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Glad to share Cheryl, I’m sorry to here that. Our city has some strict guidelines also that I had to adhere to as well. Like instead of using 4 inch anchors I had to use 10 inch, which I had to special order. Yes, paying local storage fees was getting oppressive so it was time to change that. I wish you luck with finding a viable solution.
24×40 times two should be the gift that keeps on giving, especially for the volume you two sell.
I tied it into the city sewer system since the main pipe goes right through our backyard. The bathroom was an expense I wasn’t planning on but I’m glad that I was talked into it. When we remodel our house bathroom we will still have one to use. We have one of the ugliest pink bathrooms on the face of the earth so it’ll be nice to update it as well.
I waited twenty years to build it so I figured why not do it right. I’m old enough now that it’s become easier to make those decisions. It took a lot of patience and a lot of saving. We live super frugal and it is starting to pay off.
I can’t emphasize enough on the insulation. Go big on that and you’ll thank yourself later when you work in it during the brutal weather conditions. If you go with foam keep in mind you will have to let it air out for a long time as the foam has to fully cure. It gives off a smell for quite some time but it makes the building like a thermos. Really holds in the heat and the cool.
I know that you and Ryanne will get there as you both have tons of drive and you’re getting things done.
I have quite the tool cache now for the shop too thanks to estate sales. 😉
Yes, I spent 17 yrs at a job that was ‘Meh’… Decided it was time for a change and got a better life. I just got back from an all expense paid trip to Vegas for a trade show and they even flew my mom out from the west coast to join us. My mom won $1000 on the penny machines and she was super happy she got to come. Love jobs that have great bonus perks! You and Ryanne have amazing perks but you work really hard at it. I really admire you both for owning your lives like you do.
Had my first charge-back in December. Tried to contact the seller 3 times to find out what the problem was as the PayPal notification was somewhat vague. Just copy pasted the same message all 3 times no response. It was the holidays and the item was such a small amount it wasn’t worth spending too much time on it. So I authorized the charge-back. I got hit with a $20 fee from PayPal, it’s not a huge deal the first time around. The package did show up 3 days later marked return to sender. So I gather that I’ll spend a bit more time working with it on future ones.
I did find a cache of vintage ski resort and olympic patches a couple years back for $4.00. So far I have sold them one at a time and got over $500 out of the $4.00. Pretty happy with that return.
Hi Jay and all,
Love your site and podcasts. You and Ryanne have passed on so much knowledge. I thought that I could contribute to this conversation as I was looking to build a storage space for eBay and household items and a place to do projects a while back. I looked into prebuilt structures and the cost was too oppressive for the size I was wanting. So this is what I did, keep in mind like you I started out looking at 8-16K in my budget but then I went hog wild and ended up with around 37K so far. Here are the specs.
The building is split into 3 sections – office, work shop & storage
24’X36′ with 10′ ceiling on the lower floor and I added gable trusses so that I could get roughly 864 square feet on the bottom floor as well as the top.
I went with the best metal I could find at $3600.
Lumber for the stick frame was another $2400.
Trusses were $3600 including the crane to set them.
I also put in a half bath with water spigots inside and out $9400 most of the cost here was the trenching to the main sewer line.
I opted to go with closed and open cell spray foam that averages 6″ think at $2900.
I put a ton of electric in the building at $9000 but it has a 100 AMP service so I can pretty much plug in anything, also CAT6 internet was included.
Sheet rock was another $2900.
Windows and doors $2600.
Garage door installed $1100.Now for the building of the shop frame, metal siding and the concrete that part was free thankfully. Saved me about $20K. That’s a whole other story in itself.
The labor is what will really get you on these projects. So I’m not saying anyone follow my example. I had been saving for years for this and paid cash for everything as I have wanted a nice shop for years.
However, some things that I have discovered over time.
The value of the house went up significantly.
I don’t have to leave the shop to use the bathroom.
The insulation keeps it comfortable all year round with only a PTAC 12000 BTU hotel style heat and air unit at $800 and a small 5000 btu air unit $105 upstairs. Costs less than $20 a month for comfort.
I separated the office space with double steel doors from the shop and loft to make it easier to keep clean and control the climate
I installed motion sensor lighting so its never on when I’m not in it and pops on when I am. I forget to turn off lights.
It’s 50 feet from my house which I have found to be very nice.
I put in a floor drain in the shop side so I could do clean up on projects when needed.I took several months off but I am still working on it. I’m doing the following myself which will save a lot of $$$.
painting
trim
cabinet and counter top install
flooring
additional lightingI still have about another 10K before complete but it’s very usable and I love it. It was -9 outside recently and I went out there to do some painting and sawing for our living room project at midnight and it was warm and I didn’t bother the neighbors because it’s so well insulated. No bugs or birds get in and my cat likes it too.
Along the way I scavenged many items for the shop too which cut down a couple thousand.
Oh and if they have not cut/notched your slab make sure it does get done or you will have more cracks than you would like to see.
You and Ryanne are master scavengers so I think you could have a really nice building for a good price. But think of all the things that you plan to use it for. Trying to do some things later will cost serious money and is better to do upfront.
Everyone that I consulted said go metal as wood would have been much higher. Also building codes in the area also made the cost a bit higher.
It is my multi-purpose fortress of solitude. Good luck with your building!
