Hey, guys. I've been lurking for awhile, and love all the advice. I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring and ask for some shop advice, though I need loads of it in most areas.

We have a couple of acres near Mt St. Helens in Southwest Washington. On the top acre is the house, and on the bottom acre is the...uhhh..."Shop". It's a converted (poorly) 24'x24' pole barn that was renovated into a hobby auto shop, then we bought the place, and it was my dream shop. 12' - 14' ceiling, wood stove, epoxy-over-concrete floor. It is a good 75 yards from the house, on the only flat spot on the lower 1/2 of the property, in the midst of huge old blue spruces and cedars.

What started as a wood-post, tin-sided and -roofed pole barn was converted...mostly. They left gaps at the top of the wall-joists (6", all the way around), left the roof tin (you look up from inside, and that's all you see), the gable ends are simply translucent plastic corrugation (again, that's what you see from the inside, too!) The power was unacceptable - being so far from the house and poorly run, I could kick the breaker at the house by running a skil saw.

First thing we did was upgraded the power. Had some electricians come out and ran huge cables for a 100-amp single-phase box down there. Ok, compressor runs, saws are good, lighting is great.

So, after using it a couple of years, it's become apparent that it's not going to do it for me as it sits. With the tin roof (in moderate condition, but uninsulated), there's constant moisture. I can't actually work on any projects from October thru July (our rainy season) because of the moisture, both in the air, in the wood, and on the tools. I end up spending the first 1/2 hour of each session scrubbing at all the tables with WD-40 and ScotchBrite, and then re-waxing them. I've got rust spots on all of the cast tables (bandsaw, jointer, tablesaw, lathe ways, etc.), and it's ruining my tools. It's gotten to the point now that I'm finding pine needles stuck in things after a bit of wind. Now, there's mold growing through the sheetrock at one gable-end. (*groan*)

We've considered putting money into knocking this one down and putting something 2-story up in its place. But the costs are prohibitive. I can see doing all the sheetrock/electrical/finish work, but I'm not much of a framer. By myself, I can't repair the roof - sheeting's too heavy, it's too high, too hard to get a small lift in there (you need 4x4 to get up to the shop from the gravel access road), and too much of a project for me, I'm afraid.

It's an old building, as far as pole barns go -- 25 years or so. It's godawful ugly, and deafening when it rains...which is most of the time around here. But it's my SHOP! I love it, despite all the faults.

I've got a few weeks of vacation coming up at work, and am not even sure where to start. It feels overwhelming at this point. But I've got to protect the tools, I've got to be able to heat it.

So...where DO I start? Get a contractor out here? I've had two, so far, for estimates. We can't reasonably see spending more than $10k getting it remodeled, as a new pole barn exactly like this one is only $5k (Of course, that won't solve our problems, either). The roofing estimates I've gotten (R&R the entire thing, rolled shingle roofing to replace this, leave insulating and gable-ends to me) are $5k and change.

It seems that sealing/insulating will at least give me a good base to be able to repair and use the shop. Duh. But are there cheaper/temporary options that may help out? I have another building (a converted garage, no real power to speak of, just studs and siding) that's about 18x20 that would work for temporary storage or...as my new shop. Gaaah. I hate to lose the square footage, as I feel cramped as is in the big one. And, it's very near the house, so the noise factor is still an issue.

Man, I feel like I'm telling my life story. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

My concerns are: money, tools, comfort...in that order. I can live with being uncomfortable and repairing the tools and running the woodstove often if it's too damned expensive to repair, and instead I have to save my money for 3 or 4 years and have a real shop put up. Or, I would love to get this thing workable and be able to work in a nice, comfy shop, if there's a labor-intensive way I can fix it.

This all boils down to a few questions, now that you know what I'm up against. 1. Is there a way to repair/replace the roof that will magically work? Some combination of Tyvek, roofing tar, and foam insulation that will fix this flimsy, 2x6 on 24" tin roof? 2. Is it worth all of our budgeted savings to have a roofer come out and just get it done, so I can focus on woodwork? 3. Should I just repair a bit and then limp along for a few years in the hopes of getting a new shop at some point? 4. I sold my bandsaw last week, in the hopes of purchasing that Laguna 18" I've had my eye on, but...when SWMBO and I discussed it, she reminded me that I may have the only rusty Laguna in the entire country come November. And that would make me cry. A lot. So, no bandsaw until the shop's repaired, replaced...whatever. And, of course, the Laguna would come out of the $5k budget, so that may have to wait until next year...or the year after. 5. I can R&R the sheetrock, so that's not a big deal, but...again, it doesn't make sense to do that until this is relatively watertight and humidity-controlled.

Any advice or comments would be appreciated. I'm sure someone, somewhere has gone through this before.