That is so very cool! What a creative space you can make out of that building!
As you make plans I would be very careful to conserve that awesome character of that building. Look up Jack Forsbergs shop on here, it has that same kind of character.
I'm jealous.
Larry
Nice looking barn, lots of potential. I am a couple of years into a hobby woodshop in an old Yankee (English) barn here in Vermont.barn outside east end.jpg
1.Clean it out, lay the insides bare.
2.get a building inspector or someone with some building experience to assess the structure. Fix any structural issues first.
3. Seal up to deny access to birds bats chipmunks --chipmunks in your shop will unleash your inner Donald Duck.
4. Insulate, as economically as you can. but be sure to insulate the whole shell.
5. Run preliminary wiring. Believe me you do not know how the space is going to end up being used in a couple of years. Put in circuits as you need them.
5.barn looking up from machinery area to second floor east.jpg Sheathe the inside, If you see piles of weathered rough cut outside a building that has been there for years, with a smile and deferential attitude you can often get it amazingly cheaply.
barn west end looking eas at euro bench.jpg6. Build things for YOUR height. I'm 6'3" and the riser under the bench is made out of 6x6's lap jointed and bolted to the concrete floor, Best hour I ever spent!
7. it looks like a spacious barn for a hobby shop, be generous to yourself with the space!
What does it mean when you've accumulated enough tools that human life expectancy precludes you from ever getting truly good with all of them?
Make sure the basics are in good order first.
-Don't insulate a thing until you're sure you don't have any water leaks in the building.
-Make sure the siding, roofing, and foundation are in good shape.
-Have the structure assessed by an engineer and shore up as needed.
If you start right away building a shop inside that building, it may cost you a fortune to undo later if you don't deal with the basics first.
T-hen I'd move on to flooring. If it's a dirt floor, you'll have some work to do.
-Then electrical. I recommend running your lighting and a few circuits of basic 110v outlets inside the walls, and run the wiring for bigger machinery in conduit after you've finished off the walls- this way you can reconfigure your shop more easily later.
-Then insulation. With a building like that, which was not designed to be perfectly weather tight, you will have lots of air infiltration. Easiest way to solve that is with some closed cell spray foam insulation. This is why I recommended running conduit for bigger machinery- redoing in-wall wiring when you have spray foam will be a big PITA.
That's what i recommend for your order of priorities.
if you would like to learn more of that era in terms of detail than i would get "the book" by Vincent Scully Jr.. The Shingle Style and the Stick Style
You must love these old structures. they are never done IMO
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shingle-St.../dp/0300015194
a helpful book in structure would be Eric Slones "An Age Of Barns"
.http://10engines.blogspot.ca/2010/07...ic-sloane.html
Last edited by jack forsberg; 03-29-2015 at 2:35 PM.
jack
English machines
Wow pretty cool looking old barn, kind of looks like Normy aught to be walking out of it. I love old homes and we just restored a 100 year old, just make sure you get a good architect, Structural Engineer and GC..
I'm drooling. We are trying to buy the house next door and turn it into a workshop. It is an early 1800's granite stone house with massive floor joists and an open floorplan 34x22. It needs to be gutted and redone, which is all part of the fun.
Good luck with the closing. Keep us posted.
I'm going to take this in a completely different direction.
You've got a LOT of old growth reclaimable lumber in that barn. A LOT. I would consider taking it down for the materials, selling 'em, and building a nice, modern, well insulated, well lit "designed as a shop" shop. Yes, it won't have the heritage, but it will be a much better shop. I wouldn't be surprised if the net cost ends up being less. Of course, rehabbing may not involve very much in the way of permits, whereas rebuilding may....
Either way, good for you, enjoy, and stay safe.
Just keep the horseshoe.
It came to pass...
"Curiosity is the ultimate power tool." - Roy Underhill
The road IS the destination.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shingle-St.../dp/0300015194
a helpful book in structure would be Eric Slones "An Age Of Barns"
.http://10engines.blogspot.ca/2010/07...ic-sloane.html[/QUOTE]
Jack, these look like gems. I'm on it.
A new shop building is nice, but I'd prefer to do some work on this old barn. I'd probably look at removing the stalls and such to make more room, use beams to support the structure, and open it up. And I would fir it out with 2x4 or 2x6 to make it able to be insulated. The main thing is does the old building have a foundation that will support it into the future? With a bad foundation, not much you can do, unless you want to jack it up and add one, or move it onto a new foundation.
Love the building! On thing that concerns me today is the "rampant" use of spray foam. It's pretty much irreversible, and an old building like this has been changed a lot on it's journey to become your shop. Spray foam will certainly work, but you are permanently covering up some of the character. Just my opinion, but I like to build something in a reversible manner.
Congrats Mac! I'm green with envy. What kind of square footage do you have there?
Brian
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher
Agreed! Spray foam can create some very serious moisture problems, it is certainly not a universal answer. I recommend buying a copy of Building Sciences "Building in Cold Climates" to better understand how to best insulate a structure without causing moisture problems. A lot of what is being done today will be a rotten mess in a very short number of years. I am already seeing failures due to improper moisture control.
I built a Geo dome 30 years ago that was foamed. It was torn down last year. By the time the problem was recognized it was too late, the structure was a total loss. It was sold at the time as the ultimate answer. I'm not buying it.
By the way, I am just assuming it is in a cold climate by the pictures, a location in your signature would help us know exactly what you are dealing with on the temp/humidity front.
John said that a lot more eloquently that I was thinking as I was simply going to say: bulldozer! Sometimes one gets too far into an old structure to back out so be sure to do yourself a favor and explore it very carefully to ensure it is worth saving and the kind of space that you really want. Sometimes we compromise too much lost in the nostalgia of an old structure. Best of luck to you!!