Joel OF Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Hi folks, I'm thinking of building or buying a small shed to put in my parents field to use as a workshop. I'm just wondering if anyone's got any tips on shape, materials or design? It doesn't need an electricity supply as I can run power lead out from their house and I'll be using a small coke forge and only making small items so it doesn't need to be big, but any tips would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin McDowell Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Hi Kurgan, I'm kinda in the same boat. Been looking up my city's ordinances and I have to have mine five feet from the side property and ten from the rear. Unfortunately I only have 12'x12' to work with and that will be very small to work in! I got a email back from a guild member giving me some information about residential blacksmithing. I notice you mentioned "field" so perhaps you don't have to worry about neighbors. He did mention though that he made his detached garage as safe as possible, using double wall cement board around the chimney with plenty of space between the metal chimney and any wood. He also had cement board on the wall inside near the forge. I believe the height of the top of the chimney flue must be 4 feet or more above the peak of the roof to prevent wind gusts from pushing the smoke back down the chimney. Good luck on building your shed and in all your endeavors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Building a shop, even if it's a shed deserves some thought. First is bigger is better, however large you think is big enough, isn't. Mine is 30'x40' and it was filling up before I got the roof closed in. A rule of thumb you can start with is the work triangle, a full pace between the major pieces of equipment in your shop or. 6' between forge, anvil, vise with space for tool racks, close bot out of the roadway. The next really important consideration is stock and tool storage, again close enough to be handy but clear of traffic. Next is the work bench and better still a good heavy duty table. Then there are the pedestal tools, say drill press, grinders, cutoff saw, shears, etc. (Okay I know a cutoff say isn't really a pedestal tool but . . .) A really good way to work this is get some graph paper (quadrille ruled) and make cutouts of your tools and equipment so you can arrange and move everything around. Sure you can do the same thing on any old computer with a little freeware, say Sketchup, but the paper doll shop just works better for me, faster, easier and more fun to just slide little paper bits around on a shop floor layout. Oh and don't forget to draw the tools before you cut them out, it's much better for the imagination that way. Blacksmith Barbie sort of. Yeah, I made a Frosty cutout too. <grin> Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Twelve by twelve is still not a bad size to start with and if you make it with one side with a door that raises up it can be supported with a brace it can add some additional outside covered area to work under when the conditions are favorable, like no snow. Have a compacted pea gravel floor and it should work fine for most small projects like fire place sets, spoons, letter openers, knives, trivets and the like, anything is better than nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOblacksmith0530 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Like said above it cannot be too big and if it is small you will have to expand it. About the minimum I would try to work in would be 15 by 15. That is what I ask for for demo's and it is pretty tight. I get more if I can so I can display some items as well. Frosty's idea of the cutouts works well that is how I did the base layout for mine years ago. Your eye can spot issues with the layout and size pretty quickly. One clarifier I would add is to make two set one of just the equipment and one of the equipment plus working space. Best of Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Parker Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I fought this battle myself. After they decided to turn my neighborhood into an HOA my smithing got noticed. Even though I was grandfathered in for the tools. I had to have anything new fit the HOA’s rules. The biggest shed I could build was limited to 10ft by 16ft. With a window mid-way on each side and a set of large double doors on the front, it is workable. Add a large fan and get enough cross ventilation and small jobs are easy. I keep a small one burner in the shed and I keep a small coal forge by the door and just move it under the trees when I need it. Once you have things on wheels, tools in racks and a place for scrap on the outside even a small area feels bigger. The most important issue is getting started, after that it is a shell game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker's Forge Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 The group I go to has a couple very large tarps set up between the trees with a central hole to allow smoke to be removed. There are two large forges that are used on training days and there are two small forges that could be set up if required. There are four anvils set up and tool racks all over the place. The scrap metal is all set out of the way. It sounds messy (and it is a little) but we often have four to five people working at the same time in a space halfway between a simngle and a double garage. I will be setting up the same system in my back yard over the coming months just smaller to suite my needs. I should note that I live in a sub-tropical region so I dont have to worry about snow :) If you have the material to build a proper work shed then go for it, just giving a different view on the idea that is cheaper, quicker and has plenty of options to expand easily. Giles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Cheers for the replies thus far. Any tips for materials or design? E.g would a tin shed get too hot? Is an opening at the top essential, or would a side window do? Would a flat roof do or is an apex roof a must? The idea of extending the shed as Benitron mentioned sounds good, and I would do exactly what you said Walker but the weather can get horrid here! In fact those ideas have got me wondering if something like this would be good, with a tarp to pull down and make a full side if the weather gets nasty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Holy cow, I've just been Googleing local shed and garage companies...definitely going to be making this myself! £1500 for a wooden box with a hole in one end to drive your car in?! Jog on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 If you get rain and like to stay dry then pitching the roof is pretty important. A single pitch works nicely, it concentrates the runoff on one side but you may be better off spreading runoff more so a double pitch would be better. A single pitch roof along the long side makes expanding much easier, all you have to do is build another single pitch shed with the same pitch and connect them along the high side. Viola! double pitch roof and twice the floorspace. A single car garage size isn't bad at all, it'll get crowded if you're doing large projects say spiral staircases or driveway gates, etc. you just HAVE to have room to lay them out. Of course the floor works well for large layouts. What to build it from is going to depend on lots of variables, some I just don't know like local building codes. Lumber is good, you don't need a lot of tools though a couple strong backs really helps to stand walls. Metal is good to, not many tools a couple wrenches and a screw driver usually cover the kit. You'll need strong backs and bandages, you'll get cuts. How hot they get will depend on color and ventilation, a really good trick for hot country is a second roof to shade the shop roof, bright silver and an inch or three between so air can flow will do a good job of keeping the interior much cooler under a HOT sun. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 A single pitch roof along the long side makes expanding much easier, all you have to do is build another single pitch shed with the same pitch and connect them along the high side. Viola! double pitch roof and twice the floorspace. Frosty the Lucky. thats how i did mine , it will be 24 x 16 one day....its 12 x 16 now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Cheers Frosty, some interesting points there. I visited a shed making company's showroom yesterday to get a feel for size, I really can't see me needing anything bigger than 10 x 10 for a while as I am a complete novice. I just typed out quite a couple detailed paragraphs about how my parents live in an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" and how that has thrown up some complications, but I pressed the wrong button and it all got wiped! Let's just say the plot has thickened...dun dun darrr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Areas of outstand natural beauty, if its an "agricultural building" then you may not have too much difficulty, (use your imagination)it could start off as a three sided open animal shelter, or a machinery shed (where of course you will need to use a forge to straighten out parts and make farming type implements somewhat later than the planning stage) in which case due to the amount of theft in the countryside you will have to make it secure, possibly by adding another wall to enclose and secure the contents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles McDonald Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I poured most of my money into tools and left myself pretty poor to build anything major, and since I’m renting I thought the landlord would handle a "Garden shed" a little better than something serious. Here are some photos of the little work area I built. I built this pretty simple using framing lumber, plywood etc. The roofing you can get discounted if you find ripped bundles at Lowes or Home Depot and the windows I made myself as well from a free large single pain window I picked you north of me. I didn’t run this by my landlord before building it and so I just built it in a way that’s easy to take down and mend materials (save for the roofing) The whole thing cost me about 500 bucks after being nickel and dimed to death on a few things. Much cheaper than buying a shed premade as to my knowing. It’s cramped at times, and quite hot running that forge in the middle of summer, but I’ve learned to love it for what it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.85 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Awesome job Waldgeist, I recognize your shop from the picture of the wilkinson anvil, looks like you upgraded to a Nimba? It may be smaller but that sure doesn't mean it isn't useful and well planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles McDonald Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Thank you very much Daniel, and yes I did upgrade to a Nimba Centurion. A great deal came my way and I couldnt pass up buying one :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scavnger Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Waldgeist, first of all you have yourself a beautiful workshop. I am hoping to build one by the looks about the same and in construction. What size is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Nice shop Waldgeist and well laid out. Sure you'll need a larger one, no matter how large you build it you'll need a larger one. It's a law of blacksmithing nature you know. Kurgan: There are lots of places like you describe in the states. Seems lots of folks just do not like to see human activity, construction or hear the sounds. Misanthropic is my thoughts. Deb and I bought some acreage just outside building codes except federal and state codes. Things like distance between septic systems and wells, property line setbacks and such. Then again I had to carve the place out of a forest and some years later the forest carved a hunk out of me. Good luck dealing with government types and remember NEVER raise your voice, in person or on the phone. If you do or worse yet cuss them out like they so richly deserve, you'll end up on the list of crank callers and they'll never talk to you again. Ever, show up in person and enjoy a police escort and maybe a night on them. There are ways to work gvt. types but I know nothing about your side of the pond. Bummer. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles McDonald Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Waldgeist, first of all you have yourself a beautiful workshop. I am hoping to build one by the looks about the same and in construction. What size is it? Nice shop Waldgeist and well laid out. Sure you'll need a larger one, no matter how large you build it you'll need a larger one. It's a law of blacksmithing nature you know. Scavnger, thank you very much! It's only 8'x10' Frosty, thank you as well! Yeah Im always finding something more I want out of my work area ha ha! For me right now though its a matter of heat in that little shed with the forge going. Also I would like space to work the anvil comfortably on both sides. Basic things I hadnt thought through starting out... That little world of my own leaves me oblivious to the world sometimes. It's great :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Note could you pitch it as an artist's studio in your area of outstanding beauty? Join the British Artist Blacksmith Association for a bit more ammo, etc... refer to it as your atlier? Ag would probably be easier to deal with but if that's closed try the "Artist" door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Cheers for the replies ppl. John B - that's a good point and I could probably get away with that due to the size, (even though we have no animals or machinery), though I know the parish council are wary of things like that because of the local pikey builder putting a barn in a field "for his machinery" which low and behold after about a year he put planning application for to turn it into a house - which is a big fat no - and now he lives in a caravan in his field. I've talked briefly to a colleague's boyfriend who has a business doing eco/traditional building like straw bale building and cob building...I think I've got a far greater chance at not raising any attention if it's a traditional style of build that's "sympathetic" to it's surroundings, plus if I went down the prefab shed route I'd feel like I was scarring my parents' land and I'd feel quite selfish. They've done a lot to improve the wildlife on their land so to plonk a prefab shed in it seems a bit naff. Whatever I do I should get on and do something about it sooner rather than later as the weather's really beginning to turn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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