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Workshop Rescue

I didn't think this one would warrant a page, but unfortunately it does.   The Coles Notes version is that in November 2005 we were lucky enough to find a house that was very well suited to our needs, meaning that the house met our needs plus had a free standing workshop.  Doris' insistence believe it or not, I can't imagine why.    The building was used as a greenhouse, not just steel and glass, but a frame building with a shingle roof but lots of glass.  Too hot and too cold, but at 20'X40' unobstructed with 10' ceiling height with a poured concrete floor and foundation, 2X6 walls and a gas furnace - too good to be true, especially in suburbia! 

Click on the thumbnail images to view full size.

It won't be in Architectural Digest anytime soon, but it is total overkill for my purposes and looks solid.   Note the very Catholic window design.  As always though, the devil is in the details.

Here are a few shots of the south wall.   I could remove the exterior sheathing by gently brushing it with my hand - from the inside!  The siding hides the horrors as you can see in other pics from the next pics below.  One good nudge and the windows are out!  The lesson is obvious WRT maintenance and dollars now vs. later.  

Progress...

Details below.  Note the lack of sill, or provision for drainage.   Cheap - glass is installed directly into the stud walls with the siding serving as capping.  No sashes and sills.   If ever you see this, look closer....  See the gap?  Windows like this need to be perfectly caulked.  Better yet they should be avoided entirely.

These were not.  So, where does the water go?  Into the stud wall of course, and down to the sill.  That's not fire damage, it's rot.  The sill plate in the picture above was removed by brushing it away with one gloved hand.  So down the slippery slope I go yet again... and eventually, more progress.

Interior.  first  a basic shell, then a mezzanine for storage and walls and real windows replacing glass and rot. 

 

Here's a layout I am considering.    The dust collector will be ducted to the radial saw, the jointer/lathe/bandsaw, and possibly over to the bench if a "drop" can be done neatly.  Under the in and outfeed tables for the saw will be stored a router table, the kids' scroll saw, and a 12" thickness planer, each of which could be connected via a flex hose from the wall.

There are separate 20A 220v circuits along each wall (two on the north wall) and separate, split 120v 20A circuits along each wall. 

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Recent purchases.  Dewalt GW-I, c 1956 or so.  Pretty.  General 390 bandsaw, 1950s Beaver 6" jointer, and yet another Buffalo 15 drill press.  Nothing made in China here!