Fox Hollow Workshop Progress Update One

-Before you begin reading, you can [click here] to catch up.

Hi guys!! After what seemed like fooorrrreeevvvver. Okay, it was a few extra months. hahaha.

But it felt like forever.

We obtained a BUILDING PERMIT for the workshop.

I’ve been taking photos so that I could share the progress with you.

Oh, and please don’t judge too harshly, the property was looking pretty rough. We kept thinking the guys were going to be here “any day” to tear everything apart so we weren’t bothering with maintenance. Like weed abatement.

You know how I am always talking about us not having a garage? I’ve always wanted one but most of my friends say that they go through endless repairs with their’s. Others have given me the names of companies like Martin Garage Door who have provided a great service but I thought it might just be easier all round to go for the simpler structure of a carport. That two slot carport you see was our compromise. After weighing up the pros and cons of carports and garages, we decided to go with a carport. It’s wasn’t too bad when everything was trimmed back and the weeds were non-existent, but it was just enough to keep the frost/ice of the cars in the more extreme months. And that was about it. A garage it was not, but it would keep the car safe until we were able to get a concrete driveway. We have much to learn more about concrete driveways, I have to admit, but at least we have the carport for now.

We shifted it to sit in front of The Little Cottage. The boys will still park under it, but with the new workshop structure we will be able store lumber, build and create, all year long regardless of the weather. We’ll also be able to get rid of the “tarp forest” we’ve got going on now, because we are storing lumber all over the place!

It’s so hard to show you just how much dirt was removed from the property… there was a huge berm between the side of the house and the carport. We had to get it down to a particular grade and slope. They guys started working on it and one day it was there…

And then it wasn’t!

Getting all the dirt away from the side of the house was a great bonus in doing all this to put the workshop in. We now have better drainage and we are keeping more water away from the house.

Then, everything sat. And we waited. For months. There were some staffing changes that delayed a smooth permit process, but in the end all worked out.

We Got The Permit!

Once the permit came through, our guys came out and got to work. They used a big auger to drill 5 foot deep holes for the support beams for the structure.

That was last Thursday. Then they placed the big corner supports and it looked like we had a stick garden.

Did I mention it’s been raining? And hailing.

Next came the wall sections & trusses.

Plus, Austin being silly. That boy has my heart!!!! (and makes me laugh)

Just like his dad.

It is a muddy mess out there!! I’ll tell you, when the hail started I thought they would knock-off for the day. But I peeked out to check the severity… and they were under the carport. Actually laughing and telling me they sure were glad we had that. I felt bad for them, but the minute it slacked off, they were right back at it. These guys don’t mess around!!

That was everything that happened last week.

This Weeks Progress To Date:

We have a roof!

Posting this photos, sharing with you… and getting ready to hit “publish” feels so surreal. We have been here, in this house for ten years. For ten years we have talked about spending the money to put an additional building on our property. We have held back, always trying to make due. Always feeling like we probably shouldn’t. Until one day, we just said yes. We were going to go for it! We’ve saved, dreamed, and planned. And planned, and planned some more. Trying to account for everything. From the location, to the size, the building style, and of course… the “B word”, the budget. And now it’s happening.

Thank you so much for sharing this with us!!

I also want to invite you to please share with us any ideas, insights or advice you might have if you’ve built a workshop.

As the project moves forward, I’ll continue to document it with photos and share. Even when the building is up and sided, Jimmy will still need to insulate, run electrical, build all the counters, etc… and then move the shop contents from The Little Cottage over into the new workshop. So it’ll take time and be a process. And I’ll try not to rush him, so that I can get in and reclaim The Little Cottage [click here to find out more] and start bringing my vision to life! The sooner I can whip it into shape, the sooner we can welcome guests.

For now, I’ll have to amuse myself with work, keeping my booth at Vintage 101 fresh, sharing here on the blog, cleaning, marketing, running the household… oh, and the million projects I could be finishing in our house!

I did mark something off my to-do list recently, and I’d love it if you came by to say “hello” and let me know what you think.

I’m sharing it over on the Passion For Home blog [click here].

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