So why am I going through all of this past history, you ask? I didn’t want to spring any of the projects I am going to do on the blog-0-sphere without explaining how this shop I am doing them in magically appeared in my world. The shop will be a multi-use shop with woodworking, automotive repair and any other function that might be carried out in such a facility.

On July 27th, 2021 the foundation was finished. We had already contacted the company that was going to put up the building itself once we were sure the foundation would be built. When the dust had all settled, they were going to send their crew down to the wilds of the Hill Country on the 12th of August. In the meantime, I had to remove limbs from trees to give a clear space for the building to go up in. So out came the tape measures, chain saw, pole saw and ladders. In a couple of days I had what I hoped was a cleared volume for the building to go in.

On the morning of Thursday the 12th, we called and made sure the crew was on its way. They showed up just after 12 PM with a trailer load of materials and 3 men.

The trailer was loaded with lengths of 2 1/2 inch square galvanized tubing, roof trusses of the same material, premade bottom wall plates, yards and yards of metal siding and roofing, a roll up door, five windows, a couple of man doors and boxes of screws and other fittings. The guys set to unloading stuff from the trailer. And boy, did they move fast. By 12:57, the crew had the sidewall wall plates positioned, screwed to the foundation and the first “bent” erected.

Just 20 minutes later, all the “bents” were up. I was totally amazed at the speed they were moving at. I didn’t take any more pictures that day because I felt I might be interfering with them. By sunset, which was their quitting time, they had built the front and back frames out with all vertical and horizontal frame pieces, put in all the purlins in the walls and roof, and had started putting the siding on the building.

When they came back the next morning, Friday, August 13th (I wanted to point out the auspicious date), the crew charged right back into the building. By 10 AM they had the building almost complete. The roll-up door trim, roll-up door and the trim around the roof were still to be done. You can see the frame structure through the door opening

By 12 Noon the building was complete. The crew drove away about 12:15 PM. And I took this picture at 12:19. I just have to say that was fast. The crew put up the building in 24 hours including taking an overnight break.

There was still more to do. We needed to epoxy the floor, get electric power to the shop, wire the shop and start filling it with tools. More in the next installment of “The Shop”.

BillB