Do you guys have metal frames or wood? A few years back I rented a house with a nice wood framed 24X24 but looking into having my own done in the near future. thinking a 30X40. Let me know what you guys have done or would done over? How thick on concrete?
all depends on permits and stuff....try to go 12' or taller so you can add a "lean to" on the sides and still have head room on the low side....my slab is 4-5 " thick with 10mm rebar on 24" centers.....i wish i would have found the money to insulate and plumb the slab....i heat my shop with wood ....spend your money on insulation if you need heat in the winter
Helped a buddy put up his 30'X40' metal shed, think it was from Mueller. DONT believe the BS "you and a buddy or two can have this up in just a few days". True it was just the two of us, but we worked 10-12hr days 4+ days a week for almost two months! We did it with only about 1 hour worth of forklift - it was raining like hell for a week before we began and we kinda had three different lift vehicles get stuck in the mud. It was rough, but in the end definitely worth it!
Im going to be out in the country. NO restrictions! I have older style heater given to me, you know the big ones in the shop corners? But yes insulation is a must. I want to hibernate in it from Nov to Mid march just in time to get exhaust on whatever project Im messing with at the time and head out to lonestar. LOL Are you talking 12' eves? or in the center? Had friend get 14' eve and says its too tall. Oklahoma winters are well like 60F one day in Jan then 2 days later 8" of snow. Just cant tell. A rest room and probably shower are probably priority too.
We built a 40x80, with 16' sides so we could get the RV in it... Having the high ceiling made it easy for us to put a loft along one wall that was 10x60, it's great for storage and nothing has to set outside!! Definitely plumb it for a bathroom!!!
Personally I would go with a taller building. Gives you room for a loft, and perhaps a lift in the future. If you can afford it, I would recommend in floor heat or a small heater and really good insulation. There is a ceramic paint availible with and R value of 16, couple that with mylar and spray in and you won't be able to make a cell phone call or listen to the radio, but you could heat it with a 'Mr. Heater'. X2 on the bathroom.
I've thought it over. I think a shop would be 30X40 or 50. I can only work on 1 car at a time. But to store some in the future I might add a building later with no insulation and perhaps just a concrete floor. I dont know if chaddilac heats that hole 40X80 but I'd hate to see the gas bill.
When I was building my 28x36 shop, I interviewed 12 people that had pole buildings built, that I worked with. About changes they would make if they had to do it again, or pitfalls to watch for. The number one change listed by everyone, was build it bigger. The second recommendation was make it high enough for at least one 12-13' high x 12'wide door. This was for campers, trailers, motorhomes, larger trucks, etc. Insulation was mentioned by those that had not insulated during construction. Mine is insulated, with 7/16" chip board covering the walls. This works a lot better for hanging tools, shelving, and benches, than wall board. (Also when things get thrown, they bounce off the chip board, instead of going into or thru the wall board). Also with a taller building, you can install a loft over part of the bay(s), for storage or a small man cave (with refrigertor, recliner, TV, microwave ;-). When you wire your shop, make sure you have plenty of 220 outlets, for welders and other machines. Good luck
Thanks for all your input. Got 2 friends who are electricians so should get a deal on that part but still even the parts add up
My buddie built the structure out of steel i beams and the exterior he did the metal studs and lath and plastered it ...turned out bitchen..then when the county signed it off he put a studio appartment up top..
I'm going to dis-agree with some folks, The bigger is better rule just don't fly with me. An example ,a friend about ten years ago started to built his dream garage, he wanted it big enough he said, 54 x 90 x 16 walls. He had a budget but was planning on working some overtime the next year to get er done. The structure and electricity, water and sewer, huge doors with insulation,a loft for his computor stuff and a man lounge,air lines till who laid what. Then he was out of money. Business went down at work ,no more overtime and he needs $18,000 to finish the concrete,and insulate and cover the walls. It has been 8 or 9 years and he has not built one car in his huge dirt floor cold garage. He will tell you that he could have been working in a 24x36x10 all completed for all these years. Will he ever get it done ,I don't think so, trying to heat a place with 16 foot side walls will break him. To me it's a lot like building a car . I would rather have a decent driver that I could use whenever I wanted vrs. A half completed Riddler candidate. If I have a garage that is small ,I must have the discipline to not drag and pac-rat home every thing I see.That is a good thing,I will be forced to keep it clean,that is a good thing,It will be easier to heat and if I have no extra room ,friends will not want to store stuff there, that also is a good thing.This above is just my opinions ,I may be wrong, hell I'm probably wrong but it works for me.
i have a couple 40ft highcube containers, 9ft tall, i want to use as walls and put a roof between them, i would like it to be high enough to pull highway rigs inside.
I hear you on that as far as utilities. I have a friend down the road I've worked on cars in winter there. 40X60 no insulation, more like a barn than a shop. Its good to get out of the wind but thats about it. still way cold and would cost a small fortune to heat. I dont need a man cave inside my shop but do want running water, bathroom, perhaps a shower. I really think a 30X50 or 30X40. I do think there's a invisable fine line, if you get too big of shope and fill it up well then its just storeage not a shop and nothing gets done.. Smaller shop it gets fixed or gets outside. Since its on 10acres I could add another storeage building later with less ammenities or get one of those rail road box cars types of storeage
I too am a fan of building only the amount of space that you can use. No matter how big you build it is going to be filled up wether its car related or not. I have a good friend who had a 60 x 40 14' ceilings with a full loft above for storing stuff. Well 6 yrs later he is still looking at an insulated shell with the concrete completed. It's nothing more than a huge storage shed. I have a 24' by 28' 10' wall garage which I am adding a 36' x 36' 10' wall addition giving me approx. 2000 sq. ft. to work in, basically tripling my work area. I'm doing everything myself for approx. 15k which comes out to like $11.50 a sq. ft. Would I like it to be bigger?.....of course, is it sufficient enough space for me to do what I want to do?.......of course, Can I afford to heat it in the winter?,,,,of course. Before I even broke ground I had friends wanting to store stuff inside taking up space. My suggestion to them was "build your own".
I Agree. Garages/sheds/barns here ... www.garagejournal.com Cars/rods/customs here ... www.jalopyjournal.com
Hey! I really checked into metal buildings! Alot say metal you get it in & then look @ fine print & you need to order a truck load of wood to put together! I wanted a metal building no wood! I would rather have a rust bucket 32 Ford than a perfect tupperware car! ( just my opinion) Ck out metalic. com Unreal buildings! Small - Big to Biggg! Solo Speed Shop building is 40 x100 21 ft high in middle ceilings! We are @ 6200 ft so had to build for snow load! I really dig buildings with overhangs & Metalic will build what you want! Mine is 10 yrs old & still perfect! I only had insulation put in roof! Its great! PS build bigger they are never big enough! Good Luck Bill
I would run the heat in the floor, you will be working close to the floor, run a hydronic system, keep it at 45 degrees, run a small forced air sealed combustion unit that takes air from outside to burn. Toilet small shower and sink. emergency eyewash in the bathroom, they are cheap, put a floor drain in the bathroom so if you need the wash it will go down the drain. CA7 compacted stone at least a foot thick, plastic barrier and wire mesh, if you do the hydronic there is a reflective product to keep from losing heat into the ground, use it. Concrete a minimum of 4 inches or per code, there is a compaction code in some places as well. The loft is great.put in ceiling fans to mix your air. The one part of the shop I hate is that if you are out there working on one car you always mess up the others, I would room or split up the shop if it is large to contain finished from work in progress. In mine I have fire treated plywood all along the interior perimeter up 2 feet from the floor and a high quality fire retardant sealant at the seam, I would hate to lose the shop to a stray sprag or hotshot getting up against the wood and smouldering til 1 am waiting to release Mayhem.
RADIANT FLOOR HEAT! Hey davidh73750, I was in downtown Kingfisher 2 weeks back and didn't recognize the place - trees gone and new sidewalks! Made a pit stop at the Burger Shope. I see lots of barns/shops in my appraisal business. Some are wood frame some metal. With a slab floor and plenty insulation they both would be good. Mainly a cost factor here. Radiant floor heat would be a big factor for me. Like Francisco said above. Friend of mine built a new shop just south of Mulhall. He runs a 55 gal water heater and small pump about the size of a football. Has a backup heater hanging from the ceiling that burns propane. He says the slab takes most of a day to get warm but he always has WARM FEET! Something to consider in a new structure....
I'm too old to start a new shop, BUT.. if I did... Warm floors, lots of insulation, and a least one area with a high ceiling for a lift. The warm floors would not cost a lot to run IMO, if you used insulation under the floor, and used 6" in walls and at least 9 in ceilings. Keep it set at 45 at night, and it couldn't cost too much running at night? Maybe a kicker forced hot air furnace to bring room temps up quick in the morning? Min size for me would be 26 to 28 wide, X 36 to 40 long. right now I have 3 old buildings. 25 x 90, also an L shaped one that is 68 long, and a 20 x 20 shed...like was said...more room just adds projects you won't get to, and piles of worthless parts. Right now I only heat 1/3 of my 90 foot shop
I asked about shops here cause ppl on here actually use them. I see so many and no one uses them or its overkill for what they used it for. IE 40X60 to work on bicycles.lol
I'd stay away from pole buildings. I'm a fan of 4 foot insulated frostwalls and a poured slab inside them. A really good foundation is the best start. I'm not a big fan of floor heat either. It reacts slowly to setting changes and repairs are a real PITA. A forced air system allows for air filtration, air conditioning and air movement.Those are pretty big deals as far as I'm concerned. Insulate, insulate, insulate.
have u thought about a oil heater there is lots of trans oil for free. u could get it from a trans shop for free. lots of automotive shops are now turning to that as a heat sorce since n /gas or electric it geting out of this world in price . only a suggestion
You can use a small 40 gallon propane or nat gas Hot water heater, if you use just a regular heater it will only last about 4 years on average, not really made for the task, there are hot water heaters specifically made for this, a dual use, a better heat source would be a small boiler, has thicker exchanger tubes, may want one that pulls combustion air from outdoors, keeps the inners cleaner. Should get 15 to 20 years of service from a boiler. Radiant floor is real efficient for spaces kept at temperatures around 45 degrees, like a shop, set up a very small boost forced air system to kick on about 30 minutes before you arrive in the morning and let it get your air to comfort temp, at night let it drop back down to 45.
Originally Posted by RuFFDaWG RADIANT FLOOR HEAT! Hey davidh73750, I was in downtown Kingfisher 2 weeks back and didn't recognize the place - trees gone and new sidewalks! Made a pit stop at the Burger Shope. I see lots of barns/shops in my appraisal business. Some are wood frame some metal. With a slab floor and plenty insulation they both would be good. Mainly a cost factor here. Yeah most of us are not happy about the sidewalks and cutting the trees, looks barren. it was some of that "national obama project money". A lot of sidewalks redone were just a few years old. The south end of town has no side walks. Should've side walked it to walmart and planted more trees.
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