Ideas/Plans for a boatbuilding shed?

Thanks for your help and ideas. I am studying them as much as time allows.

Another idea I came across last night is simply searching for used trusses, siding and metal buildings on craigslist and ebay. I was surprised at the amount of items out there on my first search. It will be interesting to see what pops up over the next few months. It would not surprise me if somebody just wanted a building removed from a site prior to them setting something else in its place. We'll see!

I would appreciate other thoughts still.

Thank you!

J-

 

That is an excellent idea, I have assisted several clients with just such a project. Of course you will need the heavy equipment to dismantle, load and move it to your site. I have seen buildings like that free, or next to free, if the person would dismantle it and haul it away (it costs the builder for demolition and haul off of the old building).

The problem is your local municipality would consider it a permanent building and you would have to permit it, and find a local engineer willing to provide you with a set of "as-built" plans and current calculations to demonstrate the old building meets current building code (that typically costs $2000-3000, but you might find someone to do it for less). I have done this on a number of occasions for my own clients.

Sometimes there are exceptions for moving an existing building to a new location within the jurisdiction, but these usually apply to whole houses moved in one piece, not dismantling a building in one location and erecting it in another. But you should check with your local building department for their policy on relocating an existing building. You also might see if they have a policy for a "temporary" building.

This is why I like the idea of building a "greenhouse", that also will be sheltering my boat projects.

 

You could always build two bow sheds. One to actually build the boat in and another as a workshop. Join the two with a passageway. This gets you to within the design limits for a bow shed. Build one first. Get organized. When you're actually ready to start building the boat build the second. Spread your costs out and you'll hardly notice them. Just another thought.

 

this may be a bit off topic, but I'll pass along something that has saved me a ton of effort and time. My first build was a 44' ferro trawler and climbing in and out of the hull while it was under construction was a mind-numbing task. This time I got smarter and built an elevated shop at the end of the building. My transom is open so I can step directly from the shop into the boat. I can't over stress how much this facilitates the build. If I want to quickly check a dimension or go fetch the correct tool, no problem. I'm not sure if this is applicable to your situation but if so, give it some thought.

Regards,

SeaJay

 

Speaking as a licenced building contractor/boatbuilder you should budget $10,000 for a temp building that size/lifetime. Do what i did once in the past before I built my present shop, invest in materials that you can sell and recoup a large chunk of your money when the build is completed.
#1 The slab, size and build it so it becomes an asset( outside patio, play game area, ect.) when house selling and cruising time arrives.
#2 construct your walls with 24 to 30 in baker scaffolding. Fasten horizontal 1x3 or 1x4 strapping spaced 16 to 24 in. apart along the outside using conduit U straps using pan head screws. Cover your outside walls with square style corrigated greenhouse clear or coloured panels fasten with a rubber washer, non rusting flat washer and a pan head screw.( Use care here in even screw spacing and non rusting fasteners to prevent rust stains on the panels for re sale value) Purchase 10 to 20 plydecks. You then have excellent portable height adjusting floors and work tables.
#3 Order in factory built 2x4 truss rafters space 24in. apart, horizontally strap every 16 to 24 in. cover again with greenhouse corrigated panels. Keep you roof overhang short and Fasten every foot along the bottom edge as the wind will want to lift the roof edge. Build your doors from the same, using a wood frame.
#4 When the build is complete the structure is easy to dismantle(screws) and sell as all the materials are highly marketable.-- Geo

 

SeaJay - very good idea. The thought of a multilevel floor had never entered my mind. I am building into a hillside and the problem may now be worked into an asset. Leaving the transom open as long as possible is also an interesting thought to consider. Many advantages.

Viking north - Excellent thinking as well. It seems well worth the extra investment if I can recoup some of it in the end rather than load it into a dumpster. Question; what do you mean by "24 to 30 in baker scaffolding". Is that regular construction scaffolding? Might you have a photo of a building made this way?

Thank you very much for your excellent advice!

J-

 

Sorry stupid me didn't take any photos. The 24 to 30 in. baker scaffolding physically looks like regular construction scaffolding but is not as wide. It assembles in the same manner with cross bracing and locking pins to hold the levels together. To keep it from lifting in a wind storm saddle the lower pieces with say 4 bags (150lbs.) of sand on each section. I would go with 12 foot cross braces and platforms to reduce the number of sections needed. If it works out better you can also go with 10 footers. I simply lashed 2x6's along the top of the top sections and fastened my truss rafters to the 2x6 with hurricane clips using again you guessed it pan head screws. By the way use what we have used here in Canada since the 1800's Robinson head screws, I think you guys now have them called square heads. Believe it or not these are fairley new to the U.S. maybe the last 20yrs. Buy used scaffolding from the big rental places should cost approx. ($50.00 a section, 2 end frames) ($15.00 pair for bracing) ($75 a platform often called a plydeck) Get prices from building supply on corrigated greenhouse panels, buy in quanity should save from 20 to 30 percent. If possible have a contractor friend buy all materials for you, promise him a boat trip with good rum in 10yrs. If you decide to go this route i can draw you up a basic set of plans. By the way, it's easy to set up a complete moveable workshop on the scaffolding, table saw, mitersaw, drill press, and so on as you can use the platforms(plydecks) as floors and work benches.--Geo.

A yacht is not defined by the vessel but by the care and love of her owner.

 

Insulation?

a thought ...
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Insulation.
I have a friend with a Shelby, his garage is set up to never get colder than -10 degrees.
I think boats would benefit as well. (and also the working environment).

It's the minus 30's I don't like

I think Insulation should be a consideration.

DE

 

Thank you to all who have responded to my thread. I had been studying the differences of options that were mentioned here and asking around locally about roof trusses to salvage from buildings that were being torn down around here. I just happened to ask my question in a room full of people and one person chimed in and said "I know of a roof for you but you have to take the rest of it with you". Turns out it was a full steel Butler type building that had been disassembled and did not quite fit the salvage masters plans as initially intended so it was going to auction..... NOT! I ended up purchasing it on the spot. A 40 x 53 footprint. Not pretty but lots of materials to work with... for $1,200. I plan on raising the building this summer, rebuilding my boat over the next 8 years and then selling the building again. I'll post some photos of the project this summer. Right now it is 5 degrees outside and 6" of snow on the site. Lots to do when the weather warms!

It really paid off in the end for me to take my time and ask lots of people lots of questions. I saw many ideas that would have been wonderful starting points from this forum. Thank you all! I will leave the forum open for others to post ideas. It seems a good thread for many of us getting started.

One last item. I read elsewhere to check salvage yards for electrical materials and I found a wonderful yard locally. My first visit I was searching for 200' of heavy duty wire to run to my new building and guess what I found? a whole spool of new 2/0 aluminum wire for $1 a pound! wow!

Sail on!

 

Translucent panels in walls and roof , to allow natural light, are well worth it. Nothing worse than working in a cave shed.

 

Don't want to be the party pooper here but in many areas including mixed residential/buisness zones this type of building is agressively not allowed. I know here in the Halifax area of Nova Scotia it is permitted only in specific zoned areas where such zoning exists. You have probably already checked into this, if not might be wise to do so before you expend more time and money. Sorry don't want be the messinger of bad news but certainly don't want you to go thru my experience with same --Geo.

 

What if you disguise the boat shed as a Church ? Or Muslim Community center ?

 

Michael you're always thinking--good idea then one could earn enough to build the Yacht. However use the term Ark when passing the collection plate

 

I do not have the permit in hand yet but I have stopped in the zoning office a few times and they don't seem to give a hoot... as long as they get their fees! (another story which I will avoid here). It's Vermont... I'll call it a "Yurt".... millions of them out in these woods...

 

Great- one problem with them with heating in the winter is if they are not well insulated they condense and drip like rain. Most guys run a strong rope with turnbuckle up near the peak and use a big one piece tarp in tent fashon with the bottoms fastened to the back of the work benches on either side. Works excellent as well as making it easier to heat with the trapped air.