FPWH is OTOB

Fry-Pan World Headquarters is on-time and on-budget...sort of.  Nevin and the team at C-N-R Construction managed to beat the weather and complete construction before winter's first snowfall.  The project was on-budget down to the penny...a testament to Nevin's thorough bid work.  The process of seeing the building constructed was fascinating and the crew at C-N-R construction did a great job making sure it turned out right.

Original Conceptual Rendering

Finished Building

North Elevation

Building relative to home

 I'll be the first to admit, from an aesthetic standpoint it doesn't exactly blend.  Okay, let's be frank, its a monstrosity.  That said, it's highly functional and will be a major selling point in a few years.  Southern Idaho has more RV's per capita than anywhere else in the northwest region (Okay, I fabricated this last statement, but trust me...almost everyone in this town either owns or wants to own an RV).  So when it comes time to sell this will definitely help seal the deal.


In truth, however, its not totally finished...we still need to paint the large overhead doors to match the building's exterior and tidy up the grading around the building and new driveway....these items had to wait for warmer weather.  I also plan to plant some trees and shrubs around the building to help visually buffer it (although a building of this size is sort of hard to hide behind a couple of shrubs).  Additionally, I am going to design, organize and construct the shop's interior (i.e. work benches, tool placement, etc.)--so in truth, while the structure is complete, the shop is a long way from being ready for me to get to work on Fry-Pan.

As you can see from the photos below, Fry-Pan has been relocated to his new home along with all the other stuff my wife wanted out of our home's garage.

Boxes and junk aside, I couldn't be happier with the inside.  I was able to "borrow" the sheet rocker's scaffolding before they took it away and used it to hang the two retractable extension cord reels and the monster 100 foot compressor hose reel.

It may not look like it from the photo, but that thing is a total beast.  It probably weighs a good 100-125lbs and it is cumbersome as all get out.  Mounting it to the ceiling by myself was perhaps the sketchiest thing I have done in several years.

Mounted Compressor Hose Reel

Once mounted, I had to run compressor hose from the compressor to the reel itself.

The compressor itself was a different story. I managed to get an incredible deal on a 60 gallon compressor for my shop:

When I got ready to fire it up for the first time I quickly learned that bigger isn't always better--these over-sized compressors aren't exactly "plug-and-play."  In my exuberance over getting such a sweet deal on the compressor, I failed to realize that large compressors like this don't come with all the requisite accoutrements (insert annoying french guy accent here) one needs to actually use the device.  Specifically, you need the following:

• Regulator
• Water/condensation trap
• In-line shut-off valve
• 1/4" to 3/8" pipe fitting adapter
• Miscellaneous galvanized steel pipe sections and fittings
• Plumber's tape
• Drain valve
• 10-2 insulated copper wire
• Parallax 30amp plug
• Half a dozen trips to Lowe's and A LOT of patience

 After several hours (and a plethora of swear words), I finally got the compressor fit-up and ready for use:
 

Once the compressor was up and running, it dawned on me that I have a lot of expensive stuff in this shop.    I don't exactly live in a high crime area, but not taking precautions to prevent a break-in seems foolish.

With all I've invested to date into this endeavor and all that is yet to come, I decided to take some steps to protect these assets.  I settled on a 3-pronged approach:

1.  Perception:  make it obvious to any potential thieves that the building is secure and protected.  This is accomplished by displaying signage that tells would-be trespassers & thieves that the premises are protected by a security system.  As most security experts will tell you, signage is perhaps the best way to prevent break-ins (most thieves see an alarm sign and move on to the next house without one).

2.  Security:  Signage is great, but if it isn't backed up with actual alarm monitoring you're really just gambling with the contents of your home/shop.  I had the building wired into our home's alarm system which is monitored 24/7 by ADT.  I also added internet protocol security cameras over all points of entry to the building and within the shop itself.

These cameras are great...they are inexpensive and do not require complicated wiring (just a power source). The cameras are motion-activated and send immediate alerts (i.e. still images) to my smart phone when motion is detected.  I can monitor live video feeds from any of the cameras on my smart phone or any computer with an internet connection.  With a free smart phone app, I can remotely pan & tilt each camera and there is even a 2-way microphone to allow me to say "hey dude, the cops are on the way...you better get off my property!."  Pretty James Bond, huh.

3.  Insurance:  If all else fails, I added the shop and contents to my homeowner's policy ("like a good neighbor, blah, blah, blah, blah.").  Hopefully I'll never have to make a claim.

 
Now comes the fun part...I have to design and build out the interior of my outbuilding to make it a functioning shop.  Hmmm??? I think I have some ideas (stay tuned).