Pics of my shop

[Mike Mathieu]

Hi everyone
My name is Mike Mathieu and I live in Midlothian,Va. I've been woodworking for over 20 years and have just recently retired from electrical work so now I am doing woodworking full time.I run a company called Woodworking Plus and I specialize in creating Intarsia Art,do custom woodworking and repair and refinish furniture.
I built this shop by myself almost 10 years ago.It is 1100 sq. ft timberframe with rough sawn SYP board and batten siding. I laid the brick piers,made all of the windows and doors from scratch ,did it all..
I started by building a scale model.

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/wdkits1/modelofshop001.jpg

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/wdkits1/modelofshop002.jpg

This is the finished shop.
http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/wdkits1/shop043-1.jpg

This is the view of the work area.
http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/wdkits1/shop041.jpg

This is a view of the loft.
http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/wdkits1/shop042.jpg

Shop with 10 inches of snow.
http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/wdkits1/Snowday3-2-09010-1.jpg

Will be posting pics of some of my woodworking projects soon.

[John Messinger]

Looks like a very inspiring space. I am envious. :)

[GERALD HARGROVE]

I don't think I could work in the shop for at least a couple of months. Sitting on the front porch and enjoying what I built would take up too much time. Great location and beutiful shop. Looking foward to seeing your wood work. And welcome to the Creek.

[Dewey Torres]

Very nice shop and land!

[Keith Outten]

Mike,

You should plan to join us at Angus Hines shop in Smithfield on May 9th and 10th. Vist this link:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=106530

[gary Zimmel]

Welcome to the Creek Mike.

Beautiful shop...

[Karlan Talkington]

Wow... very WOW... its exactly how I envision my shop one day. Very rustic and fitting for the surroundings. I will wholeheartedly second that its very inspiring.

Welcome to the Creek!

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful shop Mike. The model is cool too.

Welcome to SMC!

[Dave Lessley]

Nice shop space and the shop is in a nice space also Great pictures

Thanks for sharing

[Rob Damon]

Looks like a great setting for the shop. Very peaceful looking.

Whats the upper level used for, looks like a nice cozy spot up there?

Wish I didn't have height restrictions to work with or I would have put in a second level on my shop.

Rob

[Andy Bardowell]

OK this is cruel and unusual punishment Mike, I'll have to report you!

[Gary Kvasnicka]

Very nice shop Mike! Welcome to the creek.

[Jim Kountz]

Now that just looks like a great place to spend quality shop time!! Great space!!

[Danny Thompson]

How cool is that?!!

[Jim Becker]

Now thats REALLY nice!

[DougButterfield]

Mike...
How did you get your sketchup model to look so realistic??? ;)

[Mike Mathieu]

Hi Doug
Believe it or not,that model was built long before there was sketchup.LOL

[Don Bullock]

That's quite a shop Mike. The setting is beautiful.

[Phil Thien]

I think I'd be happy with just the model. :o

That is one nice shop.

[David Weiser]

Love the scale model. The guy on the porch makes the whole thing even better. :D

[DougButterfield]

When I pass on..that's pretty much the vision of heaven I want to go to.
Loooove the shop!

[John Keeton]

Not sure how I missed this thread! Those are some really neat pics - and, the model is icing on the cake.

I plan to build an addition to my shop sometime in the future and have "borrowed" these pics for future reference. Great ideas, and an inviting space.

[Carl Babel]

Beautiful shop Mike! Are those reclaimed timbers ? I love to hear stories about how people found the wood they used to build their timber frames.

[Mike Mathieu]

Hi Carl
All of the lumber that I used for the shop was locally cut.By using the scale model it was easy to do the material take-off for all of the timbers that were needed as I needed them. Only materials that were sto-bought was the plywood and hardwood flooring and the PT for the porch.

[Bill Blackburn]

Just ............. an incredible setup Mike.Beautiful and so serene. Kuddos to you:)

[Bob Slater]

I'll add one more compliment to the list..Great Space. I bet it smells like a woodshop should too. Where is the Houndog? He should be on the Porch.

[Mike Mathieu]

Hi Bob
Well she's not a hound dog but she did a fair amount of supervising during the construction of the shop.
http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/wdkits1/img044.jpg?t=1238792547

[Ron Brogan]

Now, how cool is that. Absolute story of a dream turning into a well planned reality. Congratulations!

[John Keeton]

Mike, by chance, you didn't take progress pics did you? It sure would be a neat thread. I know it is a lot of trouble resizing, etc., but I bet this group would really enjoy seeing this thing go up.

[Mike Mathieu]

Thanks all for the comments about my shop. I did take progress pics which I will post.Thanks

[Gary Lange]

That is a shop that will only be in my dreams!