# MY SHOP AND HOME



## Brain Coral

Hello all,

I built my shop/ home 4 years ago and thought that I would share some pics of the process and then some present day inside pics.

I was very fortunate to have found a beautiful country lot just 12 minutes from my home city. Lots of nature and quiet, but not too far from where I do most of my work. I am a self-employed carpenter and have been learning machining over the last 3 years and am thoroughly enjoying it.

I began by finding an artist's conception that I liked on E-plans and with two known dimensions, I increased the size, determined the shop ceiling height and then built a scale model out of architectural board to make sure that the roof pitch, dormers, etc. all looked proportionate to each other.




Once I had that to my satisfaction, I drew up a set of plans and submitted them for approval.


I had to cut a great number of trees to begin with and worked hard cutting and burning for a week before the excavation could begin. I hired a local fellow to do my excavating work. He's real good with his "shovel" and could likely scratch a dog's back with it without hurting it.

Clearing the land, piling the topsoil and putting the driveway in...







The hole before footings...




I formed and poured the footings myself and then installed and poured the "ICF" (insulated concrete foundation)







Frost wall backfilled and slab poured...










I'll post this for now, as I'm sure that I must be at my limit for pics...

Brian


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## Brain Coral

Back again with more pics....

I framed the shop walls with 10' studs, achieving a finished shop ceiling height of around 10'6". Here's the shop walls framed up and ready for the second floor system...




That's me standing on the floor joists. Haha.... I just noticed that my tucked in shirt billowing out makes it look like I have a big belly...  These joists were clear span from front to back, eliminating any beams or posts in the shop...







Back and side walls framed up and girder trusses going in...




Rear trusses installed and sheeted and the front trusses going in...







I worked lots of late nights by Halogen work lights to get it closed in for the winter...










Brian


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## Brain Coral

Ok, back again with some present day pics of the inside of my shop. I combine woodworking with machining in the same space, which isn't ideal, but I have covers for all of the metal working machinery and carefully cover them before starting up my saw, etc.

Here's some pics of the machinery...

Colchester Master lathe and Elliott 10M shaper and Craftex 7"x12" CX103 bandsaw ...







Rambaudi MS2 milling machine...




My woodworking bench being overrun by that insidious disease that seems to happen to all horizontal surfaces in my shop anic:



Some of my wooden molding planes...




General International 15" planer and Craftex CX400 dust collector...




Shop built router table...




Clamp rack...




There's a Craftex 8" jointer in there somewhere.... as you can see, I didn't clean up the shop for the pics. This is the real world for me with lots of projects on the go and jobs coming in and out all the time. I certainly could use some shelving and better organization. In time... maybe... 

Cheers.... 

Brian


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## Cheeseking

Awesome!!   I love shop/home/garage  building threads. Looks like you did a nice job.   Congrats....


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## Ray C

That's not a man cave, that's a man estate!  Very cool...

Ray


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## sd624

Awesome!!!!


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## Brain Coral

Thanks fellas.... It's just the right square footage for living space above and is easy to keep neat and tidy... unlike my shop.... and my girlfriend appreciates that.... 

Here's a pic of some detail on the front door roof brackets. I like Crafstman details...










Brian


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## David

Very nice Brian, fine work!  How do you heat-cool the shop ?

David


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## Dranreb

Brian, I love your home/workshop, and am not envious in the slightest!  :biggrin: (I often wondered what this green grin smiley is for)

I was self employed in property renovation for 35 yrs and had my shop attached to my house, keeps the overheads down, way better than renting a separate unit.

Good job well done 
	

		
			
		

		
	




Bernard


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## davidh

just as one would expect from a craftsman like yourself.   fine job.


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## drs23

Looks great Brian. I admire your attention to detail. What kind of siding is that? Also an impressive collection of hand tools.

'Bout time to case some windows, huh?:whistle: :LOL:


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## Old Iron

Nice job on the house/shop very awesome work. And I know what you mean by happens to all horizontal surfaces in the shop, I have the same problem.

Paul


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## Brain Coral

David said:


> Very nice Brian, fine work! How do you heat-cool the shop ?
> 
> David



Hello David,

Thanks.... I heat the shop with electric baseboard heaters. I was looking into in-floor heating at the time of the build, but that would have cost nearly $7000.00 . I have my own well and septic system, so the only utilities that I pay is an electric bill. Roughly $85.00/month in the summer and around $150.00/month in the winter. These figures are for the shop and house combined. I never have to cool the shop, as it seems to stay nice and cool unless I open up the big door and windows. It would stay even cooler if I'd get off my duff and case the windows and install blinds.

Brian


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## Brain Coral

drs23 said:


> Looks great Brian. I admire your attention to detail. What kind of siding is that? Also an impressive collection of hand tools.
> 
> 'Bout time to case some windows, huh?:whistle: :LOL:



Hahaha.... Yes it is about time I cased the shop windows.... 

This is the detail of the windows upstairs that I will duplicate for the shop. It's just pine, but with shop made details. I tried to take a pic of the window in it's entirety, but the camera would only adjust the lighting to the bright outside and the trees.







It is just vinyl siding, but all of the trims around the windows, fascia and woodwork is rough sawn eastern white cedar with a solid stain.

Brian


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## Philco

Very fine job on the home/shop Brian. It's the details that you've incorporated that sets it apart. Great job!
Phil


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## Brain Coral

Dranreb said:


> Brian, I love your home/workshop, and am not envious in the slightest! :biggrin: (I often wondered what this green grin smiley is for)
> 
> I was self employed in property renovation for 35 yrs and had my shop attached to my house, keeps the overheads down, way better than renting a separate unit.
> 
> Good job well done
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 62156
> 
> 
> Bernard



Hello Bernard,

Thank you... 

I've been at carpentry for 27 years, but only got the nerve to go out on my own 5 years ago. I'm sure glad that I did. It sets a whole different feeling towards work. I've always worked hard, but being self-employed gives you a measure of freedom that is real nice. If I want to take a day off, I do. Mind you, contracting can be feast or famine, so there is stress when you don't have enough work and stress when you're too busy and can't get to your customers when you should be.

Cheers.... 

Brian


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## woodtickgreg

Great looking shop! I have the same problem in my shop with flat surfaces. Nice plane collection under the bench too.:thumbsup:


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## Brain Coral

Hello Greg,

Thanks... 

Collecting, researching, sharpening and using hand planes have really improved my hand tool skills. I've learned some very interesting things about how wooden moulding planes were constructed and utilize some of those techniques in my work.

Brian


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## fastback

Very nice work.  Really enjoyed the pictures.  Thanks for showing us.


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## Brain Coral

fastback said:


> Very nice work. Really enjoyed the pictures. Thanks for showing us.



Your welcome... 

I have so much to learn and am so glad that I found this website. Very friendly and courteous... 

Brian


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## mmcmdl

Beautiful place !


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