Adam W.
A Major Clanger
Better off making some solid ones. Very easy and they don't wobble around like the collapsible ones.
Turning old farm building into workshop
- Thread starter RGBG
- Start date
Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:
I have done similar work. The two most useful tools were a speed square and a rear handle cordless circular saw. Mine is a Makita DRS 780, DRS780 - Circular Saw LXT®. The speed square acts as a fence for making square cuts and the saw can readily be used one handed, holding the speed square in the other hand. Being cordless, it is easier and safer to use than a mains powered one. The third most useful tool was some kwik stage scaffolding. rather than working off ladders.
I had to restore a barn for my workshop when my wife & I moved to a rural farmstead 24 years ago. I did almost all the work alone. Yes, it is far more difficult, but it can be done. There are several books on working alone (e.g. "Working Alone: Tips & Techniques for Solo Building" by John Carroll). Large projects truly are a series of small projects, that over time, result in accomplishments. The trade-off is that you are involved in construction rather than in shop-time! I would encourage you to start before you get old (like me)!
BEFORE:
DURING:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
DURING:
AFTER:
Cabinetman
Established Member
Jealous as Hell! Presumably old agricultural buildings, the one on the left is an odd shape that I haven’t seen before, why was that do you think? Beautifully restored btw.
Thank you! Yes, it has worked out in the end, but (the drawback) at age 66, I am now just getting back into actual woodworking, rather than construction! Of course, over the past 24 years I have been involved with numerous other projects around the farm, including adding a wrap-around front porch, a pole barn, a garage, an orchard, fencing, and a 90 foot long, five foot high dry-laid stone retaining wall requiring the use of 122 tons of gravel and forty-four 3,000 lb. pallets of stone from a local quarry. That took three years of work, mostly "pick and shovel" (that was before I got wise and purchased a tractor with a bucket!).
Interesting that you noticed it: the wood shed on the left was the first project that I tackled when we moved in. It was built on the concrete foundation of an old ice house, that was very sound. Since the ice house foundation floor was four feet under ground level, I constructed it as a two-story building. The entrance to the "basement" level is a small door on the left (not visible in the picture).
I was using all my vacation time to do the work, so when they delivered trusses for the wood shed that were four feet longer than what I had ordered, (not wanting to wait and lose construction time) I incorporated them into my plans and made the roof wider!
The "locals" call it "the play house"!
BTW, I am glad to have the storage space! I am now starting to use all the scrap lumber that I accumulated over the years. Lumber prices have been ridiculous!
P.S. The "locals" call my garage "Trump Tower"...
Last edited:
Adam W.
A Major Clanger
Wow, that's lovely.
Adam W.
A Major Clanger
.
Cabinetman
Established Member
Now I’m even more jealous lol.
Ice house and the wrong roof joists, so no surprise I hadn’t seen one like it anywhere else!
Ice house and the wrong roof joists, so no surprise I hadn’t seen one like it anywhere else!
I tend to be pragmatic when it comes to architecture
... and life in general for that matter! A sound British attribute, I believe. I am pretty sure I was British in a previous life!
(BTW, we are all wishing the best for Princess Kate and the Royal Family.)
