Greetings ~
Back in July of 1988, I got an idea for a project. I wanted an outside workshop building and was planning to build one. I had always been a lover of the old west and the western towns has always been a favorite with me. So, I figured I would build an old west set of buildings and use them as my workshop.
Living in the city of Akron, Ohio at the time, our property lot was the size of a postage stamp. So whatever I built would have to be small in scale. Plus I had no plans to obtain a builder's permit as I do not like inspectors. They always have their noses up your butt and they always decline your plans...unless they are bribed. And I was building this project on a shoestring budget and had no extra money for bribes.
For over a year I had collected wood and materials. At my factory job at that time, they were bringing in all new machines from Germany and these machines were huge. Several were two stories high so the crates that they were shipped in were massive. Most of this wood I managed to get and bring home. I stacked it all behind my house.
So in July of '88, I got started. July 4th weekend was coming up so I had three days that the city offices would be closed. That ment I had three days to build the outside of the buildings. I could do the interior anytime. But the complete exterior had to be finished by Monday morning when the city opened.
I employed the help of a good friend and on Friday morning we got started. The building's square footage would be 14'x18' for each building. There would be two buildings side by side. Inside it would be all one building. But on the outside it would be a general store and a feed and grain store. It would be built in the old west style complete with covered boardwalks, large display windows and even a hitching post. My driveway was gravel so that would fit right in.
We worked for three solid days at around 15-hours a day and got it finished on Sunday night. I had two rolls of roofing that we used plus the stain and paint I already had. We used the wood that I had collected for over a year and most of it was weather treated because the machines came from Germany to America via ships and they had to hold up to rain and other weather conditions on the ship decks.
After the exterior was done, I spent the next few weeks finishing off the interior. I installed a woodburning stove for heat, I ran electric lines for power and even insulated the walls. The inside of the building was styled in rustic. I put in my workbenches and tools and was all set to go. I used this workshop building for years. The city had never discovered my secret and I did not have to get a permit.
Sadly, in the winter of 1995, the building burned to the ground. I had some railroad tied behind the workshop that I wanted to use by the driveway. But they were covered in snow and thick ice. I couldn't chip the ice off so I built a fire in the woodburner and stood the ties against a workbench to thaw out. I went into the house to get a cup of coffee and happened to look out the kitchen window and couldn't see anything. I thought that this fog had moved in really quickly. Then I realized that it was smoke. I ran outside to find the workshop building engulfed in flames. I tried to go in but it was all fire inside. The fire department was called and they got the fire put out but it was far too late. The building and it's contents were all gone. I lost every tool that I owned. I figured out that the railroad ties that I stood against the workbench, as the ice melted and got slick, had fallen over and hit the stove and knocked it over.
My insurance agent came out and asked what kind of money we were talking. I laughed and told him that the building had cost me $18 to build and explained the wood that I used. He said that would not due. He said if the Amish had built it, the structure would be around $5,000. So he said, that was the figure he was going with. Plus I had to make a list of every tool that I had lost. When I turned in the list, my agent said that no one had only one hammer and one saw, etc. I said that I did have several but he had been so good about the building that I was not going to take advantage of the policy. He said "Bulls--t! You write down everything you lost." So I had to make a new list. As it turned out, I got a check for $9,500. My agent was a great guy. I did not rebuild as I had another building already so I used it for my new workshop. The insurance money was enough to supply the new shop with everything I needed. I even got some tools that I didn't have before. But I have always missed my old west town workshop building. Maybe someday, I'll build another one. Ahhh, who am I kidding? I'll never be able to replace that structure for $18.