Gunning For Steelshaves or the more mundane - Building a garage.

In Steelshaves Christmas films I notice his garage and pole barn as much as the lights and have expressed my envy. Hence my thread title  



I was amazed to find out my tractor was too tall for my garage when we moved here in the summer   



Our garage became home to all our outdoor power tools and yard tools. We decided we needed a garage to hold the tractor and outdoor tools. It was hard to find a contractor up here. We were in a mom and pop hardware store and ML asked about builders. They wrote down a few and then said there was a military contractor who had his orders delayed. He was available and turned out to be great. ML says it was divine intervention as we were headed to Wal-mart. She suggested a stop instead at the hardware store and that's how we got his name.




They started with a concrete pour for the floor. After a week to cure they started framing.















Then the sheathing and Tyvek wrap. The roof was enclosed and steel roofing added.











Followed by the vinyl siding. The garage needed an 8 foot door which was on back order. Due to this the front was left without siding.










Finally it was finished. It is 12 wide by 20 long with 10 foot high sidewalls. So it is tall and skinny. We did not run electric to it - maybe next year. The door is manual only.





The weekend after it was completed we filled it. Thanks to the abilities of the zero turn mower I parked it righ against the back wall.




This allowed just enough space for the tractor.




Earlier in the fall we installed a block heater in the tracor. She fired right up at -4°F. Well the engine did at least. The hydraulics were extremely sluggish for the bucket and driving.
So we installed a Mr. Heater 30,000 btu radiant heater. I am temporarily using a 20 lb BBQ tank. I will get a bigger tank and drill a hole for a more permanent mount next spring. I hooked up the tank with flexible metal tubing and a stopcock for safety but used rubber tubing to connect to the tank.




I tested this at positive 4°F. The tractor was sluggish and hard to start. But once it did start the hydraulics and drivetrain were at full operational capability. WooHoo.
Those two test starts show I will need both the block heater plugged in and the radiant heater.


Filling the new garage left plenty of space in the house garage. My car now lives in comfort.

Those hills in the background - did you put those in or were they already there? 
I bet they look awesome when the leaves turn in the Fall.

VERY NICE!! Now the question is will you put lights on it for Christmas!!