New Shop: Part the 7

[John Bailey]

I thought I would post some pictures of the progress on the new shop. Its been a couple of busy months, so I haven't got a lot done. The first pictures are of the ditch I had to dig by hand to bury the electirc cable. I had a little trouble getting the electirc company to come and flag the buried cable, so I took matters into my own hands (mainly the shovel) and dug it myself. I had to do it by hand because we had buried electric, water and telephone lines that we didn't know the location of, so we couldn't use a ditch digger. I had to go 60 yards from my mother-in-law's house. We run two houses and a garage on 100 amp service now, so we're going to upgrade to 200 amp with the shop on its own 100 amp panel. Of course the ditch was well protected by Bhakti the wonder dog and Diddy the cat.

The next picture is of the inside of the shop before I had installed any lighting. I know it looks a bit dark, but, with the plastic roof on the north side, the light is fantastic for working. The last picture is of the outside. Yep, we've got plenty of snow up here now, and it won't go away till spring. The doors are temporary, made of scrap tongue and groove. The windows on the side were some old windows we had stored. The window in the front and the windows in the doors are just heavy plastic. Again, just temporary until we can do it right.

Presently, I'm working on insulating the inside, getting ready to hook-up power, and putting up tongue and goove on the iswide walls. I've got a propane heater setup that keeps it about 20 degrees warmer than the outside. So, this last weekend when the highs were around 18, I could keep it at 38 when I was working. I've got plans to put ceiling insulation on the south side and a plastic see-through barrier on the north side. I think it will stay pretty cozy when that's done. Eventually I'll have a woodburner, and that shoudl heat the place quite well. Power has been supplied by two 80 ft. power cords. They are unplugged whenever I leave the shop.

I'll post some pictures of the inside when I get one of the walls done.

John

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the update, John. That's a fine building!

[Richard Wolf]

Great pictures, Thanks for the post.

Richard

[Andy Hoyt]

Lookin' good!

[Bob Noles]

John,

Great update!

Man..... I love that snow covered shop.... picture perfect setting and I can just see a pot belly stove burning scrap wood in there to keep it warm and cozy.

Thanks

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for the update John.

Like Bob, I really like the picture of the shop in the snow. But, I am glad that I don't need to work in there with temperatures only a little above freezing.

[Corey Hallagan]

Looking good there John. I agree with Bob, the shop looks so quaint in the snow covered shop. I could see that as an oil painting with a lantern providing a warm glow to the inside of the building. Your going to have a real nice shop soon!

Corey

[John Miliunas]

Good progress, John. Yeah, it really looks picturesque, although personally, I'm already sick of dealing with the snow and cold this year!

[Tyler Howell]

Looking real good John. Great work space and a wonderful setting.

[Dev Emch]

John...

I feel for you having done exactly the same. I bet you discovered muscles that you didnt know you had. But that extra electron power will come in handy.

Bob...

Would that pot belly stove look anything like this? This is my best buddy this time of year! Even my dog likes to sleep very close to this unit when its cold out and we just had a bit of cold. The official weather monitor reports are in and the last cold snap drove our mercury to MINUS 30 degrees below zero. Forgive the uncompleted brick masonary work around the chase. Also note the use of vise grips to force the damper in the open position. The damper was bought new and its made in the land that starts with C. The stove has never had any problems in the 30 years my family has owned it and it was made sometime around 1899. The only major change I made was to remove my Dad's original flue system with a more modern and safter installation and to replace the damper.

For the record, this is an actual pot belly. Pot belly stoves are identified by an all cast iron body construction, a mushroom top section and that all important sock rail or guard ring. They also tend to be smaller. There are not many large pot belly stoves as these were used in railway buildings, caboose cars and one room school houses.

The stoves often misidentified as pot bellys are cylinders. Generally, if the stove has the name OAK in it somwhere, its a cylinder. Cylinders often had nickel plating on many items esp. the ears and the top. The tops were often equiped with fineals and the main body was fabricated from rolled steel sheet metal. The fire pit was cast iron but the body was rolled sheet metal and the top section was once again cast iron. These tend to be more prolific than pot bellys. Also, some of the larger sizes can really crank out the heat. My neighbor has two made by the Illinois Stove company and he can heat his entire house with just these two.

[Tom Drake]

Nice looking shop!

[John Bailey]

Thanks to all for the nice words. It's been a long project, but I'm enjoying every cold moment.

John

[Hank Keller]

John-
I'm jealous!

Couple questions - What's the size of your shop and will the plastic roof be replaced? Could you use that material on the south facing side and get the benefit of solar heating?
Hank

[Bart Leetch]

I am so glad that your getting your Shop completed & hope you get more heat soon as well as electricity.

I would like a bigger shop too but for now I will stick with smaller but warmer 60-65 degrees is great & I don't have to pay the electric bill.

[John Bailey]

Hank,

My shop is 20x20 outside dimensions. The north facing roof was designed to make good use of the Northern light - the same light artists like. The panels are the same type you use for patios or greenhouses. So, they won't be replaced. I suppose they could be used on the south side, but that would make it entirely too hot in the summer. Right now, when the outside temp. is at 20 deg. F. I'm very comfortable working in the shop at 40 deg. I've got a lot of work to make it air tight around doors and window, insulate it, and get a dead air space in the ceiling below the plastic northern roof. When I start using glue I'll need it warmer. Part of the fun for me has been to try my own ideas, even though some ideas have been outliers. Hopefully, the lack of insulation on the southern roof won't proof to be something I'm going to have to change.