Here's a better pic of stairs... all welded steel... some pieces are bolted together...


And I think you might be mis-interpreting the vault door access... framing is outside of the vault ...

IM sent

Thought I do a quick update on the house - Not a lot of pics, but progress is being made. Wiring is 99% done. Concrete patio and garage pads to be poured this week!! That forces the mechanical room to be poured, which means all the piping that goes in there, is being finalized.

My vault was firred out. Minisplit and HRV unit are being installed. Cabinet bids came in super high, so we're getting another bid... Stuff is finally feeling like it's coming together. 

Inspectors forced us to run sprinklers in the shop... that delayed things. 

Here's a shot of our Mantle - Its 16' long. And the back of the house - Hardi panel and lap siding on now... and other treatments soon... brick and wood strips. 




Meanwhile, we're still trying to get our current house fixed up and ready for market. I ripped out 27 floor tiles and my installer flaked. I learned out to grout my shower for real today...(instead of just patching) and I may have to figure out how to properly lay floor tiles - cause I'm a cheap bastard and I can't seem to get a contractor to call me back... Even the guy that's supposed to do the work on the new place!

I stumbled on this from Active Topics. Nice place you're building.

What kind of security system, cameras, and home automation are you putting in? You've evidently thought the plans through for the whole property, so you must have done your research.

I've been skimming some of the camera threads but the dirtbags are getting more brazen and wife is close to just buying whatever boxed NVR/camera system she sees at Costco. I figure if we want cameras to mean anything we'll want to know if they break into the house (add alarm) and if I'm doing that I might as well have some sensors (water and temp at least) and cool lighting.

Down side of city living: I'll never have a shop like that. And the vault and benches will be so nice when complete.

I'm looking at ubiquity cameras and a new 2TB recorder for them for specific outside areas. I may end up with a full blown commercial system though too. All the corners are wired with cat6 and most rooms have 2 or more cat6 locations. 

We are planning on automation and doing what wiring and planning we can... but I think the market will be growing/changing fast and I don't really want to commit to everything quite yet. 

Lots of updates - but few pics...   Maybe in a few days...

We got the vault door installed today!
 
It took 7 guys, a skid steer and several different dollies to get it in the house and into position!   The only real bummer is that because the vault opens up into a living area, the fire marshal insisted that we install a fire sprinkler inside the vault! Talk about re-tard-ed.  Let's see, a fire proof vault - yep that needs a sprinkler. 

Lots of other progress on the house - rough electrical approved, shop has first coat of paint on inside, concrete in garage and mechanical poured. Staging for patio pour. Garage / Shop doors by Tuesday. Finish electrical on shop after that! Big cistern delivered. 

We've made all kinds of other purchases and decisions - various lights, a 19' hydro pool swim spa, and more.  Part of the fun is making stuff as we go. I made 3 lights from parts from vintage wire and supply. Like this...


These are going in the mud room area - above some coat hooks and a bench.  I've got a semi truck load of live edge oak 3" thick being delivered so I can pick through what I want for stair treads and a dining room table.  I'll be finishing this stuff up in the shop - maybe with some help if I'm too slow. That should be good fun. 

One of the biggest challenges is going to be finishing the vault. Lots of inspiration can be found right here on arfcom - I'm looking at wall control and other similar stuff. 

In the mean time, we are trying to get my current place fixed up and ready to list. I've got a bunch of floor tiles removed and I'm waiting on a contractor that can finish it better than I! 
Also need to refinish the front doors and do some painting here and there. We just finished a bunch of landscape work.... I'll be hoping to get 1.6 for my current place - & asking more. (We live in a very desirable area, great schools, a terrific lot location, big house, lots of garage, and it's a hot market) 

coolest damn thread i've seen in months, you're legit living my dream

if you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?

my older brother lives in Oregon and does custom woodworking, milling rare timber, etc for a living hobby, i've been thinking about taking a few months off and going to live/work with him and learn the trade

I'm "retired". And trying to stay that way.  I'm 13 years into it, and hope my dough doesn't run out!   I was a key part of a company that had an amazing run. I got sick of it and left. Sold my stock, cashed in my options, and went fishing. 

Couple of labor day weekend updates:  Finally got tile floors finished in existing house - tore out and replaced 27 travertine floor tiles. I did the demo and I hired a guy to set the tiles... I spent 4 days sanding my front doors - and today got them stained. Hopefully sealing tomorrow if its not too hot outside. 


Here's a couple shots of the New shop interior and exterior... It's done enough that I'm moving some stuff in this weekend.  We need tools and equipment to finish some ceiling materials and flooring. 

May just be me but I can see all your other images on the iPad but these today I can't.

Thanks for the heads up on the pics.  Fixed it. 

Today I brought my first two loads of stuff to the new shop.  Workbenches and racks for the vault - lights for the house - patio heaters - and a ton of unistrut to make more benches if I need them. 

The next loads are all wood working stuff, tools, compressor and welder!  I'm forcing the issue and am trying to drive my contractor nuts by pushing and pushing.  Bass Boat is going in tomorrow too... I'm paying way too much to keep it at a storage place. 

Some updates:  Old house - we finally got it ready to market. We're going to ask 1.7 million.

Our new place is getting there, but it's looking like a January move in... 

I spent the last two weeks moving into the shop. Most of my garage stuff is moved in. 


We also got the septic system completed... we still need inspections though. 


My next task where I actually do work  is to sand and finish all the Blue Pine we bought for the ceilings and soffits. 



I made it through most of the first bundle with an orbital sander.  Today I went out and bought a Jet 16" drum sander!! It should make things go much faster - and we'll be able to use it on our flooring too! Oh and I found a brand new 3hp shop sabre dust collector on craigslist for 1k!! I'll have it all hooked up this week.

Some quick updates:  Got my woodshop area set up and working on the dust collector pipe. Looks like I'm going with nordfab stuff after pricing out all my options. I found a 35% off deal and that seals it!

The sheet rocked areas are part of the shop - a Gym and office - but it could also be a living area after the final. 

I decided to spend the dough and spray foam the entire house.  Its a big mess!  They will be scarfing the foam (cutting it down to the studs) which creates an even bigger mess. 

It should be a big week. We have good weather and are supposed to pour concrete patio and driveway aprons. If we're lucky we'll be Asphalting the driveway and painting exteriors of house and shop!!!

This is incredible.

Your table saw compared to the rest of your tools makes me cry a little

Instead of handsanding all those boards, would running the boards through your planer on the finishing setting be a sufficient surface?

Got some work done today. 

Finally got the right power to the dust collector - and fired up the drum sander... no more hand sanding!!


Concret guys showed up. It rained a little, but not enough to stop the work. 



I put a STOP to the pour when I took this picture and noticed NO REBAR!  Main dude got all bent out of shape for a bit. But they hustled and quickly tied up some rebar and put dobes under it. They weren't happy though.  They claim they do a ton of work with no rebar - entire subdivisions etc... I was having none of that bullshit.  No fiber in cement, and no mesh, means you gotta have rebar. Felt like they were trying to pull a fast one to get done.  They made good, and I bought some beer towards the end of the day.  They didn't finish until 7:30... and there's still more to do. 

A new table saw is in my future.... probably going with arfcoms favorite.... sawstop.  (Already cut one finger off and reattached it, don't need 2)

Couple of updates... got the blue pine more than half way done... its going to look really cool on the ceilings. Sanded and 2 coats of poly. Its laying all over my shop right now.

I have to say, I've lucked out with all of the subcontractors working on this job. They all care about the quality of their work and they actually work hard.

Here's some new pics of the overall project. 

I love these kinds of threads.  Your house as awesome and SO MUCH DIFFERENT than what we are used to seeing around here.  More cool architecture.  

I agree on the shop table saw lol.

Check out Waterlox for your finish on the boards. Very easy to apply, super forgiving, and also repairable.

You want the original.

I love it.

Can’t hotlink from this iphone.

https://www.waterlox.com/products-item/waterlox-original-penetrating-tung-oil-floor-sealer-finish

I'm done finishing the 10' boards and I'm almost all the way through the 1st coat on all the 14's.  Been using DEFT outdoor polyurethane satin. It's water based and has UV protection.  Not sure if its the best, but it was recommended by the local paint shop.  The painters that did the shop said they would have lacquered it. (too shiny IMO). 

I found a few minutes of down time today while finishing more boards and put up some cool LED lights on my wall control pegboard.  The are straight off amazon - torch star - linkable LED strips and the best thing - you can link 24 of them together! led strip light

They look a bit brighter in the picture. This was taken with the overheads off. 

Great progress 

Some more updates:

This is a double unistrut frame I'm building. It will bolt to the floor and provide a place for the dust collection pipe to hang. I went back and forth about hanging it from the ceiling or making a frame like this.
I decided on the frame, so I could take it down and move it if I wanted. I'll be bracing the span and bolting to floor.  I installed 1 anchor today, and got stymied on the second. It was too close to a relief cut and blew out a bit.  I'll epoxy it and make it work.  I may not really need to anchor the entire thing down.... as it should be stable/sturdy without it. I'll probably go with 2 bolts per post instead of 4 - unless my new drill - (yeah had to get a new hammer drill) - makes things faster.  I have an OLD blue ryobi hammer drill - It does fine for tap-con screws - but a 5/8 bit - 2" deep is a bit much for it.  Sucker got HOT.

The dust collection pipe is Nordfab. It clamps together and can be moved quickly if you want to redesign your setup - Aint cheap though. 2k in pipe, and that was the cheapest place I could find.  


This is the inside of the vault.  We finally got lights and power inside.  I need to figure out what I'm doing with the walls.  I have a mini split and a heat exchanger for the 17x17 room.  The picture doesn't show it, but the lights are the vapor proof caged lights.  Makes it look like a real bunker.   The walls may just get skinned in oak plywood - the lower part may get some cool looking lap siding I found at home depot. The upper part needs to be ready to accept some wall panels like Gallow or wall control.  I'm still tinkering with what to do in there.  I have two free standing 6' benches/gun racks, 2 M16 racks and some neat AR polymer racks from plasticx plus. 

Great room in the house is in sheetrock.  Most of the house is in sheetrock. Only a few areas are left to finish. 


Overall there's been a lot of progress - because I'm pushing to get things done.  A lot of concrete is done, but there are 3 more small sections left to do.  One of my oldest friends is there grading the driveway and prepping for asphalt this week.... if the weather cooperates.  This last shot shows the Galvanized gutters we put on the shop. I think it looks sweet.  Finish carpenters were working inside the "office" and "gym" area today.... My 20yo wants to make that his bachelor pad.

Had to use my scissor lift to get the 20' strut in place....and a big mallet, a file, a few cuss words, you get the picture.  I hope I can get the pipe all finished tomorrow. 

Last update for a while: 
ready for a new saw and jointer. 

You going to leave the floor in the vault concrete or ?

Shop improvements are looking great.

The vault floors are going to stay concrete - I might put down some moro-floor / race deck tiles - I have a bunch left over from my old garage.

Awesome! Keep up the good work. Oh and pictures we love pictures.

Thanks!! The house is a combination of efforts... Our builder for sure, my wife - who tends to try to make things more Modern, and me - who is trying to keep the "industrial" look.   We're going to try to keep the "look" throughout everything, including closets and bath fixtures.  Lots of steel and live edge wood.  We are getting antsy though and are finding ourselves taking shortcuts.   We've planned for over a year to use quarter sawn oak for flooring - but the finish my wife wants is very challenging to achieve, not durable, and takes 3 weeks to do...  She just found an engineered 50 year warranty product that looks identical to the finish we made on the quarter sawn oak.   It will save money and time and still look great. 

I need to go buy a new table saw and jointer so I can get working on a dining table - 6x6 square with steel frame.  Going to use 3"x3" oak planks if I can source them. Or mill some 2 1/2" pieces from the live edge stuff we have coming. 

We have a lot of work left....thats why I've been trying to get the shop set up and organized. 

Thanks for sharing your build. Fantastic Job!

I should be taking more pictures - but this is all I have right now.  The house is coming along slowwwwwwwly.  Sand finish concrete was finally sealed, but we still have three areas to pour. And we have solid rain for the next week.   Sheet rockers are mudding the house.  My shop heater got plumbed - (propane) And the inspector told me today that he's ready to give a final on the shop as soon as the electricians finish the outside lights. 

We're getting all kinds of stuff arriving...lights, brick for inside and out, and tile.... like this batch of $11.99 sq ft tile from Italy via NYC.  Every single tile was broken.  8 boxes of tiles...So poorly shipped it was a joke.   My wife picked out some really cool stuff - most all of it is either metal looking, cement looking or like this stuff - diamond plate. 



And for those of you that snickered a bit at my dewalt table saw... I got the 52" 3hp PCS sawstop - industrial base, overarm dust collector - I had a good time getting it out of the back of my truck by myself.  I managed to get the base on and get the saw upright - but for some reason the pic didn't show up on my phone.   I also bought a PowerMatic 6" HH jointer.  I'll pick it up tomorrow because it wouldn't all fit in my truck!  The real fun is about to begin. 

I just found this thread and it made my thingy move.

I didn’t snicker at your DEWALT table saw. As a matter of fact I am in the market for a table saw and I thought to myself, “if a DEWALT is good enough to be in this mans shop then it is damn sure good enough to be in my humble garage for my application” I have been looking at Dewalt, Bosch and Rigid. I am a novice that wants to start sawing things on the weekend so I want an entry level saw around $500. I am going DEWALT unless you can steer me in a different direction.

Also, I noticed a black 3 way split for your shop vac under one of your benches. I would love to get a little more detail on that. Did you make it yourself?

I have to ask OP, Do you make furniture for fun, to sell, both? I saw where you are retired and you have an extremely nice shop set up so I was curious what you do with all of your toys.

And yes, I’m jealous of your shop but I am also well aware that you busted your ass, took risks and earned every bit of what you have.

The dewalt table saw is good for what it's meant for - job site contractor stuff. You can make it do more if you get an roussuo ? extension table - but they cost as much as the saw. I've had good luck with dewalt stuff, but you probably can't go wrong with either one of those other saws.    Just make sure you understand its limitations.

The shop vac dust collection stuff was just off the shelf items I picked up from Rockler.  It worked pretty good for a small set up. Don't expect a perfectly clean shop with a set up like that.  The other end of the piping was connected to a dust deputy. The DD did a great job of isolating the fine dust vs. the wood chips. The garage still go dusty though. 

And toys - get used, collect dust, and get sold... in that order. 

I got the saw put together today... and unloaded the jointer - but I didn't get it put together yet.

Do you have outlets on the floor or ceiling? Or have to run the cord to the wall? I'm taking notes for my dream shop based on yours

Got 3 ceiling drops coiled up in the attic. 2 - 220 and 1 -110.  Looks like I'm going to have to reconfigure my duct work a bit to fit the saw into the work area. 

The shops a mess right now and I really need to get some stuff put up on the loft. 

Want me to PM you my address so you can get that Dewalt out of your way?  

I'm living the dream just reading your thread.

Very nice, one of these days when I grow up, I'd like to have a shop like the op.

Sunday update:  This week is supposed to be a big week.  The last section of sand finish concrete is supposed to be poured. The asphalt driveway parking lot is also supposed to be done.

The shop's office and gym / living area was finished trimmed out and needs to be painted.  Looks like we'll get the toilet set and cabinets are in production - but I don't know how close they are to being done.  I figured I'd cobble together a temporary sink for the shop area - It's a unistrut frame and a small Keg cut in half - I bought that on Etsy - (but they don't make'm anymore. kinda screwed up design.)

I also got the keg urinal ready to be mounted.  That's also an Etsy purchase!

I cleared out some space for the first few New Age cabinets from Costco.  I have a 14 piece set - but not sure if they're going to live in the shop or the house garage.

Gratuitous shot of the saw and Jointer. Still don't have power to it, but I did meet with sparky on Friday!

And finally, I had time to cut and mount some strut to the wall for some lumber storage. It's in the space right by the jointer. 

WELL - I Hate thieves.  

Someone took a sawzall to the back door and stole every one of my cordless power tools. And a bunch of other stuff. 

Mods - I may have to shut this thread down.

I fucking hate people.

I thought about deleting pics here - but I don't think any of them contain location data.  Can anyone double check that? 

Heres a list of stuff that was stolen. They had access to a lot more stuff and I'm betting they will be back.  

Ryboi Drill press
Dewalt track saw
Bose wave radio
Dewalt Metal cutting circular saw 18v, 2 batteries and a charger
Ryobi one + reciprocating saw 18v
Ridgid reciprocating saw - corded version.
Paint spray gun
Dewalt cordless drill + 4 batteries and charger
Ryobi cordless crown stapler
Ryobi cordless finish nailer
Ryobi cordless brad nailer
Ryobi cordless impact driver
Milwaukee M12 cordless ratchet
Milwaukee M12 Drill driver
Milwaukee M12 light
Milwaukee charger and 4 batteries
Cat LED light
Ryobi cordless drill 0ne + 
Ryobi radio charger unit with USB
Dewalt screw driver cordless, 2 batteries and a charger
Ryobi One + batteries - (8 of them - 3 of which were the big 4.0 batteries) and 2 chargers.
Pelican 1500 case
Ryobi Biscuit jointer - corded.
Reciprocating saw blades - (a big package of metal and wood blades) 4 new pruning blades.
Boxes of finish nails, brads and crown staples. 
Ryobi corded Hammer drill - and 1/2 concrete bit
Tap and Die kit - big one with lots of taps. 
Roto Zip saw kit

Have any sketchy contractors over, painters, drywallers?

Oh yeah - subs are on my suspicion list. BUT - most of them I've met and they seem squared away. A few others - well I'm suspicious -  drywallers seem to be a notorious group. The only other folks I haven't seen much of is one of the two concrete crews. One crew is awesome - the other crew is unknown and had a sketchy dude (according to some other subs) 

Check pawn shops and Craigslist for the tools.

Do you have serial numbers written down?

It sucks you can't trust people working on your property

Hope you have a metal detector to wave over any questionable lumber. Nails are expensive at $100 a pop.
Sweet saw, we have 2.