Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

My garage is already full in the winter with the aging RV, 2 cars and other crap. I've been storing the driftboat under a heavy tarp under the deck, which helps to keep a snowload off of it. I can squeeze one more boat under there, the FS14 I'm building now, but I plan on starting a 3rd boat this fall, a Glued Lapstrake, and would really like a nice place to shelter all three boats, plus any future boats I build.

Also, currently my shop is in the basement. Upside is that it's a quick walk down the stairs and any heat I use rises into the house. Downside is that sunlight needs to make a few sharp turns to get in there and rarely bothers making the effort.

So I'm strongly considering a pole-barn on the property which would have room to shelter 3+ boats as well as an enclosed, heatable shop with east and south facing widows. Shop would be nice at 24X24, then add another 24X24 for the shelter for a total of 48LongX24Deep. Doesn't need to be insanely tall, the RV already has a home.

Still in the dreaming stage but wanted to see if anyone has opinions on such a structure: pole spacing, roof pitch, simplest way to build out the shop within the barn, build from scratch vs kit, etc. I'm thinking I can rent a hole digger and dig the holes, rent a cement mixer and pour the footings, stand up the poles and connect them, buy some pre-fab roof trusses and mount those with some help, skin it/roof it with tin, and then build out the shop with normal 2X4 or 2X6 insulated walls/ceiling on top of a deck, insulation under the deck.

Any opnions welcome, as long as they strictly adhere to any pre-conceived, non-reality-based notions I have about how cheap and simple the whole thing will be.

Thanks,

VJ

Edit: As long as I'm dreaming, may as add an extra shed for storage.

I have lots of opinions, but none of them useful to this situation. Now there are some folks with solidly helpful opinions. Fuzz has a nice cold weather shop (I've been there and even though he swore it was warm... he lied). Aripeka Angler just built a nice storage space that should meet your requirements, but he is like me when it comes to the "white stuff" (down here anything white is sand, a boat, or a swimming yankee).

First question I have is how will you heat it? Do you have natural gas there?
I see in the drawing what looks to be a concrete slab, is that the plan?
I have had my shop for over 30 years and in that time I see a lot of things I would do different if I had it to do over but what works for me might not work for others.

I was hoping to build a large shop this summer, but decided to wait till next summer for a couple of reasons, primairly being the current price of materials.

Perhaps it will go up more by next year, or maybe it will settle back down, I don't know, half the articles I read say it will get worse, and the other half say that it will correct itself once things settle down later this year.....

Either way I can afford more by waiting a year.......

Meanwhile God has been trying to insulate my current workspace for me...

Fuzz wrote: ↑Tue Mar 23, 2021 2:40 pm First question I have is how will you heat it? Do you have natural gas there?
I see in the drawing what looks to be a concrete slab, is that the plan?
I have had my shop for over 30 years and in that time I see a lot of things I would do different if I had it to do over but what works for me might not work for others.

Current thought on heat is a pellet stove(for convenience) and small wood stove(for serious heat). No natural gas here. Heat is a big question: I'll use it mornings and evenings during the week and most days on the weekends, if my current winter model continues.

I was not thinking of a slab. I know that in-floor heat works best with a slab but I already have enough cracking concrete to deal with around here, hate to add more.

If you were going to lay a slab I would stick build the walls but if not the pole barn makes a lot of sense. Living where you do you know a good insulation package is worth it in the long run. I would make sure the part you will heat is big enough for the largest planned project. But I would not over build it, why heat unused space?
Speaking of heat I would look into one of these for heat.https://toyoheat.com/products/
This is the heater pretty much used all over Alaska if natural gas is not available. If you do go that way do not over size the heater. They run better and need less repairs if they are worked hard.

Fuzz wrote: ↑Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:45 pm If you were going to lay a slab I would stick build the walls but if not the pole barn makes a lot of sense. Living where you do you know a good insulation package is worth it in the long run. I would make sure the part you will heat is big enough for the largest planned project. But I would not over build it, why heat unused space?
Speaking of heat I would look into one of these for heat.https://toyoheat.com/products/
This is the heater pretty much used all over Alaska if natural gas is not available. If you do go that way do not over size the heater. They run better and need less repairs if they are worked hard.

I need to check those heaters out, maybe that's what I need in my current basement shop. Currently electric baseboard, pricey!

36x24 or 36x36 is nice sized; anything smaller you'll regret

Energy costs in rural Alaska are probably the highest of any place in America. If there was something that worked better it would be used but as it is now the Toyo's are the gold standard.
My shop is 40x60 with 18 foot eves. I have a 16x16 roll up door. When I built it I was commercial fishing and needed room to get two 40 foot boats in it at one time. When I got out of fishing I no longer needed a shop any where that big but I still have to heat it. 30x40 would be more than enough now and the costs would be much lower. No one knows the future but if you can not see a need for a big shop a smaller one is much easier on the wallet.

Regarding size, my current shop is 24x24 minus a full bath/laundry that takes up a corner. Based on that I think a full 24x24 should do fine and not have me heating unused space. I always have the garage(24x40 plus loft) if I do need something bigger for some project, God help me. Plan is to move on to making acoustic guitars at some point after a few more boats so my space needs should be getting smaller if anything.

A seperate shop has been in the back of my mind for a long time, but we just bought the lot next to us a year and a half ago, making it far more feasible. Previous to getting that lot, the shop would have had to go in a very wet horse pasture with no good access. Now I have a nice field right off the driveway that's an ideal location. As Narfi mentioned, materials are at a premium right now, but I can move slowly and see if things settle down, start with the site leveling, footings etc.

Appreciate the input, as always!

Ps: the wifes eyes lit up like the sun when she saw the full length shed off the back. She has a kayak/sup habit that consumes space at an alarming rate.