The new shop/hangar is taking shape...

grandpaul

grandpaul

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Started working on a proper shop in January, since we moved to this HOA neighborhood that is very unfriendly to shop activity. Plus, I need a place to fly my ultralight (not to mention finish building the dang thing).

So, instead of renting out our old place, we sold it and bought 4 acres about 15 minutes from the house, in the central Texas hill country, right on a FANTASTIC twisty road. I paid a guy to dismantle my steel building garage and transport the materials up here, then erect it in a re-configured bigger hangar/shop/storage with a small office and basic bathroom.

Clearing the land didn't go well, as far as the dork I paid to bulldoze it. He went thru the front gate, started in on the road, then inexplicably took a right turn and cleared a nice road for the neighbor. After that, he just randomly dozed stuff and piled it willy-nilly. When I pointed out he departed from the pre-agreed, GPS-checked layout, he basically told me to take a hike and left without finishing, even though he was paid in full.

The new shop/hangar is taking shape...


I cleared the ACTUAL road between the yellow lines by renting a Bobcat and doing it myself. The neighbor's free road (at my expense) is on the left.

The Bobcat was fun to use once I got the hang of it. I leveled out a spot for the building slab...

The new shop/hangar is taking shape...


Repaired the disaster the bulldozer left, and cleared a 420' runway that I'll plant with native grass that will survive without watering.

The new shop/hangar is taking shape...
 
Slab took a lot longer than planned, due to the weather, but also the guys changing the design from simple forms and quick dirt fill with the Bobcat, to hand-filling sandbags and piling them to form the panels, then hand-filling the forms with dirt (Bobcat rental period ended). 3 days longer and several hundred dollars in bags; I didn't budge on the original firm quote for the labor, but did feed and house them (including water hauling and gas for the generator) for 3 additional days.

The new shop/hangar is taking shape...


My first plumbing installation, although I've designed literally hundreds of commercial plumbing systems...

The new shop/hangar is taking shape...


Poured at last, 3 weeks behind schedule.

The new shop/hangar is taking shape...
 
Steel framing went up quickly, 2-1/2 days...
The new shop/hangar is taking shape...

They've since welded and trimmed the four pipe columns, that's an unexpected "bonus" 10' overhang for the boat parking. The completed the garage door frames yesterday and installed all the roofing panels.

The new shop/hangar is taking shape...

Today they'll frame the interior walls & doors, then start hanging wall panels...

I've got PLENTY to do during this pandemic, the guys working are a father and two sons who really need the work and are very glad it is out in the country with no other people around.
 
Maybe you already posted dimensions , sure does look like a great big space , maybe it just my phone .... looks well laid out and functional as well , good for you !
As a comparison my bike shed /shop is 12’x12’ plus a 10’x10’ room attached later .... just barely enough room to work on one bike at a time , while being meticulous , with where I put down tools as work progresses ... needless to say a bit of envy from way up here in still snow covered north ..
 
Craig said:
Maybe you already posted dimensions , sure does look like a great big space , maybe it just my phone .... looks well laid out and functional as well , good for you !
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The main purpose of the building is to house an ultralight aircraft, so the width and height were set by those requirements. The length was set according to the other requirements - small office, storage, and shop. 30' was basically a rounding-up convenience.

Our neighborhood HOA doesn't allow trailers and equipment in view from the street, and our side yard gates can't fit anything wider than a lawnmower (can't even get THAT past the A/C unit on one side). So, we have lots of stuff that will need to be in and out of here as well - camping & fishing stuff, water skiing stuff, etc.
 
Yeah the homeowner groups can be a pain ... back in ‘92 I built a new home for us in an upwardly mobile community just outside Town , one of our new neighbours came over as a welcome and told Jo (wife) , by the way clothes lines aren’t permitted , that was day after me and buddy put up half a telephone pole (traded for bottle of rum) at corner of our lot and ran a line to deck on house .... we ignored that particular “nice lady” for the next 10 yrs , then flipped house as our kids had left for more school ,and moved back to town ..... by time we left almost every house had a cloths line out back .... some rules just stupid ......who doesn’t like the smell of fresh air dried clothes, eh ...
PS... my wife Jo-Ann was named after Joe DiMaggio , Jo’s Dad always called her Jo never Jo-Ann so it stuck , He used to have a few beer and tell me how surprised he was with his first born being a girl , he had been sure he had scored a boy , haha!
 
Hi GP, it's always interesting to see other builds and especially garages. Even though you will have wall panels, I suggest bracing the long walls by steel members, W style. Those braces on the short side (garage gate) don't reassure me ... did you have a qualified engineer do the statics?
How vulnerable is your region wrt. tornados? This is a light build ....

All the best,
Knut
 
If I'm reading this right, you will live some distance from your shop. I would be afraid to leave my Norton in a remote building unattended. You've got the land, why not build a house on it too?
Jaydee
 
Where is the big screen, couch and beer cooler located?

Really, what kind of electrical service are you installing? Big juice? 200 amps? Enjoy following your progress.
 
jaydee75 said:
If I'm reading this right, you will live some distance from your shop. I would be afraid to leave my Norton in a remote building unattended. You've got the land, why not build a house on it too?
Jaydee
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GP is in Texas - just install some automatic weapons which activate when anyone is within 2m!
 
QUOTE="gortnipper, post: 467025, member: 5500"]The Barcalounger and the beer fridge.[/QUOTE]

Along with the A/C, I get it.
I prefer my motorcycles in view of the Barcalounger, with big screen above so I can sit in Serendipitous Bliss.

Then again, maybe its better the Barcalounger is not around the work shop so more work can get done.
And, I don't have as many..

Carry on GP, let's see where it goes.
 
mdt-son said:
Hi GP, it's always interesting to see other builds and especially garages. Even though you will have wall panels, I suggest bracing the long walls by steel members, W style. Those braces on the short side (garage gate) don't reassure me ... did you have a qualified engineer do the statics?
How vulnerable is your region wrt. tornados? This is a light build ....

All the best,
Knut
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Very astute. I intend to cable brace.

My older brother is a structural engineer; I learned and worked under him for 15 years in mechanical/electrical/architectural and structural design and drafting work (commercial & institution). I sent him my preliminaries, he sent me a few suggestions (although he said the designs were adequate for use). I am still mulling over a hangar door system, he said not to hang anything from the front clear span.

We are indeed vulnerable to relatively high wind loads, but I have a bit of bonus, as the building is situated in a localized hollow. The far end of the property 350' away is almost at the level of the nose of the roof.
 
jaydee75 said:
If I'm reading this right, you will live some distance from your shop. I would be afraid to leave my Norton in a remote building unattended. You've got the land, why not build a house on it too?
Jaydee
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We just bought the house of my wyfe's dreams last year after 35 years of living in mobile/modular homes. We aren't going to move unless we hear the booming audible voice of God, or our kids build us a new free house on the land.

...and it will be a BUNCH of bikes left out there (as well as all my shop equipment, tools, etc). Security system will be relatively effective, my son owns a high-end home automation system that caters to multi-millionaires and outfits not only their homes but their businesses and lake houses with are mostly unoccupied and require monitoring.
 
Lineslinger said:
Where is the big screen, couch and beer cooler located?

Really, what kind of electrical service are you installing? Big juice? 200 amps? Enjoy following your progress.
Click to expand...
No TV in the shop, period. I will have my desktop computer with 17"monitor, but I don't watch much TV except at night in the recliner.

For now, I have a 9KW 120/240V generator with (9-hour fuel capacity) to start with, and will likely add a solar panel system on the roof. The solar will have to be cost effective in a 10-year comparison to running primary overhead electrical service with a pole-mounted transformer. We shall see, but not for a few months minimum...
 
grandpaul said:
I am still mulling over a hangar door system, he said not to hang anything from the front clear span.
Click to expand...

Please allow some loud thinking. The large garage gate required severely limits the possibility of a good framwork bracing of this wall. You'd fare better having the gate on the long side, allowing braces to be fitted in the non-affected panel areas to each side. One additional horizontal beam or rod over the gate and you have your stiffening truss transferring stabilising force couples to each post. Yes, layout would have to change but you will have a completely braced hangar structure with no weak sides.
As for the garage gate / door, why not make it hinged at the slab and allow your microlight to roll out using the gate as a ramp? Gate (sections) may be raised using wire pulls or hydraulics. I have seen this concept in use with jet fighter shelters. Just an idea.

Best,
Knut
 


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