Attached Shop

I built this attached shop onto a house in Coos Bay for my father.  He had recently sold a hangar, house and five acres to "re-retire" to a smaller place in the town he grew up in.  The five acres was way too much because he was 87 at the time.  But he needed something to do with his time, so he wanted a small shop to build furniture in.

Sept 13, 2021

I don't know if you've ever been to North Bend/Coos Bay, but the entire town is basically built on a sand dune.  They leveled these lots in the 80s and trucked in about a foot of top soil to allow for a poor lawn.  I dug this 1' x 1' trench for the foundation/slab and hit sand everywhere at one foot deep.

Sept 20, 2021

Here's the forms and rebar, ready to pour concrete.

Sept 30, 2021
We contracted the concrete.  $1500 if I remember correctly.  They pumped it in from the street and it arrived via that hose.


Oct 4, 2021
We put anchor bolts in the concrete after the pour and once it'd cured, we bolted down the pressure-treated sill plate.


Oct 4, 2021
It took the better part of a day to slap a wall and joists up on the slab, attaching the joists to the house as high up under the eaves as plywood and roofing would allow.


Oct 5, 2021
It rains a lot in Coos Bay, so let's get the tar paper on quick.


Oct 5, 2021
I do good work.  Look at that alignment.


Oct 6, 2021
I forgot to bring my roofing nailer, so I did this with raw roofing nails and a hammer.  I think it actually went quicker.  Must remember that next time.


Oct 14, 2021

We put the insulation in quick and I drove the sheet rock very quickly.  I cut accurate pieces fast whilst my brother and dad hustled to hang them and keep up.

Oct 14, 2021

Side walls are up and sheathed.


Oct 14, 2021

Wide door to allow for large-ish projects.  Dad put the door on later.  Two different sizes of siding.  I did not do the purchasing for this job.


Oct 14, 2021

Weird joint on the internal wall with the siding.  See next pic.


Oct 14, 2021

The weird extension beyond the house.  Had to cut the siding to account for the rain gutter.


Oct 14, 2021

It was tough getting the bench installed.  We hauled it down from Chehalis in one complete piece and muscled into place with just me, my brother, and my dad (87).


Oct 14, 2021

Corner of the shop with the bench installed.


Oct 14, 2021

Pano of us sitting in the new shop having a beer.  I'm the goofy one on the right (no, the one on the extreme right).


Oct 14, 2021

Yay. Done.  Dad did the wiring and insulated the ceiling and joist gaps.


I live in North Idaho and drove down to Coos Bay 4 times to complete this job.  The foundation digging and forms/rebar may have take 8 total hours of work. The framing, sheathing and roofing was maybe three six-hour days. and the remaining walls, insulation and sheet rock was probably another three six-hour days.  So maybe 45 total hours of work.