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Having been a farmer my whole life
this building was erected in the early 70's to store farm machinery.It is 40 X 60 X 14' high.Having retired from farming
in 2002 I started converting it over for a new purpose.
I always wanted to have a
filling station display and one day I decided to have a party.I collected all the materials and on a Sat. morning with some
friends the hammers started pounding.By evening this was accomplished and the day was ended with a cook out.
My next project checking out the
gas station progress.Next is preparing the base for the new concrete floor.
My gas station needed some
equiptment to look cool.It's time to restore some items I collected years ago.This old pump is in terrible shape but thanks
to the internet replacment parts can be found.
The small parts were powder coated
and the larger ones painted with Imron.Some reproduction parts had to be purchased to finish this project.
Displayed are restored gas
station equiptment with a few flea market items.
The gas station night view
.It all came together very well.
An update on the shop interior.When
the building was used for machine storage it had a stone floor.The first thing that was done was to level the surface
and pour concrete.In order to heat the building the ceiling had to be lowered and the side walls covered.The area was insulated
with six inches of material and the covering was garage door panel seconds.We have a local suplier of this material and the
panels were also insulated.
We have a 2 ton rolling hoist, a 250 BTU over head heater and
a parts washer.
A top loading sandblaster is handy
for cleaning up small parts.I also have a pressurized unit for larger items.
The heart ot the shop is this 10
HP air compresser.It is setting in the loft area out of the way.
It was too dangerous to climb a
ladder carying parts to the storage area so I put in a metal stairs. We have various welders and a torch for metal working.
Pictured is the security guard.He
likes high places to keep an eye on me. Behind him is the door to the storage area.
A wall was put up to divide the
60' length in half.A 18' door was installed to heat only half of the building in the winter and to keep the dust out
of the car storage area.In the summer the door is open to have better access to the entire area.
In the previous picture notice the
ceiling fan.I don't heat the building 24-7,just when I'm working.One of the biggest problems is spring warm up
condensation.I don't open the outside doors and let the inside warm up gradually by running the fans and the
furnace.I also use floor fans because the floor holds the cold the longest.I uncover any cars on the storage side and have
the door in the partion open.Using this method I have very little moisture.The secret is AIR movement and fans cost very little
to operate.
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