My ideal home

[bcooke]

Actually, my ultimate home would be three bays wide instead of two. And there should be a deck off one end under which the Triton can spend the winter months under a permanent cover. Stairs on the inside would be better too.

A shop with attached apartment. Perfect.



-Britton

[Rachel]

I wanted to build something like that back when I was building a place. It's a great concept. However in my case it turned out that then the entire building would be taxed at the "dwelling" rate, even though 3/4 of the space would be "unfinished" workshop/garage (much lower). Annoying but I couldn't ignore it given the proportional discrepancy.

So instead I build a tiny cabin, with plans for a separate shop space (moved before I got that part done though). I consoled myself that it would be easier in that I wouldn't have to be so careful with keeping dust and fumes out of my living space, but I still would rather have done it. Nice little woodstove in the shop, tossing in wood scraps to heat the space....

R.

[CharlieJ]

My perfect home would look something along these lines-



And when it got cold, I and the perfect home, would be someplace warm

And yeah, that's me standing at the cabin edge in the yellow foulies. Picture taken in the Elizabeth River off Norfolk in 1982 or 83

[Zach]

Nice Boat Charlie! Who designed that Tri, I saw a yellow one just like that when I was passing through Willoughby Bay.

After cruising however long that is, its on my list to build a quanson hut on a river somewhere. I always wanted to learn how to fly... sea planes! (Grin)

[CharlieJ]

Zach- that's a Cross 35. I started it in 1976 and launched in 81. Cold molded western red cedar and epoxy. We lived aboard and cruised for several years, then brought the boat over here to Texas and sold it.

Wish I still had that boat and this wife- we'd be gone sailing.

Interestingly , we had just left Willoughby Spit , heading to Waterside, when that pic was taken. we had visited an old friend of mine- Howdy Bailey, on his ferro cutter.

[Tim]

Actually, my ultimate home would be three bays wide instead of two. And there should be a deck off one end under which the Triton can spend the winter months under a permanent cover. Stairs on the inside would be better too.

A shop with attached apartment. Perfect.



-Britton

There was a very similar shop/garage home not far from where I used to live. So you're not alone in your thoughts. This one is 3 bays long.



A 3-bay garage would be about 36 feet long (traditionally). So to me, it'd make sense to raise the ceiling in the garage area enough to incorporate a sailboat, and include a tall garage door in one of the gable ends. For a small additional cost, you'd have something more useful for yourself. Taller sidewalls could be disguised with trim or roof overhang, and a longer building would be more proportional to the wall height.

Inside stairs are nice, but don't forget to factor in the floor space they take--all well and good as long as you keep it in mind from the onset, but disappointingly surprising if you haven't. A space along one gable wall, with storage and a bath beneath the stairs, would work as well as anything and take out 4' or so of floor space. (Suddenly, that 36' shop is more like 30' inside, with the stairs and accounting for wall thickness...)

A full shed dormer across the back would make your living space a lot more usable, to. Keep the gable dormers on the front.

Build for the future. It's less expensive to build more, now, than to build less and make changes or upgrades later.

Am I helping? When do you start? :<)

[Figment]

and if you insist on the arched-top garage doors, please trim them out with some sense of proportion (remember, the arch is a masonry thing) and do NOT install doors with straight-top window panels.

Tim, I know you don't want to enable all smileys, but the :rolleyes: thing would come in really handy from time to time. :D

[bcooke]

If I am building for the future then I really should consider the fact that my Triton will be done someday and no longer need a full working shop. I still expect the Triton to be my last 'big' project (unless I start a homebuilt airplane project...) I just can't afford to keep doing it with everything else I want to do. That boat has wrecked me financially. (but I love her still!)

I definitely want covered storage for the Triton. I hate building any sort of cover every winter and then worrying about it all season. That could be done with an overhanging roof (don't know the technical term) or under a second story deck sort of thing. The Triton doesn't need four walls and central heating (shhh... don't tell her I said that!)

I have thought about a fourth larger bay off one end - just in case. I am sure it would come in useful even if I didn't start another project. It will all come down to money in the end.

I like three bays (I like six actually but just like boats the costs rise exponentially) because it gives me a bay for shop tools, an open bay for current projects (like small boats, and a bay for occasional car repair and a place to keep a car out of the snow. The third bay could also be the place where the inevitable project overruns occur. There is also the materials area to consider but for now I am thinking I can stick all that stuff all around or under eaves outside of the main house structure like the Triton.

Living quarters over the shop are a problem. Smells, dust and that sort of thing. I haven't thought about the tax consequences yet. On the other hand a separate building would almost certainly be more expensive and I would have to heat two buildings instead of one. Heat in the winter is a strong motivator here.

Then again, the girfriend is not at all crazy about my ideas. Apparently there is very little room for her in my plans. I even thought I could put in laundry facilities but she wasn't impressed. I thought I was clear about the boat being the most important thing in my life but there you go...

Arches with straight windows. I will remember that. Even better, I will submit my plans to the forum for critique to save me the anguish of listening to the afterthoughts for the rest of my life.

-Britton

[Tim]

...my Triton will be done someday and no longer need a full working shop.

Done? Never. Have you paid no attention here? :<)

There's always another project, maintenance, new paint, redoing something that you thought you'd like but didn't, etc. Maybe the boat doesn't need a dedicated space, but if you're building a structure that's essentially large enough with just a bit of modification, why not consider the possibility that there's a good chance you'd want the boat indoors again in the future?

Living quarters over the shop are a problem. Smells, dust and that sort of thing.

This is a good argument for an outdoor-only access to the living quarters, actually, since it would vastly limit the possibility of the shop-borne dust and smell entering the apartment. And the other issues can be dealt with up front with a bit of thought. A real problem, for sure, but one that can be successfully managed, I think.

[bcooke]

Done? Never. Have you paid no attention here? :<)

Well, yes, but only from time to time. The reason for much of my slow progress (other than laziness and incompetence) is that I am trying to load all the heavy work up front on the project. I will always have something going on with the boat but hopefully the scale will diminish over time and the need for full indoor heated storage will fade with it. I can dream of a time when a month a year will cover the big stuff. Easy spring/ or fall stuff. Point taken though. The ability to bring the boat inside (I guess I need a trailer too) from time to time would be very nice.

Here is something that went up in my neighborhood last summer that re-ignited my idea of shop/studio living.



While sailing away on the Triton would be nice it has never really been part of the plan. A year on the boat and my hands would be itching to build something. I can see maybe half the year on the boat and half in the shop being a productive citizen. Realistically, a few months a year on the boat is probably more like it if I hope to have a real life outside of being a boat bum. Besides, Tritons are awfully small boats to live on full time. Going solo maybe but I have a great fear that a year of solo living on a Triton would turn me into one of those strange hermit boat people that mumble to themselves and learned to live without bathing because of insufficient water storage on the boat. For two people to live together on a Triton would take more than my curmudgeonly character traits would allow. I just don't think it is a good idea for me. Going to a bigger boat is definitely out of the question as it would take many more years of working to pay for it and then I would be out of time and of questionable health to really enjoy it.

-Britton

[Zach]

Thanks Charley.

I do have one suggestion... An outhouse, lean to, or other shack off the side.
Air compressor! They aren't the most pleasant thing to be woken up by in the middle of the night. But who wants to wait each morning for it to fill up. (Grin)

Then theres the pole barn off the back. Gotta have someplace to put the projects that are waiting in line! (Grin)

[Hirilondë]

bcooke wrote:
...my Triton will be done someday and no longer need a full working shop.

Done? Never. Have you paid no attention here? :<)

Really! Don't you know that:

"A boat isn't finished until she sinks."

[bcooke]

True enough :-)

[CharlieJ]

OH yeah- My new shop has my big compressor sitting outside in a closest under a lean to that holds the lumber racks. It's insulated and oh boy is it nice. You can be in the back corner of the shop and still talk on the telephone while it's running.

Was one of my MUSTS in this shop.

[Peter]

Shop-Studio living is really an ancient idea .... except back in those days the livestock was down below, not the boat or car :-)