# My DIY project; Bike Shed / Man Cave



## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Hope this is the right forum. Working on my old garden shed to turn it into my bike workshop. Anyone else have a cool shop they have made? Looking for inspiration and organizational ideas.

Had a gross shed. Lots of funk and weathered badly, termite damage, and overall junk. Decided it was either time to trash it, or to fix it. But what could it be? Ah ha! My new man cave bike shop! So much yes. Project begins. Floor will lighten up. Looks dark because pictures were taken when still wet.
















































Termite damage all repaired in this last photo!


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Outside got a new roof. A pressure washing, and a fresh coat of paint.

Before dirty and funky







Beginning to level and pressure wash


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Currently waiting for the stain to dry so I can poly the floor. Then paint the walls. After that will be electricity. The rest is up in the air right now.


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## 06HokieMTB (Apr 25, 2011)

I've been wanting to do the same with a storage shed that I have. I need to relocate it to closer to the house, so I can run 120V to it.

Do you have plans to insulate?


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Probably going to seal, insulate and install panel board on the walls. Plan on installing a small mini split for heat and air.


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## 06HokieMTB (Apr 25, 2011)

J Hartman said:


> Probably going to seal, insulate and install panel board on the walls. Plan on installing a small mini split for heat and air.


:thumbsup:


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Nice! I have a shed that's beyond repair and needs to be replaced. I'm shopping around now. 

If using it for a bike workshop, I'd probably would go with a light solid color floor to make it easier to find dropped tiny black screws/parts.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

Very nice. I just started the ball rolling, as in applied for a permit to build a 24x30 garage behind my house. It will be a bike shop/ hot rod shop/ general projects. 
It's going to have a radiant floor and air conditioning. 

Seeing your shop is getting my psyched to get mine going.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Lone Rager said:


> Nice! I have a shed that's beyond repair and needs to be replaced. I'm shopping around now.
> 
> If using it for a bike workshop, I'd probably would go with a light solid color floor to make it easier to find dropped tiny black screws/parts.


Good thought. I will probably have some kind if rug on the floor anyways to keep small screws from running off too far . I'll remember to get a lighter color so I can find them.


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## 06HokieMTB (Apr 25, 2011)

NYrr496 said:


> It's going to have a radiant floor and air conditioning.


Now you're talking! Frickin' love radiant floors in shops in the winter. You can open the doors, move stuff in an out, close the doors and it's back to warm in 15 minutes :thumbsup:


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

06HokieMTB said:


> Now you're talking! Frickin' love radiant floors in shops in the winter. You can open the doors, move stuff in an out, close the doors and it's back to warm in 15 minutes :thumbsup:


I plan on spending a lot of time out there. It's going to have to be comfortable.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Slowly moving forward. Life is busy with 2 youngsters. Work on it every chance I get. Should I paint the top half? Or leave as is? I decided not to insulate. But I still plan to install a mini split.


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## alexbn921 (Mar 31, 2009)

Coming along nicely. Insulation is relatively cheap and with have a dramatic effect on your ability to use the space. It you plan to spend any time in this work space then insulate it! The roof will have the greatest impact if you don't want to do the walls. Also I would install a fan of some sort. The solar ones are great are all you should need.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

I thought about it quite a bit. The shed is going to have electrical and a mini split. What I'm thinking is, while working on my bikes or tinkering in the shed, I probably won't spend more than an hour in the shed at a time maybe two. By installing insulation I also have to figure out how to waterproof slash put some kind of moisture barrier in the walls to prevent condensation from Heating and Cooling the space. While insulation itself is cheap, moisture barrier / Tyvek not so much. Also by insulating the walls I would want to panel them and that's an additional cost. By just painting the walls for a grand total of $70 I feel like I am saving probably over $500 versus insulating. Without losing much as far as comfort goes because the mini split unit will only be on when I'm using the shed. Does that make sense to you? Or would you still want to insulate?


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Looking fantastic! Great work.

I built mine a few years ago. Built on a budget, I made the benches and shelves out of cheap/recycled wood, like pallets, and a, industrial fire door for the bench-top. I had a vision of what I wanted to end up with and used what I could find.

One thing that I think really helped was to think of the shed as three areas. Seating, working and store. In design and use there are overlaps but it helped stop it becoming a jumble.

I also spent a lot of time thinking about the best use of space. For example, the electric breaker box and alarm are behind the drawer units under the bench so are not takinging up valuable usable wall space.

I'm also very ruthless about what is allowed to go in it. As soon as you start storing garden tools or patio furniture in there it'll rapidly turn into an unusable junk-fest.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

If I were going to heat or cool any space it would most certainly be insulated. 

I'm even putting Styrofoam under the poured floor. 

Your shed looks great so far.


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## alexbn921 (Mar 31, 2009)

There are ways to put of the foil backed foam insulation and leave an air gap at the top and bottom for air flow. During the heat of the day, just insulating the roof area can drop the temperature inside the shed by 20 degrees. Going from 95 to 75 when you need to work on the bike is huge. My garage door faces the sun and gets up to 140. I installed a radiant reflective bubble barrior and the difference was dramatic. Inside is now ambient temperature.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

I chose not to insulate my shed as it means that any water which leaks in is trapped and won't dry off. The wood will rot.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Mr Pig said:


> I chose not to insulate my shed as it means that any water which leaks in is trapped and won't dry off. The wood will rot.


That's my.thoughts exactly. And having already had termite issues, keeping the water away is important.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

J Hartman said:


> That's my.thoughts exactly. And having already had termite issues, keeping the water away is important.


Maybe it depends on your climate. Here in Scotland it's damp and wet for half of the year and if you build a wooden building, it is going to leak. It just is. if you cover the insides with insulation and water that is getting in may be hidden for a long time and you might not see issues until a lot of damage has been done.

With fully exposed wood you can see everything so know about leaks straight away. I have a small shed that I've seen rot starting and it's easy to treat it and stop it without having to rip out woodwork.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

2nd coat of white, and electric panel going in. I have ran the wire to my panel in the house, just have to hook it up. Went with a 50Amp breaker to 6/3wGround. Should be plenty to run a light and a few outlets. And a small air conditioner.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

My bike garage isnt insulated, and its not cooled either. I'm in the hot part of CA, and it gets over 110f inside. Probably 20'x30'. Its intolerable in summer all closed up, but with the door open and fan on I'll often work out there for hours. I dont mind the heat though. In winter, a tiny space heater makes it comfortable down to the 30's. I think an uninsulated garage with even the most basic heater/ac unit would be more than plenty.

Large LED tube lights are so cheap now. Don't skimp on lights! Its awesome having a properly lit workspace.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Slow going but still at it. The 100+ heat isn't helping.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Note the window AC, it at least cools it some when the sun is down.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

What are those white panels on the ceiling?


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

It is styrofoam insulation sheet, 1" thick. I figured a little was better than nothing. The boards will not sag like that when I finish taping the seams and filling in the missing areas. I needed to get my electrics up before I could finish insulating. Which I just finished finally. Hoping to have this thing whipped today! We shall see.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)




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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)




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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Nice.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Time to clean up, and bring in the work benches. I'll get more pictures when I get it moving.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Slowly getting settled in.


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## J Hartman (Nov 8, 2012)

Forgot to add. The floor is notrax tile matting. Work gave them away. So I couldn't pass it up. Works as a nice slip free floor, and the thick rubber doubles as insulation.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Looking good. Storing bikes on the wall is a no brainer. Great use of space.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

...keeps the fork's foam rings saturated and bushing lubed.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Lone Rager said:


> ...keeps the fork's foam rings saturated and bushing lubed.


Yip. It's a really good idea.


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## Trinimon (Aug 6, 2019)

Looks awesome!


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