Shop build time!!

[Babyhauler]

I just closed the deal on 6 acres with a nice increase in house size from current home. The great benefit is I can have a SHOP! Woo-hoo ! I have plenty of 90 ft pines to drop beforehand. Flat lot with lots of trees.

I am thinking of 30 x 40 x 10. Put enough concrete in the front for my daughter a cross court basketball court. Should I add concrete for a nice lean-to on the side for storage of stuff & trailers? I am thinking steel building, but have not ruled out stick built lumber building. Metal roof and sides with extra decoration on the sides so as not to offend the neighbors. One 10ft-12ft roll up door & 1 man door.

Should be a good place for my 16 yr old son & I to have a project vehicle on the side plus room for day to day repairs and maintenance. Has anyone tried the portable car lifts or with this much room, I should be able to leave one up full time. My knees do not like crawling around on the floor as much as I used to.

Shoot me ideas on the tricks that make your place nice and easy.

 

Thanks

 

Babyhauler

[brantjs]

I wish I had the space/money to build a dedicated shop. A coworker of mine built a small shop and I helped him install a 2 post lift. That's really the way to go if you plan on doing car/truck work. You need a 12 ft clearance for most of the lifts that allow a clear floor. I think they come down to about 10 ft if you have the drive over cabling. He got his lift from www.gregsmithequipment.com. Also plan on at least a 4" thick slab where the posts for the lift will be placed. My other suggestion is to include a sizable sub panel for your electrical needs. Circuits go fast when you have a bunch of 220 demands (welder, compressor, lift, etc).

[kstruckcountry]

Three things I think are good:

1. Height- don't be afraid to make it tall, the height is nice and makes lighting easier.

2. Lean-to- if you have a little tractor, parts vehicle, hay, etc. a lean to is great to keep it all under. I would just leave the floor dirt. If you're going all out, you might consider putting a small storage area OVER part of the lean-to.

3. Doors- If you're putting in a wood stove, it's nice to have a door right next to it for carrying in wood.

[TimmyG]

Sign up for garagejorunals fourm lots of great ideas

 

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[8.1HD/ALLISON]

How big is your wallet? lol I Can tell you a lot I have learned from friends and family that have built shops.

1. Go bigger than you thing you will need. Everyone I talk to runs out of room in no time.( I hope to build a 50x60 someday)

2. Go with the wide garage doors. Its a pain to back in when you only have a couple inches on each side of mirrors. ( would install 2 doors in a 30x40)

3. Floor heat is awesome. Nothing better than having a warm floor to work on. Its very efficient also. Pricey to install.

4. 12 foot ceiling minimum for a lift.

5. Spend the 2 or 3k and get a good 2 post lift if you are going to work on your own vehicles. Well worth it.

[RyanbabZ71]

I am jealous

 

Have fun with the project

 

 

Ryan

[502ci]

Definitely add a pad for a lean-to, keeping tractors, mowers, lawn equipment separate makes it worth it. I bought my house that already had a building in back built, of course I would have made it different if I started from scratch but it is pretty nice the way it is. My lean-to is 34' long x 10' deep. Another advantage of having the building in back is that is where my compressor is located...no more having it kick on and scare the crap out you and then having to listen to it run.

 

I store my 24 ' enclosed trailer along the other side of the garage, someday I will have a pad for it or at the very least gravel. Make sure you install plenty of lighting, more the better. I have a lay-in ceiling and have 12 2x4 lights that have 4 lamps each...oh, and of course gas heat and AC are a must...

 

[yukon25008.1]

Check into pioneer pole buildings,, Im looking into them right now and they have good prices,, 'exp' A 32x30 start to finish is 67-7500

which includes all labor & materials. You just have to be prepped, Like having the slab ready..

[txab]

You need 12' eave height. Door in endwall or sidewall?

 

I've got a 60'x60' with 2 sidewall doors

[Babyhauler]

Thanks guys,

I lucked up on this property. I've dreamed of a place like this to buy, as most of us have. Thanks for the ideas and tips. My good friend next door has a small tractor w/ loader & was in the steel fabrication business for over 20 years. We have built many projects around our homes and for his current business. His brother builds churches and shopping centers so I will have some contacts for getting this done correctly the first time. I have a few friends in the concrete business so I hope that will help. I have a 16 year old that needs to learn how to run a shovel! The area is low & flat but water will stand after heavy rains, so I think I need to build it up above grade a little. Heavy gumbo mud. That is why I will need concrete under the lean to. Also plenty out front for parking and projects. If I put enough for a cross-court out front, that should cover it. I think I will orient it north and south with the front to the norh end facing the house. East faces the street (pretty side), west faces woods & friends house (lean to side), south is woods for 200 ft to neighbor. I'm thinking of the 12 ft door on the north end, centered, man door left of that, & a 10 ft roll up on the right side for parking a project, supplies or whatever. Man door side to have work benches, tv, tools and tinkering room for motorcycles or mowers. More like a man cave area. Floor heat for this area? Put the lift in the center for the height. Lots of lights and outlets. (Commercial electrician connection) Plumb too many air connections inside and out. The roof has to be steep with all the trees around. Not sure about skylight panels. I have repaired enought of them. A bathroom if at all possible. I believe I want it close to the house, but not too close, 60 ft, 75 ft, 90 ft?? Every foot cost more for plumbing and wire and concrete.

My budget initially is about $10-$12k. Way cheap. We will do a lot of the dirt work, skinning the building, wiring, etc. I want more building instead of lean to slab, so I will leave off what is easy to add later. A ten ft eave with a steeper roof is better than 12 ft & flater roof for leaves & straw. No snow here.

I still have many trees to clear & decide on a shop driveway or not (not). New chain saw and used zero turn mower. My golf game is going to suffer during this time.

Thanks again for the ideas. Keep 'em coming. Merry Christmas.

 

Babyhauler

[brantjs]

You will definitely want at least some driveway right in front of the bay where you will have the lift. If you do a frame off restoration of anything you will at some point have a rolling chassis. You can use the lift to pick off the body and roll the chassis out from underneath. Rolling a chassis on dirt/grass is no fun. My coworker has a 46 power wagon in progress and has struggled moving the chassis repeatedly since he doesn't have concrete poured all the way in front of his garage yet.

 

I don't know if you do woodworking but you may want to consider a dividing wall for that area of your shop (or hold off and build it as a separate shop sometime down the road), as sawdust has a way of getting everywhere. Also put your outlets at least 48" off the floor as that will allow access if you lean a sheet of plywood on edge against the wall.

[8.1HD/ALLISON]

Get us some pics when you start!

[Babyhauler]

My friends barn next door is a template of what not to do from his previous owner, so I have a good model for that. In my job I get to see a lot of different homes & outbuildings. The concrete out front comes from that. I grew up on a 200 cow dairy in this same type of soil. In the winter, you had mud or concrete. Good idea about the outlet heights. Woodworking projects will occur. I was thinking of a woodworking area to seal and ventilate. Maybe use part of the lean to for that.

What is good cheap way to heat this thing. I will look into the floor heat for a small area, but it is prob too expensive. What are drum heaters that use wood or pellets in an outside unit & blow the heat inside? Good or junk or too much trouble?

 

Babyhauler

[kstruckcountry]

The cheapest way is to make a woodstove. Ours keeps the whole shop warm since it's insulated well. I'm not sure about where to buy one. I like woodstoves because you can stay inside to feed them. Heated floor is awesome but pricey.

[yukon25008.1]

Yea.. Heat in the slab off a boiler is awesome, And very effecient if put together properly, But is pricey if your not doing itall yourself..

Id like to get a used woodstove with a water coil , and add a circulator and aqaustat.. Let the wood heat the water, And hot water warm the concrete