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Tom Kochtanek
06-17-2004, 06:43 PM
After a long, long, long wait, a lot of local politics, and quite a bit in engineering fees, I finally got city council approval to build my shop. My wife and the architect call it my "Man Shed". I rather like that!

That's correct, I said "architect". Last year I was thinking 40' by 60' all metal building and wasn't even sure if the floor would be concrete or just dusty chat. That's all settled now...

First I had to hire an engineer to plan the site (for runoff, utilities, grading, and so forth). Then I had to seek a rezoning of the property. I changed it from "R-2" or two family dwellings (sometimes called "duplexes") to "PUD-7", which stands for Planned Unit Development with no more than seven units per acre. That sets up the plan for developing the rest of the tract with 28 units (it is around 4 plus acres). Then I had to develop a site plan for the 28 units (not the shop, these units will be condominiums) and get neighborhood support, then get Planning and Zoning approval, then get City Council approval. That took about 8 months and a bag of cash (I serously could have bought a 1962 Bubbletop with a 409 four speed on Ebay with the monies it cost!).

Then I had to hire an architect to design the condos. This PUD designation gives me the right to construct a "maintenance building" on the premises, ostensibly to serve the condos. My plans are otherwise :)

The structure will be on a 40 by 60 base, subterranean. Part of it will have a 14 foot celing (can you say "car hoist?) the rest 8-9 foot celings. There will be a stick built structure above this subterranean "shop", offering 2400 more square feet of space. This is supposed to be an "amenity" for the subdivision, on top of my shop space. I thought it might make a nice museum for X-framed W cars :)

What started out as a budget-minded $10K self erected metal building is now a fancy, architect designed, well-engineered stick built structure, costing many times that original expectation.

The catch is I have to come up with the $$$$ to build the condos so I can construct the Man Shed. I will be passing the hat at the First Annual to seed the project :)

You are all cordially invited to the ground breaking which should happen in the next few months, around the time of the Convention. We are about 2 hours east of KC along I-70. Many of you will pass Columbia on the way to the Convention.

I actually have valid DNR permits and am awaiting bids for excavation. Then I line up a concrete subcontractor and a framing team and erect the shell this Fall (assuming no more snags).

This has been a very time consuming, expensive pursuit that now looks quite promising. I hope it is worth the effort. I can't believe my wife of 25 years has signed off on this :) :) :)

And I hope this larger project doesn't get in my way of completing the '62SS for the September meeting. If I pull this off, I think my wife should let me buy that tricked out aluminum front '62 Bubbletop Jack Gibbs offered up on Ebay last month. It would look just dandy in the first floor "display room".

Now I am dreaming...

Cheers,
TomK

tripowerguy
06-17-2004, 09:46 PM
Well Tom I can see that all that fill you had hauled in and spread is not going to be used. I retired and found out it takes a lot more money to live than I had planned on. I am going to have to plan things out well in advance before I do them. You are finding that the road you went down has a lot more curves than you thought. I hope to come by your place sometime in the fall and see the progress. See you in September at the convention. :) Roy

JC327
06-17-2004, 10:58 PM
Congrats on your building! I, myself have just made the down payment on a 42 x 54 x 12 building with concrete floor that will be home to my 11 or so x-framers (parts cars outside). Should be completed in August. so far, no cost over-runs and the permit was free! Of course I will have to store at least one bale of hay in it so that my permit is truthful. Good luck to both of us!

6064ELNO
06-21-2004, 08:06 PM
Nothing better than having a place to go work on your projects. Last fall I built a 24x28 Garage. I still have the electricity to finish up. Can't wait to be able to begin work on my 60 Elcomino and my son 64 Chevy II wagon. Some days I want do things but until I get the power put in there isn't much I can do.
Good Luck on our project.

bobs409
06-21-2004, 10:37 PM
I, myself have just made the down payment on a 42 x 54 x 12 building with concrete floor that will be home to my 11 or so x-framers (parts cars outside).

Hopefully, that will inspire you to turn those parts cars into project cars! Lets save 'em, they ain't makin' no more. :D Keep the old Chevy legend alive!

jester
06-21-2004, 11:49 PM
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only screw ball out there that is willing to spend thousands of dollars to keep this iron warm and dry in the winter. I have been building a 25' X 40' Quonset hut for the last two weeks. It is 18 gauge steel and held together with 3640 stainless steel nuts and bolts. The worst part is I'm building it by myself. I have no help. My wife pitches in after work to drive the fork lift. I have about 14' completed as of today. I now have it down to a science. I'm adding about 2' a day. 25' to go. Here is the bad part. The town inspector showed up today and said that I have 14 days to remove , store or junk the old iron I have in the yard. No unregistered vehicles on the property. I guest I'm going to be a very busy guy for awhile :dunno

Tom Kochtanek
06-22-2004, 12:13 AM
Jester:

Good luck in getting that buidling completed in time!

If I had a timer on my project, I would be in deep trouble :)

Just to get the tract zoned properly took me 2 months of planning and 8 months of politics, along with quite a bit of engineering, legal and architectural fees. Now I find out I have to have four core samples taken to test the soil compaction for the footers of the building. My best bid so far is $1750 to drill and test the four corners :(

That metal erector-set design I had going last summer is looking better all the time, although it's no longer an option.

And I still don't even have a building permit as yet. I can't wait to get that tab, estimated to be around $1500 - $1700. It mounts up quickly (and doesn't seem to ever end!). By the time I'm done I'll find out I would have been better off getting Phil Reed to find a Z-11 for me, and probably saved some money to boot :)

Enough of my whining -- nobody's listening anyway. Let's get on with our respective projects and do the best we can, given our individual circumstances! Like you said, in the end we have these cool rides to house and protect, right?

Best of Luck!

TomK

JC327
06-22-2004, 12:29 AM
Hopefully, that will inspire you to turn those parts cars into project cars! Lets save 'em, they ain't makin' no more. :D Keep the old Chevy legend alive!

Hey Bob, where's the new "Junkyard" page? I just added 8 new ones you can use. BTW those parts cars are really tough. One is just a chassis with no body. Ground breaking this week!

bobs409
06-22-2004, 09:16 AM
Haven't gotten any updated done lately, been working on the cars/trucks too much. :D

The junkyard page will be one of the first things added. Also a part number page for the 58-65 cars is in the works.