Building a shop in my back yard in Sacramento SIMPLE

[SHELBY MESSER]

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I've been trying to get a building permit since the 1st of May. Been there 3 or 4 times.
The last time they gave me a list of 18 thing I will have to do. My building will be all
metal, They told me I would have to put in a fire wall because of the wood fence 5' away.
I ask him what I would have to build a fire wall with Ply wood. That shows what I'm going
through. In Louisiana I welded for over 40 yrs. plus 3 states and 2 countries.
My building is all metal frame and covering. The frame is all metal and welded together.
A welds has to be done by a Ca. certified welder. Which I am. I got certified be a
welding Professor from a local collage. I made 2 welds about an 1" on 2 different pieces
of metal. I am now a Ca. certified welder. 70 yrs. ole first time ever that I've been certified
of anything in my life, HOraw More later on my building with pictures. Shelby, Sacramento.

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[Stakebed]

Cant wait to see it! My only advice is to plan ahead of how you want the finished product to look. Add way more outlets than you think along with air chucks along the wall.

If you do wood working plan about where to put things to swing a 12 foot board around or bring it into the shop at least.

[1crosscut]

I agree with Stakebed on the electrical outlets. They are cheap to install and you can never have enough of them. That way if you have to block one or two with a cabinet or such it is not a big deal.
I understand your pain with the building/inspection department. When I was building my house I did the septic system myself. The building/inspection department had a handy dandy pamphlet with all the specs and regulations on how to build the septic system to code. I followed it to the letter and when the inspector came for the inspection he told me I had the wrong gauge of pipe. I said no way I did it just like the pamphlet you gave me. He said the specs on the pipe had been wrong for several years but they had never changed it because home owners never did it themselves. Ahrgggh!!
Have fun building your shop. Looking forward to seeing pics of the build.

[SHELBY MESSER]

I know what you mean about the the outlets, In my shop in Louisiana I had them every 6' along the walls an in the center under works benches and one on each end of work benches. I have 2 110 outlets on my 200 welder. I have 2 outlets on my battery charger and a 100' 220 card for my welder with 1 110 volt outlet. I had 1 110 cord hanging in the center of my shop where I could slide it from one end to the other when needed. I'll probably have the same here.

Back to the "LOST IT ALL" I had to buy a new com- putter. If this thing was a computer I may be able to post some pictures . It's a 10 mb can't find my pictures to post and can not down load any. I'm thinking of getting the one repaired


some pictures of progress of slab prep:

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[Stakebed]

i bet you mean every 6 feet not 6 inches... thats a tad excessive haha

also I would highly think about investing in LED lighting - your already 70 do you really need to be on ladders changing ballasts and florescent tubes when your 80? haha didn't mean to make that sound mean but LED lighting is more efficent and not affected by cold (with you being in california you dont know the fun of florescent lighting when its zero outside) not to mention good ones dont need messed with.

Our old garage used to have standard ol lightbulbs work great but changing one a year or more. Bought those 100W equivelent CFL bulbs and wowza much brighter and maybe had to change one (ok 2 - they are not 2x4 proof) in the 8 or so years we had them. BUT in the winter you might as well have had birthday candles lighting the place for a good 3 minutes till they half ass warmed up.

LED bulbs finally got cheap so I swapped them all out - full brightness instanly!

[SHELBY MESSER]

This where I am now , the slab was pored 5-26-18 and this is where I am a today More pictures later Shelby, Sacramento

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[Chris Haynes]

Progress report?

[SHELBY MESSER]

Sorry Chris but it seams I' m stuck here for now, making a phone call tomorrow to see if I can get the ball rolling again. Thanks Shelby, Sacramento

[Stakebed]

hehe I know what you mean Shelby but when I first read what you wrote it sounds like your the captain stuck on an island with your coconut radio since your stuck having to build a phone I bet your getting antsy!

Id love to be able to build a shop someday...

[holdover]

been following your build, you will not regret building a shop, I will caution you to think about all the things you saw in other shops and liked and put them in yours. Plenty of power outlets, lights, I agree with the suggestion on LED, Air lines with drop-offs. Work benches placed where they are not in the way, ceiling storage and a BIG Door!

Eight years ago I retired and built my dream garage. It is 40 X 60 with a 16' lean-to on the side for more storage. Half the ceiling is scissor truss with a center clrnc. of 15' 3" the wall height is 10'4" I have two 4 post lifts and feel like I died and gone to heaven. Fully insulated so it is cool in summer and warm in winter. I put pull points in the floor so I could straighten chassis and pull things as required. I built a 30' work bench across the back. With double stacking on the 4 posts 10-11 vehicles fit in to include my two AAs one SWB one LWD, my '29 Coupe and '29 Pickup, also the daily drivers.

The only mistake I made is waiting too long to build it, should have done it in 1977 when I built the house..

looking forward to seeing more progress on your project..


And Happy new Years.


tony in VA

[SHELBY MESSER]

I'm giving up on building I designed myself. In Louisiana I would have no problem building it. I thought that they (city of Sac.) could use the tax. I'm ording my building out of Tenn. and pay no tax, thanks to city of Sac. More later on this. Shelby, Sacramento

[SHELBY MESSER]

I'm back to my building in the back yard. I ordered the plans for my building today. will take about 6 weeks to get them. I'll keep the progress posted. The end of this month it will be 1 year that I applied for my permit. There are several metal building companies here in Ca. but I ordered it from Tenn. Free delivery and no taxes plus a 5% discount. Shelby, Sacramento

[Stakebed]

I'm back to my building in the back yard. I ordered the plans for my building today. will take about 6 weeks to get them. I'll keep the progress posted. The end of this month it will be 1 year that I applied for my permit. There are several metal building companies here in Ca. but I ordered it from Tenn. Free delivery and no taxes plus a 5% discount. Shelby, Sacramento

Hopefully you get more progress on a physical building this summer instead of slashing thru red tape with a machete.

[Chris Haynes]

My friend in San Antonio is building a huge warehouse shop metal building. He went to the County offices to get a permit and was told he didn't need one as it was rural land not within city limits.

[Stakebed]

Best kind of land haha. We bought one of those pre-built sheds thats built locally then free delivery. Town says no permit needed as long as its not permanent (ie no concrete pad) so we bought in 5 tons of white rock and set it on that then I wired in an extension cord - cut off the end then wired it lights and an outlet inside so its fully "portable" shed if need be - just unplug it from the outside outlet haha. Figured running 2 LED light bulbs and the occasional battery tender for the riding mowers isnt anymore than a standard extension cord can handle so its fine or the very occasional saw plugged into it.