Finally getting started on the new (to me) shop

[Beaudreaux JC]

I recently purchased a (new to me) home in the foothills of North Carolina. I've been wanting a dedicated shop space, one where I can grow my skills and have room to breathe. The home is a definite fixer upper, but came with a 20 year old ribbed steel building I'm in the process of updating and remodeling. I have a dedicated 100 amp electrical panel and the building is roughed in for plumbing. Of course the first task was to remove 20 years worth of snake skins and rat poop. I am pretty sure there are some insects here straight out of Aliens the movie, but a good cleaning and demo (week) has me well on the way.[attachimg=1]

 

[rst]

Nice, good for you, I finally have the shop I've been wanting for 50 years. 30 x 36 pole barn,they come next week to spray foam the entire interior next week, have to get power and water out there yet.

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

I understand the need for insulation and power. In the past few weeks, we've worked on the structure very hard (in between moving and relocating our home and horse). This is the original state of the shop[attachimg=1]

 

[rst]

This will be a great space...I see you have the necessary brain motivator in your Yeti..no intelligent life in this body without at least most of a pot of coffee

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

As I did demo, ripping out the poorly constructed room in the 11 o'clock position, two events happened. One, I found a squatter. It nearly caused heart failure when I opened up a drawer of the old workbench I was ripping out. [attachimg=1]

 

[rst]

Mouser...much better and more reliable than a cat

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

The second event, was mildly less traumatic. As I was ripping down the structure, I failed to notice all the debris and got caught in the avalanche of crappy construction. A few stitches later...and a lot of I told you so from the wife, and I was back in business.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

Regardless of the mousing ability, finding it and the corresponding assault on my manly pride (I screamed like a little girl), in front of my spouse was not nearly worth the lack of rodents. She promptly asked if she needed to catch it for me, further damaging and deflating my male ego. I donned welding gloves, pinned the head with a rather shaky 3 foot stabilla level, and proceeded to run from the shop (over my wife) with rather bemused snake in hand. The snake had no desire to fight, bite or otherwise molest me, however I felt much like the late Steve Irwin handling a boomslang. I'm still catching snide comments about that one.

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

So after the python attack, the avalanche of debris, and the corresponding stitches and tetanus shot, I decided to get serious. I rented a 8X20 mobile storage unit (once I was healed and could lift more than 5 lbs without bleeding) and proceeded to move all of the shop so I could work without tripping or falling or having items rain down on me as I balanced on a ladder.

Aftermath of the North Carolina debris avalanche of 2020.

View attachment 1

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

I rented a on site storage unit to store all the shop contents, giving me a relatively clean space to work in. I priced multiple companies, but in the end they were the cheapest with only a single delivery/pickup charge.

View attachment 1

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

So with the help of an awesome electrician, I started on the electrical. We added 4-240 circuits, including one dedicated to the dust collector and one for the air conditioner. We added box extensions for all of the outlets, to bring them up past the level of spray foam. I didn't want to bury the boxes or have to do the work on them after the foam went in.

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

adding outlets and garage contents removal. I pulled about 6 miles of new (solid) wire, remind me next time not to go cheap and buy the stranded wire. 10 and 12 gauge wire sucks through conduit. The electrician laughed at me, and said, you can have cheap, fast or good, so choose two. I appreciate his response more in hindsight.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

So last week, the magic really started to happen. All of the previous work was preparation for the good stuff. I had gotten several bids from multiple spray foam companies, but really liked one in particular. I live in a relatively remote area, about 45 minutes from anything so a contractor willing to give up his Friday afternoon to see and give a real bid was unusual.

The contractor showed up, did some real calculations and gave me some awesome advice and assistance. We made the deal, and work started on time, precisely as agreed. This was the end of a very long, hot day for him.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

He and his assistant worked for another 8 hours on day two, replacing a "set" of foam he was unhappy with. They did a great job sealing the space, and I am extremely happy with how uniform the thickness is. They had taped up all the unistrut I added for lighting, making removal quick and painless of foam overspray. In spite of the 95 degree heat, it was markedly cooler in the shop. [attachimg=1]

 

[serge0n]

Nice! Looks like it will be a great space for a shop. How big is this building and do you plan to cover walls and ceiling with something?
What about cooling, a split system or a traditional AC unit?

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

I'm adding a Mr Cool DIY 24000 split unit (DIY). The shop is 980 square feet, so hopefully the 2.5-3 inches of foam will allow the unit (rated to 1K square feet) to keep up in this heat. I had the electrician add the exterior box, and plan on finishing it up in the next couple of days, work and weather permitting.

I would have liked to cover the walls with ply to attach shelving etc but was very concerned about damaging the structure. It's basically a beer can, and I was concerned about weight causing damage. I'm going to go with freestanding cabinetry around the perimeter, with tool stations and suspended dust collection.

 

[Beaudreaux JC]

Nice, good for you, I finally have the shop I've been wanting for 50 years. 30 x 36 pole barn,they come next week to spray foam the entire interior next week, have to get power and water out there yet.

How did the spray foam go for you? Mine made a huge difference. My guy took his time, did it over the course of two days and I am very satisfied. I considered framing it in, and using bat insulation initially, but in hindsight I’m very pleased I didn’t.

 

[six-point socket II]

Glad I caught this thread, great material! Bookmarked. This is going to be a great shop for sure!

To be supportive, I would have screamed like a girl too, if I found a snake ... Definitely not for me. Snakes, .......... scare the living sh*t out of me. Even those that are more afraid of me, than I am of them ...

That insulation looks great.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[rst]

My shop is to foamed this coming Wednesday.  I took a day of to watch.  The company is planning to one day it as they are coming from an hour plus distance.

 

[sancho57]

Glad I caught this thread,

Wow looks like a nice set up, plenty of room to do what ya want.

Keep the photos coming we like shop build photos here