Updated as of 3/2007

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Here's a shot from up on one of the lofts looking down into the main woodworking shop area.

I built the stairs myself, out of steel "C" channel sides and angle pieces of steel holding LVL treads as steps.  They are painted to match the trusses.   They weigh about 500 lbs!  But I'm still going to use a winch to lift them up out of the way when not in use.  The winch can mount right on the middle truss.

I installed the heating system myself.  Set up for 8 zones.   I've got the radiant floor set to keep the woodshop at 63 degrees and the auto shop stays at 59.  If I need more heat in the auto shop, I just turn on the Modine heater.

The boiler is one of the first Heat Transfer Product "Munchkins" to be made.   It was used as a Beta test unit in one of my homes that I built and then replaced later for a different unit.  So I got this one for free!  I took it out of the box because I think it looks really cool with all the inner workings exposed.  Good entertainment while . . . . well you know.

I made my own paper towel holders

Looking up at one of the loft areas.  That's the door to a storage area.  I cut the center of the truss out and built supporting walls beneath and carefully attached to the bottom of the truss.

One side of the upstairs storage area.

The other side of the storage area.

All of the walls have 7/8" thick shiplap rough pine boards on them.   The wood was installed after the insulated ceiling and had to be scribed to fit against the uneven insulation, then caulked and painted.  The gray stuff is sprayed on over the urethane insulation as a fireproof material.

This is the door to a storage room where I keep electronics.  The opening in the wall is going to have a Lexan door over it and the shop stereo will be located behind there on shelves.  That way dust will not get into the units, I can still operate them with a remote, and I can have good access behind for wiring.

I built 6 custom shelf units that are on casters.  That way I can roll them into a very compact position to save space, yet still easily get at stuff when I need to.

These double doors lead to a small room that I use for sanding and other dirty jobs.  The "dirty room".  There's a small basement area under this room where I'll keep my dust collector and compressor to keep the noise out of the main shop.

I mounted these storage cabinets out from the wall on plywood and put a couple of shelves in behind.  This is great storage space for plywood pieces and boards.

This doorway leads to the living room where I'll have a couple of stereo systems set up for listening.  I'm going to keep my exercise gear in there during the summer months.  This opening is also where the freight elevator will be eventually.  I've got it lined up so I can load from either side of this doorway at the bottom, and lift speakers up into the storage room.

I decided not to get a toolbox for my tools, opting instead to put them on pegboard.   This has turned out to be a great idea.  The tools are so easy to find and put back, and you can always tell if one wrench is missing.  Drawbacks are the spider webs, and it's not always easy to figure out how to hang certain tools with standard pegboard accessories.  Tip: use the thicker pegboard and heavier accessories, and consider installing with solid wood blocking instead of the cheesy hangers they provide.

I still have plenty of room to expand my tool collection.

I painted them the color of the walls and they really blend in nicely.

Well that's it for now, I'll keep updating as things move along.  I've still got a lot of work to do.