First off, if you have the possibility, go with a detached shop. No
dust on the cars, no lumber scratches on the cars, both cars in the
garage where they belong.

I'm in Austin. I have an 11x22 foot shed shop behind our garage. We're
in Circle C Ranch, where the HOC is very strict (maybe the most strict
in town).

The shed was there when we bought the house (BONUS!), and it looks
like it was built by one of those shed companies (Tuff Shed, etc.). I
don't know what kind of certifications were necesary, but it's a big
shed, and it's in Circle C, and I've seen others.

The power is coming from the garage, on one circuit, so I'm going to
need to upgrade that.

The doors have started to rot (I think the thing is 10+ years old, and
is trimmed with pine). If I leave a tool box open near the doors
during a hard rain, I'll get some rust. Elsewhere in the shop I have
no rust, and I'll be building new doors this month.

I have a window AC unit from Wal-Mart, that keeps part of the shop
cool in the summer. I've insulated the sunny side walls and ceiling.
It's not too bad in there.

It's small, but big enough for my needs.

Oh, and it's on skids. I guess I like that, but I worry about them
rotting now that the thing is getting old. Of course, I have a new
framing nailer, so I'm itching to build something big anyway...

-Mike

"Joshua Toub" wrote in message ...
I have a long and skinny lot (approx 52x210 feet). The 200-sq-ft max size
is sort of dictated by code. All the people I have asked around town
(Austin) said to try to legally avoid the permit process if possible.
Around here, that means staying within 200 square feet. It is a possibility
to get a permit and build larger, though that would also considerably
increase my building costs (e.g., a 400-sq-ft building + permit & inspection
fees could double my costs).

Anybody in the Austin area with some advice?

Thanks again for all the replies!

- Josh


"Tim Carver" wrote in message
...
On 9 Feb 2004 15:06:51 -0800, (Joshua) wrote:

I finally have the means to build a shop. All I need to do is decide
where to put it.


- Max 200 sq. ft. (as per local codes).

So you say this will be 150' from the road and it can only be 200
square feet? Since you're 150' from the road I assume your property
is pretty decently sized. Are you saying this is some max to get it
declared as a shed or something? It doesn't seem reasonable that you
can't build a larger outbuilding than 200' . Even here in Oregon,
land of planning out the wazoo, I don't think anybody would try to
tell you can't have an outbuilding if you have room for it. Except
perhaps in little Beirut (Portland).


Tim Carver