Patrick Galpin
05-14-2011, 4:07 PM
I thought I would chronicle the construction of my dream shop, hope fellow members find it (somewhat) interesting.
I have been woodworking for 30+ years, learned from my grandfather and dad, and have always wanted my dream workshop. For the last 13 years I have worked when I had the time in the summer in a 20*30 post and beam structure that was not insulated, had a very old wood burning stove, totally inadequate electrical service, and 7' 6" height under the beams. The space was such that I had to open the garage door to plane boards over 5' long and you can see below.
194613
I wanted to save as much of the original barnboard, floor boards, posts and beams as possible so I hired two young guys and we stripped and dismantled the building, de-nailed all the saved wood and stacked it in my barn over a 4 day span. I'm not as young as I used to be, I found out. Oh, my aching back.
194619194618194620
194622
Our home is located north of Belleville, Ontario, 1 1/2 hours east of Toronto and sits on the great Canadian Shield, translation - lots of bedrock. Here is what we hit doing the first "scrape" of the ground to see what we are dealing with, bedrock 2-4 feet below ground.
194621
One thing we discovered was the original hand dug well right in line where footing had to go. The well had 25' of water in it so 2 truck loads of gravel were dumped in to provide a solid base.
194616194617
The foundation - part 2
I have been woodworking for 30+ years, learned from my grandfather and dad, and have always wanted my dream workshop. For the last 13 years I have worked when I had the time in the summer in a 20*30 post and beam structure that was not insulated, had a very old wood burning stove, totally inadequate electrical service, and 7' 6" height under the beams. The space was such that I had to open the garage door to plane boards over 5' long and you can see below.
194613
I wanted to save as much of the original barnboard, floor boards, posts and beams as possible so I hired two young guys and we stripped and dismantled the building, de-nailed all the saved wood and stacked it in my barn over a 4 day span. I'm not as young as I used to be, I found out. Oh, my aching back.
194619194618194620
194622
Our home is located north of Belleville, Ontario, 1 1/2 hours east of Toronto and sits on the great Canadian Shield, translation - lots of bedrock. Here is what we hit doing the first "scrape" of the ground to see what we are dealing with, bedrock 2-4 feet below ground.
194621
One thing we discovered was the original hand dug well right in line where footing had to go. The well had 25' of water in it so 2 truck loads of gravel were dumped in to provide a solid base.
194616194617
The foundation - part 2