My Tiny Shop Build

Another big couple of days. Got the roof finished. That was a pain in the ass for real! My legs are killing me, but I have a new metal roof on the shop. I wanted to be sure I was good before I insulate, etc inside there.

Here I am on my finished roof. Don’t look too close! It’s on purlins screwed to joists so it ended up wavy, especially after I had to walk all over it to do the ridge cap, sealant, etc. But should function well, and looks good for a barn roof, IMO.



Next up is rough in the electrical. Tackling some of that tonight. Also just made a Lowe’s run to pick up the insulation and the walls. They have a cool plywood product that’s 5mm thick and primed on one side so it will be a little nicer than just straight up plywood. Also, note to self that Lowe’s service, organization, and products are superior to Home Depot in every way. I found the insulation I needed online and they had it right where they said it was online (twice this week HD didn’t have what they said they did online, which is enraging to me). I was looking at the plywood for the walls and an employee walked up and offered to help load it (also a stark contrast to the HD employees that are experts at hiding). I told him I needed the whole stack, like 15 sheets, and he said let’s just use the forklift. So they loaded the plywood on my trailer in like two minutes. It was like a world record 15 minute home improvement store run. I was thoroughly impressed. Here she is all loaded up!



I’ll update in the next few days as the next steps get done. Getting there!

 

Welp, if you live in GA, you know our weather has been nasty over the past few weeks. I’ve managed to get a lot done still, but it’s been slower than I’d like. Doesn’t help that all my tools are sitting in my driveway under a tarp. They are all sitting on dunnage, but still

So, after the roof, I also bought a 115v AC/heater window unit that I mounted through the wall. It’s rated up to 250 sq ft and my shop is only 160, so I’m hoping it does well. I installed it per the manufacturers instructions with flashing under it, caulking, etc.









After I got it in, I noticed pine straw piling up on it after one day, so I built a roof over it with scrap. Maybe it’ll last a while!

 

After the AC unit, I bought an old set of steel patio doors from CL. They’d been sitting outside a while, but they had actually never been hung. Got the pair for $120.



They didn’t come with a frame, so I had to build one. The old barn doors were wider and shorter, so I had to re-do the header and add some material on the sides.







I’ll have to get another photo of the front all sealed up. Lets sooo much more light in. Love the new doors.

This past weekend, I finally buried the wire that I’m running out there for power. I decided on 6/3 UF (150ft - ouch! $$$) buried in PVC. I started digging the trench by hand, but eventually rented a trencher from HD. Worked fine, but was a huge pain to move around. Also cut through a few of my drain pipes that I had to repair, which sucked.



Right after I got it dug, it stormed of course. I covered it with plastic, but it didn’t do much. I got the wire and conduit buried the next day (elbow deep in red mud) and I planted winter rye on the mud. I also spread some wheat straw in the pouring rain. Such a miserable job. 0/10, would not recommend.

 

Thanks! It really is soooo much brighter in there during the day. Also, I like the real deadbolt and handle lock. Those barn door locking T-handle things are fine for a shed, but they are useless as an interior handle or lock.

Couple more updates.


So, here's the front of the shop all sealed up. The shed is all pressure treated, and it's never been painted or sealed, so I think that a "quick" paint job will happen before it's all said and done. I'll probably add a bit of trim around the doors to match the windows, and I've ordered a piece of 4"x4"x1/8" angle aluminum to be my threshhold. The ones at the stores just aren't what I want. The aluminum will just sit under the door frame and it will hang over the front of the treated 2x4 that's under the doors now. At that point it'll be right over the flashing. Hard to explain, but of course I'll post a photo when it's done.


Here's the house side of the hookup. You can see here that the new disconnect comes out of the box on the left. It's 60 amps. That ugly piece of treated lumber against the house will need to be painted, but it's required because I cut a piece of conduit too short and it didn't quite reach the house for the strap. It's behind bushes, so I don't care that much, but it is ugly.


Here it is at the shop end. Looks fine. Nothing fancy, but it should last and be safe.

Tomorrow I will finish the roughing in of the electrical, and then I'll wire the switches and outlets before the insulation and walls go in (now that I can test my work when it's all wired up).

Oh one more cool thing I got. I was thinking about a sound system, since I will want to listen to music. Of course there's those little Bluetooth speakers, but I don't like the sound of them usually. I wanted something more substantial, but space is the highest priority, so I went looking for a small setup. That's when I found this:

Yep, it's a 100W Bluetooth amp that fits in a switch box. Here's the link. Also, I bought these ceiling speakers to install. I figured this was the best time to wire in something like this. And I got it all for less than $100. Hope it sounds nice!

 

Oh yes, lots.

I’ve been busy with regular work, so I’m not quite done like I thought I’d be by now, but c’est la vie. Since my last post, I’ve done a few things.

I made the threshold for the doors out of that piece of angle aluminum I ordered. I used a piece of rubber from the other threshold that I bought just to cover the gap at the bottom of the doors. It’s screwed into the aluminum. Should last a long time.



Finished all the wiring. Ended up with 11 circuits, which I know is silly, but I ran a separate circuit for each set of lights, and one for the fan and the ac/heater.




I cut out and framed out for the fan and installed the vent. My baby girl is poking her head out of the hole here and then you see the vent installed.




I installed the security lights, which are really cool. I had a solar powered one out there before which worked well when I would take the trash out, but it didn’t have enough juice to stay on if you were working out there in the dark. This one has a cool feature that if you flick the switch twice in a second, it will stay on until dawn. Pretty cool and they are very bright.



Ended up needing a transformer to power the Bluetooth amp (120v to 12v). My neighbor is a low voltage guy and told me the transformer needed to be accessible in the future, since that’s the part that always fails. So I got a exterior waterproof one and mounted it on the outside of the shop so I can replace it easily if it breaks.



The amp works well and connecting via Bluetooth was super easy.



Now I’m working on insulation. Almost done with the ceiling which is super annoying since the insulation doesn’t really stay up there with friction, so you have to hold it and staple it at the same time. Kind of a pain, but I’m almost done with that.



Once I get the wall panels installed on the ceiling I can install the big LED lights and I think that will be way nicer than the clamp lights I’ve been working with. Should be done with insulation this week, then the wall panels next week.

Oh and the ac/heater works so well. Really pleased with it. Even without insulation, it cools the small place really quickly and the heater is nice too. It’s not like you’re standing in front of a space heater, but it’s more like the house ones that blow warm air. The other morning it was 42* in there and it took about 20 min or so to get it to 68* - I think it will be perfect.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now.

 

Thanks man, I hope so!

Yeah she loooooves helping me do whatever. She’s actually really helpful. Both of my daughters are actually. They certainly have their moods, but I got a trampoline this weekend (a surprise for spring break) and the older one helped me assemble it. Made it go super quick.

 

Sorry for my radio silence! I've had to put it on hold for a bit, unfortunately. Most of the interior wall panels are up, but hoping to resume work on it soon.

 

Oh I forgot one thing, I did put an awning over the doors, since water seemed to be seeping in a bit on the sides. It has helped a ton, now the whole area stays pretty dry. It was a pretty quick job, and I built it out of leftover roofing and pressure treated lumber. My tall nephew helped me get it up there.