Old shop clear out

So the big old shop emptying exercise has begun. As you may (or may not know) I currently have mobility problems due to a dodgy hip and this has caused no end of problems for me. Thank heavens for cocodamol and my employers VPN!
Anyway I have been able to pack up all my stuff into various boxes from a sitting position and move them into temporary storage (our dining room!) with help of my darling wife who has done most of the physical work and kindly gave me permission. We also have filled countless waste bins with 12 years of detritus. We even went to the local rubbish dump and got rid of the old petrol lawnmower. It had seen its last blade of grass earlier in the year and I knew its life was at an end when the metal of the bodywork exploded in a shower of rust when first started it up in the first part of the season.

The temporary storage area (our dining room)

Earlier on yesterday I had discovered that all my expensive parallel clamps, that I had put into a cardboard box raised from the floor by timbers in the back yard and covered with a "waterproof" sheet, were basically floating in rainwater! So much for the sheet! I got them all out and using some Boeshield T9 and a rag dried them all off. I then liberally coated all the clamps with the Boeshield and we took them indoors to the temporary storage area. I got my waste wood-chip collection bin and placed them all vertically in it. I also dried off a whole raft of F clamps that had also got wet. The whole lot (suitably cleaned) is now in the dining room and fortunately not damaged or rusted.


Last night the fridge/freezer was moved out of the shop. We have given it to a friends granddaughter who is just setting up home and she was in need of one. We spent a few hours cleaning it and making it sparkle. It was about 15 years old but still in perfect condition and was only used as a beer/wine fridge in the summer and additional space for seasonal food at Christmas and other celebrations. The people came and loaded it onto the back of their truck and we waved it goodbye.

The old shop with still some garbage in it

Another view of the shop. My table saw is there somewhere!

All that is left in the shop of note at the moment is the router table, the band saw, the workbench and the table saw. I don't think that the table saw will go into temporary storage as it is really heavy. Even with a good hip I don't think I could lift it up the steps into the house.

I may be able to take the band-saw off its stand but we do have a large tent and the frame is already built in the yard ready for the covers to go on at the weekend. I may just have it moved into the tent along with all the rest of the larger gear. I also have to move some lumber and sheet goods into storage too.

My back yard (it actually is a courtyard)
with the tent structure ready for its covers.
Note all the "waterproof" storage containers.

The electrician is coming to have a look at his part of the job on Saturday and the builder is starting on Monday. I will be documenting the entire build, it won't be like Marc Spagnuolo's new shop, and will probably be of interest to very few people. However it will serve as a record for the future and may have a few pointers for everybody else who may be embarking on a similar exercise.

Yet another view of the old shop.
Note all the tasteful graffiti left by a previous owners children!

To sum up the shop is:

• having new internal walls creating a double thickness
• having its asbestos roof removed
• having a new metal, insulated roof installed approx 1 foot higher than the old one to enable standard up and over garage doors to be fitted at a later date
• is being clad on the outside in maintenance free cedar cladding
• having all electrical work done so that sockets are where I want them
• having new twin tube T8 high frequency fluorescent lights installed
• having the inspection pit filled in (shown in the pictures with it's timber boards) and capped with concrete slab
• floor coated with two part epoxy paint
• walls painted with white masonry paint

So the journey begins....