I Have been dreaming of a large workshop for a long time now.
In 2001 I bought my first home and fixed it up nice but only had a small 12'x20' attached garage that was pretty much a Joke to work in. I started with plans for a 30'X50'. I gathered a lot of material including trusses. But alas it was not to be because of my small .6 of an acre I just didn't have the room in my back yard. between a septic (yea stupid on .6 acre) and the fence line it just could not physically fit in the backyard(and be legal).
So I moved and ended up buying my parents old house with a large detached garage and a barn. I love it out here. My property is backed to my Dads 50 acres and my Grandfathers 250 acres. :grinpimp: But still no work space. The detached garage is nice but it's really low ceiling means I can't even pull my 05 Ram in to change the oil. :shaking: And the barn is a horse barn with small bays and a week loft. Great for storage but that's about it.
I made plans for a 40X60. I knew any smaller than that and I would out grow it quickly. I started getting a few bids for a building put up for me and I can admit I am a cheap bastard but 24K for a 40'X60' with no doors/insulation is just crazy. (IMO)
I went on the hunt for a set or trusses so I could build my own kit. I scowered Craigslist for months. I looked at several piles of shit that people were asking way to much money for in the process.:shaking:
While I waited on just the right deal to come around I started leveling off a spot in the field next to the house. But it wasnt quite big enuf...
Finally I came across the kit that I eventually came to own. A widower was selling this steel horse barn that her late husband never put up. I went to look at it and a lot of stuff was buried in the mud. But it was all there. I'm not going to say I got a real good deal but compared to a lot of crap I seen I snatched it up. And for the size I ended up with its hard to really compare a 96' building with a 60 footer.
Of corse with a bigger building I needed more material so I began a hunt for lumber. The kit I got was a covered arena so no sides were with the kit. and the lumber for the roof was wasted so I had a lot of board feet to come up with. Well I got damn lucky and ran in to a guy that had a bunk of 2"x8"s for Damn cheap and it was just about enuf for my roof. so I grabbed them as well.
So with a lot of 2x4s and 2x6s for my walls and a stack of wall tin I collected from an old shop roof I tore down I felt it was time to get to building!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Building specs
40' wide
96' long
12' inside walls
15' bottom of truss
2" angle iron trusses 17" over hang
6" I beam "post"
18" peirs 3-4' deep with 12" coming out of the dirt.
In 2001 I bought my first home and fixed it up nice but only had a small 12'x20' attached garage that was pretty much a Joke to work in. I started with plans for a 30'X50'. I gathered a lot of material including trusses. But alas it was not to be because of my small .6 of an acre I just didn't have the room in my back yard. between a septic (yea stupid on .6 acre) and the fence line it just could not physically fit in the backyard(and be legal).
So I moved and ended up buying my parents old house with a large detached garage and a barn. I love it out here. My property is backed to my Dads 50 acres and my Grandfathers 250 acres. :grinpimp: But still no work space. The detached garage is nice but it's really low ceiling means I can't even pull my 05 Ram in to change the oil. :shaking: And the barn is a horse barn with small bays and a week loft. Great for storage but that's about it.
I made plans for a 40X60. I knew any smaller than that and I would out grow it quickly. I started getting a few bids for a building put up for me and I can admit I am a cheap bastard but 24K for a 40'X60' with no doors/insulation is just crazy. (IMO)
I went on the hunt for a set or trusses so I could build my own kit. I scowered Craigslist for months. I looked at several piles of shit that people were asking way to much money for in the process.:shaking:
While I waited on just the right deal to come around I started leveling off a spot in the field next to the house. But it wasnt quite big enuf...
Finally I came across the kit that I eventually came to own. A widower was selling this steel horse barn that her late husband never put up. I went to look at it and a lot of stuff was buried in the mud. But it was all there. I'm not going to say I got a real good deal but compared to a lot of crap I seen I snatched it up. And for the size I ended up with its hard to really compare a 96' building with a 60 footer.
Of corse with a bigger building I needed more material so I began a hunt for lumber. The kit I got was a covered arena so no sides were with the kit. and the lumber for the roof was wasted so I had a lot of board feet to come up with. Well I got damn lucky and ran in to a guy that had a bunk of 2"x8"s for Damn cheap and it was just about enuf for my roof. so I grabbed them as well.
So with a lot of 2x4s and 2x6s for my walls and a stack of wall tin I collected from an old shop roof I tore down I felt it was time to get to building!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Building specs
40' wide
96' long
12' inside walls
15' bottom of truss
2" angle iron trusses 17" over hang
6" I beam "post"
18" peirs 3-4' deep with 12" coming out of the dirt.