My Studio is FINALLY done!
 

Last August we started working on a studio. After a lot of planning and work, it is finally done. Thank you to my husband, who did most of the work, and also the rest of my family who pitched in as well. I also would like to thank Dale and Lampwork Etc.for all the advice & information. Without the help I got, my dream would have not been possible. It started like this, with a foundation:

This is a Tuff Shed. Here it is going up.

Here it is almost done, they are doing the roof.

Here is the wall where my workbench will be.

Of course we insulated it! And put in an airconditioner!

Now for the drywall, thanks to my brother Ed, and help from son Vince and my DH.

Here is the wonderful window we put in, great view of the woods. I painted the studio a nice peaceful green. My husband and I did the texturing.See the little hole below the window? That's for my propane that sits outside in a rubber trashcan. When I'm not torching, I pull the line in and put the cap on the hole.

Here it's starting to really come together. We used Laminate click lock flooring, and you can see the hole for the vent hood fan. You can also see the make up air vents.

Work bench and return air vents. 30 by 30 vent hood.

Here is the tile, my sister Barb and BIL Mike cut and laid it for me. ( I helped!)

Here is the back of the studio, that little housing holds my 900 cfm grainger blower.

Here is the front. My DH put a retaining wall and steps in. It is very cute.

Welcome to my studio, come on in.

Here is my soft glass storage, & frit supply.

Here is an important part of my workspace, a great stereo!

I just love working in this new space. This is my heaven.

Boro storage and sash door that opens for fresh air.

We put dark tiles behind the torch, makes the flame easy to see.

Thanks for visiting my studio. I am a very lucky girl, to be sure.
Here is a picture of how it look now a days.

What a great space.. I am so jealous.. I love the way it looks from outside.. Your vent system looks excellent.. Very cool..

Very nice! I bet you must be overjoyed to have your space finished so beautifully! I am chomping at the bit to get mine done. Your ventilation system looks really slick btw!

Happy Torching!
:) Kelly

That's fabulous! Lucky you!

Wow! Fantastic studio! I would be in heaven too.

Mary, what a great space! Thanks for sharing. Love your ventilation system.

Very Nice!

great pictures and giving me some great ideas. I have woods in my back also, what a great inspiration window. Wait till I show this to my husband! How long did it take you to build this? It really looks great from the outside also. Thanks for the ideas and pics.
Barb

Absolutely gawgeous! Thanks for sharing such great pictures! You're DH is quite talented!

Wow! Beautiful! Congrats on your new studio.

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. Building a studio is more work than I imagined. All the little challenges that come up along the way. Barb the whole project took about 5 months to complete, keep in mind that the basic shed was built for us (which only took one day LOL ). We worked with a leisurely pace, sometimes we had to go out of town for supplies. We also had to wait until the people who were willing to help us could come up and work with us. I have a whole basket of reciepts from the project, I still have not sat down with the calculator and added them up, guess I'm afraid to.
The main reason I wanted to post my studio here was to give other people insight as to how they might do their ventilation systems. So many people work in unsafe circumstances ( like propane inside ) without proper ventilation, that I would like to inspire them to be safe, or at least think about it......
But then I also wanted to show off all our hard work! It has been a journey, for sure.

OHHHH AWWWWW what a great space so organized I can see why you find it heaven being there.
Carol

Very nice space you got there.

lovely space, what size Tuff Shed building is it? you got the basic package and selected your own style windows and doors? I am seriously consider getting one small enough to skip building permits. Might be hard to leave, looks very comfortable.

It looks great and is exactly what I want in the yard of my next house.

Murf, how small do you have to go to skip building permits?

12x10, if I had seen this a few months ago the ruling was 12 x 20. A day late and a dollar short, should have here yesterday the waves where great. got to love it. But a 12x 10 would be nice too. I'm in Lewis county out side of city limits, so it may be different for you. Of course electrical permits are required. I need one for a shop, and one for my son and he gladly take it too. :)

I'm in unincorporated King County. I'll have to check on it when the time comes, but 12 x 10 is about the size I was thinking I'd use, so hopefully...

This is a 10 by 12 shed. It is the Ranch Pro - tall version, and we got our own window and door. I did not like the door they offered, the door I got is called a "sash" door. You can get Tuff Shed's from Home Depot, but they offer a slightlly different building. We got our's directly from Tuff Shed. It seem's like plenty of room, not too big , nor too small.

with foundation, wow nice, I want one. really love how you went with the extras. far nicer than the Tuff Shed yard models I have seen. I have been looking at their tall barn style ones; in 2008 their suppose to come out with a barn model that has a better over hand on the sides, so you can put up gutters. great posting Mary, great space and looks very well thought out.

WOW! That is an awesome shed! You must know a master drywall hanger to have managed all those difficult angles. Must have been tough to mud and tape that thing.
Who's that hot guy in the white shirt? Is that his truck?:waving:

Mary..
It is beautiful. I bet you will create amazing things in your little piece of heaven! Congrats!

WOW! I'm definately envious!!!! Your space is so neat and organized. I love it! Congratulations!

Great tour Mary K. Thanks a lot. I'm about to start working on one for myself.

Mary K,

Absolutely beautiful. I have my studio in a garden shed too, but mine is a lot more cramped because I have my stained glass workbench and supplies in there too. I like the way you've done the return air vents..I just open one of my doors - the one my hose goes out to attach to the tank.
Could you please tell me if you have to have a fan inside the piping to bring the air in? Or is the force of the overhead fan enough to suck the air in? I think I'm going to install something like yours this spring...when it warms up here. It's probably a lot more efficient.
Also, what size overhead fan do you have? Mine is just 250 cfm...but seems to pull pretty good...my silver leaf as gone up through it on occasion.

Thanks for your help...and again...beautiful studio!!!!

Suzanne

Great studio & congrats! I wish you many hours of wonderful creating in it!
ginger

Suzanne ~ I have an 805cfm Dayton Blower - refer to the picture of the back of the building on the outside. That 805 cfm blower pulls air very well thru the extraction hood, there is no need for a fan to blow air in. The blower pulls the air in thru those vents, that way my room stays warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. That's why I wanted to vent it that way. If I had to pull replacement air in through say.. the door - I'd freeze! (or roast in the summer!)

Call the undertaker...I just died of envy and normally I love my studio....normally.

wow....it's lovely

Thank you Mary K.

I'm going to upgrade my fan in the spring and put in the vents like you have for the make-up air because I do freeze in the winter having to have the door open.

Suzanne

Very nice setup, Mary!! You are a lucky girl!

great pics documenting the sweet and often frustrating 5 month journey, which you will undoubtedly remember for quite some time. yup, I will have to come visit soon. I will be sure and wipe my feet well--it looks so clean in there. yikes!!! will you be serving ff's? hehehe
jude