Shopsmith Forums

I'm in the planing process of building a shop in my backyard. In So. Cal the lot sizes are relatively small, which mine is, and my biggest concern is dealing with setbacks and building permits. The largest size I can build is a 12x14 which is very small. If I permit the workshop, it will cost at least $850 for the permit. I'm thinking of building the shop to "code" but without a permit.

For expediency, I'm looking at a "kit". They are all precut and delivered to the driveway. I'd like to custom build a shop but that would take to long. I've looked at the shed kits at HD and Lowes but I like the sheds sold by The Little Cottage Co out of Ohio. Anyone had any experience with the Company or it shed kits?

Bob
San Diego

rdewinter wrote:For expediency, I'm looking at a "kit". They are all precut and delivered to the driveway. Bob
San Diego

You can get one of these. http://www.kidscrookedhouse.com/

You would need to check local rules but here in this county anything on runners is not considered part of the real estate and is exempt from most codes.
I just did a quick Google to find a sample picture:
http://www.johnsonministorage.com/
If I want to put something on a regular foundation I can only build 120 sq. ft. without a permit (or build very quietly) but I can put in about anything I want on runners.

rdewinter wrote:I'm in the planing process of building a shop in my backyard. In So. Cal the lot sizes are relatively small, which mine is, and my biggest concern is dealing with setbacks and building permits. The largest size I can build is a 12x14 which is very small. If I permit the workshop, it will cost at least $850 for the permit. I'm thinking of building the shop to "code" but without a permit.

For expediency, I'm looking at a "kit". They are all precut and delivered to the driveway. I'd like to custom build a shop but that would take to long. I've looked at the shed kits at HD and Lowes but I like the sheds sold by The Little Cottage Co out of Ohio. Anyone had any experience with the Company or it shed kits?

Bob
San Diego

Hi Bob, regarding building codes, it has been my experience that most locals allow unpermited buildings up to a certain size, like the farmer said:

robinson46176 wrote:You would need to check local rules but here in this county anything on runners is not considered part of the real estate and is exempt from most codes.
I just did a quick Google to find a sample picture:
http://www.johnsonministorage.com/
If I want to put something on a regular foundation I can only build 120 sq. ft. without a permit (or build very quietly) but I can put in about anything I want on runners.

In both King and Pierce counties of the state of WA, the maximum size is 120 sq ft too. Check it out.

In So Cal accessory buildings (also known as sheds, workshops, garden sheds, etc) 120 sq ft and under do not require building permits. HOWEVER, as soon as you put electrical wiring in it, the shed is subject to a building permit.

A 120 sq ft shed without electrical does me no good as a shop, but it does make a nice garden shed for lawnmowers and stuff.

I think the hardest part of building your own shed/shop is dealing with the foundation whether it be a concrete slab or some sort of pier-post/sled system. Once you get that done and have something to start building on the rest goes pretty fast from what I've seen/done.. building up walls using standard 2x4's goes fast if you have a compressor/nail gun or even an old hammer.. The roof is a bit more tricky depending on what style you're doing. I'd like a 20x something shed against the back wall of our place in LA county and I believe the set-backs from any walls are about 5' last I checked.. I'd obviously want power so that means either new (separate) service or running a trench to plug power into the main house -- a run of approx 50+ feet in my case -- all following code of course.

I used to own a little business complex consisting of three buildings. Two were about 1200 sq. ft. and the third was about that foot print but two story. Two were on the same meter and the third was metered separately. It had all been sitting empty when I bought it. When I wanted the power connected to the first building which was metered separately the power company wouldn't hook it up since the service was an out of date style. Not unsafe, just out of date. The trouble was that if I had them hook it up I had to go through the lengthy permit process just to get things up to date. Time and money both that I did not have then. I checked it all out and it was quite safe. The entrance for the other building was up to date but its wiring was awful... Much of it just crappy and just plain dangerous... Funny part was the power company had no problem just plugging in a meter and walking away from that building. I went in the building and started pulling leads out of the large old fusebox except one good light, one good outlet and a 50 amp 220 (range) outlet that I put in and the newish good feed to the third building. I called the power company back out, they walked inside of the building, walked back out and plugged in a new meter and left. They had told me that I could not just run a line from the fusebox there to the fusebox in the second building. I said what If I want to run an extension cord over to that building? They said that (this has been some years ago) neither they nor the county had any authority over any use past an outlet. I went to the truck and got the 35' Very heavy #4 wire 220 V extension cord I had that once ran one of my large high pressure crop drying blowers each fall. I plugged it into that 50 amp range outlet and dragged that heavy old cord (bigger than most garden hoses) over to the building without power. I opened the fusebox there and pulled all of the old entrance out and wired in a range pigtail in its place. I did a double check of the existing wiring and plugged in the pigtail to the big extension. I plugged in the main cartridge fuses and started putting in the screw-ins. As is my practice I fused everything as light as I could for the full route. Everything went perfect. To protect the cord I later dug a shallow trench and put in a 4" conduit between the building and fished the cord through it. I also ran a phone line and an intercom line through there.
All I needed was power for fairly light use in that building and what motors I used were such that I was only running one at a time and rarely very long at a time.
I later went back and rewired the building where the meter was installed and the third building had been pretty recently wired and it was all in good shape.
I used it like that for years. I did build some protective chases for the big extension cord to protect it from physical injury but that was all.
There is more than one way to skin a cat...

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[ATTACH]7622[/ATTACH]Thought I'd toss in my two cents worth, my shop is 12 X 16, and I have a deck which I use most of the time, all my tools are on castors and readily moveable. There are 4 sets of outside outlets for power and a dust collection port.

rcf wrote:Thought I'd toss in my two cents worth, my shop is 12 X 16, and I have a deck which I use most of the time, all my tools are on castors and readily moveable. There are 4 sets of outside outlets for power and a dust collection port.

I like that porch... even up here it could be used a lot of the year.
I also love those doors to the porch. Lots of natural light without a lot of direct sun.

My shop is wood floor. I wanted concrete floor but did not fit the buget at the time. Still wouldn't.