Building my first shop

[ky6litr]

hey all, just thought I'd see if I could get any advice here for my shop. Were almost done paying for the land now (if it wasn't for the corona it would of already been paid for but oh well) and once that's paid for ill be starting on my first shop of my own. Its just a hobby shop but I want to regret nothing that should be done when building. Its going to be a 60x100 and 13ft of one end will be walled off for my gun room, bar/pool table area, and bathroom. I have pretty good funds with my job but no I can't afford to put the most expensive lifts all over the shop, snap-on tool boxes lining the walls, well it would just take a while and I'm not trying to run a business. And if anybody has something really similar I'd love to know how many vehichles I can fit comfortably in it. I'd like enough room to work on any vehichle at anytime and pull any of them out to drive at any time. Any opinions or advice would be awesome from air compressor, to a good quality lift for the average guy, most efficient heating and cooling, etc.

[ryanss22]

Whats your location? I woukd def do radiant heat in the concrete floor. And don't skimp on lighting, outlets, and air lines or plug ins on the walls. A few windows are nice to to not seem to cramped up all the time

[sootie]

floor drains with a grease trap, and fumex in the floor are unregrettable options that dont cost much up front. Avoid the chinese lifts although the price may entice you. There are canadian made ones that are three times the quality for about 10% more than the chinese. in-floor heat is a must have no matter what. Fans in the ceiling as well. Hard plumb your air lines and have every electrical plug on its on circuit. If you plan on having a big welder, i have found it convenient to have a power drop from the ceiling in the centre of the shop, and a long cord on the welder. keeps stuff off the ground and accessible. Use retractable hose reels and cord reels for tidy storage. makes for quick clean up. Dont buy junk reels. they dont last.

[thatguy69]

Originally Posted by sootie

floor drains with a grease trap, and fumex in the floor are unregrettable options that dont cost much up front. Avoid the chinese lifts although the price may entice you. There are canadian made ones that are three times the quality for about 10% more than the chinese. in-floor heat is a must have no matter what. Fans in the ceiling as well. Hard plumb your air lines and have every electrical plug on its on circuit. If you plan on having a big welder, i have found it convenient to have a power drop from the ceiling in the centre of the shop, and a long cord on the welder. keeps stuff off the ground and accessible. Use retractable hose reels and cord reels for tidy storage. makes for quick clean up. Dont buy junk reels. they dont last.

What brand lifts are you referring to?

[ky6litr]

Originally Posted by ryanss22

Whats your location? I woukd def do radiant heat in the concrete floor. And don't skimp on lighting, outlets, and air lines or plug ins on the walls.

I'm in central Kentucky, I've seen a couple things on the heated floor, does that actually heat the shop from the floor? I wanted to make sure I had plenty of outlets, just not sure how many 120v and 220v I should actually have. I was thinking of having a pipe run from the compressor down the wall where I could come off with airlines at each vehichle

[ky6litr]

Originally Posted by sootie

floor drains with a grease trap, and fumex in the floor are unregrettable options that dont cost much up front. Avoid the chinese lifts although the price may entice you. There are canadian made ones that are three times the quality for about 10% more than the chinese. in-floor heat is a must have no matter what. Fans in the ceiling as well. Hard plumb your air lines and have every electrical plug on its on circuit. If you plan on having a big welder, i have found it convenient to have a power drop from the ceiling in the centre of the shop, and a long cord on the welder. keeps stuff off the ground and accessible. Use retractable hose reels and cord reels for tidy storage. makes for quick clean up. Dont buy junk reels. they dont last.

I didn't see the hard plumb lines at first but I had wanted to do that, do the fans really cool a space that big? I mean if I'm doing it I might as well make it as comfortable as I can like im working on them in the house. Unless it would just be ridiculous to pay for the equipment and monthly bills.

[Ram12vcummins]

That’s a massive shop for hobby lol

I floor heat will heat the entire shop. And it’s a wonderful heat. Make sure slab is insulated properly. Underneath and the sides of it. The doors could go on the long wall. You can do pipe drops to air line coils. Or just pipe drops and have airline you plug into them. I’ve never been a big fan of airline coils. More so because of the price of them. Good ones are expensive and in a shop that large you would want quite a few. If you can afford it, then do it. Drop legs below each air hookup to drain moisture. I ran 3/4” copper for our shop air. It looks nice and has worked well. All soldered connections. Buy good o/h doors. Are you planning wood structure or possibly open to icf?

Depending on how cold it gets there, there are hydronic heat pumps that can do in floor heat. The tank would have elements in it to pick up whatever the heat pump couldn’t provide. Similar to a home system except it’ll heat the glycol. And I think it can also provide cooling.

[sootie]

Originally Posted by ky6litr

I didn't see the hard plumb lines at first but I had wanted to do that, do the fans really cool a space that big? I mean if I'm doing it I might as well make it as comfortable as I can like im working on them in the house. Unless it would just be ridiculous to pay for the equipment and monthly bills.

no they dont cool, they keep the air moving and blow the heat back down to where you feel it as heat rises. Important point that they say about drains below each air reel.

[ky6litr]

Originally Posted by Ram12vcummins

That’s a massive shop for hobby lol

I floor heat will heat the entire shop. And it’s a wonderful heat. Make sure slab is insulated properly. Underneath and the sides of it. The doors could go on the long wall. You can do pipe drops to air line coils. Or just pipe drops and have airline you plug into them. I’ve never been a big fan of airline coils. More so because of the price of them. Good ones are expensive and in a shop that large you would want quite a few. If you can afford it, then do it. Drop legs below each air hookup to drain moisture. I ran 3/4” copper for our shop air. It looks nice and has worked well. All soldered connections. Buy good o/h doors. Are you planning wood structure or possibly open to icf?

Depending on how cold it gets there, there are hydronic heat pumps that can do in floor heat. The tank would have elements in it to pick up whatever the heat pump couldn’t provide. Similar to a home system except it’ll heat the glycol. And I think it can also provide cooling.

Well they always say you wish you'd go bigger so I kept making bigger plans til my wife said thats over twice the size of the house plans do you think thats enough? Lol plus I already have my 2005 f350, 76 f250, 85 k10, 70 cougar and already plans for a 68-69 roadrunner when I get the chance so I wanna make sure I have the room lol. I was going to do a pole barn, cost is very reasonable and lasts a long time. What are good doors to use?

[Ram12vcummins]

Originally Posted by ky6litr

Well they always say you wish you'd go bigger so I kept making bigger plans til my wife said thats over twice the size of the house plans do you think thats enough? Lol plus I already have my 2005 f350, 76 f250, 85 k10, 70 cougar and already plans for a 68-69 roadrunner when I get the chance so I wanna make sure I have the room lol. I was going to do a pole barn, cost is very reasonable and lasts a long time. What are good doors to use?

I’m not sure who near you makes good doors. But some searching for a good quality and high r value. That’s where your heat loss will be.

I know that the starting costs to a pole barn are cheaper. I personally do not care for them and wouldn’t do it. That’s part preference and part experience in construction. I’ve seen some pole barns heave. And maybe they weren’t built properly I can’t answer that. Also floor to wall connection is a little off what I would prefer. My preference is a thickened edge slab on grade. The building can move some but it will together. A pole barn on the other hand, may not.

[thatguy69]

Originally Posted by ky6litr

Well they always say you wish you'd go bigger so I kept making bigger plans til my wife said thats over twice the size of the house plans do you think thats enough? Lol plus I already have my 2005 f350, 76 f250, 85 k10, 70 cougar and already plans for a 68-69 roadrunner when I get the chance so I wanna make sure I have the room lol. I was going to do a pole barn, cost is very reasonable and lasts a long time. What are good doors to use?

Clopay, ideal. I went with r17 doors

[6BT-DAKOTA]

Spray Foam and cover the walls with Drywall, Insulate the Ceiling dont do open rafters, close it in. Its easier to keep clean. Do a thicker slab, its cheaper to do it up front. And the one thing ill say that is the most important. If u have any inclination to do radiant heat, put the insulation and the tubing in. Even if u cant afford the heating units now put the tubing and insulation in and put a ceiling hung unit in till till u can afford the heating units for the radiant heat. Trust me u will be grateful in 5 years when u have a pocket full of cash that u either have to spend or pay tax on.

[Ram12vcummins]

Originally Posted by 6BT-DAKOTA

Spray Foam and cover the walls with Drywall, Insulate the Ceiling dont do open rafters, close it in. Its easier to keep clean. Do a thicker slab, its cheaper to do it up front. And the one thing ill say that is the most important. If u have any inclination to do radiant heat, put the insulation and the tubing in. Even if u cant afford the heating units now put the tubing and insulation in and put a ceiling hung unit in till till u can afford the heating units for the radiant heat. Trust me u will be grateful in 5 years when u have a pocket full of cash that u either have to spend or pay tax on.

I’m not a fan of spray foaming stud spaces full. Wrapping and organic material in something that doesn’t breathe is a recipe for rot. Another reason I dislike pole barns. I would build a wood wall, fibreglass insulate it and then strap it with 2x material and use ridge foam on the inside. Then vapour barrier.

[ky6litr]

Originally Posted by Ram12vcummins

I’m not sure who near you makes good doors. But some searching for a good quality and high r value. That’s where your heat loss will be.

I know that the starting costs to a pole barn are cheaper. I personally do not care for them and wouldn’t do it. That’s part preference and part experience in construction. I’ve seen some pole barns heave. And maybe they weren’t built properly I can’t answer that. Also floor to wall connection is a little off what I would prefer. My preference is a thickened edge slab on grade. The building can move some but it will together. A pole barn on the other hand, may not.

Well I'll have to make sure whoever has done it has some proof of their building last and look into what makes them last and make sure its done, I've seen and heard of them lasting decades so I'm sure there's definitely something to doing it right because I've also heard of them having issues after a decent amount of time. I'll have to look into the cloplay, and I'll have to have sure its setup for the radiant heat. So I can do it later at least.

[Ram12vcummins]

Originally Posted by ky6litr

Well I'll have to make sure whoever has done it has some proof of their building last and look into what makes them last and make sure its done, I've seen and heard of them lasting decades so I'm sure there's definitely something to doing it right because I've also heard of them having issues after a decent amount of time. I'll have to look into the cloplay, and I'll have to have sure its setup for the radiant heat. So I can do it later at least.

Pole buildings can move even if done properly. I don’t like the chance of that happening.

If your completely finishing the shop, do you think there is any cost savings in the end? There’s more labour spent on infill of a pole barn.

[ky6litr]

Originally Posted by Ram12vcummins

Pole buildings can move even if done properly. I don’t like the chance of that happening.

If your completely finishing the shop, do you think there is any cost savings in the end? There’s more labour spent on infill of a pole barn.

I would be finishing the insulation, drywall, etc. But what would the cost be of pole barn building vs steel frame building finished at 60x100? From what I've seen, using the proper treated wood with a minimum of uc-4b and building the building correctly it should last me the rest of my life which is all I care about, they're used religiously here for shops and homes with no issues if its the right people doing it. I don't know how to do it thats for sure, but thats what I've seen here. But depending on steel, that would be the only other option I've considered, I would if it wasnt much more, but if its doubling the cost and both will last as long as I need then I don't see the point.

[zstroken]

Originally Posted by ky6litr

I would be finishing the insulation, drywall, etc. But what would the cost be of pole barn building vs steel frame building finished at 60x100? From what I've seen, using the proper treated wood with a minimum of uc-4b and building the building correctly it should last me the rest of my life which is all I care about, they're used religiously here for shops and homes with no issues if its the right people doing it. I don't know how to do it thats for sure, but thats what I've seen here. But depending on steel, that would be the only other option I've considered, I would if it wasnt much more, but if its doubling the cost and both will last as long as I need then I don't see the point.

My dad just had to replace some 6x6 on his barn that was built in 1970. Be curious if the new 6x6's will last longer than 50 years.

[Meyers Farms]

Originally Posted by ky6litr

I would be finishing the insulation, drywall, etc. But what would the cost be of pole barn building vs steel frame building finished at 60x100? From what I've seen, using the proper treated wood with a minimum of uc-4b and building the building correctly it should last me the rest of my life which is all I care about, they're used religiously here for shops and homes with no issues if its the right people doing it. I don't know how to do it thats for sure, but thats what I've seen here. But depending on steel, that would be the only other option I've considered, I would if it wasnt much more, but if its doubling the cost and both will last as long as I need then I don't see the point.

Another option is to pour individual piers/footers for each post and sink a post bracket into the wet concrete. Then you attach the post to the bracket and it does not contact the soil. You still have the treated grade board exposed, although it’s not the main support structure for your building like a post. Check out RRBuildings on YouTube. Kyle, the owner, builds some very nice pole barns with longevity and efficiency in mind. He is also a former IT guy so the editing on his videos makes them easy to watch.

How to Build a Garage #1 - Layout and Concrete Piers - YouTube

[ky6litr]

Originally Posted by Meyers Farms

Another option is to pour individual piers/footers for each post and sink a post bracket into the wet concrete. Then you attach the post to the bracket and it does not contact the soil. You still have the treated grade board exposed, although it’s not the main support structure for your building like a post. Check out RRBuildings on YouTube. Kyle, the owner, builds some very nice pole barns with longevity and efficiency in mind. He is also a former IT guy so the editing on his videos makes them easy to watch.

How to Build a Garage #1 - Layout and Concrete Piers - YouTube

Thanks for that, I definently didn't want to just have them set the post in the ground, but I'm no builder so I didn't know the best way to do that, thanks for the input, ill ask about that when having it built.

[thatguy69]

Originally Posted by zstroken

My dad just had to replace some 6x6 on his barn that was built in 1970. Be curious if the new 6x6's will last longer than 50 years.

The poles used on my barn were laminated 6x6. This way the entire pole that goes into the ground is treated VS a treated 6x6 where only the outer 1/2 of it gets treated when they pressure treat it. Also having gutters and a good way to keep the ground dry close to the barn has a decent effect I imagine.