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In case it interests anyone, here is my Oregon shop over time. Of course, this is just the main structure built from a Miracle Truss system which I would NOT recommend. It would have been far less expensive and a better end result had it been stick-built! Using a pre-made kit, then paying a contractor to assemble it was very costly indeed and probably doubled the cost. I also had to hire someone to manage the project as I was in San Jose, California trying to move after having sold my house and had a very short window of time to get the cars out (I was up to 22) and the tons of parts packed and shipped. As I wasn't there, these photos were taken by my father who lived nearby.

Flatting the area



The Erector Set arrived



Slab poured



Assembly begins



Some heavy-duty help was needed



Taking shape



And finally done

It does interest me Don, and I am very envious. Looks like a great building to both store and work on your treasures. Well done! Building anything is always terribly stressful, hopefully you can now you can just enjoy the results.
Bob J.

Thank you, Bob. At that point, it was just a box so I still have to get everything up there and moved in so that meant that the insulation had to be done once it was filled up.

As it had no power, the first thing I did was to plan an off-grid solar power system so started with the roof mount rails. It sat that way for over a decade as solar technology was changing too fast to be able to keep up but finally got the panels installed last month! The modern panels are double the power of the ones back then so I now have 450VCD coming in, waiting for my next visit to get the hybrid charge controller/inverter installed along with the batteries themselves.

The small panel up there in this photo is a 100W 12v put in to help keep car batteries charge but has since been moved to the right side of the roof, then replaced by a 24v 200W that keeps two lithium batteries charged and the security system with Internet and video cameras up and running. So far it's done a great job. The pink area on the ground were tiny wildflowers that appeared through the gravel and they are what I was actually photographing here.



This was taken as I was leaving for the airport the last time I was there with workers waving goodbye. Due to the size of the modern panels, it was necessary to mount two separate as the six I had planned for each pair of rails would not fit. Each panel is about 75V and 435W and there are twelve of them but I have twelve more for installation at a later date. The little white thing on the front wall above the walk-through door picks up the nearby WiFi, then distributes it throughout the yard and inside the shop although the Internet speed itself is abysmal due to it being satellite. The device is powered by the 12V batteries inside.



The 24V / 12V system with the blue charge controller at the bottom . . .



. . . and its lithium batteries.



Although there is no actual power yet, I run an extension cord to the nearby house and have installed receptacles throughout. Earlier this year I started installing the lighting and even with all these on, the cord to the house doesn’t even get warm as it’s all LED. These lights - there are four of them in one half of the shop - light it like daylight. Over the last year or two I also managed to get the insulation put in which meant moving things and doing it one quarter at a time, then moving everything including the cars so that the next quarter could be done. It was a lot of work! Not shown here but I also replaced all the full-up doors wit better insulated ones that have glass across the tops and high tracks to the ceiling as the old cheap ones were in the way.



Power is currently, pardon the pun, coming in through an inlet port but once the solar power is up and running, this will be a standard outdoor receptacle.

You have constructed a shop that will be a great place to work for sure. The bright low voltage lighting is an excellent choice along with the high insulation value on the building and doors. I put in insulation and a high quality door on my little garage a few years back and it had the added benefit of making happier neighbours as it also greatly reduced the noise emanating out of the place!
Bob J.

Thank you again, Bob! In this case with spray-foam insulation, it made a major difference with temperature inside but virtually none with sound mitigation but fortunately it's very rural with no close neighbors. When it rains heavily against the steel roof, though, it is very loud inside and sounds like a freight train.