I’m in the early stages of planning a new work building that will go up in the spring on my property. Right now I’ve decided it will be 30’x60’ w/12’ walls, roughly half the space will be heated workshop including an office and restroom.
I have a few items on my wish list but I’m soliciting input for essential features for the ideal work building. I’ve been waiting a long time for this and don’t want any regrets after the fact.
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Replies
Dust collector !
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Floor plugs for stationary power tools. Dust collection. Lighting,lighting, lighting. Finishing room. Try this link, there's some great shops here.
http://www.shoptours.org/
Who Dares Wins.
Gunner
Great link! I'm in the middle of putting together my 30x30 ft shop and those pictures have my head reeling!!!
Be a new three car garage w/ 9' ceilings and the stand up attic above w/ even 3' stairs to get up there : ) and I wont leave out the hayloft foor at the peak.
andyThe secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
North light, drive in ability, a shower stall.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Why north light? Dim but no glare?
yup, no hard shadows, even color...most old timet wood carvers won't even attempt to carve with out north light, I always try to have some.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Monitor roof gives a good light also.
Patrick, I have given thought to the Monitor roof but have a very limited understanding can that roof be built as a clear span, no post?Scott R.
There are photos of a residence with a clear span monitor roof in a Taunton publication. It's over the 2nd floor of a large, barn like building. Can't recall which title, but may be able to come up with it over the weekend.
Ive been inside clear span industrial buildings with monitor roofs, but, of course, those are steel frame.
Short story is that it can be done, but I couldn't tell you how to frame it.
Found it. Taunton book is "Small Homes" and the monitor roof may be found in the chapter "In the Belly of the Barn". Borrow it, if you can, rather than buying it.
Point: That resaidence, with a monitor roof, is timberframe.
Refrigerator.
Joe H
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Refrigerator.
Ya, stocked with beer.
Theres so much to say. Depends on what you are going to do.
Scott , it seems yours is big enough for a full blown cabinet shop , with an addition of a finishing room if that be what you want . Why dont you share what you ae going to do with it ?
Tim Mooney
10 foot wide doors, i got eight on mine and truck will barely fit
I'm sure it goes w/o saying, but ABSOLUTELY NO COLUMNS in the middle. Finishing room, dust collection, electrical air and vac drops. Air stations/compressor (outdoors to minimize racket.) Material storage for board, sheets, moldings, tools, hardware.
Ditto Tim Mooney, what's it to be used for. I'm drooling at the size.
Did I say no columns?
Easy access from truck (or drive in.)
Lots of natural light, maybe skylights.
What about some sort of couch or bed for when you work into the wee hours of the night?Bunn two burner coffee maker
Thanks for the input guys, keep it coming.
This really is going to be an everything building to store such stuff as a Ford tractor, lawn mower, my son’s 63 Ford Galaxy and park the work truck at night. The heated space will include a finishing room (it will finally be nice to have a clean space for finishing). I already mentioned the restroom and office. As for the actual workshop I occasionally shop build items for customers, but for the most part I’m just another fool that likes to make sawdust.
Gunner nice tip about the floor outlets, that one is certainly going on the list.
NickNuke’em, a lumber rack is on the list and I plan on putting the compressor in the “unheated” area. A dust collector is on the wish list but I’m not sure about the location. I would like to put where I can’t hear it run, however I’m concerned about sucking all the warm air out of the shop in the winter and fine dust if I put it in the same area as the compressor.
Joe, got the fridge covered it’s the one I had in college it holds a keg and then some quite nice. What I’d like to have is one of those old soda machines that has a vertical door you open and pull a soda bottle out. I saw a guy with one of those and it held long necks very nicely.
Scott R.
Wood floors with in floor heat!
blueWarning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
30 x 60 will not be bigger enough. Mine started at 24 x 30, out grew it, now its 36 x 30 still not big enough. If I had three building 36 x 30 they still be not enough room.
I have a dust collection system in my shop, the fan/filters are in an area of the shop, but the noise isn't that obtrusive; I usually have hearing protection on because of the other machine running anyway, so heat loss shouldn't be a problem.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Hi Scott,
I work out of a 30x60 insulated steel building. I agree with NickNuke'em to avoid the columns. here are some other thoughts.
I have an overhead door in the 30' end. The heated shop area is 20x30 at the opposite end, and I have a 9x6 office carved out of the shop area.
Radial arm saw is permanently mounted, as is the cabinet that holds up the aluminum brake. Also lots of shelves. All other machines are on mobile bases, as is my small work bench. I found a large workbench to be a magnet for clutter. If I need a large bench I set up scaffold planks on horses.
I've got a set of double doors that lead from the heated shop to the front area. Double doors make it easier to get stuff in and out of the shop.
Business records are stored in plastic boxes above the office.
Gotta have air conditioning for the office.
Give serious thought to Blue's suggestion of heated floors. Today the outside temp was around 32. With the wood furnace going, shop air temp was over 80, but my feet were cold and aching for a good part of the day. On really cold days in winter, if I am in the office all day, I heat hunks of railroad track on the wood burner, and set them on the floor by my feet for warmth.
De-humidifier for summer.
I put an external antena for the cell phone on the outside of the building, and ran the wire into the office. Otherwise the cell phone doesnt work in the building.
As far as storing large stuff like a car, do you take the car out regularily, or is it just winter storage? In winter, I store our pop-up camper on dollies so I can push it sideways against the wall. I also fit in a 5' brush hog by putting it on dollies, the pickup truck, and an 801 Ford tractor with loader and snow blade, for plowing the drive.
Another nice thing is to put a hook in the ceiling and attach a winch to it to lift the cap off the pickup. Sinse we are spending your money though, just put in an over head crane. LOL
Stuff I wish it had but doesn't:
Parking area in front large enough to turn around while pulling a trailer. Shop is on a busy county road, and I am not that good at backing a trailer, so I pull in, and do the back and forth thing, 'til I am pretty well jack-knifed. Then I either get PO'd and ram the trailer off the driveway into the brush, or I unhook it and re-position the truck.
Also if I had a descent gravel area to turn around in, I would have a 4 yard dumpster permanently at the shop. At the old shop I rented, we had one that was emptied once a month, for only $20. I don't want to have a large garbage truck have to back out onto the busy road. For now, debris just piles up in the corner, 'til there is enough for a run to the dump.
I'd also like an automatic overhead door, so I could open it from the truck, and drive in.
I'd also like high speed internet, and a slop sink in the bathroom. For that matter I'd like a bathroom!
Be forwarned though that junk will accumulate to fill the space you give it! Save very little of anything! Return to the lumber yard stuff you don't use, or just dispose of it. Otherwise you end up with an expensive building covering a bunch of junk that isn't worth $500.
My shop is nothing pretty to look at, like the link in the other post, but it works for me.
Bowz
Blue, in floor radiant sure would be nice but if I work that into the budget something else will get cut… like square footage.J I’m leaning heavily towards building this with ICF but I need to contact my ICF source for numbers. Can I hire you set the rafters?
Bowz thanks for the input. What you describe is where I’m headed; the difference is my busy country road will be about 150 yds away. You made me laugh at accumulating junk I’m notorious for keeping stuff in fact I have a couple windows already for this building. My wife said why don’t you build it barn style so you have a second floor? My response was hell no! That’s just a crap collector and I’m not going there.
How high are you walls? At first I figured 10’ but I also posted this question on JLC and a guy responded that I’d be much happier with 12’.
Is the wood furnace your only source of heat and do you heat the shop 24/7 during the winter?
I’ve planned on double doors from the shop to the other part of the building, what are you using for doors? I figured two 3-0 steel entry doors.
Scott R.
Scott,
My building was built for a guy who had a honey business. He would over-winter his bees and hives in the building, keeping them above freezing but cold enough to be dormant. So the building has some electric heat already wired in.
I try to avoid using it because it is expensive, and although the building is insulated, it is not insulated real well. So in the bitter cold weather, the shop does get below freezing. The office has a small electric heater that keeps the office above freezing. So freezable stuff from the shop gets put in the office for winter.
Typical electric bills in summer are $30-$40 per month. Winter is $60-$70. Last winter I was quite slow and spent a lot of time in the office. One month I got socked with a bill of $230, from having the office heater going all the time, and having the shop heat run overnight to cure some varnished projects.
Double doors are 1 3/4" solid core oak slab doors. Someone stained them the wrong color, so I bought them out of the bargain bin for $20 each. No threshold, just sweeps on the bottoms.
Roof is a very shallow pitch. Inside height to the bottom of the purlins at the outside is 9'6". To the bottom of the purlins in the center is about 10'8". The height is fine for me.
I don't do a lot of woodworking, (never made much money at it) so my shop is basically a staging area for tools and materials for on site jobs.
One of the reasons I have my machines on mobile bases is that I can't rip a 16' board in the shop. I have to open the double doors and roll them out into the other part of the building.
Bowz
You say you have a wood furance. Is it an old style burn barrel? Is it a dirt producing pain to ahve in a shop?
Jack,
In the past I have had just a box stove for the wood heat. This fall I picked up an add-on wood furnace, for free. So now I have a larger firebox and a blower to circulate the heat.
Can't wait to run the ductwork to underneath my desk!!!
I only fire it up if I am going to be in the building for a while.
The ash and mess is not a problem compared to the other messes I make in the shop.
I also don't light it if I am going to be staining and varnishing a lot of trim, due to the fumes. Had an uncle that blew out a bunch of windows in his house by cleaning paint brushes to close to the water heater. (he lived).
Bowz
As far as the dust collector goes, put in a separate enclosed area with plenty of vents to let the air get back. Or better yet, buy a cyclone style DC, put it outside and have the output duct of the cyclone go back inside.
Rich Knab
People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit.
scott... wood frame.. forget the icf's.. spend your money on the RF heating system
either conc. slab or the WarmBoard like the article that Rick Arnold had in JLC...
conc. slab thru.. with sleepers and Warmboard in the shop area
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
If you do decide to go with a slab, put in at least one floor drain.
Greg
didn't read all the posts but...
seperate mechanical room to stash the dust collector, water heater, furnace, compressor, etc... it will make it a little quieter in there..
plumb air lines...
some windows...
a paint room?
steel i-beam in the ceiling for a rolling hoist?
plenty of outlets, sufficient electrical service to run the welder, clothes dryer, microwave, plasma, etc...
porch/awning