My New House & Workshop

[Rick W]

I’ll draw a better sketch with the wall bumped out over the weekend, slammed Friday.

 

[sgtsandman]

Is doing a pit an option instead of raising the roof? A maintenance pit might be a cheaper option if you can do it. Not as nice as a lift but many of the same functions could still be performed.

 

[franklin2]

Is doing a pit an option instead of raising the roof? A maintenance pit might be a cheaper option if you can do it. Not as nice as a lift but many of the same functions could still be performed.

You would definitely have to do that after you got your insurance policy. They do not like big holes people can fall into. And if the water table is high there can be water problems also.

 

[sgtsandman]

Making a wooden cover for the pit isn’t a hard thing and can help with the insurance part. The last garage I worked in that had one used some pretty stout boards that you could remove in sections as needed. They were heavy enough to hold a person. Possibly a vehicle as well but I wouldn’t want to test that.

The water table is an issue and part of the reason I asked if it was possible.

 

[Uncle Gump]

If the old TV repair shop or whatever it was has a bathroom... I would convert part of it into a guest apartment/office space. Then make the rest a machine room/storage. Only of you plan on putting up a new garage to work on the truck.

I've spoken to several realtors in the last few weeks... a home office is a huge must have for many looking to buy.

 

[Roert42]

I agree with @Uncle Gump

Convert the the existing building into a machine shop/workshop/parts storage building. Then add a second building for a garage. This is what I would do.

 

[Rick W]

@Jim Oaks

Humor me again, I found this earlier in this thread, please sketch in the bathroom including the toilet, sink, and walls and doors. Is there a tub or shower? Sketch that too. I need dimensions +/- 1ft.

& I didn’t realize there were doors on the ally side, but I’ve got that now.

Get me the info and I’ll do a better sketch. Cool project!

 

[Jim Oaks]

It's pissing me off that I'm having trouble getting anyone to come out and give me a quote. Part of me just wants to say fawk it and do the work myself, but it's to much for one person, and all of my friends are back east.

I called the city. They don't require any permits. All they ask is that whatever I build meets the Texas building code.

 

[don4331]

I though pits were verboten everywhere now - too many issues with fumes not being evacuated and people dying as a result.

People falling in and getting hurt was secondary.

 

[Rick W]

Stay cool, builders are generally jerks when their market is good.

Go to the local Home Depot/Lowe’s or even hardware store and go to the industrial/construction desk and tell them you need a small contractor to modify a small building, mostly carpentry, a little concrete. Print out your info 4 times to a page, cut them up, and add small contractor carpenter wanted.

Also, I’m not trying to push into it, to me it’s fun, but you will get much better response and better prices if you have fairly decent drawings. Most of the guys who are great with the hammers and saws aren’t so good at the design and estimating, so the less detail you provide, the mire hesitant they get and the higher the price goes.

As a contractor, I’m always skeptical when someone doesn’t have some kind of plan. It’s an accident waiting to happen, so my price goes up. I.e.: “I didn’t have a plan but you didn’t meet my goals!”

Whatever you do, don’t make a down payment to get them started. Only the guys who are in trouble need cash now!

Send me the bathroom sketch.

& call me. I sent my number in a PM

Stay cool. This is supposed to be fun

 

[RonD]

On projects that require more labor than I can do or want to do, I hire temp labor from a local company
Workers come with insurance and workmans comp(in Canada) or OSHA coverage in the US
Set hourly rate, but usually a 4 hour minimum, per worker
And you can get different trades, i.e. roofers, builders, masons, general labor, ect...................

So you act as the General Contractor and do the work at your pace, and at the times you want the work done
You get the bins delivered and they fill them up as far as the demo
You get the materials delivered and they build it, per your instructions
Most have their own hand tools specific to their trade, but you would need to provide any power tools or specific hand tools like breaker bars for demo

The local service here is pretty good, I thought I would need 4 workers to do a 1 day project, but ended up needing 6, the extra 2 workers showed up within an hour of the call

 

[Jim Oaks]

 

[Jim Oaks]

 

[Rick W]

@Jim Oaks

Jim, the crapper is in the wrong place. Hold up on this one and get another property.

But let me ponder...

 

[Curious Hound]

@Jim Oaks

Jim, the crapper is in the wrong place. Hold up on this one and get another property.

But let me ponder...

No, no, no. If it even HAS a crapper, it’s all good. Be thankful for the little things.