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Workshop Extension ......

29K views 401 replies 23 participants last post by  Dave2302 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi Guys,

Just for interest purpose, as some of you know, I recently got laid off from my job and so I had to move all my gear back to my already well equipped Home Workshop.

I needed to build an extension on the back, to free up much needed Working Space around my lift, especially as i will now be doing my paying customers work at my home shop :wink

Below is a few pics of my progress, and some pics of how cluttered my home workshop now is, since I moved my "new" Green Snap On Box and a load of my other gear out of my ex Employers workshop, to join the huge range of tools I already had at my Home Workshop.
The Black Snap On chest was originally in the corner where the Green one now is, i had to separate the Black one and remove it's wheels to fit it under / on top of the work bench.

When the extension is finished, the only things left in the main "work" area will be the 2 tool cabinets, along the wall where the Bench now is, they will be next to each other, and there will be a smaller bench with vice where the Green cabinet is, and one roll cart.
The big bench and press, tracking gauges, spring compressor, racking sink etc etc etc will all be in the extension :wink

I did all the moving out / moving in over the last couple of weeks, and this week I have moved the wee Garden Shed and the Oil Tank backwards to free up a 25 sq M plot, to build a single storey extension on the back of my existing workshop :grin

That digging by hand is a real bugger, got very tough and "rocky" in the back left corner, and I'm barrowing all the diggings and filling in a low bit of land at the front of our croft .........

A local mate has offered a Digger and Dumper next week, but I've a feeling I'll have it done by then, but boy am I aching today :laugh

The back left corner will have a Toilet, and the existing Kitchen Sink / Kettle / Coffee station will be moved next to this to keep all the "Plumbing" in one corner :grin

Sidenote for Smokie :grin In the first 3 pics you can see my S Class up in the air on the lift, patiently waiting for the rest of the cleaning underneath and undersealing project, fitting of the new wings and a few other little bits of paintwork.
Nice thing is this workshop is heated, so shes warm and dry, away from the elements, and I'll be full steam ahead on her once the extension is finished :wink

Piccies.......
 

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#4 ·
Totally agree! Makes one want to work from home permanently and best part, no commuting!

Have you considered adding a two story roof onto your addition then moving your lift into it? Reason being is that it would allow you to have two vehicles in your workshop at the same time. One long term project on the lift waiting for parts etc while being able to work on another project in the old section. Getting a project stuck on your lift would mean having to work outside occasionally. Not that that is bad but without heat, makes winter work difficult.

Love your stories and write ups!

Bob
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hi,

Cheers Guys,

My existing workshop is already 2 stories high, and has a parts loft and compressor in the half width size loft, plus a half width shallow loft floor above where the other half side of the roof goes up into apex, above where the car / 4x4 roofs go when the lift is at full height.
The existing workshop has the double doors at both ends, so you can drive right through, so therefore i will be able to get a car into the "Extension" if need be :wink

With my S Class on the lift and no wheels on it I can drive right through with cars and small vans, maybe my 110 Land Rover, although I've not tried that one yet :rolleyes:

See below pic, you can see right through to my wee van parked at the front of the workshops front doors, and you can see my house to the right of the workshop, so my daily commute will be a 1.5 metre walk lol, I won't even get wet if it's raining as the 2 doors will be right opposite each other :grin

Well that's lunch over with, I've been out on business this morning.
But back to the graft this afternoon, no digging today though, rubbish / scrap clearance up to the local tip and a couple of pints in our local to round off the week :grin

Back to the digging tomorrow, weather forecast good for the weekend :smile

piccie.........
 

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#6 ·
Someday, perhaps more of us will have such working arrangements. 'Twould be good and nice, that's for sure.
 
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#7 ·
Hi Guys,

Just a quick update, in between the rain showers I'm still Shovelling and pushing the Wheel Barrow :laugh
I've got one half at the right level, and down to the correct level all the way around the perimeter :smile

I had a stroke of luck today, I found a 4" Soil pipe in the ground, under all the dirt and rocks, and then I remembered the guy who owned the house before us had his brother living in a static caravan, which was right where my workshop is now :smile
Lo and behold, I chucked a bucket of water down it and it is still connected to our Septic Tank "Manhole", so with a simple re-route of the last 2 or 3 metres, installing the Toilet will be a breeze, and save me digging a trench across the drive for about 20 metres :grin

I'll try and get some piccies up tomorrow, weather permitting.

At this rate I'll have it all dug out before my mate arrives with the Digger and Dumper Truck later this week :laugh

Cheers for now,

Dave
 
#9 · (Edited)
Hi,

Yeah, (Lake), in Scotland we say "Loch", is great. We are above it on a cliff, but I have a path down to it, and a beach with Slipway and Mooring for the Mastercraft, it's a great loch for Waterskiing, one day I'll build a Log Cabin / Boathouse down there :wink

Here's a pic of the Slipway which i then dug out wider when I first moved here, and one of me Barefooting past Eilean Donan Castle a while back :grin

piccies..........
 

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#11 ·
Hi Guys,

Little update, load of work :laugh

Plot is all dug out now, had to dig under the trunking for the workshop power cable as the guys who originally laid it didn't put it anywhere near deep enough, found a huge rock underneath it which I had to break out in small pieces.
Soil pipe re routed for toilet and sink, shuttering done, ready to concrete now, probably after the weekend, as the weather looks grim :frown

All the electrical parts and plumbing parts are here now, except the water heater which is due any day, also more racking bays arrived today, so should go up quite quickly once the base is down :grin

piccies ........
 

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#13 ·
Hi,

Update............

The bulk bags of gravel and cement arrived Wednesday, and in true West Highland style it then rained until yesterday afternoon with a good evening / overnight forecast, so at 3pm I cracked on, out with the Mixer and laid half of the Concrete Base :grin
Aching today lol, not used to all this Labouring Work :laugh

As usual, I under estimated the Bulk Bags of Gravel, so I ordered 2 more for Wednesday 26th April delivery, so I can hopefully finish the Base, and get a course of Concrete Blocks or 2 laid before I go away for a week, that way it'll all be nice and hard when I get back, ready to build the Timber Frame on top, and get on with Roofing and Cladding :wink

Our Cat decided overnight to leave his Paw Prints in it :laugh but as it was still "green" this morning a quick wipe over with a little mortar soon sorted that, and it's all drying out nicely now :smile

Work is now piling up, towed in a Vectra yesterday for a Clutch, which I'm going to do next week, on the floor outside, bummer because it's FWD and Subframe out :frown ...........Spending money for the Holiday LOL :grin

Also 2 Gearboxes have arrived on pallets for strip and rebuild, a 6 speed VW Golf and a 6 Speed Vauxhall Vivaro Van, so will get them stripped tomorrow and parts ordered

piccies ............
 

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#14 ·
Hi again,

Just a quick update,

The remaining Bags of Ballast have arrived, (yesterday), and in true West Highland style it has been snowing all week :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

Has thawed and melted now, showers today, but forecast for tomorrow and over night into Saturday looks good, so will hopefully get the remaining half of the Concrete down :wink

All accounts now opened with Parts Suppliers, and 90% of the rest of the building is here, (in "Kit Form" :laugh ), waiting for me to get it built up and functional :grin

So my target of opening the business on 1st June is looking realistic for now :grin

Targets before I go away end of next week is to get the rest of the Concrete layed, and get the course or 2 of blocks round, should be nice and hard when I get back to use "Hammer Fixers" for the Wood Frame.

I also need to fit that customers darned Vectra Clutch and a set of Rear Pads / Couple of Light Bulbs, (parts arriving today), plus give my V Class Bussie an Oil and Filter change and a quick look over before its 2000 mile odd round trip while we are away :smile

Cheers for now,

Dave
 
#16 · (Edited)
Hi :grin :grin :grin

Still meeting the targets :laugh :laugh :laugh

Slab now complete, aching well today, but glad to have it done :smile
No sign of Paw Prints this time, but our Cat has a few acres to stomp so he must have gone a different route last night :laugh

Bit of tidying up around the site, back filling with drainage chips etc etc today,

Tommorrows job, fit Vectra Clutch and get that gone :rolleyes:
Pre Holiday Mini Service and Vehicle Inspection on my V Class Bussie Tuesday :wink

Monday / Wednesday try and get some blocks laid before the trip away :wink

Cheers for now,

Dave

Pic:-
 

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#17 · (Edited)
Hi,

Vectra Clutch fitted and road tested, all good.
Just got to fit 2 Bulbs and a set of rear Pads today, and then it's ready for Customer .........

Remind me to NEVER EVER do one of these on the floor again, absolute arse of a job without the Lift / Transmission Jack, 7 Hours in total, I usually do them in 4.5 - 5.5 hrs :frown

Perhaps I should charge him "double time" rate as I did it on a Sunday :laugh :laugh :laugh

Concrete is hardening off nice, will remove shuttering later and may start laying a few Blocks :grin

Cheers for now,

Dave
 
#18 · (Edited)
Hi,

Quick update, still on target, weather gorgeous sunshine here :grin

Vectra Pads and Light Bulbs finished yesterday and Car ready for collection by Customer.

Shuttering removed from around Concrete Slab, and a little bit of ground work done tidying up "Driveway/ Drainage" chippings around the edges.

My V220 Ambiente Bussie is all serviced and ready for its pilgrimage to South England, no dramas, didn't find any faults...........

It will need a couple of front Tyres, but they have at least 3000 miles left in them, so they can wait until we are back home :wink

The parts arrived for the 6 Speed VW Golf gearbox today, so I'm going to build that after lunch, and then take an early finish, couple of beers in the sun :grin

Blocks all stacked around ready for laying tomorrow, I can spend all day on them, (weather permitting but forecast looks good) :smile

Hopefully they will be all done and nice and hard for fixing to when I get back from Holiday :grin.

Cheers for now,

Dave

Piccies:-
 

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#19 ·
Hi,

Target met........... Just :)

I'd forgotten just how hard laying blocks is when you don't do it all the time :laugh

First course done Wed afternoon and 2nd course laid yesterday.......
A proper brickie would laugh, took me about 4 hrs each time to do 29 block course, but that did include all the interruptions and phone calls :frown

Audi 6 speed coming in for rebuild after my holiday, LOL one day I'll get this finished :grin

Leaving for England around 9 am, will catch you all when I get to where we staying :wink

Piccies:-
 

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#22 ·
I was going to comment on that too, but thought I better shut up.

Where I live, it's done the other way around: first a footing is poured, then a side wall foundation of whatever desired height, and THEN the slab - inside the area of the foundation/footing.

The reason is you have to tie-down the building structure for winds/earthquakes etc.

Nevertheless, Dave is doing a splendid job, and knows his neighbourhood.

Congrats, and no smart as#ing intended.
 
#21 ·
Hi,

Nope, no builders I know use re bar in block walls, never seen it on a "Building Spec Sheet" either :wink

No, no Earthquakes where we live........... Yet :laugh , (Except when I fire up the Stage Rally Car) :devil

Cheers Dave
 
#23 ·
Same applies in California.

Here in Virginia, we *thought* we wouldn't have the issue of earthquakes...until one came along and surprised everyone in 2011. :) Had everyone scared to death! I was thinking, "hmm...did we just have a li'l earthquake...? Hey...cool!"

In any case, good work Dave. I could use your help building my garage, but...as a comedy duo put it so well, "Dave's not here!" :-D
 
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#25 ·
Truly a beautiful place to call home, AND work!!!!! And what you have done and are continuing to do is setting a standard of what many of us would surely consider the RIGHT WAY to do it!!!! Its not a JOB!!!!!! Its FUN!!!!! Great pics and write up Dave!!!!
 
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#26 ·
Thanks Scot,

Yes it is a lovely place to live and work :wink

I am currently on "holiday" back down south, and whilst it is lovely to see family and friends, I've been here 3 days now, and just can't wait to get home :laugh

Noise, Traffic Jams, millions of people, pollution (air, light and noise), and crime ............

All things we don't have in NW Highlands :wink

Cheers Dave
 
#29 ·
I want to know where Dig found the above video of me and the g/f :devil
:yelrotflmao: :yelrotflmao: :yelrotflmao: :yelrotflmao: :yelrotflmao:


:big laugh:
 
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#30 · (Edited)
Hi,

Well, as I suspected, while I was away, the weather where I live was gorgeous, in England it was pretty grim.

Upon my return there has been nothing but rain :frown

However, aside from an odd shower, yesterday proved OK, so I cracked on and laid another course of blocks :wink

After laying the first 2 courses before I went away, I was considering going all the way up with the Blocks.

I've decided not to two fold :-

I already have timber for the Frame.
I hate Block Work, and am sooooooo slow at it.

The final decision has now been made, Timber Frame and Cladding from here on up, weather permitting I should be able to get more Sq M up per day, once all the Saws are set up, Screwdriver Charged etc :wink

So, I'm going to get a few other jobs done for the rest of the week to let the last course harden off, before whacking Hammer Fixers into it, to run a Timber Top around the Blocks, so it's easy to fix the Frames to :wink

Tidying up Shovels, Trowels Cement Mixer etc today, and then drag out the Mastercraft Ski Boat from it's "Winter Storage" spot.
Get it up and running, couple of minor jobs, then clean it and advertise for sale :wink

Cheers for now,

Dave

Piccies :-
 

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#35 ·
Hi,

Well, I've had the Mastercraft for 10 years odd and spent many a happy day Skiing, and Teaching with the old girl...........

Bye Bye Mastercraft :crying :crying :crying

:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin:grin

Hello big chunk of dosh to spend on more toys :laugh:laugh:laugh

Final piccie of it heading away, up my drive, going South to Lake Windermere with it's new owner :grin ........................

Cheers Dave
 

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