It’s been a process that isn’t over yet. Several trees had to be removed. I worked through a five week process of getting a building permit from the city. And who knew it’d be so difficult to find a builder? Today, though, I have a 16’ by 24’ shop building under the trees in my backyard, built by Trupoint Backyards from Hamptonville.

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Because there was no good way to get a pre-fab building into my backyard, Trupoint sent Noah, Marvin and Eli (Amish builders) to build it on site. In a little under ten hours, they built the entire shed. I sat on my deck and watched them. It was like having a private YouTube channel!

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There are things to do before the electrical and plumbing work can begin. I have to install anchors at the four corners of the building to ensure it won’t fly away in high winds. (Gravity holds it on the concrete block piers it’s resting on.) I must build two partition walls for the office and half-bath. Four friends who have pneumatic framing nail guns (and way more construction experience than me) are coming next Wednesday to help me with this. Once the walls are up, the electricians take over. Then the plumbers follow.

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This morning, I went to a salvage warehouse and bought two interior doors. I felt like a real builder moving doors around, whipping out my tape to measure them. Internally, I debated about building them myself, but expediency (the electrician wants to start in two weeks) ruled that out.

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This afternoon, I measured and planned the partition walls (so much fun) and discovered a potential problem. The shed’s front and back walls are only seventy-eight inches tall. The doors I bought are eighty inches tall. Great.

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I considered trimming the door height, but rejected the idea. Instead I marked the place under a roof rafter where an eight foot wall can stand. From the front and back walls, I’ll add shorter studs until I reach the place where the eight foot studs can start. In my mind this makes perfect sense, but we’ll have to wait and see if the execution is good.

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As these final tasks begin, I’ve daydreamed about what tools I’ll need and where they’ll go in the shop. I decided the only fixed stations will be the table saw and outfeed/assembly table and the workbench under the eave on the south-facing wall. I’ve planned for at least four benchtop tools sitting on cabinets on casters: drill press, band saw, sanding station and planer.

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I’ll find my tools on FB Marketplace since I prefer vintage tools in good condition. I think they’ll add to my shop’s vibe. The shopping and buying will be like Christmas in October!

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If you live near me, I hope you’ll come by for a visit when it’s done.

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