We too lease our space. I've got a good deal on an old creamery building with a 20' x 60' warehouse, and about 1500 sq.ft. of shop space, plus a nice office. We've got plenty of space outside, although not that flat, to store enough raw wood for about three frames. The warehouse is used for oiling and finished piece storage until we ship to jobsite. We had to invest in this space to make it truly functional i.e. insulation, sheetrock on ceiling, boards on walls, running 220 power from other end of building. I can store an entire frame while working on the next one, all protected from the elements. We have similar issues as Daiku, although have not gone so far as to humidify in winter.
We just bought an 8,000# capacity forklift for moving stock. It's really the cats behind, but one problem we just realized is that we need chains for outside, but they really scratch up the cement floor inside the warehouse. Not the best of both worlds. Unloading wood from the mill is much faster, safer, and less painful than before. We organize all our stock by dimension, stack it up about 12-14' in two foot lifts, and cover all piles with extra wide tin, securing them with dog chains wrapped around top section of pile. Looks a lot better then a bunch of graying timber cut-offs holding the tin on. We have a lot of standing seam roofers in the area who seem to have a regular supply of old tin they've taken off of their jobs.
We've thought about building the perfect shop on my land, which is just 6 miles from the current shop. My wife thinks it might be an intrusion on our sense of privacy. But the thought of having pole barn storage outside is very appealing, and better material flow patterns inside would definitely improve productivity. I would build it to allow the forklift to drive straight in with at least 20' material, and have a backup system like Daiku's for longer stock.
The benefits of having a showcased building right where you ply your craft are clear. But until then, I've given some breaks to clients whose buildings are very nearby to allow us to use them as models for prospective clients. This has worked out well, and allows the new customers to see more then one example of our work.
