Thanks for the kind words guys, its been a long haul from a small shed in London and a garage in Doncaster before then. The reason it is so big was partially the fault of my neighbour, his logic is unquestionable " you can put a little 'un in a big 'un bit not a big 'un in a little 'un". So I extended it another 5m and funnily enough, it seem that most of that space is occupied with his stuff :lol:
The main problems are the elements, even though I've insulated it, heating it would be a very costly and would have made the planning/building regs more complex as there are all sorts of pressure tests you need to do etc. Dehumidifying the workshop is also virtually impossible so rust and cold are major curses. However I have found that there are ways around it, or at least to minimise impact.
This is a milling machine I was in the process of renovating this winter
and a couple of days later, this happened literally overnight, big lump of cold iron, change in air pressure/humidity/temperature and suddenly you get condensation and rust.
Fortunately this was just light surface rust and I quickly removed it and covered it with a Dynax S50, a wax based product from Bilt Hamber that seems to work well however I'm experimenting with other stuff too.
I have built a cosy part in the stone part of the barn above the brewery ( no beer tap extended - yet). This is double insulated with kingspan and is kept reasonably warm with just a PC, printer etc. going, unless its really bitter outside. I work from here a day or so a week so and I also use it for electrical/electronic projects, I'm currently making my own heating controls with a raspberry pi and Arduino as I think commercial ones are pants. If its too cold in the workshop I come in here with a cuppa and work on something else.
That's one of the reasons I'm building a partition in the workshop, and area with mainly woodworking tools with a wooden floor. I may put a small wood stove in here.
The last problem is security, it really galls me when stuff you have worked hard for is stolen, especially when you know they will be sold for peanuts. I have had one break-in but they got away with nothing as they couldn't get past the steel door. If they had they would have faced another plus several other security measures that I would rather not go into. I don't really have many expensive tools, most are ancient/refurbished and have little black market resale value however this wouldn't stop them. They broke through the Yorkshire boarding into the barn below, there's nothing to nick in there, at least not portable and the sliding door is unlocked anyway!
Next, the workshop in more detail.
Cheers
Andy