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Anyone live in a non-standard house? Like a shop house or converted barn?

Discussion in 'The Antiquated' started by Roothawg, Apr 21, 2023.

  1. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 26,042

    Roothawg
    Member

    I have always wanted to build something that isn't necessarily a standard run of the mill house. Like a converted factory or an old car dealership.
     
  2. 210superair
    Joined: Jun 23, 2020
    Posts: 2,160

    210superair
    Member
    from Michigan

    I have a barn on a few Acres that I keep my stuff in, boats, cars, etc. I've been giving consideration to turning it into a barn-da-minium or whatever they're calling um. My buddy just built one and it's beautiful.
     
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  3. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 26,042

    Roothawg
    Member

    Don't leave us hanging...
     
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  4. It was an industrial complex, 3000 sf unit total. 600sf of it was office I converted to apartment . The area above the office got finished off, W&D up there, lounge area with media and pool table. It was really nice. So like 1200 living area and I even had my hot tub room. I kept it under the radar though. I eventually took 2 more units for 9000 sf shop.
    Several factors beyond my control prompted a move otherwise I would still be there.
    While looking for a new place we looked at many alternative properties. Wharehouse buildings, churches (lots of churches) day care center and what ever else popped up. Down the street from me is/was a small congregation church with large church hall and pastors house. The guy that bought it gutted 2/3 of the building and that’s his shop. Did a nice job and spruced up the house. Nice place.
    The problem I had with the places we looked at had all kinds of issues that were incredibly expensive to correct. Very doable but somebody would need a large bankroll.
    We found a place with 8200 sf of building up. They were completely bare and dirt floors, loved the house. Concrete, in floor heating, electric, insulation for 4300 sf shop 3900 over flow barn.
    Here I’ve got all the regular “home stuff” I didn’t have to deal with at the old shop. That eats a lot of time. Plus building out the shop while you’re trying to work in it ain’t for the faint of heart. This is probably why I used to have free time and extra money. My hot rod suffered because of the move, my wallet suffered because once again I’m a home owner trying to build a shop out of a horse arena.
    96014B03-AB39-41F6-BEEE-49707E1C69C8.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2023
  5. Dan Hay
    Joined: Mar 16, 2007
    Posts: 6,464

    Dan Hay
    Member

    I've dreamed of a "Barndominium" situation for years. I think Amy would even be up for it if it suited her needs, but seems like a pipe dream.
     
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  6. dirt car
    Joined: Jun 26, 2010
    Posts: 1,621

    dirt car
    Member
    from nebraska

    Does a garage for 8-10 hr's daily count ?
     
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  7. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 17,153

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Fire stations in rural towns make great homes and Shop/garages.
     
  8. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 37,760

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    how about a regular house with cars in it????
    april1.JPG dream22.JPG futuriann.jpg
     
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  9. john worden
    Joined: Nov 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,836

    john worden
    Member
    from iowa

    My home was a one room school house at one time. It was moved to town and remodeled inside as a house a long time ago. I few years ago while cutting holes in the floor to fit heat run outlets in each room I found that the floors where 6" thick. 5-6 layers of planks. I figure that worn soft wood floors were just overlaid with new boards several times. I've seen square nails, wood pegs and a lot of hard lumber. So hard it has to be drilled to accept nails. And of course no insulation in the walls.
     
  10. Mike Miller
    Joined: Oct 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,560

    Mike Miller
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Built a log home when I retired.
    Our house.jpg
     
  11. Hutkikz
    Joined: Oct 15, 2011
    Posts: 209

    Hutkikz
    Member

    Back in the late '90's I rented a place that was originally a wheelhouse on a bargeo_O
    Story goes that back in the late 40's /early 50's there was a s****yard on the southern end of Lake Lansing and apparently they bought a junk Barge that was on Lake Michigan and had it flown from there to Lake Lansing where they cut it up.
    They built a foundation with block knee walls just 2 blocks high and placed the wheelhouse on it.
    I don't know what it originally looked like but it was a strange house. Very small rooms especially the stairs( yes 2 story) with marine plywood for paneling. small evenly spaced windows down both sides but none on the ends which I thought strange for a wheelhouse but they were probably filled in. When I was there the junkyard itself was long gone and the rest of the original property is now very affluent. They all hated that ugly little house in front of their fancy digs so I'm sure they celebrated when it burnt down a few yrs after I moved. But I thought it was a cool little piece of history myself and Haslett is a town with a lot of strange history
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2023
  12. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,215

    wicarnut
    Member

    Here in the Northwoods of Wisconsin more than one man has had a large pole barn built and then built a home/apartment inside. This is generally on acreage where restrictions/building codes are few unlike a residential area and inspections are few/nonexistent. You end up with a unique home, very large storage area, pretty reasonable cost BUT resale ability is tough IMO as it's not everyone's cup of tea, guys maybe, wife's not so much. Good Luck with your adventure.
     
  13. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 26,042

    Roothawg
    Member

    I have pondered a shop/house for a retirement plan.
     
  14. I couldn’t talk her into a missile silo. But she really was all over the barndominum kind of things and converted structures. Financing them requires some creativity.
     
  15. Okie Pete
    Joined: Oct 29, 2008
    Posts: 6,153

    Okie Pete
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    There’s several contractors putting up wood post and frame barns around my area and converting them into houses. They have to add more wood framing in the walls to stabilize the outside walls . So they don’t flex in the wind and break the drywall . My concern is even though treated post are set into the ground and a slab floor is poured . The post will rot off in time . A Friend of mine has a Morton barn , its wooden post and wood framed. He has had to replace the treated post that go into the ground. The barn is 40 years old . My Grandfather and Dad built a large pole barn here on the farm 45 years ago . Using old high line poles for the uprights. The poles on the outside of the barn are deteriorating.
     
  16. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 26,042

    Roothawg
    Member

    Yeah, that's the issue with the post/beam structures. If I did the red iron building, I would use SIPS panels inside.
    https://raycore.com/
    Have them free standing, so the wind load wouldn't affect the drywall. You know what kinda wind we have around here Kurte. Folks in other parts of the US don't have to worry about it as much.
     
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  17. WZ JUNK
    Joined: Apr 20, 2001
    Posts: 1,915

    WZ JUNK
    Member
    from Neosho, MO

    We live in a converted WW II Army barracks that was moved to our location when the army fort near here closed. My wife and I have worked on it for 43 years. The building is the same as the one I spent my first few days in at USN boot camp many years ago. Not exactly what you are thinking but it is repurposed.

    418CD499-6FE9-48A1-A5CA-563FDF29D824_1_105_c-resized.jpeg
     
  18. I’m on a few farm, shop, pole building sites and groups. Poles in the ground is always a hot topic putting it mildly. There’s many different view points on this one. One of the biggest issues is getting the poles with the right treatment. Obviously there’s concerns there but pole buildings were supposed to be fastest cheapest way to get equipment and livestock out of the weather.
    There’s quite the debate about foundations, stem walls, posts on concrete peers with metal brackets, where concrete floors start or stop in relation to post faces.
     
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  19. Okie Pete
    Joined: Oct 29, 2008
    Posts: 6,153

    Okie Pete
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Where I live in Northern Oklahoma the clay soils are extremely active. It expands greatly when wet and shrinks as much dry . The foundation at my house moves as does most of the foundations in this area . The only houses that don’t move are the ones with full ba*****ts . A neighbor built a house he dug a 3’ dia hole 12’ deep every 8’ along the outer and inner walls . Poured those full of cement and rebar . Then poured a stem wall on top of the piers . The house is covered with stone . Is 25 years old and hasn’t moved .
     
  20. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 11,375

    BJR
    Member

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  21. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,920

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    There was a member here at one time that lived in a cigar factory, I think his name was Larry. HRP
     
  22. simplestone
    Joined: Aug 18, 2010
    Posts: 955

    simplestone
    Member

    After my wife and I married in 1984 we bought a church (circa 1820) that was in the process of being renovated into a residence. We lived there for four and a half years before we sold it due to a change in job location.
    [​IMG]
    When we moved in, it was heated strictly with wood heat. We are happy with where we live now, but we will always have a fondness for the place.

    Here is a picture of the cemetery located directly behind the church. When we lived there, we maintained the cemetery, but the current owners have let it grow up as can be seen in the photo.
    [​IMG]
     
  23. Okie Pete
    Joined: Oct 29, 2008
    Posts: 6,153

    Okie Pete
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    A farmer built a tri-steel building and turned it into a home . North of Newkirk 25 years ago. When the ice storm took out power and the steel got chilled. When it warmed up the steel sweated and he had to replace all the sheet rock
     
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  24. Lepus
    Joined: Nov 18, 2016
    Posts: 508

    Lepus
    Member

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  25. My brother lives in an old church. The sanctuary is the living room and kitchen area. He built the master bedroom in the corner of that area. On the other side is a hall from front to back of the building. Other side of the hall has five evenly spaced rooms that were Sunday school rooms. He transformed on room into a bathroom and the rest were the kids bedrooms. At the far end of the hall is the original restroom.
    He calls it the House of Rowe.
     
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  26. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 11,433

    jnaki






    upload_2023-5-1_3-18-26.png
    This drawing was from memory of staying in the unusual housing that my brother had built in the far reaches of the downtown area of Santa Barbara. It was a mix of old houses, single story commercial buildings and construction lots all mixed together. It had to be zoned r-1, r-2 and c-1 to be all mixed together as it was.

    Hello,

    My brother’s friend had a small art gallery and gift shop in one of those little old storefronts along State Street. He converted the back area of the long shop that fronted the big gl*** window facing the street. It had a set up of a platform bed and the toilet/shower area was on the other side of the back area of the whole shop.
    upload_2023-5-1_3-34-2.png The original art gallery build in a similar shop in lower State Street.

    The customers that came into the shop could not see the back platform area as it was high and there was a temporary wall /door leading back to that area of the store. When we visited, it was an unusual build to say the least. The experience of doing the design and construction helped later on for my brother.


    Those two guys built this conversion of an old garage industrial building, several blocks away, on a side street off of the main drag (State St.) of downtown Santa Barbara. It was 1984 and it was a cool place to have access to his toys. But, the building was just a large garage door opening at one end and a cave past the front door visitors entrance. The plumbing was in place for a small kitchen and full bathroom/shower area. But, there was no bedroom. It was one big empty industrial building.

    So, they started with the tall space over the two plumbed in areas. With two heavy duty support beams and two 6x6 poles for support, the top landing area was well supported. The 1 inch outdoor plywood was used as the base floor covering for the platform bed.

    They made a ladder to get access to the platform bed area. Also, there was an opening window on that far wall next to the bed area.

    Jnaki

    It was a cool set up and fell into the city’s code for building a garage workspace and living quarters. We visited for a week in 1984 and for me, the platform bed area gave me a great view of the living room area where the conversations took place and across the way, the projects work area had plenty of space, too.

    It was interesting to be talking in the sofa/chair seating area with the car/motorcycle project work area just steps away. For all of the garages I have been in, the smell of gas and oil was not in this warehouse. My brother was meticulous in keeping the process of cleaning the remnants off of the floor and work area. He had a project going on each time we had stopped in later visits. But, as usual my “keen nose” wife and I did not notice any typical garage/gas smells emanating from the workspace.

    But, when the Yater Surfboards Shop Factory started their glossing of surfboards, the smell of curing resin was obviously floating around outside and it came in through the windows… as surfers we were used to the curing resin odors. At night, it was the ocean breeze that came in the same windows…

    So, a living space, a few steps away from a large workspace with several projects going on in their respective locations was nice. No need to fire up the car and/or go to a separate car garage area, it was just a few steps from the living area in the same building. YRMV



     
  27. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 26,042

    Roothawg
    Member

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  28. Hemiman 426
    Joined: Apr 7, 2011
    Posts: 719

    Hemiman 426
    Member
    from Tulsa, Ok.

    I've seen picsof different style home/shop combos being built out of stacked shipping containers. Would be different!
     
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  29. Lone Star Mopar
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 4,221

    Lone Star Mopar
    Member

    @Roothawg I saw @ Big Ken back over the holidays. He said he's now living in a shop/house combo in Missouri. Sounded like a nice gig to me. Maybe reach out to him, Im sure he'd be glad to p*** on any helpful info.
     
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