New Garage/Workshop build

[wedgie]

like it

nice neat and tidy work!! i love it, infact i hope that i can proudly own a good size workshop like yours, work well done you must feel so good cos you built it yourself, at least you can stand back admire it and say i done that!!

 

[M@tt]

small update

managed to get all the windows in, the DIY double galzing has worked a treat! It really keeps the sound out and conversely should hopefully keep any banging and crashing i do in there from being heard by my neighbours

You can see the silica beads previoulsy mentioned in the bottom of the panes

also had another small tidy up

and i've started making my workbench

 

[rtcosic]

and i've started making my workbench

Er.....WOOD?
Isn't this the MIG welding site??

Where are the grossly over specified 100x100x10 legs then?


Looking very good all the same, should be cosy-toasty in the winter too.

 

[shenion]

I'd build a doghouse for that compressor

So glad when i moved mine outside.

 

[brightspark]

I'd build a doghouse for that compressor

So glad when i moved mine outside.

glad i aint got a doghouse id be allways in it

 

[Will1983]

looks fantastic mate, your going to have a load of room in there when you've finished it.

also have you sorted the honeycombing in the concrete around the edge of your jack pit? if not you want to get it done before the proper frosts start or it'll start to spall.

 

[M@tt]

cheers chaps,
i realise the bench should really be metal but the cost was a bit prohibitive, maybe at a later date. Although i will get some sheet to attach to the bench top make a bit of a welding station

I've managed to knock a few more things off the todo list over the past week

1) make end fascia boards DONE
2) cut shingle to match DONE
3) seal shingle edges down DONE
4) make door batens DONE
5) make window frames DONE
6) get windoow glass DONE
7) refit side fascias DONE
8) fit guttering DONE
9) finish lining inside walls DONE
10) finish cutting roof insulation boards
11) finish lining roof
12) install plug sockets DONE
13) install lights DONE
14) fit wiring DONE

so really the main thing left is to finish fitting the roof boads and cutting up the ply lining boards to go over them, its a real PITA job that i've been putting off, but once i've finished my workbench thats pretty much all there is to do.(did a bit more on the work bench this evening)

I've bought a 4HP VFD Invertor off ebay (4 days from China inc weekend and no import tax/duty, well impressed, winner!!!!) to run my milling machine off which i've mounted on the wall next to it, so that needs wiring in as well,but that shouldn't take long. It converts single phase 240v into 3 phase 240v, fortunately the motor on the milling machine is dual voltage meaning it can run 240v or 400v by changing the wiring configuration.

The collet chuck on the milling machine was a bit of a strange one, the collet system was an old make called Clare which noone seems to do anymore, so i've bought a new chuck and some ER32 collets. The only thing is, i think i will have to make a new drawbar (the long bar that goes through the milling machine and pulls the cutting chuck up into the spindle) as the one that's in it at the moment has an american 1/2" 13tpi thread on it but the new chuck has a M12 metric thread so i'll have to make one to match that.

And finally whilst the credit card was out I bought a new Halfords Pro Industrial tool chest as they were on offer this week, 1/3 off and a further £25 of if you spent over £200 so that will be going in there once i've got a bit more space tidied up

and next week i've got a couple of builders (well professional drystone wallers) coming who are going to put a gap in the drystone wall between the garden and the drive behind the gates. This is so that i can get straight to the garage without having to go out my side gate and open the double gates to the driveway. Also they are going to use all the left over stone to clad the breeze blocks visible round the bottom of the shed so that it blends in with the rest of the wall. Hopefully the weather will hold for them!

 

[Shox Dr]

Looking good Matt

I made a new draw bar for mine out of some high tensile threaded bar with a nut welded on teh end, far cheaper and faster than machining one up

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

Matt,
WRT ....That work top your going to cover in metal..

At my old house I turned my top round so the cut edges faced the front edge & side edge of the bench and routed it to take 30 mm right angle . It gave really strong edges when I drilled and counter sunk the angle every 3 inches and used No 8 2 & 1/2 turbo chipboard screws from the side edge screws to fit it .
I then laid the 5 mm steel sheet on and tack welded it down every 2 inches.

 

[M@tt]

Dr Shox > good idea i've got some threaded bar left over so i'll knock one up out of that

PCW > thanks wor the info i'll proabably do something like that very similar

last week i had the builders in for a couple of days, and yet again i'm pretty disappointed with the finish!!!

To be fair they've done a pretty good job but its the final finishing off that's ****** me off. They were asked to put a gap in the dry stone wall for me and also clad the breeze block base with the dry stone wall stone so that it blends in . However whats really annoyed me is they've just dumped cement all over the top of both bits which just looks crap in my opinion! The rest of the wall had a layer of mortar put along the top with the final row of stones pressed in so god knows why they have felt the need to essentially plaster cement all over the top! anyway i think i'll just sort it myself AGAIN!

Anyway beside that i need to say a big thanks to my mate Henry for coming round during the week and helping me with the final bit of insulation cutting for the roof. Between us we manged to get it all done finishing at 12.30am! so its just the covering boards left to do then everything is done woo hoo!!!

I've also managed to finish my bench, had a big fire of all the left over wood (love a good fire!!) and started to bring a few bits and pieces back into the workshop

 

[cazl1994]

And you've FILLED IT ALL READY
it always happens you make your shed bigger and as you are building it you buy more stuff as you think you've got room and then its too small again.

 

[M@tt]

And you've FILLED IT ALL READY

You have no idea!! I've got my old shed FULL of stuff still to go back in it!!

 

[Robotstar5]

You have no idea!! I've got my old shed FULL of stuff still to go back in it!!

Are you going to continue this thread with the new garage extension or start a new one?

 

[white van man 2]

the last house i lived in we modified and extended what was originally dog kennels into a 20x25 foot workshop. we were just about finished cleaning up inside after when we decided it just wasn't big enough!

 

[M@tt]

I've started moving everything back into the shed and looks like i need a bigger shed

I got the car lift into its pit and it fitted perfectly you would have thought i'd have actually checked it fitted before now wouldn't you!! I had to dig both my 205s out of the snow last week as my CTI was sat ontop of it but after a few hours i managed to lever it into place on my own.

Anyway i also plugged it in and fired it up for the very first time since i bought it and guess what it worked a treat!!! whoop whoop. However there was a slight weeping from the main hyraulic ram so i removed it and will get a couple of new seals for it this week. I looks like that some numptey(not me!!) at some pointed painted the end of the ram but too far down so that some of it got eaten up by the seals and knackered them. New seals are only about £15 so not expensive at all.

I've also managed to get the milling machine running off the VFD, it took a bit of jigging about with the paramters in the VFD but in the end i got there and it's working a treat, so hopefully santa will bring me some cutters for xmas and then i can make some stuff with it

Next job is to have a proper tidy up, and sort some more storage out as i think i actually have less storage now than i did before due to bigger toys ! doh

anyway heres a few pic of the tip as it stands!

 

[Ratty]

Matt, that is really impressive. I've just sat and read all 22 pages. Brilliant, and great to see so many detailed photo's.
Apart from learning a lot from your postings I learnt a few useful other things too..

..did u know u can still buy the original creosote from farm supplies..

I didn't know this, thanks bs. I'd like to treat one of my sheds but a bit concerned about environmental effects so have just been reading up. Surprisingly it seems the environmental effects are negligible in terms of it washing into surrounding soil but effects to health are scary. Proper protective gear WILL be worn

Matt. you can cut that insulation with one of those metal blade diamond cutting disks on an angle grinder or disk cutter if you have one, almost no dust at all and very fast too.

This was a very useful bit of information and thanks for the link TG.

I'd not come across Freeindex before, could be useful if all my builder mates continue to insist on taking long contracts with my contractor mate (and stealing all the best labourers to boot)
So thought I'd see what you'd written Matt but only found this -

Review Summary
Squirrel Construction Ltd have chosen to hide their reviews and turn off the FreeIndex Review system

I wonder why

Thanks Matt. It looks amazing, particularly like your attention to detail; the choice of weatherboard..spot on...and as someone else mentioned..lovely cutting-in to stonework. Have you any idea of the cost? I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love a rough breakdown of the cost of materials

 

[M@tt]

Cheers Ratty, glad you've enjoyed the read, i've enjoyed the build although i've got to the stage now where i'm glad its over

It's taken a hell of lot more time and effort than i ever imagined I'd be rubbbish as a full time builder if i relied on my own estimations(although have an initial guess double it and add a bit more seems to have not been far off the mark for me in terms of time and cost!)

With reagrds to cost i've not totalled it up really, i've got a big pile of receipts from Arnold Laver (timber merchant) and Toolstation(Fixtures & Fittings) that if i'm feeling brave i might total up

However if i were to hazard a guess I reckon maybe in the region of £6k? but done in couple of hundred pound chunks every now and then over the 8 months or so its taken to build.

but off the top of my head the major costs were

Concrete Base £700
Skip Hire £120
Garage Door £500
Roof Shingles £400
OSB Roof Boards £250
Window Glass £120
Insulation £700
Wany Edge Cladding Timber £350
Internal Cladding Boards £300
SWA cable £60
Electrics Fittings & Wiring £160
Galv cable trunking £120

I realise this doesn't come anywhere near £6k so i think i'll need to have another look at the receipts but it was always the little things £20 here £30 there that soon added up!

EDIT> I've just looked on the Toolstation Website at my account and i've spent £730 there since March this year so there's some of the missing cost right there, albeit some of that is accoutned for in the breakdown above)! thats a lot of nuts/bolts/screws! but i've bought things like the guttering and wiring conduit from there as well.

I have to say it certainly pays to shop around for materials if you do a job like this the amountof bits and bobs you buy a pound or more saving here and there soon adds up to quite a considerable saving!

 

[Ratty]

That's a pretty comprehensive answer (for a man who professed no idea of the cost!) cheers Matt
Been looking at 'show us yer garage' and getting further inspired to build my own rather than buying something that will never be quite right. I will get it in the neck from the ratman who will scold me and tell me to get on with making sculpture but when I think about it, shed building is just as creative - and often much more satisfying
The waney edge boarding sounds cheaper than I thought it would be so I shall pay a visit to the local timber yard (who cut up their own) and see what I can get.
Thanks for the inspiration

 

[Scamp]

Ditto to what Ratty said. I have read most of the posts in this thread and am really impressed with what you have built. I love the way you have integrated the snote wall into the build, both inside and out. Most people would not have gone to all the trouble to retain the aesthetically pleasing look because of the complexity involved in getting the joint watertight.

 

[greenfield]

Hi
Any garage doors were installed and how much cost, and who is the manufacturer?