Building a backyard workshop

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Building a backyard workshop

kid sinister: Nov 16, 2002

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

Initially I was considering trying to dig under the sidewalk, but after a few attempts I've decided that's probably not going to work well. Plus I'm considering digging a second trench to carry water out to the workshop (not plumbing, just so I can have a hose in a more convenient location). Can't share the trench -- the building inspector said they need to be at least 12" apart. So the new plan is to rent a concrete saw, cut the sidewalk into sections, and hopefully be able to re-place the sections after I've dug the trench. If not, I'll have to pour a new sidewalk slab.

Have you considered a putting in a yard hydrant? You can have a freestanding hose hookup somewhere in your yard if that's all you need.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2016 22:24

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 15:53

kid sinister: Nov 16, 2002

devicenull posted:

There's apparently the trick of stuffing some bread down the pipe to block water, but I've always worried that I'd end up clogging the valves/pipe somehow.

For pipes coming up, you can also get a length of thin hose and do the same trick with your thumb that you did as a kid to get a strawful of soda at a time.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2016 04:43

kid sinister: Nov 16, 2002

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

Ha, that's cute. In my setup I could probably have actually siphoned the water out if I'd had an appropriate hose.

I've been steadily adding more electrical conduit. There's only one more 90 to go before I reach the point where I want to enter the house -- right above the main panel. I haven't actually figured out how the conduit will hook up to the panel, though, which means I'm not certain exactly where it should enter the house.

Relatedly, I'll need to drill a ~1.25" hole through the stucco siding. I believe the technique here is to tape up the wall to help keep the siding from cracking, and otherwise just try to go slowly with a hole saw so nothing overheats?

I don't plan to do the panel hookup myself; I'll just install the conduit and run the cable. I want a licensed electrician to do the hookups at each end. I'll feel more comfortable about installing breakers at the workshop side, since I can trivially cut off power to the workshop by toggling its breaker at the main panel. Plus it's all easily accessible, unlike the main panel where everything's behind drywall. Photo of the main panel (and its single spare breaker slot):

I assume I can just come in from above the panel; there's knockouts on all sides. I'll need to open up the wall before I drill anything, just to make certain there isn't an errant cable laying in wait for my drillbit. Thing is, the panel's mounted to some plywood which is mounted to the drywall. I guess I can just open up the drywall and peer inside, but it'll be kind of awkward.

You got the right idea in avoiding drilling into wires or pipes. In addition to the knockouts on the sides, electric panels also have knockouts on the back. One of the easiest ways to see where cables come into a panel is to simply take the cover off and look inside for where cables come into it. That should give you an idea of where wires and such are ran in the wall.

# ¿ Sep 30, 2016 02:11

kid sinister: Nov 16, 2002

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

Anyway, we got the cable pulled, he installed a breaker in the workshop panel, I flipped the lightswitch...and the breaker's GFCI triggered. So I'm gonna have to fix up my circuit. But the important thing is that the workshop has power; I can tinker with the circuits over the next several weeks.

Check for a neutral to ground short at the light. If you've got a multimeter, disconnect that circuit's neutral at the panel and make sure isn't touching anything grounded there, untwist all your neutrals on that circuit, then set your multimeter to continuity and keep testing every neutral wire against ground. Eventually you will find the neutral that is touching ground. It helps to start in the middle of the circuit, then keep dividing it in two until you find the culprit.

# ¿ Oct 7, 2016 02:29

kid sinister: Nov 16, 2002

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

The high-voltage stuff is still speculative though, as I don't yet actually have any tools that can use it.

Sounds like a perfectly good reason to buy yourself a welder if you ask me. Christmas is coming up...

# ¿ Oct 9, 2016 17:01

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