Post by petebrown on Sept 21, 2018 4:04:45 GMT
Background
A massive upheaval three years ago when we moved from Australia's west coast to a tiny village in Australia's south-east provided challenges as well as opportunities.
After years of putting up with less than adequate work spaces, some of which would barely qualify as a workshop, leaving the city behind us freed up some cash, and a purpose-built workshop was at last attainable.
For some years I'd been intrigued by straw bale construction, and although I'd long since given up the idea of building a straw bale home, the price quoted by a local builder to construct a suitable workshop using more typical construction methods made me reconsider my approach. After considering our finances and matching them against my requirements, it didn't require a great deal of deliberation before the penny dropped and I'd committed to designing and erecting the workshop myself. Labour costs are said to comprise roughly 50% of the cost of any building project, and with spare time on my hands and a budget to consider, it seemed the sensible thing to do, despite my complete ignorance where building was concerned!
Design Considerations
As anyone acquainted with musical instruments knows, managing humidity is vitally important both during construction and after the instrument finds a new home. With that in mind, I wanted separate rooms under the workshop roof, one of which would be dedicated to fabricating the necessary components without regard to dust and mess, with the other reserved for wood storage and assembly of instruments in a humidity-controlled environment. At this stage of construction I sense that the space I've allowed for machining and preliminary work is large enough, while the smaller climate-controlled "gluing room" is still larger than spaces I've used for this purpose in the past.
There's no substitute for natural light, and the design includes several large windows around the perimeter of the building. There's an emphasis on doors and windows on the northern side, the idea being that winter sunshine will contribute to a pleasant environment during the colder months. The workshop will be shaded by several established deciduous trees which will help to reduce the impact of harsh summer days when the temperature can hit 40C.
In the interests of domestic harmony, the design also incorporates a small bathroom and a sizeable art/craft room for my better half.
First Steps
My chosen construction method was post-and-beam construction with straw bale infill. Straw bale walls provide significant advantages when it comes to keeping warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and with complementary insulation under the floor and roof as well as double-glazed doors and windows, I'm confident that the workshop will be more comfortable than our cottage during our extremes of weather. In fact, we joke that we'll move into the workshop during the winter months when severe frosts are common and snow can occasionally fall.
As well as a small but comfortable cottage in a picturesque location, we inherited an impressive pile of junk which just happened to occupy the ideal spot for a workshop. The first task - obviously - was to burn or remove the accumulated rubbish to provide a clean building site.
An advantage of our new life in a small farming community is that help is readily at hand. With the junk pile gone, my neighbour David was happy to visit with his tractor, and the result of a couple of hours' work was a massive step in the right direction saving me many hours on the end of a shovel. As the building will sit on timber stumps, the gentle slope I was left with posed no problems.
Well, that's probably enough for now. More to come shortly.
A massive upheaval three years ago when we moved from Australia's west coast to a tiny village in Australia's south-east provided challenges as well as opportunities.
After years of putting up with less than adequate work spaces, some of which would barely qualify as a workshop, leaving the city behind us freed up some cash, and a purpose-built workshop was at last attainable.
For some years I'd been intrigued by straw bale construction, and although I'd long since given up the idea of building a straw bale home, the price quoted by a local builder to construct a suitable workshop using more typical construction methods made me reconsider my approach. After considering our finances and matching them against my requirements, it didn't require a great deal of deliberation before the penny dropped and I'd committed to designing and erecting the workshop myself. Labour costs are said to comprise roughly 50% of the cost of any building project, and with spare time on my hands and a budget to consider, it seemed the sensible thing to do, despite my complete ignorance where building was concerned!
Design Considerations
As anyone acquainted with musical instruments knows, managing humidity is vitally important both during construction and after the instrument finds a new home. With that in mind, I wanted separate rooms under the workshop roof, one of which would be dedicated to fabricating the necessary components without regard to dust and mess, with the other reserved for wood storage and assembly of instruments in a humidity-controlled environment. At this stage of construction I sense that the space I've allowed for machining and preliminary work is large enough, while the smaller climate-controlled "gluing room" is still larger than spaces I've used for this purpose in the past.
There's no substitute for natural light, and the design includes several large windows around the perimeter of the building. There's an emphasis on doors and windows on the northern side, the idea being that winter sunshine will contribute to a pleasant environment during the colder months. The workshop will be shaded by several established deciduous trees which will help to reduce the impact of harsh summer days when the temperature can hit 40C.
In the interests of domestic harmony, the design also incorporates a small bathroom and a sizeable art/craft room for my better half.
First Steps
My chosen construction method was post-and-beam construction with straw bale infill. Straw bale walls provide significant advantages when it comes to keeping warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and with complementary insulation under the floor and roof as well as double-glazed doors and windows, I'm confident that the workshop will be more comfortable than our cottage during our extremes of weather. In fact, we joke that we'll move into the workshop during the winter months when severe frosts are common and snow can occasionally fall.
As well as a small but comfortable cottage in a picturesque location, we inherited an impressive pile of junk which just happened to occupy the ideal spot for a workshop. The first task - obviously - was to burn or remove the accumulated rubbish to provide a clean building site.
An advantage of our new life in a small farming community is that help is readily at hand. With the junk pile gone, my neighbour David was happy to visit with his tractor, and the result of a couple of hours' work was a massive step in the right direction saving me many hours on the end of a shovel. As the building will sit on timber stumps, the gentle slope I was left with posed no problems.
Well, that's probably enough for now. More to come shortly.
Jo whoever he is.
