Shop improvements and upgrades. Better Space!

[Advanced Design]

My 60’ x 100’ shop was built by my Dad and Uncle nearly 50 years ago. It has served the family farm and heavy equipment business, then my hobby shop well.

When I say they built it, they did much of the work themselves. They secured heavy steel pipe and rod for the materials, drug these into their little barn work shop in the woods, and proceeded to weld up the walls and rafters for this building.

Then they used their tractors and winch truck, with very long gin poles, to put it together. I can remember Uncle running the winch truck, lifting one of the rafters up into position with Dad riding on the rafter to position then weld it in place.

When you are a little guy looking up at what they were doing, you couldn’t help but think they were kinda like Superman.

[Advanced Design]

The front half of the shop has received improvements with more concrete, insulation, heat and lighting since my wife and I bought it in 1996. It is a nice space for our use.

This is the shop where Dad taught me to tune up cars, weld, and fix equipment. I worked on my first car (1969 Mach 1) and my wife’s first car (Pinto) way back when we were first dating in the 1970’s.

Since I am kinda of a sentimental old guy, this building is important to me.

[Advanced Design]

While it is really cool to keep a building in the family for half a century, the potential downside is the impact hoarding “needed” parts for that long.

It comes about innocently enough. Living in a rural area running your own equipment, you don’t want any down time when you break down and have to run to town. Gotta get going again for planting, working ground, harvesting, clearing land...so you hang on to that old cog, belt, chain, clamp in case you need it. And you often did.

So we ended up with a lot of “spare parts” on the walls.

[Advanced Design]

Some more...

[Advanced Design]

Another example...

[Advanced Design]

This of course is all in the back half of the shop, dimensions 60’ x 50’.

My goals here are to clear the area and turn it into a much more efficient, user friendly and better looking storage space.

We have a lot of work in front of us!

[truckster]

Man, am I jealous of your shop. I would love to have that kind of space.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by truckster

Man, am I jealous of your shop. I would love to have that kind of space.

We do enjoy the space, though basically traded out the large suburban home for the small house, property and shop back on the farm.

First step I needed to do was focus on cleaning out the space.

[Advanced Design]

I hired several guys and we spent about 4 solid days cleaning out “stuff”. There was a lot that went into the recycle bins. Anyone need a V belt?

[Advanced Design]

There were a large number of heavy wood blocks used when working on equipment.

[Advanced Design]

Handy for moving the heavier stuff.....4620...

[Advanced Design]

Little equipment went to the front. This door I installed when we built this wall is turning out to be very handy.

[mongocanfly]

Doug, when you get done cleaning out yours I call dibbs on you coming to mine and cleaning it out to...I bet itll take more than 4 days though..haha

[Advanced Design]

When we put that wall with the rolling door in 20 years ago, I planned to be able to use the door to pull a truck and trailer through the shop into the back. Once upgrades are complete, we will finally be able to do that.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Doug, when you get done cleaning out yours I call dibbs on you coming to mine and cleaning it out to...I bet itll take more than 4 days though..haha

Ha...this one was almost as much cleaning fun as I can stand.

Hey, one upside of the parental hoarding...I found the shifter and shift rods I had changed out of my 1969 Mach 1 Mustang....40 years ago.

Biggest challenge was finding guys to help. When you and your friends are in your 50’s, it isn’t six pack fun doing this anymore. Two of the young guys I hired were Amish teenagers. WOW...could they work. Really good workers that knew how to do a lot with out being told. They weren’t standing around staring at their phones either. At the end of the day I was exhausted. The young men were pretty excited as after they went home, cleaned the barn and fed the horses, they were going to a volley ball game at a neighboring farm. Full of energy!

[Advanced Design]

One more load going out...

[Advanced Design]

Finally, the last load.....

[Advanced Design]

Hasn’t been this cleared out since it was built.

[Advanced Design]

...

[Advanced Design]

Very open.

[Advanced Design]

Oh, here is my square. Should I post pics over in the 73 - 87 forum.

[nlped]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

There were a large number of heavy wood blocks used when working on equipment.

I have the exact same Ranger too. It’s a workhorse.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by nlped

I have the exact same Ranger too. It’s a workhorse.

We just picked the Ranger up last August and it is proving to be really handy. We’ve had the Gator 20 years and still get a lot of use out of it too.

Once the walls were clear, it was evident posts on the North side were suffering corrosion damage.

[Advanced Design]

The repair was to support the roof truss, cut out about 18” of pipe at the bottom, butt weld in new pipe with a plate on the bottom, bolt that new plate into the concrete piling, then weld a sleeve over the new joint.

[Advanced Design]

Now looks like this.