Building a new gun shop for Highlander Arsenal - Part 1

Well I have decided that I want to get more out of my FFL so I am going to build a shop. This will allow me to actually have customers! While a home based business is great, it is really hard to run a retail business that way. I have at this point built the foundation for the shop and below are some pics of it.

I'm hoping to keep the cost of the finished building to around $4000. So far I have spent a little less than $550, but this is some of the most expensive lumber as it has to be pressure treated.

The shop will be 16' x 32' and will be two stories. The first floor will house an area for gunsmithing with a workbench, and later a lathe and a mill along with other tools, and the retail space. The gunsmith area will be 16' x 10' with the remainder being reserved for the retail space. I will also add a concrete block structure that will be attached to the back of the shop to act as a gun vault. I'm thinking 8' x 8' outside dimensions for the vault will be plenty.

Second floor will be office and storage space, or maybe some class room space. I am hoping to teach some classes, starting with some ammo reloading training.

So I will keep you updated on the progress of the shop as time goes on. The next step is to put in the insulation for the floor and then deck this assembly so I have a floor. I know you can't see it but I put a plastic mesh under the joists to both support the insulation and keep the critters out.

By the way this is about 10 days into the process of building. There is probably only about 16 hours of actual work to this point but I have to spread it out. I only tend to work on it in the morning when it is cool!! BTW, I love my framing nailer. ;-)