After the old gazebo gave up the ghost, it became apparent that I needed something else to keep the rain off my head and off of my projects. I had intended to get a portable building to put in the back yard if things didn’t go through with the house I was trying to buy. Well, it didn’t. It was because of a lawsuit brought against me a while back. We’re still early in the process but the lender wasn’t comfortable. Oh well.
So, I start investigating these portable buildings in earnest. It turns out, I couldn’t put one in my back yard if I wanted to. Go me.
However, there’s one possible outcome, and that’s to build it from scratch. I didn’t want to build it, but I fancy myself a woodworker. I should be able to build something, right? Right? Anyone? Yeah, I’m not real confident of my abilities on this one either. It’s a big job and I really don’t know what I’m doing on this one. However, people do it all the time, so I can figure it out. I’ve got a good friend who was a contractor, so I may be bugging him for advice/assistance.
The plan, thus far, is pretty simple. Since my tools consist primarily of hand tools and hand held power tools, I don’t need as much space as most folks do. I’m not looking to run a cabinet saw out of this puppy any time soon, and I don’t think there’s really quite enough space in the yard to build something that could. Well, not to still use it as a yard anyways.
Dimensions
The city will require a permit, so I’ll explore that later during the week. However, some requirements I’ve been given are that it has to be a minimum of 120 square feet for the area I live in. That’s actually OK, because I planned on one twice that size. It has to be five feet away from the property line and ten feet away from the house. Again, that’s not a problem. I’ve got just the spot that will meet both of those requirements.
Power
Power is something I’m still thinking about. I’d like to have it wired, but that’s a down the road kind of thing. I want to have plenty of windows to let in natural light (and to hold a window mounted AC unit). I can run an extension cord for the time being, and save up for an electrician to wire the puppy up.
Materials
This bad boy is going to be 2×4 construction with a plywood floor. I may have to use plywood for the exterior due to cost, but will paint it immediately afterward construction is completed. I’m actually thinking of using metal for the roof, mostly because I love the sound of rain off a metal roof.. The interior is really up for grabs. I have thought of using a light paneling material I saw at Home Depot due to speed, but I’ve also seen artwork of 19th century workshops where nothing was done to the interior, so I’m kind of torn.
I have to draw out the house and the yard, and provide plans for my shed. I’m going to actually secure some real plans though, just to avoid a problem later on. I still need to figure up things like rough material costs, etc. This is going to be out of my pocket, which is OK since this will be my workshop. I’d rather be building my workbench instead of my workshop at this point though.
Such is life though, right?