My wife & I took this week off from work. I'll go back to work on monday so I can rest up! My shop is an old detached garage built around 1940. Inside dimensions are only 10'7" by 17'. I have it stuffed with far too many large tools including a unisaw with side table, bandsaw, radial arm saw, Hawk scrollsaw, 15 inch powermatic planer, stationery sander, 16-32 drum sander, drill press, lathe, air compressor, and more power handtools than I can recall. Classic case of 10 lbs of mud in a 5 lb bag. The floor was originally concrete, but has buckled and caved in areas. In order to use these tools, almost all are on mobile bases, but that doesn't work too well on a cracked up floor. This week I laid out a floating 2x6 frame on 12" centers (flatside down) and topped it with a 3/4 t&g plywood floor. Next I tore out the old lumber storage racks, which were way too low, hung new ceiling joists, insulated to R-30 and put in a drywall ceiling. Then I added new lumber storage racks at a proper height. Some friends came over last saturday to help me haul the tools out and put them on my deck, and the same guys returned today to help me put them back in place. What a difference! Now as time goes by I intend to insulate the walls and sheetrock them as well. My old windowbanger a/c is acutally almost sufficient now. When the walls are done it may be more than adequate. I am happy but bushed. Thank God I was able to hire a teenage neighbor to help with the muscle work. He said he learned more in a few days working with me than all year in a shop class building a chicken coop! Good Kid.
