Wow ! Thank you very much everyone for all your inputs. Lots of very good info in there. Not sure I will be able to answer to all of you this time. But I'll be back in the coming days.
From what you have said, and it match what I'm reading here and there since a couple of weeks : the bigger, the better. We never have enough space. It is especially true if you intend to spend a lot of time in there. And in just a few years, I will be retired, and I can see myself spending lots of time in there, shining the bike, removing this part of fairing, improving this, replacing that. etc.
I too, start to think that 12 x 16 would make it a more enjoyable... comfortable shack. As you said : you need place for a bike (or two), a bench, couple of shelves, tools, parts removed last time (that I don't remember where they go), the dog (always following me any where I go)... and... maybe a grandson looking at what grandpa is doing on is bike, or a friend showing me how to fix it.
Around here I think you can build a shed of 120 square feet or less without a building permit and without it affecting property tax. That is why there are a lot of 10 x 12 or smaller sheds in people’s backyard.
Yeah, good point Gerhard. I have to check that with the city. I saw this info on a few commercial web sites, selling sheds and mini garages.
For the walls thickness, OK, 2x4 might do it. Could be good enough for insulation. But... the 2x6 also supports more weight. Every winter, we have 2-3 feet of snow on the roof, sometimes more.
Not a big problem... snow is not that heavy... unless it start raining on it. Then, the snow act as a sponge : it retains water. Then... then it becomes pretty heavy.
For the inside walls, yes, I'm planning to use OSB.
And for the floor now. hum... well, maybe I could use a wooden floor. Not my first choice but... yeah, it seems that the city consider a wooden floor as a "portable" building, and it doen't affect your taxes, and you don;t need to have the plans approved by an engineer, dosn;t have the obligation to be code compliants, etc.
Wood might also be warmer than un-heated concrete during winter. And yes, it is also possible to re-inforce some parts, where the center stand or jack / lift will be (
SupraSabre).
Wow, that is a nice shed Raymond ! GUD WRK OM,
W0QNX, FROM VE2VAE. 73.
Yeah, pressure treated is a must for the floor. I like the way you made it. I have a small lawn (7000 sq. ft.) so, my shed will probably be a bit smaller.
For electricity, yes, electricity is cheap over here in Quebec, We have plenty, from hydro-electricity from dams on rivers.
So probably that electric heating, and maybe just a minimum, will be good enough, as mention by Andrew Shadow and Bmacleod.
I will probably put a simple direct bury cable (as I already have for a second shed, left by previous owner).
I will calculate the power I need. I'm planning to keep it to a minimum. A few outlets, LED lights.
Hey, can you believe our entire house was running on a 130 amps until recently ? hi hi. It is a very small mansion.
We now have 400 amps. Or... is it 200 ?
[...] I would consider solar. [...] it produces enough power to keep the beer cold, run lights and have a couple of outlets.
Gerhard, it gets so cold over here during winter time, that we need a heater to keep the beer Cold... ;-)
A good friend have an off grid chalet, and he also runs the fridge and the lighting on solar panels and 12V batteries.
If part of the enjoyment for you is building it yourself than this might not matter to you, but I have found that it is difficult to build smaller buildings the size of sheds for less than what they can be purchased. Just for pricing comparisons have a look at
Cabanon Fontaine. .
Yes Andrew. Building it is part of the fun. I like to work manually. 30 years ago I worked in the construction with my father, for a while.
I will go back to see Cabanon Fontaine's web site. There is also Cabanon Mirabel (I from the north shore).
It is true that sometimes, when they made them by thousands, they can have good prices.
Home Depot and others hardware also have kits, or packages. But from what I can see, with those packages, you get what you pay for, and sometimes a bit less.
$ 3000 (or approx.) is not a big budget. But that is already more than what I paid for my pristine ST1100. hi hi ;-)
oh woow, I just saw the time... Time to go to bed.
I will come back tomorrow and/or the coming days to continue this and reconsider some aspects.
Thanks again for all your inputs. Very appreciated.
I'll be back. Thaks again.