Took the first step towards building my shop

[Frank S]

Well at 5 feet down you are safe for the area where I live near Ottawa Ontario. Where I grew up that would have to be a 8 foot depth. Fun and games everywhere I see!

I excavated rather than simply bore and fill with concrete or do a perimeter beam of concrete and slab floor before starting the project for several reasons with the main one being funds. Sure I probably could have sought financing which would have meant putting the place itself up as security. there is no mortgage so that would have meat literally that a huge portion of my monthly retirement income would have gone to pay for the shop. I was not willing to do that just so I could have a shop plus I would have had to down size my expectations by a huge factor and on top of that a lending institution would have demanded things I was not willing ot provide as well.
I could have just done large footings and anchored the columns to the concrete footers by using a cubic yard or more at each column by tapping into our savings and paying for them as I went but why spend money when there is an alternative that works just as well. That money can go on earning some interest and still be there to either borrow against or use in case of an emergency.

[mwmkravchenko]

I excavated rather than simply bore and fill with concrete or do a perimeter beam of concrete and slab floor before starting the project for several reasons with the main one being funds. Sure I probably could have sought financing which would have meant putting the place itself up as security. there is no mortgage so that would have meat literally that a huge portion of my monthly retirement income would have gone to pay for the shop. I was not willing to do that just so I could have a shop plus I would have had to down size my expectations by a huge factor and on top of that a lending institution would have demanded things I was not willing ot provide as well.
I could have just done large footings and anchored the columns to the concrete footers by using a cubic yard or more at each column by tapping into our savings and paying for them as I went but why spend money when there is an alternative that works just as well. That money can go on earning some interest and still be there to either borrow against or use in case of an emergency.

I'm agreeing with you completely.

[Frank S]

It doesn't matter if you have no walls no doors and no floor as long as you have a roof overhead and a little bit of light so one can be brought in on a hook at midnight it is a shop
This is the power of just 2 100 watt UFO high bay LED fixtures