Workshop building – have lots of space

[Carl FarringtonParticipant @carlfarrington53722]

Hi,

I am fortunate to live in a rural setting with a good amount of land, with some outbuildings already in place that we are using but that aren’t ideal. For example I can’t install a 2 post lift because the main garage/workshop building has low RSJs across it. However is it a good building, rendered breezeblock, long double-garage-like (single wide electricaly operated garage door) with sink/toilet, split into two rooms (my bit and then “woodworking” for my missus), and it has an attic space that I throw boxes and store stuff in. I’ve just about been able to get a Bridgeport style mill in there (King Rich 2000), a small workbench, my Churchill Cub lathe, a bosch wheel balancer (minus the massive hood) and I still just about have room to work on a car in there… just about.

Beyond that we have some very dilapidated shiplap sheds. They really are knackered. Doors falling off etc. I have just pulled the side off one and repaired it a bit so that it can provide some rain cover for a vintage tractor that I acquired (MF35). The other shiplap shed it so overflowing with garbage (boxes, loft insulation, and old brake discs etc.) that we can’t really get in there anymore.

and beyond that (these buildings are all sort of linked one after the other in a long line), we have 2x wooden stables and a potting shed that are in so-so condition. My missus and father in-law have just put a PVC door on the back side of the potting shed and turned it into a pottery studio. It looks great actually and the view out the PVC door is something else. Unfortunately, my plans have always been to have most/all of this knocked down and replaced with something substantial..

I have been planning to, at some point, try to start down a path of having everything (but unsure whether to keep the garage building) replaced with “the dream man-cave” or whatever (as we all do no doubt), and of course I know I am probably not going to be able to realise my dream and might get a shock when it is costed up properly or planning permission attempted, but I still want to start enquiring somehow.

The main issue I have, is I don’t know where to start, what sort of person to contact. I think I need somebody who can visualise ideas as well as knowing the planning system, and roughly estimate costs.

I want to collect more machinery of course. I would like somewhere for a 2-post lift, somewhere to store or house some cars and garden machinery, to keep a trailer inside too. I’d like to get a tyre changing machine, so I am visualising a tyre-changing corner, and, I would ideally like to have an area where I can paint without having to go through the hassle of sheeting-off / covering general workshop stuff. It would make sense to try to have an upstairs bit at least a little bit of something in the roof space.

I really am sounding like I want to have my cake and eat it aren’t I.. and of course I can’t mention “spray painting” to the planners, they will think I’m trying to start up an industrial business.

Anyway, we do have a good plot of land, and the existing buildings can be useful from a planning perspective. The setting is a bit quirky though as access isn’t great at the moment. We access the buildings from the left side which is quite tight – can just about get a car down there, but would not be ideal for driving into a workshop. The main garage workshop has the big garage door on the front and a side door on the other side facing the field.

There’s a Canadian guy on Youtube – Make it Kustom (Karl Fisher). The sort of space he has – loads of machinery for metalworking and painting etc., would be my dream.

Any ideas.. where to begin? I may want another year to save more money towards it anyway but I’m 45 now and who knows where I will be health and finance wise in my 50s so want to get on with something before then while I can.

I attach an overhead picture

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The building with masonry walls may be better; an uninsulated wooden shed might well cause problems with rust for the machines.

A larger shop will take longer to heat up, so somewhere in between may be the compromise . A false ceiling and additional insulation on the walls will be a benefit.

When not in use, and during winter, it may well benefit from having low background heat, just to keep the temperature above the dew point.

Whilst you do not want draughts, slight ventilation will be beneficial; a small vent at floor level will allow moist air to escape, reducing the risk of rust.

Even if you are in “the back of beyond” do make the place secure,

HTH

Howard

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Might be some ideas here Journeyman’s Workshop – Starting, A Space To Work In. Quickest for construction would probably be steel frame with metal cladding as in the farm building you see now. can be insulated as required at the end of the day it all comes down to cost.

John

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Rats, another post vanished whilst typing.
When I had a garage built, I had the same issue regarding height for a lift, as we were working to permitted development rules.
As such I went for the pit option, initially thinking of brick built, but eventually deciding on a Mech-Mate fibreglass one.
I pre-wired it for LED lighting, 2 x 240v sockets and a 110v one. This was all done externally in rigid & flexi conduit to a cast iron waterproof box. This could then be coupled to another box on the wall via a pipe cast into the new concrete slab.
When we cast the slab, a hole was left, and later excavated for the fibreglass bath tub, which could be backfilled with concrete, making sure it didn’t float out. I still wonder if I should have cast in some underfloor heating pipes, just for condensation control.

The other point, when deciding on which door to pick was to check dimensions of both metric and imperial models.
The metric version turned out to be slightly higher, which means I can get the Landrover in without removing the roof rack; only a couple of inches difference, but worth waiting to a metric door to come from Germany.
I went for a Hormann sectional from Garage Doors On Line, who were excellent regarding delivery & support.

Bill

[JAParticipant @ja]

There is a booklet in the “Workshop Practice Series” (once associated with “Model Engineer”) titled “Workshop Construction” which is readily available through eBay, Myford Lathes etc that could be of use. It does not cost very much.

Planning permission should not be ignored since it may be required for change of use of a building. To go ahead without it and then find you need it would really make your day as a friend discovered with a small workshop.

JA

[JAParticipant @ja]

A bit more. I had a second garage built along side the original as double over thirty years ago. This was going to be a workshop from the start. I used a local firm to draw up the plans and apply for planning permission which was granted. I kept my neighbours informed of my intentions (one needs good neighbours) who even gave me advise on the builder to use. Needless to say I made a few mistakes with the specifications: heating, load bearing for a hoist and storage below the roof.

JA

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Consider roof orientation for solar panels as you are young enough to live into the ‘no more oil’ decades.
Likewise plant coppice trees asap on the land not needed to your food in retirement as it takes 15 years to get to firewood size.
Convert the block building or build a new one for the machine tools making it airtight and well insulated and install a dehumidifier. Do not deliberately make holes in any structure to let the cold and damp in. Remember the worst conditions for metal are when a weather warm front (=damp) comes in after a cold spell.

The part of the land with stables might come under agricultural planning separate from the part in the garden. The local planning dept should give you plenty of free advice if you them nicely.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I wouldn’t apply for change of use to a ‘workshop’ as that will make planners think it is a commercial undertaking. Call it a ‘hobby room’

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

I would build a long brick building like a block of stables or a millionaires 6 car garage. You can then divide this up with stud walling however you see fit.

[duncan webster 1]

On duncan webster 1 Said:

I wouldn’t apply for change of use to a ‘workshop’ as that will make planners think it is a commercial undertaking. Call it a ‘hobby room’

The planners may consider a commercial workshop quite acceptable for a rural farm. I called my workshop a garage for that reason since I live in an urban housing area. However I read the planning dictates very carefully and found that a domestic garage could be used as a domestic workshop.

JA

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