Hello Mark,
Springfield Twp, as in/near Akron, OH?? Small world -- grew up in
Brunswick, OH............but am now in the "county" outside
of Fort Worth, TX.
Here is a data point for ya -- I built a 24 x 42 X 10 shop w/
an attached 10 x 42 porch/kennel here in TX. I interviewed several
barn builders and presented them detailed blueprints and diagrams of
what I wanted built. I guess you could say that I acted as a
"general contractor minus". I had one guy come in and build the
basic structure -- the grade, the slab, and the building. He
brought in someone to drop dirt and grade, and another company
to take care of the slab. My "primary contractor" for this
phase actually raised the building (welded frame, insulated,
"R" panels for the exterior and roof). They also attached the
breaker box and meter housing.
Once we took care of the basic building, I contacted my local
electric utility provider to bring the meter to the building
and they in turn subbed out the job to bring power from the
transformer up to the structure. Good thing as I'm located
on about 8" of dirt and 10' of rock. It was worth the $800
or so for them to bring in a giant rock saw to trench the 100'
from transformer to building!!
I then contacted an electrician to do the building wiring -- could have
done it myself, but if I did it, it would've been in armored cable, and
I wanted hard conduit run everywhere.
With all of the above finished, I had some dirt dropped and I built
a retaining wall around half of the building (severe grade issues!)
Also made a nice area for planting (later).
Since we are in TX, and shifting soil is always a concern with slab movement
and cracking, I had a contractor come in and tie in sprinklers and drainage
around the building. In this case I laid out where I wanted sprinklers,
valves, and drainage, they came with the manpower and tools (did I mention
the 8" of dirt and many feet of rock?) and did all the heavy lifting. Oh
yeah -- they also tied in fresh water for the shop sink too!
Moral of the story if you've stuck with me so far: I acted as general
contractor where I could, and let someone take over where I didn't have
the talent or the time. It also helped that I'm in the county and
permits aren't a necessity -- this may be the case for you as well.
In the end I got a shop that I'm very pleased with and an enclosed
area to kennel our 4 dogs. A 1000 SF shop (dirty work area)
and a 1000 SF garage (clean assembly area) and Jeff's a happy guy :-)
I did a bunch of work drawing up plans for the building, electric
circuits, plumbing, etc. If anything, stuff like this gets you
credibility with those you select to do the work -- you look like
less of an "idea guy" and more of an engineer that solves problems.
The trades guys respect that. I did work where I could, but turned
it over to someone else when I wanted stuff done quickly and more
professionally then I could've done. I was also out there as they
were working -- you get to learn stuff and also keep everyone
on their toes.
Could I have done it cheaper -- probably. Would it have been done any
faster -- probably not.
hope this helps,
-jeff "faster or cheaper -- pick one!" d
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Andy <mark@sccaprepared.com>
Date: Monday, February 9, 2004 12:15 pm
Subject: Building a shop
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