Just moved to a very small town on the oregon coast and consented to live in a very small house with a very small garage because a friend said he had shop space for me. Its a horse barn . No door. No power. No floor. WTF.
Hes getting power in, but is balking at 2000$ for a concrete pad. There is enough lumber around for me to build a platform for the critical tools (tablesaw, jointer..)….
Any ideas?
Do i form a small pad for my stationary tools and add on when money permits? It’s in a beautiful location and the price is perfect, But I don’t know if this one is worth the fight.
Advice?
Rough day. My dog killed a neighbors cat, I just moved, and I was anticipating a floor in my new shop.
Dustin
Replies
Nothing wrong with a wood floor. Get it level and sturdy .... it will be 'soft' on your feet (softer than concrete anyway) ... dropped tools won't get dinged nearly as easily. Just put down vapor barrier and treated lumber under the deck.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Ed,
I'd be more than a tad hesitant to install a wood floor without first digging and pouring at least a 16" deep rat barrier around the perimeter. And then a guy would have to be darn careful about how the flooring system was built and executed or rodents might be able find another way under there.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
He's got an "apartment " framed in off to one side that sits probably 2 feet off the gravel. I thought i'd probably match that grade (if I am going to do this). The entire structure sits on a hillock and was built up as well, so the barn sits 5 feet or so above the surrounding grade. Don't really know how this would change anything or not. My limited experience out here seems to point to building like a sieve and letting the water run through rather than taking the trouble to direct water around. WTF. I've seen it in more than one place out here.
Not gonna have time to deal, tho. We are being evicted over the cat issue. WTF.
Where did you move from and why? Certainly not to set up shop in a dirt floored barn I hope!
Not gonna have time to deal, tho. We are being evicted over the cat issue. WTF.
So now what?
We left Portland, OR to slow down the lifestyle. Wife quit a titled job w/ merril lynch and I left a good paying union job to move to the coast and buy a knick knack store. I figured I would lose my shop for a while, but the prospect of building my own shop in the woods and a house to go with it as well as all the cats my dog can eat sounded appealing. We have been here a week and a half and I haven't even had time to look for work seriously. I'm getting a little crazy.
But, I will wake up tomorrow, read my bible, pray and look for a house with my wonderful son (he could use a screwdriver at 16 months. Threaded a screw into a whole and twisted it in!). When I am done with that, I will look for a job. Then I will worry about my shop. Packed it up a month ago. I miss it more than sex. I have the tables for my saw under the bed to keep them clean.
I cannot help much about the shop issue, but the dog/cat problem has me interested.
Was the cat in your yard, or the dog in theirs? Or did they meet on neutral ground?
Does the rental agreement mention you having a dog? Not sure that they can evict you without the proper answers to above questions. May not be worth the fight though.
Good Luck, and remember it rains much more there than in Portland!!
Dan
The dog slipped his lead and was loose in our unfenced back yard. The cat came in and was too old to run from our dog. He got a few swipes on the dog's muzzle and died 3 hours later of a broken neck. The owner was hysterical for two days and had a heart attack. The neighbors haven't said a word to us, but the phone won't stop ringing at the landlords. Now, anytime I step on my back deck or try to put the dog out, I have an audience. I visited the woman whose cat was killed and tried to be helpful and expressed my sincere and honest condolences. Before the cat died, she was very friendly and even apologetic. As the owner of a rambunctious dog, she was understanding. After the cat died, all I heard from her were screams and threats.
It's not a neighborhood I want to live in. It's not a neighborhood I want my son to grow up in. I want to be around people who add valu to their community, not gossip and backstab. I wan to be around honest people who will talk to you face to face.
I am horribly sorry my dog killed that cat and would be equally sorry or sorrier had it not escalated irrationally. I am looking forward to this being five years ago.
Bad sh*t happens to good people sometimes. And to bad people too- it's not discriminatory. If you've told true, it sounds like you've done your level best to deal with a bad situation that could have happened to any dog owner. If the lady's cat was loose and wandering around in your yard, it could have met its end under the wheels of your car, or down the gullet of the neighbourhood fox or coyote too (lots of both even in urban Toronto- don't know about your neck of the woods, and cats are a favourite meal). Any cat owner who, like myself, lets their cat run loose, takes that risk, but that realization doesn't numb the pain of losing a beloved pet to someone else's beloved pet. People get irrational where their animals or kids are involved, as I'm sure you know- it's not an excuse, but perhaps an explanation for your neighbours' behaviour.
Good luck to you in your new place- and to avoid moving again right away, may I recommend that you get the dog a muzzle until he's gotten to know all the new neighbourhood cats by name!
Sounds like an unforunate set of circumstances. Under different circumstances you may have been well received. Kind of a bummer for everyone involved, but sounds like you did what you could.
It's usually tough goin' when you're a stranger in a strange land and lookin' for a friendly face or two.
Hope things work out better in the days to come.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Well you certainly have a great outlook on life, good for you, and I hope it all goes well.
Just keep that dog under control and all will be OK!!!
Doug
If you got a floor in, how weather tight would the barn be? Im thinking about wintertime? Are you planning on working in the shop in winter? What are your plans for heating it? As you said, this one just may not be worth the fight ( trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear).
Sucks about the dog/ cat issue. My dogs killed a neighbors cat couple years ago, about 3 months after I moved in. I felt terrible. Women then wanted my dogs put down, said they were vicious animals ( people in the neighborhood terrorized, etc). She even sent out petition to rest of homeowners in the area. I got lucky, and the person from animal control was very decent/ level headed.
-m2akita
My dogs killed a neighbors cat couple years ago, about 3 months after I moved in. <snip> I got lucky, and the person from animal control was very decent/ level headed.
Your dogs are very fortunate I'm not your neighbor.
How's the job?
TomPAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!