Building a Shop in the Backyard

I started to put my backyard shop building plans in action this last November. I hired a tree guy to clear 3 tall trees and had him grind the stumps down so I could move the 10’ x 14’ Handy House from the corner of the yard next to the other Handy House on the other side of the yard.

While waiting on the tree guy to show up I went and looked at some metal buildings and decided on the 28’x30’ model and got the needed paperwork for permits. After a couple of days moving car parts out of the shed that needs to be moved to a nice big pile away from the path of the moving shed and hauling them back into the shed, I still ain’t figured out why all this stuff I took out of the shed won’t fit back in the shed, I decided it wouldn’t take me long to run up to the Building Inspector’s Office to get a building permit. After filling out 27- 8” x 10” pages...with circles and arrows and a paragraph on back, I was told that I can’t go 28’x30’. After a quick question and answer session we came to a conclusion that I was going with a 26’x30’ IF I had the correct paperwork on the specs on the metal building.

I go back to the metal building place and have them draw up a 26’x30’ plan and carry the paper back to the Inspector’s Office and after giving them some money they give me a building permit and some more papers and told me to carry it across the street to another building to get another type of permit.

Well, I’m about to pull out of the parking lot, it’s one of those One Way In-One Way Out type parking lots, and I took a quick glance across the street at the building that I was going to. To my surprise...they are 3 or 4 soccer fields across the street! I look to the right of the soccer fields and I see no buildings. I looked to my left just to be sure...yep, no building.

To make a long story short I found where I wanted to go about a half mile up the road if I’d turned left coming out of the parking lot...but the kicker was when I handed the nice lady who works across the street the papers...she said they never seen this type of permit application before. The nice lady hooked me up with correct permit for a fee. I go back home and stake out the area where I wanted to build and called for the first of many inspections.

I had to wait a few weeks before the first Inspector came out to look at the job site and leave his signature. The second Inspector came out a few days later and took off his hat and scratched his head saying why did they send me out here...this has nothing to do with what I’m supposed to be inspecting. I asked what does he inspect and he said land erosion and clearing a bunch of trees. I told him that I told them at his Office that I was building on flat land and no trees were to be cut were I was going to build. He said that he will sign the permit anyway since he was already here.

I’m now ready to make the phone call to the Cement Man! Cement Man comes by about a week later and gives me an estimate and says he’s 2 weeks behind because of the rain. I agree on his price and he comes out and drives some stakes in the ground, strung up some string and rides around on his bobcat for an hour or so and digs the footings. I call the Building Inspector again to come for a look and see and he signed his name on the permit. This is when it decides to rain weeks at a time or the temperature drops down in the single digits. The few nice days that we had between the rain storms I did manage to get the lean-to back on my shed that I had to remove before moving the shed to the other side of the backyard.

Anyway...The weather finally has been good this last couple of weeks and the day that I thought would never get here finally came. I never would have thought that hearing that annoying Beep-Beep sound coming down the driveway could be a sound I wanted to hear. The sound of that first rock rolling down the chute on back of the cement truck sound even better. Now I can get ready to go to step 2, which involves buying a metal building and having them to put it together.

 

I am jealous! Glad u got moving fwd on the new shop/garage. Do u plan on putting in a lift? What color will the shop be? Who will install/erect the structure.
Wish I had the space -- I wud do the same.

 

looking good...

 

Nice! What ya plannin' on doin' out there with all that room? Buy some more cars to fill er' up?

 

Maybe in a couple year down the road I plan on a lift. The color will be light blue/gray with white trim. The doors and roof will be white. The dealer wants a 3-4 week notice to put a kit together then they will deliver and put the building together.

 

When I move to NC, a big shop will be first on the list... Keep us posted its looking good so far...

 

Sounds like a plan. Can never have a big enough garage. I hope to be putting up a 22x24 building soon. Glad I live out in the sticks though, dont need permits to do anything out here.

 

Ain't that the truth!!! I have a 32'x40' & at moment am tight with two cars(I've had five in it), problem is I collect too many things I'll never use, much of it not automotive related... Downsizing soon so my T-Bird has a spot when it comes back home..

 

Very very nice

Similar to what I did back in 05 in my back yard - 14 trees cut down and stumps removed - 25.00 permit but with no hassle in my area - no inspections what-so-ever and a 28 x 32 stick built garage came out of all of it - originally found that, in the attic, I would have to bend over to walk because of the low pitch so we raised it to a full 12-12 and added dormers - zoning then says "still under the max height so go ahead and build it" - best thing I ever did

 

Gonna put my '60 Falcon on a rotisserie and will need some room to make several piles of parts. I had...my ex has, a 20x30. I'm sure I will run out of space soon enough without getting more cars. I'm not planning to have bicycles, go-carts, flower pots and Mother-in-law's furniture inside this shop so maybe it won't fill up too fast

 

No matter how hard you try, they always fill up. I was fairly well organized in a 30x30 in MD and moved here into a 30x40. Now it looks like this. I going to put up a 24x20 garage just for storage purposes so I can have a nice working garage again.

 

You been snoopin' around mine??

 

that's why I do one project car at a time...

 

Looking good Jeff...Hope to build one someday....

 

The day after the cement guy left, I spent a couple days backfilling with a shovel and wheelbarrow. After the cement set a few days I had to cut a tree down next to the neighbor's fence. Only (good) place for it to fall was on the slab. After I got that mess cleaned up, the next day the Code Enforcer came to tell me that someone made a complaint about a "junk car" in the backyard. I told him that the car was insured and has a valid tag and was completely running legal vehicle with no flat tires and the reason for it being in the backyard was because a cement truck needed the driveway a few days earlier. He didn't buy that and wants it inside the new garage in two weeks. Since then I drove and parked my Falcon (AKA "junk car") back on the driveway where its always parked.

The crew showed up yesterday about 1:00 with the building and worked till dark and returned around 7:30 this morning. They were finished before 2:00. I am pleased with the workmanship and quality with the building. I need to pressure wash the red clay foot prints off the cement and put a good coat of sealer on the floor before I start moving stuff into the shop. My son is a licensed electrician and he will do the electrical work for cost or I will turn him over my knee just like I did when he was a kid.

Here are a few pics of my new shop.