The Shell

This is what the shell looked like. The shop was the attached garage of our newly constructed home in South Jersey. At just under twenty by twenty, the space seemed quite small, but sometimes small is good. As you can see by this floor plan, the Northeast wall housed an un-insulated, sixteen foot overhead door, which I prefer not to have but remains a standard feature of garages – especially if you want to retain your resale value. An entry door in the South corner provided access from the house while two very large windows on the Southeast wall lit the space with a wash of natural light.

The South corner and most of the Southwest wall were insulated and covered in sheetrock but bare studs were visible on the rest of the walls. The ceiling was also covered with drywall, however, there wasn’t a shred of insulation in the attic. The floor, of course, was a concrete slab.

Two bare, porcelain Edison sockets held 100W bulbs and provided the only illumination, but for the bulb curiously situated in the attic. One lonely electrical outlet graced the South corner, with another in the middle of the ceiling, placed there for a garage door opener. (The ceiling outlet came in handy later and powered a ceiling mounted, radiant heater.)

Before the house was finished, working from the floor plan provided by the builder, I started planning in earnest.