I plan to retire in 2 or 3 years, so we bought a retirement wood shop. It came with a little house.
So we are moving- from a 4,000 square foot house to a 1,000 square foot house (excluding basements);
- from 1.9 acres to 0.15 acres;
- from difficult to travel to easy to travel;
- from little or no restaurants and stores to lots of them;
- from the UP to Southwest Michigan;
- from the forest to the rust belt;
- from copper country to tulip town;
- from Houghton to Holland.
The house: We bought this house unseen, because houses in the under $150K range would only stay on the market for a few days. I figured if we just did not like it we could resell it. Its in an excellent location so we are going to see if we can make it work.
The wood shop: will be in this 3.5 car Garage. (It has 3 stalls if you park one car sideways.) 24 feet wide by 28 feet deep.
-- Don K, (Holland, Michigan)
14 comments so far
Smitty_Cabinetshop
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17128 posts in 3593 days
#1 posted 06-20-2017 09:42 PM
That Wood Shop is about as nice as can be! A blank canvas you can paint in Pumpkin colors and outfit as you wish. Very cool, and congratulations! I look forward to following along with the Shop Developments as they come out.
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. - OldTools Archive -
Combo Prof
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#2 posted 06-20-2017 09:44 PM
Thanks will start with shop layout plans next.
-- Don K, (Holland, Michigan)
Mosquito
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#3 posted 06-20-2017 09:51 PM
An empty, unfinished, 24×28 shop? You’re in the same boat that I was (and still partially am lol) Hopefully you can get it finished up faster than me! Should be an awesome shop by the time you’re done
-- Mos - Twin Cities, MN - http://www.youtube.com/MosquitoMods - http://www.TheModsquito.com
JayT
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#4 posted 06-20-2017 09:53 PM
Looks like a great space, Don. Not sure what you’ll need the house for.
Are you going to have to share with vehicles in winter or will it be all wood shop?
-- https://www.jtplaneworks.com - In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.
NormG
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#5 posted 06-20-2017 11:09 PM
Congratulations and happy moving
-- Norman - I never never make a mistake, I just change the design.
htl
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5325 posts in 2134 days
#6 posted 06-20-2017 11:58 PM
Sounds like my or our retirement ideas.
Less yard to take care of
Smaller house to keep up [just the two of us]
Shop away from house so not tracking in saw dust.
Now just need to get er fixed up to suit.
-- An Index Of My Model making Blogs https://www.lumberjocks.com/htl/blog/130264
Combo Prof
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#7 posted 06-21-2017 03:39 AM
Mos I hope to get it completed by the end of next summer. But I will still be working up in the UP
until I can work out intermediate health insurance until I can get Medicare.
JayT The dog and I get a bed room in the house use of a bathroom and kitchen. the rest of the house will be full of my wife’s fiber art I.e. looms, spinning wheels, felting, knitting and crochet tools, dying supplies and lots of wool. So far I have turned a 6 by 11 foot room into a cedar closet. I hope to leave room in the garage for a small car and a shared sitting area.
Norm Thanks.
htl Yup thats the plan. Took us under 2 hours to clean the house top to bottom befor we left for return to Houghton.
-- Don K, (Holland, Michigan)
Boxguy
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2889 posts in 3242 days
#8 posted 06-21-2017 05:08 AM
Don, wow, a blank slate. first thing is to get a 200 amp service and put in lots of 220 plugs, LED lighting, and when you are planning your shop,think in terms of work stations for specific tasks such as glue up and cutting. I would install heating tubes in the floor and pour a new floor over that. Radiators and sawdust don’t mix well. You will need a finish room. Add a porch on the east side for sitting and finish work in the summer. Insulate, insulate, insulate. A suspended tile ceiling will make everything much more quiet.
If code will allow, finish the inside walls with plywood, not plaster. I would also install an air system with several outlets on the walls. Put all your tools on wheels or better yet, nylon glides so you can move them around until they find their home. I know you are a hand tool guy, but your first tool should be the largest SawStop you can afford. Next is a sliding miter. Then a drill press.
Instead of an off bearing table, I bought some Craftsman level saws on Craig’s List, yoked them together and put different dado blades in each.
This allows me to cut long wood, wide plywood, and make 1/4 and 1/2 inch dado cuts with no set up time. It also provides a large assembly area.
Have fun, building your shop can be as much fun as what you make in it.
-- Big Al in IN
TheFridge
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#9 posted 06-21-2017 05:25 AM
I’d kill for a shop that size :)
Congratulations bud.
-- Shooting down the walls of heartache. Bang bang. I am. The warrior.
Combo Prof
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4546 posts in 2252 days
#10 posted 06-21-2017 06:51 AM
Thanks Al and Fridge. I have already ordered 200 amp service. Details in next post. My wife wants to buy me a SawStop, but I am resisting.
East side is the lot line. So cannot put a porch there. I’d rather not put a porch on the west side. The yard is small enough already. Behind the garage the back side is enough room for one, but I think I will use that space to air dry lumber and store lawn mower and garden tools. There is a nice big deck off the back of the house that will have to do for sitting. The only possibility for enlargement is to add a second floor, which I want to do once our current house is sold and if the boss will let me.
Here is an arial photo. The structure behind the garage is the small garden.
-- Don K, (Holland, Michigan)
Smitty_Cabinetshop
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17128 posts in 3593 days
#11 posted 06-21-2017 04:01 PM
Let me know in a PM what you figure out for that, if you’re so inclined. It’s what’s keeping me from considering a more early retirement.
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. - OldTools Archive -
bonesbr549
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1588 posts in 4041 days
#12 posted 06-21-2017 04:27 PM
cool, i too plan on retiring in 2 years. I just bought 4 acres on a lake in va. I’m going back to the country from the city.
One thing I noticed based on your location, better get some good insulation in that building!
Keep the updates coming man, I’m not too far behind you.
-- Sooner or later Liberals run out of other people's money.
Combo Prof
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#13 posted 06-21-2017 04:47 PM
Really. It seems so much better then where I live now. But I guess you mean it gets too hot.
Where I live now:
Houghton weather averages
Annual high temperature: 48.9°F
Annual low temperature: 31.7°F
Average temperature: 40.3°F
Average annual precipitation – rainfall: 27.87 inch
Days per year with precipitation – rainfall: -
Annual hours of sunshine: -
Av. annual snowfall: 208 inch
Also we have 8 months with some snowfall.
Where I will live:
Holland weather averages
Annual high temperature: 59.2°F
Annual low temperature: 39.8°F
Average temperature: 49.5°F
Average annual precipitation – rainfall: 36.75 inch
Days per year with precipitation – rainfall: -
Annual hours of sunshine: -
Av. annual snowfall: 70 inch
Only 5 months with snowfall.
But anyway I will indeed insulate.
-- Don K, (Holland, Michigan)
mafe
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#14 posted 12-16-2020 10:45 AM
What a wonderful chance, the house looks lovely and like just the right place to grow old.
The workshop… Well… Hmmmm… ok, I screaming of envy! Laughs. What a wonderful chance, to get to build a workshop there, from a blank canvas and colours made of your dreams.
Congratulations.
Best thoughts,
Mads
-- MAD F, the fanatical rhykenologist and vintage architect.
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