My shop is a big peice of ugly crap

[Phil3]

Wow... At least you have some square footage, but I think you are living on borrowed time there. Snoop might be safer. My garage has limited space and I spent some time trying to figure out the best layout. One thing is that I try to make floor space do double duty as much as possible. The pathway through my garage also includes where I stand at the lathe. I am arranging the equipment, such as lathe, mill, bandsaw in a cube, accessible on three sides, with one side against a wall, where I can position tools (from wall or ceiling), reachable from two sides of the cube on a swivel mount (aimed at mill or lathe). This may not work best for you, but will work in my garage. Having frequently used tools ready at hand is better than a clear frequently used pathway to a remote tool box in my opinion. With limited space, I always try to go "up" w/tools and supplies, minimizing consumption of floor space. Regardless, all machinery and tooling needs to be instantly usable. Nothing worse that having to move crap just to use a tool!

- Phil

 

[GerryR]

You might consider getting one of those inexpensive steel buildings erected over what you have, leave the ends unfinished, take your old building down and remove it out the ends, then have the ends installed. You could then insulate, etc. and what is in the building will be shielded from most of the elements. I say most, as you can't do much about the two-legged elements that might walk with your goods, but that's what Snoop is for.

 

[Pauls77]

Why yes, yes it is.... but in some countries those is high-class digs ;-)

How's about one of those 20' shipping containers, at least as a temporary home, can be useable storage after you rebuild the main shop too. They fit your budget OK.

I got a guy across the way from me with three of them he uses for his mower repair shop, hot as hell in summer. I guess you can cut holes in them though.

Meanwhile, don't sneeze too hard & good luck.

PaulS

 

[Zigeuner]

Your shop looks similar to the little shed in which the Harleys and Davidsons first began to build their early motorcycles around 1903. Sadly, someone who was cleaning up the area for Harley-Davidson bulldozed it in error.

A steel building would be a good choice for you. Just put lots of reinforcement in the concrete.

 

[Zigeuner]

Hope is a good thing......that reminds me of that scene in "The Shawshank Redemption".

Tim Robbins' character, Andy Dufresne: [in a letter to his friend Red, played by Morgan Freeman] "Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

Keep smiling.

 

[TOOLNUT]

Shadow
My shop is pretty disorganized but nice and dry in an 21 x 24 addition to the back of my garage, which is also a mess.

How about if you built a cement block building, right around what you have now and later tearing out the old one left in the middle.. Perhaps you could lay the blocks yourself and save a few bucks. You would get the benefit of the cement floor (slab) and could just add around it later to fill out the new building floor. I think that with a bit more planning it could be done easier than tear down and rebuild. With modern ready made trusses and plywood, a roof would go up pretty fast, when you ripped the old one out. Would expose the tools to the weather for a shorter period too.

I used this method to add a second floor to my house., (no cement blocks up there though, it was wood ). Was able to manage it and still work 10 to 12 hours a day on my job. Took a long time to get it finished because of the work schedule, but did it with a minimum of outside help.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Jerry

 

[Wheels]

my house is nice other than the junk and that old building.

This is out back of your mansion just beyond the cement pond, right?