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Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
I was going to put a thread in DIY but since the workshop will be exclusively for housing and working on bikes, I thought I'd add content here. Also I didn't want to hijack that other guy's thread.

We bought a house a few months ago, and even though a garage was one of the must-haves we ended up buying somewhere without. As I've been furloughed for a while and anyway don't have to work during school holidays I set myself the challenge of building it from scratch.

Due to local planning constraints and the size of our drive, we're limited to <15m³, <2.5m total height. In order to keep the local conservation officer happy, it also has to be in keeping with the local character.

Today I finished the subbase for the concrete slab. Family and friends are coming by on Saturday to help pour it in exchange for beer.



There's going to be a 3 brick dwarf wall, traditional oak frame and slate roof. I have no experience.

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right arm
Oct 30, 2011

:hellyeah:

garage journal is probably one of my favorite forums on the internet so I am pumped

mewse
May 2, 2006

bike shed bike shed bike shed

builds character
Jan 16, 2008

Keep at it.
What're you planning to do inside?

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
ball pit

The interior space will be around 2.5 X 4m. I've yet do do more than sketch mockups but I think I'll be putting a lift in the center with clear space around it for a stool, and a deep full-width workbench along the back wall, with shelves above and below.

I may put some small surfaces to rest tools and mag trays either side of the lift, but the objective is to make it pretty open to move around in.

GriszledMelkaba
Sep 4, 2003


Shelvocke posted:

I have no experience.

me neither, but the new place I got has a garage that pools condensation under items that lay flat against the slab so make sure you put a vapor barrier down before pouring the concrete.

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver

GriszledMelkaba posted:

me neither, but the new place I got has a garage that pools condensation under items that lay flat against the slab so make sure you put a vapor barrier down before pouring the concrete.

I've been going back and forth about the damp membrane, and I think I've decided to do it this way, with the concrete below -



The only bugbear I have is about anchoring the frame to the masonry without puncturing the wall damp proof course. I'm thinking about threaded rods in the wall cavity but they too will be going through the membrane.



This is all I have for layout so far. I want to keep it mostly open and clutter free, but I guess it's inevitable that eventually it'll fill up.

Steakandchips
Apr 30, 2009

This is looking awesome.

Will you accept alcoholic beverages for goon friends to occasionally come over, hang out, perhaps use the lift? :D

I would legit roadtrip down to do that, bringing along some storied Scottish beers.

right arm
Oct 30, 2011

where is the beer fridge

builds character
Jan 16, 2008

Keep at it.
Will it have power? If not, what are you doing for lights?

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
Not currently planning on running power out, our house is old and doesn't have anything tappable our front, so running a cable would wash out the budget.

I plan on working in there during the daytime and the windows are south facing so should provide enough light. That said, I'll be putting up some 12v led work lights in corners that will only draw around 8-10 amps, and I can run them off either the 280ah Lifepo4 battery or run a cable out if I'm working into the evening. I can carry the battery inside to charge every now and again.

Steakandchips posted:

Scottish beers.

Remind me to get a lift rated for a Fat Bob

Steakandchips
Apr 30, 2009

Shelvocke posted:

Remind me to get a lift rated for a Fat Bob

This looks decent:

https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637192322/680kg-airhydraulic-mini-tractorquadmotorcycle-lift

Gorson
Aug 29, 2014

Shelvocke posted:

Not currently planning on running power out, our house is old and doesn't have anything tappable our front, so running a cable would wash out the budget.

I plan on working in there during the daytime and the windows are south facing so should provide enough light. That said, I'll be putting up some 12v led work lights in corners that will only draw around 8-10 amps, and I can run them off either the 280ah Lifepo4 battery or run a cable out if I'm working into the evening. I can carry the battery inside to charge every now and again.


Remind me to get a lift rated for a Fat Bob

Love garage threads.

You may want to rethink power. For an idea on cost and labor, I replaced my line going out to the garage bumping it up to a 50A circuit for a 220V outlet and several more 15 and 20 amp outlets. This required a 6 gauge wire, run was about 45 feet, wire was $2/ft at the time for underground cable. I also added a sub box, but that was donated. Outlets, hardware, and termination equipment comes out to around $5 per 2 outlets, double or triple that if GFCI.

You wouldn't need 50A but a single 10 or 12 gauge line would be far far cheaper than my 6 gauge especially if your run is shorter and would support a 20A circuit. Of course, if you can't tap into your power from the front of the house you'll have to figure out some way to get the wire into your box. I would run the cable and terminate it to a single outlet or small sub box even if it's going to up your cost a bit. I can never get enough power outlets, never get enough light.

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




You will 100% want power. I’ve worked in a daylight only garage with no power and you’ll make it about 20 minutes before you run into something that needs power.

In my mind order of importance is

1) Power
2) Light (only #2 because it requires #1)
3) work space (bench/lift/seating/etc)
4) storage
5) square footage

You can be in a poorly lit power-less airplane hangar with every tool on earth and it will be way worse than being in a well-lit 10x10 shed with lots of outlets.

I’m not sure where you live but it won’t be too fun to have to gently caress off at 4:30pm on a Saturday in the winter because the sun is down. It’s also nice to be able to run a fan or a heater if needed, plus all the other advantages of power

It’s your build, you do what you want/can afford, but speaking as someone who has wrenched in a ton of different garages, including bare bones 5x8 storage units with no power or light in the dead of winter, I can say unequivocally that that stuff is super important.

Beve Stuscemi fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Feb 23, 2021

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
I'd definitely love power out there, but there's a few hitches.

The water mains for me and my neighbours runs under the front of the house about 1m out, too shallow to allow wire over the top. I could run the cable along the wall shared with neighbours but once it's at the front of the house, the wall is around 90cm thick of solid brick (150yo). The power enters the property from the rear so the consumer unit is behind two more walls.

I'm not ruling it out for the future but it's definitely in the realms of getting an electrician in with complications and then passing an inspection.

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Honestly, get a big gently caress off extension cord and a beefy rear end power strip if you have to and run it from the main building.

Just add 5 minutes of unrolling and re-rolling time to each end of your wrenching session.

I just can’t help but think of the winter I had to pull a crank out of my F11-250 in the aforementioned 5x8 storage unit with the nearest outlet being 150 feet away behind a locked door

Never again.

Again, not sure where you are, maybe you don’t get wisconsin winters and it’s not as big of a deal as I think

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
Extension cable will work, I have a 200w 240v-12v power supply I'll hook up to work lights and plug it in from a window. I'll try and get permanent power later in the year so I can run a heater/dehumidifier.

Gorson
Aug 29, 2014

Yeah at least having something you could plug in when you need it is going to make worlds of difference. It certainly wouldn't be code (UK, I think?) and would be hackey but you could bury a beefy extension cord or run it through pvc or conduit. How deep you would need to bury it would depend on climate.

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
I'd certainly vote for just getting a retractable extension cord on a reel that you can tuck away and unwind when you need it, over burying an extension cord, but that's just because I know I'd personally manage to burn something down by accident.

Steakandchips
Apr 30, 2009

Aye, he could definitely run this back to the house no problem:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/masterplug-hdct4513bq-4-xd-13a-4-gang-45m-cable-reel-240v/47295

And then use 1 socket in it for lighting, 1 for beer fridge and the remaining 2 for tool+dust extraction.

Megabook
Mar 13, 2019



Grimey Drawer
I have that extension cable. Can recommend. Although having said that only two sockets work after I got crud in the others.

Now I actually have a double garage with power, I rarely need it working on my bike. Seems to be more useful for cars. A lift would be nice though and lighting is important.

Elector_Nerdlingen
Sep 27, 2004



Do what the previous owner of my weird offgrid house did and have an extension cable tied into the breaker box, spliced into another cable then zip tied to the metal carport frame, across the carport roof supported every few feet by duct tape, down one of the poles and into some conduit he made up out of water pipe, down the hill, across the path (double up on the "conduit" here, duct tape for the 90 degree corner where the conduit where it goes across the step and 20 years of foot traffic wore the shielding off the cable), and into the shed, where it'll run the loving grey water pump as well as the shed lights and about 20 "outlets" that are just power boards he spliced in and panelled over with interior "walls".

I mean, if it didn't start a fire or anything for the 20 years it was like that for...

MomJeans420
Mar 19, 2007



I think at this point you could get pretty decent lighting with only battery powered lights, but I've never found myself wanting less light unless I'm under a bike looking straight up at the sun. Really what I want is good lighting from many angles, although my current setup is not there yet.

mewse
May 2, 2006

Elector_Nerdlingen posted:

Do what the previous owner of my weird offgrid house did and have an extension cable tied into the breaker box, spliced into another cable then zip tied to the metal carport frame, across the carport roof supported every few feet by duct tape, down one of the poles and into some conduit he made up out of water pipe, down the hill, across the path (double up on the "conduit" here, duct tape for the 90 degree corner where the conduit where it goes across the step and 20 years of foot traffic wore the shielding off the cable), and into the shed, where it'll run the loving grey water pump as well as the shed lights and about 20 "outlets" that are just power boards he spliced in and panelled over with interior "walls".

I mean, if it didn't start a fire or anything for the 20 years it was like that for...

That sounds significantly worse than mine. PO of my house ran an extension cord out the dryer vent hole, plugged the dryer vent hole with insulation, ran the cable thru some sort of metal conduit above ground, to a pair of outlets inside the shed out back.

I wanted a working dryer so I cut the cord and removed the insulation, when I need to run a power tool in the shed I run an extension cord from the exterior outlets.

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
This week I bought the bricks and timber. For the sake of aesthetical appeal and keeping the locals happy, I went with reclaimed bricks from a local place, and green oak from a national lumber mill.
Both were pricy but I think the longevity and appearance is a pretty vital part of the project.
I also paid a little extra for planing the oak so it's ready for me to join - I have an electric planer and am quite happy with using it, but not on around twenty beams all planed on 4 sides. Some of them are in excess of 100kg too.

Tomorrow we pour the slab, and it's blissfully dry for the first time in months. I'm back to work after next week so I'd like to get the wall up by then.

Horse Clocks
Dec 14, 2004


Perhaps put a conduit stub in for data & power now, then work out what where it goes later?

Putting in a conduit now before you pour the slab is gonna be so much easier.

Doesn’t need to have anything in it. Just a L pipe capped at both ends. You can dig it out and extend it later.

Steakandchips
Apr 30, 2009

That conduit needs CAT6 and power laid into it.

Elector_Nerdlingen
Sep 27, 2004



Horse Clocks posted:

Perhaps put a conduit stub in for data & power now, then work out what where it goes later?

Putting in a conduit now before you pour the slab is gonna be so much easier.

Doesn’t need to have anything in it. Just a L pipe capped at both ends. You can dig it out and extend it later.

Definitely this. One thing that the guy that built my place got fantastically right was spare conduits under the slab.

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
This is a good idea. I'm doing a supply run today so I will pick up a bit of PVC tubing.

E. Thinking about it though the oak is going to be exposed inside and out, so I can always bore through that way to have an above-ground access point.

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
We laid the slab today.



We started around 11 and finished around 3, and it went pretty smoothly, no drama. We thought we might run out of aggregate so I mixed in some of the coarse stuff I dug up but ended up with a little extra left over. Pretty pleased overall. Bricklaying will hopefully begin on Tuesday.

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
The reclaimed bricks arrived yesterday, and I've nearly got them all brushed clean ready for laying. The sand order is behind and unfortunately it's going to rain for the next couple of days so it'll probably wait till next week.



I pondered the electrical problem. While you need to notify the local govt, have planning, and have an electrician fit a cable to the house, you don't need to notify for an extension cable (even if you disassemble, feed though conduit and then reassemble.) So if I run the cable to a normal socket (and don't exceed 13a of simultaneous use) I can do it.

The guy fixing our roof also gave some great advice about the project, and gave me some left over insulation from a other job, which was great.

builds character
Jan 16, 2008

Keep at it.
This is great. Looks like it's going to be an excellent shed (with power!).

Megabook
Mar 13, 2019



Grimey Drawer
I was thinking about this the other day. The reason I bought my long extension lead was when I had a brick built outside workshop. I ran the extension lead out through the letterbox when I was working in there and had an LED strip light with a three pin pug on the end screwed to the ceiling. That still left three sockets on the extension cord. I had to put an inline plug and socket (this) in the extension lead as our superior UK plug didn't fit through the letterbox...

It worked really well for me.

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
I'll definitely use LED lighting, because of comically small amounts of power and they're very cheap for a self contained unit.

I imagine the biggest current draws will be recharging portable power tools, air compressor and maybe a small heater/dehumidifier. The lift will probably be foot operated.

Strife
Apr 20, 2001

What the hell are YOU?

Steakandchips posted:

That conduit needs CAT6 and power laid into it.

I have to echo this. There's nothing better than having a shop computer you can use to look something up when the service manual diagrams don't make any sense.

Also just to blast Lynyrd Skynyrd and Def Leppard while drinking beers amidst a pile of strewn about parts.

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver
Let me tell you about reclaimed bricks, specifically ones that are over 100 years old and came out of a garden wall.



I spent 1.5 days just brushing the bricks to get them moderately ready for laying. They are all different lengths so I'm having fun getting to near the end of the run and realising I have to either pick the longest ones to fill a too large gap or the shortest when there isn't enough room.

The splash of concrete grey at the front is where the hose turned itself on and washed all the mortar out of the wall.

Bricklaying is pretty hard but I think I'm getting the hand of it.

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
As an added bonus, if you ever find yourself in Victorian England you'll have no problem finding a job!

Gorson
Aug 29, 2014

Reclaimed brick is gonna look great. It also doesn't burn which is great when you're splashing fuel all over like an arsonist (carb work).

Shelvocke
Aug 6, 2013

Microwave Engraver

Gorson posted:

Reclaimed brick is gonna look great. It also doesn't burn which is great when you're splashing fuel all over like an arsonist (carb work).

I was thinking OSB for the floor but now I think it's a bad idea?

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mewse
May 2, 2006

Shelvocke posted:

I was thinking OSB for the floor but now I think it's a bad idea?

To be fair it would be desirable for an arsonist

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