Meet our newest addition to the Williams Family, Clay's Shop
I should add a little bit of pre-text here... For those that don't know me, I should explain that when I get an idea in my head I get very (very) excited about that idea and there is almost no turning back. Which is exactly what happened with our first home. The house was everything I needed it to be, the yard had potential and the price was right. So before my dear, sweet, unsuspecting husband could bat an eye, I had the deal done & the papers signed. It was a dream come true for our new house... except one thing... it didn't have a shop. And let me tell you, I NEVER heard the end of it. I tried convincing Clay that the single car garage (that his car barely fit in & constantly flooded with water) was all he needed. Well, if you have a husband that likes classic cars and does his own oil changes, you know that it was NOT. So because I apparently made him suffer for three years in that teeny weeny "shed", as he called it, I guess I can let it slide that he got his new shop before I get my new home... *sigh* |
Moving versus New
A few months later we found out the shop was for sale, so we ran some numbers. By purchasing and moving this shop, including a cement foundation, we would save approximately $28,500. We came to that number based on the cost of a 60 x 40ft pole framed, insulated building from the same company that built our barn- Goodon Industries. We also got the added bonus that the shop to move came with wiring, gas lines, the hot water heater and some additional shop supplies. (Wahoo!) So while the shop to move will need more sweat equity and is a bit older, the arch ribbed shop felt like the right choice for us.
Building the Foundation
We were told by our basement builder (note that is most definitely a different contractor than we used on our shop foundation), that he doesn't recommend placing a building on an ICF Cement foundation for a minimum of 3 weeks after pouring. We were also told that at the very least, cement should receive 48 hours of curing before any placement on top. In fact, after 48 hours cement only has 75% of its strength total strength...
Well, on day 4 of the foundation build, there was still no cement. I mentioned the impending deadline to the contractors (and by mentioned, I mean full out panicked in their direction!) but because Day 5 and 6 were a Saturday and Sunday, they wouldn't pour the cement until Monday. We set the shop on the new foundation EXACTLY 24 hours after the cement was poured... This is still giving me anxiety as I type, because we won't know the strength of the cement for at least a week... AHHHH! This also meant we couldn't anchor our new building to our foundation... Yes, our new shop, AKA wind sail, is just exposed on the wide open prairie, waiting for the next wind storm to blow it to Brooks... Insert anxiety attack here!!!!
Keep your fingers crossed!
Prep Day
Moving Day!
The only snags we ran into on this part of the journey was that we have two sets of Texas Gates going down our driveway. We had to torch one gate, un-bolt the other and cut some barbed wire fence to get the access wide enough for the 40ft wide shop to fit through. We also had to keep our cows from mixing with the neighbors, and our bulls, but luckily that went smooth (yay for tame cows!).