Daily Shop Improvement
- Thread starter Janger
- Start date
The shop in Vernon was the best price at the time and they were really good to deal with. I just looked at Amazon.com and they are $700 shipped from the states, much better to stay here and shop.
When I brought the mill home I was able to back the truck into the shop and just lift it straight up and out without hitting anything.
When I brought the mill home I was able to back the truck into the shop and just lift it straight up and out without hitting anything.
Clearcutter
Member
So glad I found this Forum!
This has been my project during the Covid. I have a small 15x20 shop that is a constant challenge to fit things into and still keep it workable. I have been working on cabinets the last couple months which has been a huge help. They are done and painted but I still have to finish the doors.
Scott
This has been my project during the Covid. I have a small 15x20 shop that is a constant challenge to fit things into and still keep it workable. I have been working on cabinets the last couple months which has been a huge help. They are done and painted but I still have to finish the doors.
Scott
Attachments
Clearcutter
Member
I was really involved with RC years ago, But have barely touched them lately and sold most. That's what I have left. All electric yes.
Need pics of your lathe as well....
Clearcutter
Member
Thanks David, I see you have a Honda Hawk! Love those bikes. I had two in the late 90's. Sure wish I had kept one. I have an NC700 now and a bunch of old CT's that I play with.
Beautifully organized shop
Brent H
Ultra Member
Hey @Hruul the baby Barn came together very well and the loft space is great! I was able to put all my excess wood from the shop up there and get it out of the way. I do not have the "finished" pics but I will show what I have. The roof was totally built on the ground and then my neighbour popped over with his fork lift and we strapped it up and set it in place - was great! only took me about 2 hours to shingle the whole thing as it was on the ground.
The heat has bent over the shingles that were sticking out already and the lawn mower etc is all stored away. I added a couple 6x6 support/decorative braces at 45 dgress at the front. It is all capped in now and I put a bunch of lumber up top. I had to leave for work before I could get all the siding a trim on but it is all closed in.
@David_R8 : Here is my shop layout and some panorama pics:
The heat has bent over the shingles that were sticking out already and the lawn mower etc is all stored away. I added a couple 6x6 support/decorative braces at 45 dgress at the front. It is all capped in now and I put a bunch of lumber up top. I had to leave for work before I could get all the siding a trim on but it is all closed in.
@David_R8 : Here is my shop layout and some panorama pics:
That's really great progress and nice work to boot.
When I built a half-gable storage shed next to my house for my snowblowers, I decided to over-build the framing. Instead of 24" OC I built to 16" OC and properly fishmouthed the rafters. It's vinyl-sided to match the house perfectly, and the framing was intentional. I strung chains from the top plates and can now slide up to 14' long flat bar and tubing across it for long term metal storage. The shed has doors and ramps on each end for the snowblowers and lawnmowers, and the chains make it super easy to slide in metal and store it long term. But one issue emerged—rust.
I now have a 12V solar panel on the roof that charges an Optima battery. This powers LED lights, an alarm system, and a circulating fan. Since I added the fan, rust is down to a minimum on the metal stock. It's controlled by an Arduino that senses humidity and turns itself on and off as needed. It's made a big difference in the rust compared to when I first built the shed years ago.
The rust lesson I learned the hard way. I had purchased a large quantity of flat bar at a good price for future use; two years later I had to put a lot of sanding into it to make it useable. The doors on my shed are not weather sealed, but pretty well fitting. I didn't expect the rust that I got though. It got me thinking about the expensive machines I store in there, and how the moisture was affecting them.
The last thing I added to my shed was an open door alarm (amber flashing light in pic). I did this because my shed is beside my shop (attached garage) and I was frequently going back and forth between the shop and the shed. Inevitably I'd leave one of the two shed doors open, and sometimes my neighbour would let me know. With $6K of machines in there this seemed like a bad thing. So I added a flashing light and buzzer to the doors that are wired in series as a NC switch. Now the light flashes in the shop if I've left the door open and the buzzer alerts (if I enabled it). I've never left it open since.
Those are my lessons learned. Your storage space is much more robust and nicer than mine, but I suspect our requirements are somewhat similar.
Great job. I wish I had space like you (and neighbours with a forklift). My neighbour once refused to help me lift a box out of my truck because he said he'd "have to buy a work shirt first."
Keep up the great work @Brent H and the pics. Such a nice shop you're going to have
When I built a half-gable storage shed next to my house for my snowblowers, I decided to over-build the framing. Instead of 24" OC I built to 16" OC and properly fishmouthed the rafters. It's vinyl-sided to match the house perfectly, and the framing was intentional. I strung chains from the top plates and can now slide up to 14' long flat bar and tubing across it for long term metal storage. The shed has doors and ramps on each end for the snowblowers and lawnmowers, and the chains make it super easy to slide in metal and store it long term. But one issue emerged—rust.
I now have a 12V solar panel on the roof that charges an Optima battery. This powers LED lights, an alarm system, and a circulating fan. Since I added the fan, rust is down to a minimum on the metal stock. It's controlled by an Arduino that senses humidity and turns itself on and off as needed. It's made a big difference in the rust compared to when I first built the shed years ago.
The rust lesson I learned the hard way. I had purchased a large quantity of flat bar at a good price for future use; two years later I had to put a lot of sanding into it to make it useable. The doors on my shed are not weather sealed, but pretty well fitting. I didn't expect the rust that I got though. It got me thinking about the expensive machines I store in there, and how the moisture was affecting them.
The last thing I added to my shed was an open door alarm (amber flashing light in pic). I did this because my shed is beside my shop (attached garage) and I was frequently going back and forth between the shop and the shed. Inevitably I'd leave one of the two shed doors open, and sometimes my neighbour would let me know. With $6K of machines in there this seemed like a bad thing. So I added a flashing light and buzzer to the doors that are wired in series as a NC switch. Now the light flashes in the shop if I've left the door open and the buzzer alerts (if I enabled it). I've never left it open since.
Those are my lessons learned. Your storage space is much more robust and nicer than mine, but I suspect our requirements are somewhat similar.
Great job. I wish I had space like you (and neighbours with a forklift). My neighbour once refused to help me lift a box out of my truck because he said he'd "have to buy a work shirt first."
Keep up the great work @Brent H and the pics. Such a nice shop you're going to have
Last edited:
Brent H
Ultra Member
@CalgaryPT : that is a great idea with the chain and hanging the stock - keeps it well above "sitting is water" - excellent!!!
Our municipality is quite strict with out buildings and the size of things - I wanted my shop to be bigger or at least have a wing for painting etc but we are limited to 735 Sq Ft and then you need to apply for permits, pay more money for "grading and septic". We have just over 2 acres so you would think a 35 x 40 would not be an issue - but it is. My neighbour with the fork lift ended up building 4 shops all together that are 700 Sq ft each because the neighbours squashed his original larger shop concept. Crazy dumb and now they stare at the side of 2 of his shops instead of trees and things as he moved the shops right on over from where he was going to put the bigger one.
I took over half the garage as my "welding" area so I think I have expanded pretty well. With my middle lad starting up an HVAC business and also needing space: things will get a bit tight until he moves off for his own space - LOL
For ventilation in the baby barn my Fork lift neighbour (he runs a roofing company) gave me a solar powered vent fan that he received as a demo - works great! not humidity controlled but pretty slick! Your Alarm Idea is excellent as well!
Our municipality is quite strict with out buildings and the size of things - I wanted my shop to be bigger or at least have a wing for painting etc but we are limited to 735 Sq Ft and then you need to apply for permits, pay more money for "grading and septic". We have just over 2 acres so you would think a 35 x 40 would not be an issue - but it is. My neighbour with the fork lift ended up building 4 shops all together that are 700 Sq ft each because the neighbours squashed his original larger shop concept. Crazy dumb and now they stare at the side of 2 of his shops instead of trees and things as he moved the shops right on over from where he was going to put the bigger one.
I took over half the garage as my "welding" area
so I think I have expanded pretty well. With my middle lad starting up an HVAC business and also needing space: things will get a bit tight until he moves off for his own space - LOLFor ventilation in the baby barn my Fork lift neighbour (he runs a roofing company) gave me a solar powered vent fan that he received as a demo - works great! not humidity controlled but pretty slick! Your Alarm Idea is excellent as well!
Correct. I've tried both the DHT11 and DHT22 sensors. "Humid" is relative; I just played with the sketch code while putting the sensors next to a boiling kettle closer and closer to tweak it. I watched the serial output from the Arduino to decide when I thought it was "humid." But the best thing I did was to test it over several weeks in the spring; after a rainy day if it didn't kick in I would adjust the code so that the fan would engage. Then I played with how long the fan stayed on, re-sampled the analog inputs, and ran the loop again. If you combine the temp output with the humidity setting and add a duration loop, you get a reasonable algorithm. I never quantified it with other test instruments; I just know it kicks in after rainstorms and the rust is almost absent on my stock now (tested over several years).
The hydroponics industry sells OTC sensors that do this. I used to grow hot peppers in my basement before we developed it and I used them. They are so sophisticated now you can program them to open roof vents to do a "harsh discharge" when it get too moist or hot. PA sells lots of 12V automotive fans that work, but you can ramp it up with small barn fans or bigger fans obviously.
My sensor/controller is on loan to a friend for his hot pepper greenhouse and I hope to have it back in a few weeks. But if I were doing it over again I would just buy a controller from the hydroponics industry.
It doesn't kick in during winter.
Last edited:
Calgary is the same, maybe even more anal.
I have two sheds, and technically I think I am slightly over the sq. footage limits for my yard size, or pretty close. Most complaints WRT outbuildings relate to their "unsightliness," which is why I went the extra mile to match them to my house colour and materials. I snowblow all my neighbours' sidewalks, so if they want to turn me in, have at 'er. (Then shovel your own walks.)
Having worked for government for 30 years and written multiple bylaws I am pretty respectful of community standards. But realistically I know Bylaw Officers mostly respond to complaints, and unless you have a neighbour from *ell, and you are reasonable, you're OK.
Last edited:
Hey Pete,
Are we talking permanent structures here or does that apply to your common comes in a box metal garden shed as well?
I ask because I know someone in a high end NW neighbourhood that has a least 5 12'X12' sheds in his back yard LOL.
I've been retired for a while, so am not as current with regulations as I used to be. But generally speaking a structure in Calgary under 107 square feet does not require a permit, foundation or not. There are exceptions, such as a structure attached to a house, tent garages, and most municipalities don't allow you to "no-pool" your outbuildings (Calgary included). This means you can't get around the square foot rule by having two or more separate out-buildings that collectively exceed the 107 square foot rule for the given lot size. It would be in the Community Standards Bylaw, Land Use Bylaw or zoning restrictions (permit required) to go past a specific percentage of your lot footage devoted to outbuildings. I think it used to be 20%, but again I'd have to double check...it might be lower. This caveat was added years ago specifically because people would try to get around the outbuilding cap by having multiple sheds—thinking the municipality wouldn't figure it out (they do).
There will also be restrictions in Calgary and other places related to set-backs from the street, utility ROWs (Rights of Way), as well as adjacent lot lines and even possible overland drainage (actually a big issue).
FYI, in municipalities with sophisticated GIS systems that do aerial surveys (like Calgary), they spatially correct the images they take and feed them into software that can analyse the footprint of your outbuildings and compare it to your lot size. Using this information they can verify assessments for tax purposes, and calculate whether or not your outbuildings, deck size, swimming pool, unidriveway, etc., exceed what is permitted for your given zoning. Based on this, the municipality can legally reassess your property or send out bylaw officials for specific violations. Outbuildings are one example.
They also have more sophisticated technology that can detect thermal anomalies such as grow ops. This, and other technology from the same pics was in fact used to find dead bodies outside of Calgary (Airdrie) in the infamous Douglas Garland murders several years ago. I recall seeing some thermal peaks in a residential image once no one could figure out. They were off the charts for the residential area and really baffled the analysts. It turned out to be a blacksmith forge in a backyard.
Unless the municipality is hard up for cash (and certainly not in an election year), they don't do this kind of analysis routinely. But they will do it when there is a complaint. And generally speaking, they don't do it every year—often every second year (due to budgeting). So if in your example a complaint is lodged, the first thing The City will do is check the latest aerial survey and compare outbuilding size to lot size as a percentage. This is automated.
If you ever see people putting camo netting on their out-buildings or RVs in the fall, they are doing so because they understand when municipalities do this aerial photography. I've seen examples of it when I still worked for government. It always occurs in the fall season because this is what is known as "leaf off" season—or the time of year when the leaves fall off the trees and the planes can photograph the buildings (and determine square footage) better. Using thermal imagery, a municipality can distinguish the thermal signature of an outbuilding from the primary residence.
In rural areas, townships generally don't have the money to do this kind of aerial photography as cities do. However, if you live in a township or place such as Airdrie that is just barely outside municipal limits you might get photographed—big cities usually fly over an "overlap" area that will include your town. This is how Douglas Garland was caught and the bodies were noticed—it was Calgary doing the flyover that took the pictures.
Having said all this, I have a recommendation for people that are upset because a neighbour possibly built/erected oversize outbuildings for storage, or they are welding or grinding in their garage, etc. Unless there is an environmental or safety hazard, or the violation has a big impact on you or your property (e.g., overland drainage), think seriously before reporting someone. A minor issue like having an outbuilding a few square feet over the limit can cause irreparable relationship damage in a neighbourhood far exceeding the small infraction itself. Often the issues can be resolved with a simple conversation between neighbours.
Sorry for the rant
Last edited:
In my previous property I wanted to build a 12' x 16' 'shop' where a single car garage stood before I bought the place.I've been retired for a while, so am not as current with regulations as I used to be. But generally speaking a structure in Calgary under 107 square feet does not require a permit, foundation or not. There are exceptions, such as a structure attached to a house, tent garages, and most municipalities don't allow you to "no-pool" your outbuildings (Calgary included). This means you can't get around the square foot rule by having two or more separate out-buildings that collectively exceed the 107 square foot rule for the given lot size. It would be in the Community Standards Bylaw, Land Use Bylaw or zoning restrictions (permit required) to go past a specific percentage of your lot footage devoted to outbuildings. I think it used to be 20%, but again I'd have to double check...it might be lower. This caveat was added years ago specifically because people would try to get around the outbuilding cap by having multiple sheds—thinking the municipality wouldn't figure it out (they do).
There will also be restrictions in Calgary and other places related to set-backs from the street, utility ROWs (Rights of Way), as well as adjacent lot lines and even possible overland drainage (actually a big issue).
FYI, in municipalities with sophisticated GIS systems that do aerial surveys (like Calgary), they spatially correct the images they take and feed them into software that can analyse the footprint of your outbuildings and compare it to your lot size. Using this information they can verify assessments for tax purposes, and calculate whether or not your outbuildings, deck size, swimming pool, unidriveway, etc., exceed what is permitted for your given zoning. Based on this, the municipality can legally reassess your property or send out bylaw officials for specific violations. Outbuildings are one example.
They also have more sophisticated technology that can detect thermal anomalies such as grow ops. This, and other technology from the same pics was in fact used to find dead bodies outside of Calgary (Airdrie) in the infamous Douglas Garland murders several years ago. I recall seeing some thermal peaks in a residential image once no one could figure out. They were off the charts for the residential area and really baffled the analysts. It turned out to be a blacksmith forge in a backyard.
Unless the municipality is hard up for cash (and certainly not in an election year), they don't do this kind of analysis routinely. But they will do it when there is a complaint. And generally speaking, they don't do it every year—often every second year (due to budgeting). So if in your example a complaint is lodged, the first thing The City will do is check the latest aerial survey and compare outbuilding size to lot size as a percentage. This is automated.
If you ever see people putting camo netting on their out-buildings or RVs in the fall, they are doing so because they understand when municipalities do this aerial photography. I've seen examples of it when I still worked for government. It always occurs in the fall season because this is what is known as "leaf off" season—or the time of year when the leaves fall off the trees and the planes can photograph the buildings (and determine square footage) better. Using thermal imagery, a municipality can distinguish the thermal signature of an outbuilding from the primary residence.
In rural areas, townships generally don't have the money to do this kind of aerial photography as cities do. However, if you live in a township or place such as Airdrie that is just barely outside municipal limits you might get photographed—big cities usually fly over an "overlap" area that will include your town. This is how Douglas Garland was caught and the bodies were noticed—it was Calgary doing the flyover that took the pictures.
Having said all this, I have a recommendation for people that are upset because a neighbour possibly built/erected oversize outbuildings for storage, or they are welding or grinding in their garage, etc. Unless there is an environmental or safety hazard, or the violation has a big impact on you or your property (e.g., overland drainage), think seriously before reporting someone. A minor issue like having an outbuilding a few square feet over the limit can cause irreparable relationship damage in a neighbourhood far exceeding the small infraction itself. Often the issues can be resolved with a simple conversation between neighbours.
Sorry for the rant
Went to the muni and got the third degree about needing full-on architectural drawings to build anything more than a shed.
I asked if I could have more than one 107 sq ft shed and they said no problem, just mind the setbacks.
So I built two 8' x 12' sheds. Built them as two separate units and bolted them together. Each half had a door and a window, roofed it in steel and put an overlap at the join of the two sheds.
Sold the place a few years later and the buyer wanted a survey. I gave them the survey that we got from the municpality and lo and behold it showed a garage, right where my shop was. Who would have thought it would work out like that?
Last edited: