Rob's Shop

Today we are starting a new series called Rob's Shop. Having a place to store your tools to complete various tasks on the homestead can be a daunting task at times. I have switched up my shop several times over the years, without a lot of planning that has ended up not being very functional a lot of those times.

After a big project last year, I had came to a conclusion that something major had to change with my shop. It was going to have to be planned out strategically.

First I had to look at the areas that I had to work with. I have two buildings that I could choose from. One is a 24'×24' two stall garage that is attached to our house, it is 576 square feet. The other building is an old pole shed that is 36'×40' and it is 1440 square feet. Another factor to consider was the flooring of the two locations. The two stall garage has a nice concrete floor; whereas, the pole shed is mainly dirt with a couple of small slabs of concrete. Both buildings have work that they need done to them and both have their pros and cons.

The next thing that I had to consider is what projects I actually do in my shop.

The assortment of tools, knowledge, creativity, and skill sets I have make it a bit more daunting. One day I could be working on a vehicle, the next working on building a wooden shelf or fabricating and repairing farm implements. At the end of the day my space would have to be large enough for a variety of tasks.

To further expand on the expansive list of tools I have acquired over the years that we have to take into consideration and even the list of tools on my wish list, I had to break things down a bit. I chose three major categories that I can later branch off into subcategories at a later time.

Category One: Basic Tools

Items Included: wrenches, sockets, screw drivers, pliers, etc.

Purpose: Everyday repairs for all sorts of tasks

Category Two: Fabricating Tools

Items Included: grinders, welders, etc.

Purpose: Primarily metal working, not used daily

Category Three: Wood Working

Items Included: hammers, saws, plumbing, electrical tools, etc.

Purpose: Primarily wood working, structure building, home remodeling

There are several more categories that can be added like fencing and gardening tools, but those are not relevant to this specific project at hand.

After taking all of these factors into consideration I settled on the older pole shed for these tools. There were many trial and errors on where the best place in the shop for each of these three categories to be placed that would best suit my needs. Many of the items in the shop have moved several times since I started writing this post. There are still many pros and cons to the layout, but I make changes as needed and make due with what I have.

(Started this May 2022, finished June 2025; hoping to continue this series)