> ...


Hi Julie,
Thats really nice, and I like that you keep the wall and wall mount white.
I have decided to make me a whole bunch of little toolcabinets, that can be easily transportet, and then hung on the wall the same way as your system, so I'm happy to see it in reality (I have now metal plate, and find it not a match for old tools).
Here you can see my little toolcabinet made of a old winebox.
Thank you for sharing.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cleats - Getting things on the wall*
> 
> Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.
> 
> ...


http://lumberjocks.com/projects/29996
Ups here are the link.


----------



## jerusalemcarpentress (Feb 8, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cleats - Getting things on the wall*
> 
> Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.
> 
> ...


It looks beautiful. Wow-2 bookcases of WW literature?! Can you post the photos of the filled shelves when you're done?


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Cleats - Getting things on the wall*
> 
> Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.
> 
> ...


Thanks all for the comments. Nice use of the wine boxes Mafe.

Oh Naomi, they're not that big. They will hang on the cleats so I didn't want to make them too large in case they became too heavy. They are each 30" tall by about 24" wide, with one fixed shelf. I really should have made more than 2 because I think they will be filled up almost immediately. I have a lot of old woodworking magazines that will be housed there.


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cleats - Getting things on the wall*
> 
> Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.
> 
> ...


Per usual Julie, you not only do nice work, but you create a great story line to boot! The cleat system is a great idea - the mobility of it allows for flexibility as your shop evolves. I went the peg board route in my shop. http://lumberjocks.com/hjt/workshop


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Cleats - Getting things on the wall*
> 
> Time to get supplies, especially clamps arranged and off the floor. I got my ideas from a few woodworking magazines that I have.
> 
> ...


Hang in there LOL good job


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*

It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
(see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)

For inspiration I used a cupboard in a magazine article, but changed the plans slightly. I wanted to have two cupboards to hold my woodworking related books and magazines. The article I saw had a moveable shelf, but I figured a fixed center shelf would be more solid and hold the heavy books better. Of course, it's always easier to make two at a time, because of all the setups, so I did just that.

For my needs, the cupboards will be 30" tall, which will allow me to hold books on the middle and bottom shelves. The depth will be about 12", and width about 24".

My plan was for pine frames around two plywood panels for each side and pine frames around a piece of plexi-glass for each of the two doors which meet in the middle. This meant I needed 8 stiles for each cupboard and 10 rails.

The backs will be 1/4" pine and the top, bottom and middle fixed shelf with be 1/2" plywood trimmed on the front raw edges with pine.

The four side stiles and four top and bottom rails on each cupboard need 1/4" grooves to hold the plywood panels.

























The top and bottom rails:








The middle rails on the sides would need to have a groove on both the top and bottom edge to accept plywood. They also will have tenons to fit into the grooves on the stiles:










Because the plexi is only about 1/8" thick, the door stiles and rails need a 1/8" groove to hold those plexi pieces. But… 1/8" is really not thick enough for the tenons, so at each end of the stiles, the groove is widened to 1/4" to accept the tenons on the rails.



















The next three photos show the side pieces quite clearly (I hope!)

























... to be continued…


----------



## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*
> 
> It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
> (see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)
> ...


This is like a cliffhanger episode! Cut off in mid-plot! Looks like they will be great cabinets…


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*
> 
> It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
> (see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)
> ...


If I read this right the backs are 1/4 pine ? are the cabinets going to hang on the backs.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*
> 
> It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
> (see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)
> ...


Steve, sorry about the cliffhanger, I've been very busy and limited with computer time. 
Jim,my concerns were the same as yours, that I could not just screw a cleat to a 1/4" piece of pine to hold the heavy filled cupboard. The magazine article did not explain how the cleat was firmly attached to hold the weight. My cabinet's cleats are attached to the back, the sides and the top, as well as an interior piece that can be screwed through the cabinet cleat and into the wall cleat. I am hoping that will be strong enough. What would you have done?


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*
> 
> It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
> (see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)
> ...


If your cleat connects to the sides as well you should be fine Julie as long as the side connections are good and solid.


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*
> 
> It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
> (see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)
> ...


Very interesting how you think this stuff through. I'm too new to think of or know this type of stuff. Wish there was someone local I could work with to learn.

In the last three photos, you state that the photos are of the doors. It that the door or side panels? I'm having a hard time discerning.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*
> 
> It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
> (see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)
> ...


Hi Harold, where are you? Do you want to visit and do some woodworking here? 
The side panels are frame and panel, but the doors are framed plexiglass. I think you probably can see that more clearly in the next installment, part 2.


----------



## DAWG (Oct 23, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 1 of 3)*
> 
> It's time to post my cupboards I made to put books and magazines in, that will hang on the cleats in my shop.
> (see Workshop Build #17: Cleats- Getting things on the wall)
> ...


Looks nice Julie, all those rails and stiles reminds me of my shop last year when I made my two daughters a dresser and nightstand apiece. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Cupboards on cleats (part 2 of 3)*

To continue the cupboard building, the 7 parts of the sides are glued together:










Here are all four sides, for the two cupboards, propped up against the workshop wall:









To accept the back piece, a 1/4" rabbet is run down the back of the stile:









The top and bottom are to be 1/2" plywood, so a 1/4" wide dado is cut 1/4" down from the top and bottom of each side piece:









A 14" wide dado is also cut in the center of the middle rail to accept the center fixed shelf:









The top and bottom plywood pieces are rabbeted on each end to fit into the dado cut in the sides. There is also a rabbet along the back edge to allow the plywood back to sit into the top and bottom:









The cabinet box is glued up with the top, bottom and middle shelf plywood sitting 1/4" back from the front to allow for a solid front edging to cover the plywood layers:









One glued up box without the back yet attached:









The doors are glued up with a top and bottom rail and stile on each side with plexiglass as the panel. Here are all four doors with a few coats of wipe-on polyurethane: 









A top view of the joints in the doors:









...to be continued…


----------



## hooky (Apr 25, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 2 of 3)*
> 
> To continue the cupboard building, the 7 parts of the sides are glued together:
> 
> ...


cool looking doors

Hooky


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 2 of 3)*
> 
> To continue the cupboard building, the 7 parts of the sides are glued together:
> 
> ...


Good job on the Doors Julie


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 2 of 3)*
> 
> To continue the cupboard building, the 7 parts of the sides are glued together:
> 
> ...


Nice job on the doors.


----------



## ratchet (Jan 12, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 2 of 3)*
> 
> To continue the cupboard building, the 7 parts of the sides are glued together:
> 
> ...


Looks like its really coming together nicely. Any twist/movement on the doors after glue up?


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 2 of 3)*
> 
> To continue the cupboard building, the 7 parts of the sides are glued together:
> 
> ...


Julie - just how long have you been into wood working? You do such a good job. Each project I've seen is so inspiring. Is this a hobby or profession? I hope to get there some day, but at this time of my life, I simply put the "rough" in "rough carpentry!" Measure 4, 5 times, cut once… buy more lumber. Looking forward to the next installment.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 2 of 3)*
> 
> To continue the cupboard building, the 7 parts of the sides are glued together:
> 
> ...


Hi Ratchet
The doors haven't twisted… yet. Do you think they might? I did put some glue in the slots with the plexi.

Hi Harold
Thanks for the kind words. I am trying hard to make this into a profession, but the buyers haven't found me yet!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*

Time to finish off this cupboard blog.

Here is the cupboard with a few coats of wipe-on poly on it:









Here is the top joint, a dado-rabbet. It's kind of rough looking, but will be covered with the piano hinge so I wasn't as fussy as I normally would be.










This shows the back rabbet that will hold the piece of 1/4" plywood. I put the poly on the piece before I put the back on. That way I could poly the big flat piece of plywood without shelf interference, as well as do the inside of the cupboard and get in the corners easier.










I attached a cleat to the back that was screwed into the top plywood edge and the side edge of the stiles. Before I put the doors on, I just had to try and hang it on the cleats (you all know how that is):










The doors were attached with piano hinges:









I added a piece of plywood on the inside at the top, that I screwed into the cleat and when the cupboard was hung, I screwed right through the plywood inner piece into the wall cleat. Hopefully that holds the weight of this heavy cupboard when it is loaded with books.

This is before I attached the inner piece:









This is with the inner piece added and screwed into the wall cleat:


















Ta da!!


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


hey Julie
This is a great job .This should really help with storage.


----------



## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


Now that is some really nice work there, especially for a workshop… It's great to see that sort of attention to detail. Honestly, your locking rabbet joints are cleaner than mine so far. But that's user error on my part…


----------



## Howie (May 25, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


Very nice Julie. Nice clean look.


----------



## hooky (Apr 25, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


what a wonderful job

are you sure your not building kitchen cabinets

hooky


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


looking good Julie

Dennis


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


A job well done, ma'am! So what is next on the horizon? Your cleat idea for these and other items in your shop is a great one. It allows for growth and expansion down the road.


----------



## DAWG (Oct 23, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


Nice looking cabinets and it looks like you have plenty of space there. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## DAWG (Oct 23, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Cupboards on cleats (part 3 of 3)*
> 
> Time to finish off this cupboard blog.
> 
> ...


Wow!!! Just went back and read through all of your blogs about your shop being built. Brings back alot of memories of building my shop. Just like you and your husband I did everything but the concrete slab and mine also had to have plumbing, because we lived in it while we built our house. You were right about it being alot of work while working fulltime and my shop was a thirty minute drive from where I lived. But I wouldn't trade knowing I built it for the world, the whole experience was very rewarding as I'm sure you know. Well good luck as you finish preparing your shop and thanks for sharing you and your husbands adventure.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Strapping the outside*

Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.










Around the windows and across the bottom we used 1×4s.



















The back is a straight 40' width which is taking a lot of pieces!









Before we can do the front, we need to build up a bit of the front small roof and deck posts. We haven't quite figured out if the strapping needs to go first, or the roof trusses. We'll start the front posts and see where it leads us. That will be in the next blog posting.

...to be continued…


----------



## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


I am envious, not just of the shop but also of the work to do to have the shop! I enjoy the blog, thank you.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


all this look like so much hard work… not sure I would be able to handle something like this - more power to you!


----------



## jimp (Feb 7, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


Thank you for taking the time to put this blog together.

Since I don't know that much about the construction field, why does someone put strapping on the outside of a building? Thanks!


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


I'm not familiar with the term 'strapping' Jim, but I'm assuming it is the vertical wood strips that the siding will be nailed to. Their purpose is to hold the siding away from the wall to allow airflow to keep everything dry in order to prevent rot.

I'm not a professional builder, but it seems logical to me to at least put up the truss supports on the wall so they can be placed without interference from the strapping. That way you could still use a ladder to get the rest of the strapping installed before putting the trusses in.

All this is valid only if I'm understanding the terminology and the problem correctly. You will probably get some advice from a professional builder before long anyway, in which case you will of course just ignore my advice.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


I've never seen anyone apply firring to the outside of a building , The house wrap is engineered to let moisture out but not in so I don't see any need for this approach to siding . Since you have gone this route I don't believe it will hurt either.


----------



## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


well i think this must be one of those owner preferences…it seems like over kill to me and not necessary , but its your place…a lot of work putting on this strapping…but im sure it will look just great when your all done…sure would like to see the inside of the shop…is it set up…


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


I agree, it does seem like over kill, but most people here do it, to help with airflow. It certainly would have saved a lot of work as well as money to not have the strapping. However I do think it will be easier to attach siding to the strapping rather than the OSB.

I believe we will strap under the struss supports, lots still to do… stay tuned!

P.S. Grizz - you can see some photos of the inside if you read some old blog postings, the rest is in progress.


----------



## jimp (Feb 7, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Strapping the outside*
> 
> Time to think about putting up the siding on the garage/workshop. First we need to strap it.
> The siding will be horizontal so we used vertical 1×3's screwed into the OSB every 16" OC.
> ...


Thanks for everyone who answered my question!!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Tools on cleats*

I need to make some tool holders to get my tools a place of there own, where I know they are when I need them. I am going to make them so that they are able to hang on cleats, which I already have in part of my shop.

I found a picture in Woodsmith magazine showing a way to hold tools. There were no plans, but it looked easy enough to make my own without how-to instructions.

I wanted to hold three tools for now, my battery powered drill, my electric drill and my jigsaw. To figure out what size to make the parts, I laid the tools on some plywood to see how much room they took up.

My battery powered Dewalt drill with battery pack:









My electric Dewalt drill:









My Bosch jigsaw:









I decided on a 10" x 10" square of plywood for the base to hold each tool.

For the battery powered drill, I needed two holes in the base, one to hold the drill and one for the plug of the battery pack to hang through:










For the electric drill, just one hole was needed, the cord would sit beside the drill on the base:









For the jigsaw, a small hole for the blade to poke through, the cord would sit beside the jigsaw:









The sides are about 10 1/2" tall and would be angled down in a triangular shape. I used the mitre gauge on my tablesaw to cut two sides from one piece of plywood:









One small corner was cut off to make the side:









The bottom edge of the side was rabbeted to allow the bottom base piece to sit into it. Closeup:









Another view:









The back fit into the sides, by that I mean the base was shorter than the side pieces. This allowed the back to fit between the sides.

















Each holder was glued and nailed together, coated with shellac, and had a cleat screwed to the top back:









The finished battery powered drill holder:









The finished electric drill holder:









The finished jigsaw holder (extra blades hang off the cleat's screw):









The trio:









I will probably move them all from the finishing room to another area of the shop where they are more likely to be used, but I don't have cleats ready there yet, so they'll stay here until that time.

... to be continued…


----------



## hairy (Sep 23, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Tools on cleats*
> 
> I need to make some tool holders to get my tools a place of there own, where I know they are when I need them. I am going to make them so that they are able to hang on cleats, which I already have in part of my shop.
> 
> ...


Nice work,Julie! You made it look easy. I need to get going and get organized , my shelf system is effective, but crude.

I can't make a project without taking pictures. That wasn't the case before I started hanging around here.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Tools on cleats*
> 
> I need to make some tool holders to get my tools a place of there own, where I know they are when I need them. I am going to make them so that they are able to hang on cleats, which I already have in part of my shop.
> 
> ...


well done Jule.


----------



## DAWG (Oct 23, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Tools on cleats*
> 
> I need to make some tool holders to get my tools a place of there own, where I know they are when I need them. I am going to make them so that they are able to hang on cleats, which I already have in part of my shop.
> 
> ...


Great idea, looks very neat and organized and it will really make working in your shop more fun.


----------



## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Tools on cleats*
> 
> I need to make some tool holders to get my tools a place of there own, where I know they are when I need them. I am going to make them so that they are able to hang on cleats, which I already have in part of my shop.
> 
> ...


Hi Julie: Very Nice Work & Organization!

I'm in the process of doing the same thing and have just started to build the "Power Tool Holder" as shown below.

I got these plans a year or so ago from, I know not where at this point. Thought I'd send them along if they might be of some use. I'm going to "Favorite" Yours as I think they will come in Handy.

Thanks for Posting

Rick

EDIT: I just noticed that you are from "Way Up There"...LOL…and I'm from "Way Down Here",in Aurora, Ontario.


----------



## Wood_Chuck (Feb 19, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Tools on cleats*
> 
> I need to make some tool holders to get my tools a place of there own, where I know they are when I need them. I am going to make them so that they are able to hang on cleats, which I already have in part of my shop.
> 
> ...


Nicely done!


----------



## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Tools on cleats*
> 
> I need to make some tool holders to get my tools a place of there own, where I know they are when I need them. I am going to make them so that they are able to hang on cleats, which I already have in part of my shop.
> 
> ...


Having a handy home for commonly used tools saves a lot of time, good job!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*The Front Porch*

Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:










Now, how to get that front porch on there? We had two large cement post holders put 13 feet apart when we did the garage pour. These have saddles set into them to hold 6" x 6" posts. We wanted the porch roof to have the same slope as the whole roof, so we had to figure out the length the posts would need to be to make the roof come at the right location above the door and light.










We are only 5' out from the front of the building, so need to run horizontal supports that distance to the front wall. We also decided to put a 2" x 6" horizontally attached to the front and one to the back of the 6" x 6" posts.










The roof rafters will meet at a center ridge and have a slight notch (bird's mouth) cut to sit on the side pieces. We used a temporary ridge support to aid in construction.









The ends of the rafters are covered with a fascia board.










Of course both sides were done to match:









Wolmanized plywood was added to the top, which will be covered with the same green steel roofing used for the garage/workshop:









It was my job to make the design on the front:









Looks pretty much like the original sketch!









Now, we need to finish up some of the strapping and order the siding.

... to be continued…


----------



## recoverydata (Aug 9, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


Hi there,
This nice sketch helps to any people who want to build houses and workshop. Can you provide me some other type of sketch that are differ from these one?
Thanks
Regards
data recovery services
http://www.datadoctor.biz


----------



## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


What a great looking shop you have got to be dying to get it all done and setup. It looks very close to the drawing. I am all envious now.


----------



## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


As I said before, SWEET! And I am still jealous!


----------



## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


I'm drooling here Julie, a stand alone shop is every LJ's dream…You are living the dream, enjoy and stay safe…Blkcherry


----------



## Bluebear (Jun 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


stunning! you did that on your own!  it's not often the original sketch resembles the final outcome, good job!

gives me a lot of inspiration. thanks for sharing, look forward to following this project


----------



## fernandoindia (May 5, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


Hey Julie,

Something wrong is happening.
Outcome is exactly the same as the sketch. You still have time to mess it up. !!

Every once and then I also need to tackle such kind of heavy and hard work.

Great looking , splendid job


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


That looks good.


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *The Front Porch*
> 
> Here is a sketch I made a few years ago before the building of our workshop/garage:
> 
> ...


Such an inspiration. Did you draw that (pen and paper) or was that done with Goggle Sketch-up? I can not draw to save my life, and have down loaded Sketch up but have yet to figure that program out


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Wall - Mounted Bins*

I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.

Some people suggested buying plastic bins, others said use jars or bags. I had a plan in a magazine full of shop storage and tool cabinets put out by the Woodsmith/Shop Notes people and so I decided to make my own.

Unfortunately I felt like one of Santa's elves with the assembly line of parts. It seemed to take forever to make all the bins!










Here's a quick tutorial of what I did.

The plan called for sides of the bins to be made out of hardboard. I saw some pre-finished one side with white (melamine?) covering that was only a few cents more than the plain stuff, so went with that. I figured the outsides of the bins could be white and look nice against my white walls of the shop.

I would make as many bins as I could using the hardboard for the sides which were 7 3/4" for the large bins and 3 3/4" for the smaller ones. I found I could get 19 small bins and 12 large ones out of my hardboard piece.

The side pieces came from strips of hardboard ripped the length of the bins. Then I used my mitre saw to angle the pieces.










For some reason I thought I was getting two mirror images for each side of one bin, but I really was getting two of the same piece. This would not matter if I had not bought the one-side finished hardboard. But, by the time I realized that I wasn't getting a left and a right, I had cut half of them, so I ended up with some of the larger bins sides which would have the inside finished white. Not the original plan!

After removing my palm from my forehead I figured I would have to paint the outsides of the ones I had cut wrong. Crap.










The next step was to cut the bottoms and backs out of 1/2" plywood. The backs for the large and small bins are the same size, the bottoms are (of course) larger on the larger bins.










The fronts were cut from 3/4" pine, again the larger bins had larger fronts.










Next a rabbet was cut on the sides of the fronts. This would accept the hardboard sides, so was the width of the hardboard.










Another rabbet is cut on the bottom of the front to accept the bottom 1/2" plywood.









A dovetail bit was used to make a slot for holding a label, on the fronts of each bin. (The L shaped piece of wood is just a jig to help pushing the front pieces through the router)


















All pieces were sanded and then it was time for assembly. The back plywood sits on top of the bottom piece, the front sits with the rabbet over the bottom plywood. Then the side goes on over that. I used glue as well as small nails to assemble these.










I had 31 of these to assemble, which took much longer than I thought it would. Please remind me in the future not to make 31 of anything.










I put a few coats of shellac on everything, which I find makes things shed off dust better and looks prettier.

Now, where to hang them? Initially I was going to put my bins on the cleats in my shop but I realized if I did that, because of the way they hang from rails, I would have to put the rails first on a backing of plywood or something similar, and then they would stick out further from the wall. So, I decided to take down part of one of my wall cleats and attach the bins rails directly to the wall.










That didn't hurt too much!









The bins hang from rails that are 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" with a rabbet in the bottom back edge to hold the bins. I made four rails at 36" long. (Plus I made a bottom rail without a rabbet)









Each rail is screwed into the wall at the joists, with 4 5/8" between them, this is important because the bins actually sit on the rail below.


















Now I have to fill them and make the labels. Hopefully this helps keep things organized.

Thanks for reading
...to be continued…


----------



## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


Definitely on my favorites.


----------



## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


great project, congrats on persevering through it all; I probably would have quit after making 2….


----------



## bigbuddha (Aug 2, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


nice job Julie!


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


Those are very nice. All of mine are plastic store bought bins but if I waited for me to build any I would never have any bins. I seem to never have enough bins. Great job.


----------



## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


cool idea! everything is always so much easier when things are organized!! Another way to do it would have been to use french cleats to hang the bins on the wall (that might have saved you some time). thanks for posting!


----------



## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


Julie

they have come out great think you have made my mind up for my next big workshop overhaul

Andy


----------



## DenverDave (Aug 6, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


Nice job!


----------



## MickeyGee (Jun 23, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


Really looks nice - a whole lot of work but you'll definitely be keeping organized!


----------



## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


Very nice


----------



## Bluebear (Jun 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


definitely will be using this for inspiration one day. you can always add more rows as your needs progress 
very cool.


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Wall - Mounted Bins*
> 
> I posted a question in the forum section here two months ago asking what others did for organizing all their screws, hooks, etc. in their shops.
> 
> ...


Julie as I read your opening paragraphs, the 2nd paragraph you state "...so I decided to make my own." I just had to smile and shake my head. I'd expect nothing less from you. Of course you'd make your own. Wow - what a project. I would have to imagine 31 of these would take a lot of time.


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Starting the Siding*

Finally the siding is going to be put on the workshop. We decided on vinyl so that there wouldn't be a need for continuous upkeep such as painting or staining. The colour is called Weathered Wood and looked greyish with some green in it, in the store sample, but appears more grey/blue in reality.

The first step is to put the corner pieces on (ours are white), and J trim around the doors: 









Then the bottom strips go on:










The siding hooks to the bottom strips and fits between the corner piece and the J trim:









Our windows have a J trim built in to them, but we needed to shim out along the bottom of the window so the siding didn't just flop in there. It goes up quite quickly, really:









Still more to do, but it's a good start!








...to be continued…


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Starting the Siding*
> 
> Finally the siding is going to be put on the workshop. We decided on vinyl so that there wouldn't be a need for continuous upkeep such as painting or staining. The colour is called Weathered Wood and looked greyish with some green in it, in the store sample, but appears more grey/blue in reality.
> 
> ...


looks great, thanks for the posts, inspiring to say the least!


----------



## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Starting the Siding*
> 
> Finally the siding is going to be put on the workshop. We decided on vinyl so that there wouldn't be a need for continuous upkeep such as painting or staining. The colour is called Weathered Wood and looked greyish with some green in it, in the store sample, but appears more grey/blue in reality.
> 
> ...


yes this looks great…i would love to be able to have real wood on my whole house, but reality says…upkeep would be way to much…so your final decision to do vinyl is a good one and it looks great too..


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Starting the Siding*
> 
> Finally the siding is going to be put on the workshop. We decided on vinyl so that there wouldn't be a need for continuous upkeep such as painting or staining. The colour is called Weathered Wood and looked greyish with some green in it, in the store sample, but appears more grey/blue in reality.
> 
> ...


Everything is coming along great. It will be a very nice shop.


----------



## hjt (Oct 22, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Starting the Siding*
> 
> Finally the siding is going to be put on the workshop. We decided on vinyl so that there wouldn't be a need for continuous upkeep such as painting or staining. The colour is called Weathered Wood and looked greyish with some green in it, in the store sample, but appears more grey/blue in reality.
> 
> ...


It's coming along!!!


----------



## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Finishing the Siding*

Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?

The siding is on the workshop, so the outside is mostly complete. I just need to make a small front deck that will sit on the ground in front of my door.

The sides were done (see previous blog post) but we had to do the back of the shop, which is a huge wall, 40' long. The good thing is there are no windows there, so the bottom part went on quickly.










We rented scaffolding from the Home Depot in order to be able to get the higher pieces put up. My husband did all the high work, I cut angled pieces and handed them up to him.









When the back was done we switched to the front.



















We had to work around the porch roof angles on the top and underneath.


















We put matching green steel roofing on the small roof the same as there is on the workshop.










It's nice to be finished, especially since it's getting colder and snow is most likely on the way soon.


















...to be continued…


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


That is one great shop building and you are doing a wonderful job on it.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


That will be a very nice place to work especially when winter hits!


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


Coming along great. Color me green with envy!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


Wow… The outside pics with the leaves changing colors are gorgeous…

That shops is going to turn out to be someplace special I suspect…


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


this has turned out to be a wonderful shop julie…the cats meow if you ask me…ive got my own detached shop and have loved it…heated with a wood stove…but most other folks are in garages or small areas…so a place like this is an envy for most…enjoy it…lets see a picture of the wood stove fired up and some hot chocolate brewing…thanks for the great photo's…grizzman


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## DenverDave (Aug 6, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


Looks like it will be a great place to work. Good job!


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## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


Beautiful shop, wish I had something that size!

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL


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## Splinterman (Mar 13, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


Hey Julie,
Looking real good…nice job.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Finishing the Siding*
> 
> Why do things always take longer to do than we think they will?
> 
> ...


Julie; great blog and good to see another northerner on the LJ's. You've given me a lot of ideas for my own shop. My wife and I have 27 acres just outside of Thunder Bay, that we hope someday to build on, which will of course have to include my own dream shop.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Trimming the workshop windows*

I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.









I chose pine to trim the windows with because it's my favourite and the shop cupboards and router table I made are pine.The vinyl clad windows were inserted from the outside and nailed into place through their flanges which are now under the siding. They were also screwed into the framing from the sides to keep them firmly in place.

This is what they looked like from the inside, before being finished. There are three windows along the east side of the building.









Here is one of the sad looking windows, unfinished:









The first thing to do is make the jambs, this is the wood that fills in the framed area, not the part that sits on the wall, but perpendicular to it. These windows are made with a groove that holds the jamb so that the wood fits into it… who knew?









The great part about having a planer is that you can make your wood exactly the thickness you need it. I planed mine down to about 3/4" thick so that it would fit perfectly in the grooves the window had built in.









This is how the sill will fit into the groove when it's finished:









I decided on having a sill that extended past the outside of the window trim or casing by 1". Because of this, the sill piece has to be cut to fit into the groove as well as on the wall. You can see it here at the bottom:









Here's a close up, the window casing is 3 1/4" wide, so the "finger" on the sill extending out has to go past where the casing will sit by 1". It also is wider than the side and top jamb pieces, to allow the side casings to sit on it.









I also used the same trim style on my interior window which I blogged about earlier:









The side jambs will sit between the top and bottom pieces, of course everything has to measured precisely. 









The previous photos show a trial fit with unfinished wood. Since I was trimming three windows and two doorways, I had a lot of pieces to cut and finish. I coated all pieces with five coats of wipe-on polyurethane.









I'll post the finished project tomorrow or the next day… have to get back to the shop…


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## MayflowerDescendant (Oct 9, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows*
> 
> I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.
> 
> ...


Julie,

Great work! Projects like this really "dresses" up the shop / gives it the finished look. I'm sure it fills you with pride everytime you knock a project like this off your list. Nice touch on that extending "finger" / lip. Bravo!!


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## grunt62 (Feb 12, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows*
> 
> I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.
> 
> ...


Very nice. Keep posting about your progress.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows*
> 
> I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.
> 
> ...


Looks real good Julie. Are you intending to put some insulation around those widow frames?


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## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows*
> 
> I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.
> 
> ...


Julie buy a couple cans of expanding foam. The void there will spit cold/hot air. When we replaced the windows in our 1950s house we sealed all the voids with foam and what a difference it makes.


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## KenFitz (May 21, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows*
> 
> I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.
> 
> ...


Nice work Julie. Been working on my shop for a year now and still haven't trimmed my new windows. Thanks for reminding me that I have to finish mine. You are doing a great job. Please post more as you finish.


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows*
> 
> I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.
> 
> ...


Windows have changed, that groove is nice feature when building out jambs.
Just a "Reminder." When using foam to seal up the cracks, there is a specific foam for doors and windows. The regular expanding foam WILL bow out your nice work !


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows*
> 
> I haven't posted here in a long time, and finally I'm getting around to finishing my interior windows. On and off over the past few months I've been working on them. The front room windows had already been done by me a couple years ago. This is the south side, and where I enter my shop.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the comments, I will post the second part in a few minutes.

I didn't use foam, but pink insulation. My experience with foam is that it (as canadianships says) expands too much for a job like this.

Ken - go finish your windows!!!


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Trimming the workshop windows part 2*

The jambs are attached first, this shows the bottom sill and the side jamb:










When the jambs are nailed in, they have to have shims put in between them and the framing, to keep everything level and perpendicular. I also had to add some insulation in the space.










Next I put on the 3 1/4" wide side casings, all are 1/2" thick. Note that casings sit back from the jambs about 1/8" - 1/4", something I didn't know until I researched how to trim windows.










Here you can see how the side casing sits on the bottom sill:










For the top frame piece I glued a 1" wide piece of pine perpendicular to the top piece:










The top piece lines up with the outer edges of the side casings and gives a trim style that is different from the usual mitred corners.










The final piece is the bottom apron that sits below the sill and also lines up with the outer edges of the side casings.










The finished window:










Now I just need to make doors for two openings!

... to be continued…


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## jm8 (Jan 26, 2012)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows part 2*
> 
> The jambs are attached first, this shows the bottom sill and the side jamb:
> 
> ...


Looks great!


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows part 2*
> 
> The jambs are attached first, this shows the bottom sill and the side jamb:
> 
> ...


coming out nice julie

after many like the ones you are making
and shimming and twisting boards one by one into level and square
i came up with making them on the workbench
i measure accurately and make my dimensions 1/16" to 1/8" smaller
from the rough opening to the outside dimension of the casing
and cut all parts and assemble square and even
and finishing them first

i can make four in the time it takes to do one piece by piece
and nail and glue and clamp them together first
and they are all square and plumb
like for the doors or shutters you need to make









all the insulation and caulking is done first
to the window and rough opening









then just slide them in and finish nail them to the sides
i can drive the nails through
with a slim straight punch 
and remove them later if needed









i do my face trim simple too
the tops and bottoms are 3/4" 
and the sides 5/8" all rounder where needed with a 1/8th round over bit
so there is no 'v' gap to mess with









but any stile would work this way 
and are much easier to finish first
even spraying works just fine outside


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows part 2*
> 
> The jambs are attached first, this shows the bottom sill and the side jamb:
> 
> ...


David, I did premake the jamb frame for my first window in the front finishing room. That window did not have the same grooves as these three I just did. I don't believe your window has the grooves for the jambs to fit into. You have to be extremely precise when you have the grooves PLUS I had the bottom ledge which came out past the wall and had the fingers extended. I found for those reasons it was better to do my trimming the way I did. I do agree, for a window without the grooves, or where you don't want to use them, your way works best.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows part 2*
> 
> The jambs are attached first, this shows the bottom sill and the side jamb:
> 
> ...


that's the problem with construction renovation
many things are not constant
lot's of fiddling at times
it keeps one on their toes


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## rob2 (Nov 27, 2007)

followyourheart said:


> *Trimming the workshop windows part 2*
> 
> The jambs are attached first, this shows the bottom sill and the side jamb:
> 
> ...


Wow beautiful!!! Wish my garage shop had windows.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

*Leaving my fabulous shop!*

After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.

I've written a bit about the building of my workshop, but really haven't shown any inside photos.

My husband and I built a 40' x 40' garage for both of us. The whole building has in-floor heat which is wonderful to work in, especially in Northern Ontario winters. The cement floor keeps the building cool in the summer as well, which is a bonus.

My side of the building is half at 20' wide x 40' deep and was designed by me as a woodworking workshop. My workshop is the right hand side of this photo:










Because of the type of woodworking I do, and the way I work, the positioning of the tools was done in an efficient way for me to work.

Doorway 2 is the middle door from the garage side of the building. I buy rough wood and bring it in through this doorway and to the left on to the lumber rack. When I am going to make something I take the wood first to the mitre saw, then to the jointer, the planer and the tablesaw. This keeps me working in a counter-clockwise manner through the shop. It works for me!










Doorway 1 is the door to the front finishing room. I do most of my painting in there as well as designing and sometimes gluing. I keep my woodworking books in the front room as well as small hand tools. This is my front room:



















And this is the larger workshop room:




























I am in the process of packing all this up. I'm taking my shop cabinets and lumber rack as well as all my tools. We are moving 1,000 miles to Prince Edward Island at the end of October. There is no garage or shop at our new house, so if all goes well we will start building in the spring.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


It's not hard to see why you wouldn't want to leave it, that is really nice. Love that setting as well.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


Wow! Gonna be ruff leaving this place. Good luck with your move/build.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


I can easily see why you don't want to leave this shop behind. However, you are taking all of your tools and shop furniture and hopefully you'll have a new shop up by next summer. In any case I hope that the move goes well and that you enjoy your new home and life together.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Picklehead (Feb 12, 2013)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


Someday you will write the sentence that begins: "I thought I would never have another shop as fabulous as my one in Ontario, but . . . . . . ". I predict your next shop, since you're building it yourself (again!), will incorporate improvements based on your experience with this one! Best wishes and good luck in your new home.


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


Have you thought about divorcing your hubby and staying?? LOL!


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


well i know you have not said, but ill do it..WHY..would you leave this beautiful home and shop..


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


Oh my gosh that is so shocking that you have to leave your amazing shop,I remember your blog about you building it.
Shops a life does not make,but there great to have. Best of luck in your new location.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


We are leaving to lead a less stressful lifestyle. My husband's job was too much of that, and last fall had him out of town most of the week. With selling our house we can buy a much cheaper house, and much easier to maintain for us. It is just a complete change… something I believe in doing once in awhile. We will be married 10 years on the day we move. My life has been very difficult with my previous marriage… I could write a book… so I move farther away from the friction that can still bring. I seek Peace.









P.S. I don't even think the new buyer is a woodworker!


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


well your peace of mind and joy as a newer family is what's important….sad about the shop though…but its just wood and concrete….and we would be much happier here having a happy and peaceful Julie and her husband…i hope your new life is an exciting move….i read that its a agriculture island….maybe you can plant 50 acres of potato's and live happily ever after….will your husband be able to get a good job in this new place….hope so…im sure you have all the details worked out…...cheers…


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## Picklehead (Feb 12, 2013)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...





> P.S. I don t even think the new buyer is a woodworker!
> - ~Julie~


I don't think that matters a bit. You have built such a versatile structure that I'm sure many people with varied interests could find uses for it. I'm sure it made the property much more saleable.


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## English (May 10, 2014)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


I know your pain. 10 years ago I built a new shop in SC. Had it setup just the way I wanted it. Then I retired, six months later we lost our daughter, the house the shop the town had to many memories so we moved. After six months in the new home I new I had to have a shop. I built new and better. I Love my shop.

I can see with your love of your shop and woodworking you will build again. And most likely bigger and better. So hang in there. It may all be for the better.


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## DanKrager (Apr 13, 2012)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


That shop is just too [email protected]^%$# neat. It's long overdue to move outta there! The good news is that you get to redo some if not all the "mistakes" you learned in the first build. Some of us aren't that lucky, so we're just jealous. 
You've gotten some very good advice including pick one and don't worry about it. They are just tools, not children. Yes, it's nice to take good care of them, but don't stress over it. As Smitty's byline says, "Don't anthropomorphize your tools. They hate it when you do that!". They will work until you choose to replace them! No more OCD!
Good luck with your move!
DanK


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


I hope you find the Peace you deserve and I'm betting your new shop will be as nice as the one you are leaving. Enjoy the journey.


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## robscastle (May 13, 2012)

followyourheart said:


> *Leaving my fabulous shop!*
> 
> After building this beautiful shop, we are moving. Something I never anticipated when we built. But things happen and change is good. My shop is a shop to-die-for… I just LOVE it and I know I will never have another one this fabulous.
> 
> ...


OK here is my solution,

Ask a Locksmith to attend fit two new locks to doorway 1 and 2.
Whilst you are inside ask him to lock up and leave !!


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