Building to host a cockpit?

[Caflyt]

My wife calls herself a "Sim Widow" and always asks..."when is this thing going to be done....I have a buyer coming! 

She "tolerates it" but definitely doesn't love it.
She preaches BALANCE to me and I often fall short. I just have to get the ideas out of my head and into my hands or it drives me nuts.

Keep everything in perspective and all should be OK!

[mdavenport]

That sounds very familiar...

[blueskydriver]

Hi Mark,

Sent you a very long PM...lol 

John

[jackpilot]

...explaining how to sell your wife.....................to the idea !!

[mickc]

Agree with getting the wife onside!  As your project develops you will no doubt want to add to it and the expenses grow quickly, especially when you start involving OEM gear.  I initially had a starting budget of around 10k AU 5 years ago, now I am approaching 100k and still only around half finished.  You can't just hope she doesn't notice it

[bernard S]

its,often easier to seek forgiveness than request permission

[Bob Reed]

My wife calls herself a "Sim Widow" and always asks..."when is this thing going to be done....I have a buyer coming!   

Oh thats a good one!! When is it going to be done... IT NEVER IS!! Oh but don't tell them that!

[simlady/ Karen]

When it comes to John's Sim,  he's married to it and I call it his Wife, I'm the Mistress.  Mistress's have more fun and I'm going to leave it at that. 

[quid246]

Neat... aluminum ?

Galvanized steel.  Pretty rock solid.  Cost me about $4K CAD for the building kit itself, another $1K to do the pad myself, another $500 for insuation and a hell of a lot of cut up hands!

Will post photos in April once it's all cladded.

[quid246]

For Quid - are you then going to use LCD monitors versus a projection system?

Hoping to use a smaller projection screen... 15' diameter or so... might not be the best size, but monitor bezels would bug me.

[Trevor Hale]

Neat... aluminum ?

Galvanized steel.  Pretty rock solid.  Cost me about $4K CAD for the building kit itself, another $1K to do the pad myself, another $500 for insuation and a hell of a lot of cut up hands!

Will post photos in April once it's all cladded.

Not to mention the cost of the  while building it

[blueskydriver]

Hey Mark,

Did you finally decide on your shed? If so, share with us the direction you took...

John

[mdavenport]

Hi John and all.

I haven't yet decided on what to do here. Ive put it on hold for now and will be investing in my dual MIP first. This will set me back a couple of years but will keep me flying in the space Ive got in the house but will mean I can't do much more with the sim until I get the hanger.

I really like the idea of the building you posted but the 38' long is probably too big for me to get away with and will prob have to search and see if they do a 12 x 20:-

http://whatshed.co.uk/12-x-38-storemore-emerald-olympian-apex-metal-garage/

Mark

[blueskydriver]

Hi Mark,

Totally understand your situation, it can be difficult at times to decide which way to go and sometimes putting the cart before the horse or vice-versa is not always right...

I have another method for you, if you have time for the creative "Do-It-Yourself" project. Okay, a company here in the states sells non-cut shed frame kits that use 2"x4" boards. What I mean is you do not cut the angles for trussing or the walls. There are two styles, the standard shed type and a barn style shed; look at these links and the attached pics:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_572_572?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Tarps,%20Canopies%20%2B%20Shelters%20%3E%20Sheds%20%2B%20Outdoor%20Storage%20Shelters&utm_campaign=Northern%20Tool%20and%20Equipment&utm_content=18343&gclid=CKnJua3Q2tMCFRC5wAod-W0NqA

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_13186_13186?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Tarps,%20Canopies%20%2B%20Shelters%20%3E%20Sheds%20%2B%20Outdoor%20Storage%20Shelters&utm_campaign=Northern%20Tool%20and%20Equipment&utm_content=183442&gclid=CMLJ-qOS29MCFda6wAodu8AIVg

Basically, you buy the kits for the shed you want, be it standard or barn style, you can change the size by just adding more kits together to achieve the size you want. Of course you must purchase all the wood 2"x4"'s, plywood sheeting and fasteners, but that is the beauty of doing it this way. You do not need specialized cuts or major pre-designed roof trussing, it's all planned out through the kits. Furthermore, you can do this in steps...you build the framing and cover the exterior with plywood like you see in the photos, then you can frame the inside for insulation and interior wall panels, which can be wood or metal sheets (if metal, you must have a vapor barrier between the wood and metal to prevent sweating). You can install electrical as on wall conduit and outlets (check your building codes on this aspect of electrcal application).

So, you could do this much like your simulator, in steps. And, this might satisfy your wife wth the appeal factor; the barn style would be nice. Or, you use the kits for framing, and then apply half logs or vinyl log sidng to the plywood to give the appearance of a log cabin. Look at this link:

http://www.homeadvisor.com/r/log-siding/?c_id=191087957438&entry_point_id=32447844&dev_id=t&gclid=CLv04oaW29MCFQKnaQodmb0COw#.WQ20mes8KK0

Can you see where I am going with this? Now, you might begin to think about strength; well, metal post sheds only use 8"x8" or 10"x10" or up to 12"x12" wood post spaced about 9' a part. Like my shed of 40'x60', it only has 5 post on the 40' width and 7 post for the length (plus a few extras for overhead door framing. Also, the metal sheeting is not much more than a 1/16" thick for both interior and exterior, which collectively means, your shed would be as strong as mine if you use 1/2" to 3/4" plywood sheeting (1/2" for interior, unless you use metal sheets for the interior and 3/4" for exterior).

The only other decision would be your choice of a base structure. You could use wood or concrete; I chose concrete because I live in the cold climate of Wisconsin and I wanted my shed heated using in-floor heating. However, I used to have two 8'x10' metal sheds placed back to back and they were based on 3/4" plywood sheets and framing (think about a wood shipping pallet), yet I put insulation inside with a small heater too keep it warm.

Finally, I do hope you eventually get what you need. I must add that you should try to at least get a 16'x16'x12' height just for the sim, if you're planning to use projectors, and then go for a minimum 20'x'30' to give you space to work on your sim parts/tools/work area. Whatever you do, don't give up...use my motto...if there is a will, there is a way! It's commonly known as OCD...lol 

John 

[bernard S]

here is another option  to consider because you will be so heavily invested  in the shed that it adds no long term gain to the property other than vainty and convience thus ...build as big as you can away from the house preferably an airport... and build an 8000 to 10000 sqft hanger give it basic things like lighting bathroom power etc   get it on a commerical morgage say a 25 to 30 year note or for the duration of the land lease if you can not buy the land .. take a third of it for your sim .. lease the remainder out ..by way of example a 172 spot in lakeway which is i goes for 800 buck a month in short use other peoples money for the infrastructure and use yours to build the sim ... this way you have limited constraints sims are expensive but i guess relative to income .. your proposed shed that you have budgeted for prolly the down payment on something more useful longer term ..i am not telling you or suggesting to you how to suck eggs lol... but what if you go to sell your house  how you going to move sim etc .. just my two cents ..just think big its actually easier and more cost competitive   

[mdavenport]

Many thanks for the continue feedback and suggestions - of which they are very interesting...

At this moment in time I think the plan is to still get a form of shed or garage on my back garden.  I have a big back garden which is mainly lawn, therefore its about getting the aesthetics right as to keep the wife happy.

Would metal generally be better than wood as its longer life and doesn't need treating?

I came across this site when browsing earlier who seem to do some brown metal sheds which may mean they blend in nicely:-

http://awak-sheds.co.uk/metal_garage_2.html

Let me know what you think?  Are these suitable to be converted into a sim hanger?

[Joe Lavery]

Mark,
Those metal sheds are quite flimsy, the corrugated sheets are only .5mm thick... that's half a millimeter, (I guess you'd worked that out for yourself  ).
You would also need to strengthen it considerably and insulated the whole structure. Otherwise it would be unusable for much of the year... too cold in winter and too hot in summer. A friend of mine bought a similar one, (many companies sell them). It wouldn't take a great deal of effort to push it over.

Also don't forget lots of our systems are electronic and this type of shed will condensate terribly if it's not insulated properly from the base up. Although we don't have the extremes of weather that John does, but his experience and advice is very sound.

Most sheds come with a ten year guarantee, which on the face of it sounds great. Until the ten years are up and you find yourself thinking about replacing it. Believe me taking a cockpit apart to move it is not for the fainthearted, I've just done it, (we moved house). So now my pit has it's own room in the new house. 

Cheers
Joe.

[mdavenport]

Hi Joe

Thanks for the advise and noted on the metal shed.

I'm back looking at log cabins as thicker and stronger than sheds.

Let me know what you think about this:-

http://www.buyshedsdirect.co.uk/garden-buildings/log-cabins/5-x-5m-pure-log-cabins-mornington-44mm-log-cabin

I can't see me being allowed a room in my house for the sim so I have to consider the other options.

If you didn't have the room in your house where would you locate it?

Mark

[Joe Lavery]

Hi Mark,

The Sheds you're looking at would be my choice, however you would be wise to still line the inside with some form of insulation. An ideal product would be insulated plasterboard which doesn't really need any finishing, (other than emulsion). If you're happy to put up with the joints being visible, you can of course still paint it in that condition.

A more permanent solution would be a breeze block shed with a proper foundation and a tiled roof, but you would need planning permission for that. The company I used to work for are now using polystyrene blocks for constructing small buildings and extensions, sounds wacky I know, but it's very strong and self insulating. I think it's called ICF: The link below will tell you all about it.

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/insulated-concrete-formwork-icf/

Buildings made with this can bee erected in a day and then the centre hollow is filled with concrete. Naturally that would also need planning permission.
Incidentally I don't work for or have any prior interest in the company in that link....   

So to answer your original question, I would use the ICF blocks. I am AutoCAD trained and did years of dealing with and creating drawings for the planning departments in England and Wales. So it wouldn't create a problem for me to get the necessary permission.

Just some food for thought.
Regards, Joe.

[mdavenport]

Thanks Joe. Food for thought. I'll take a look :-)