Shop building advice sought

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oldbiker
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Shop building advice sought

Post by oldbiker »

I am in the planning and buying material for a building, It will be 30X50X8. I can't afford all metal, so just the roof is metal. I will have 2 9' overhead doors and 2 3' man doors. Concrete slab will have pvc in it for elec. gas,septic & water. Only gonna have a 8' ceiling, can't put a drain in the floor .oh yeah, 6- 3x3 windows 3- 2x3 windows...whew now with most of that said, does anybody have any ideas or advice before the slab is poured :?
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Supermike
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Post by Supermike »

Congrats on the new shop!

One question... Why so many windows but such a low ceiling? Can you cut out a few windows and put the $$ toward a 9' or 10' ceiling? Also, why no drain in the floor, if you can put PVC in the floor for everything else?

I'd rather have a 30x30 or 30x40 building with higher ceilings and a drain in the floor, if I had to choose. You can always expand off the back or side later with a lean-to if you need.

Just my :2cents:
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layedout72
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re: Shop building advice sought

Post by layedout72 »

ive been toa few shops and it always seems the lower the ceiling the more cramped it gets. I would do atleat a 9'. A drain isn't a must, but it's always easier to let it flow out rather than squegee the floors and stuff.

Can you make it 30x40 and raise the ceiling?
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re: Shop building advice sought

Post by oldbiker »

Okay I can't put a drain in the floor because of the city code. Has all kinds of weird stipulations about the grade, length & width and filters The reason I was gonna do 8' ceilings is that I had done a lot of work in just 2 car garages and as long as the hood had room to be fully extended, it was ok. The last one I built was a 2 1/2 car w/a 10' ceiling and it just seemed like it wasted space to heat and air condition. I needed more floor space, I have ton of tools and then my Studebaker, 3 bumps and 2 bikes. I don't have enough space for that!! I'm gonna have to drive them in & use a floor jack to slide them to the side!!!and while I'm at it srry bout postin in wrong spot :oops:

Oh the windows, they are brand new and free from my dad, figured I'd put em as high as I can for light.
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Post by 72hiboy4x4 »

I'd go with the taller 9' walls, myself. makes the whole place seem bigger!

try working under a lifted truck with the hood up, and keep hitting the rafters with the hood. its a PITA! BT, doing that right now! :lol:

save a little more somewhere else and budget for it that way....
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Post by oldbiker »

72hiboy4x4 wrote:
try working under a lifted truck with the hood up, and keep hitting the rafters with the hood. its a PITA! BT, doing that right now! :lol:
:roll: Ok talked to my guy, I'll just take the 200 8' studs I have already bought back 80 miles and get 9' studs :doh: . A little more OSB and siding the rest should be the same. :wink: I know I will thank y'all someday, but tonite I gotta convince my other half that i will need to tap my saving just a weeeeeee bit more :hmm:
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Post by Supermike »

LOL! Sorry, oldbiker... but like you said, you'll come to thank us some day. I think the 9' studs are a good compromise. That little extra height will make the place feel bigger, and give you just that extra bit of working height that 72hiboy4x4 noted. :thup:

Sorry you have to take the 8' studs back that far, though! That's a LONG way for studs!!! :eek:
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Post by 72hiboy4x4 »

Sorry, didn't mean to make ya work for it...:lol:

But you will thank us later...My 6" lifted jeep has to be rolled back and forth inside the garage to get the hood open around the electric door opener.... and its just a 1 bay shop, so I can't move it anywhere else!
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Post by spartman »

What if you raised the walls by using a row or two of concrete blocks?
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Post by oldbiker »

spartman wrote:What if you raised the walls by using a row or two of concrete blocks?

I thought about that Steve, mentioned to my contractor an he said it would be better to exchange the 8' studs for 9 or 10' but news flash sports fans... :D because of the feedback i've been getting, I hava nother man coming by tomorrow that does metal buildings, I found 3 diff sites that have metal buildings for a little over 10k :wink:
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re: Shop building advice sought

Post by hardtailjohn »

How about placing at least 4 (preferably 6) "chain buckets" in the slab so that you can tie down and use them to straighten things...I never thought it would be as handy as it is to have them!! My other suggestion is for PEX tubing for floor heat, but maybe heat isn't such a big deal where you're at?
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oldbiker
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Re: re: Shop building advice sought

Post by oldbiker »

hardtailjohn wrote:How about placing at least 4 (preferably 6) "chain buckets" in the slab so that you can tie down and use them to straighten things...I never thought it would be as handy as it is to have them!! My other suggestion is for PEX tubing for floor heat, but maybe heat isn't such a big deal where you're at?
JH

what is PEX tubing and I don't quite understand "chain buckets" I get that ya have a chain in the floor, I had those years ago to chain my bike to, but never thought about designing something to put a load on. sounds good but how do ya make it so that it doesn't get pulled out? my floor will not have re bar in it. they put fiberglass in it here.
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Post by averagef250 »

Fiberglass sucks. I wouldn't waste the money on it. If you're not going to use rebar or mesh just pour the slab an inch thicker as opposed to fiberglass. Fiberglass doesn't finish as nice either and you'll be sweeping up fuzzies for the next 5 years.

I currently have a 30X40X10 with a 15' enclosed lean to off one of the long sides and it's WAY to small. I could live with it if it were 30X40X20.

The next shop I build will be atleast 50X100X20 with a 6" minimum rebar slab.

The chain pockets are a good idea, I say take it one step further and make it easy. Just get a two post lift. You can weld or bolt eyes to the lift bases to pull from and you're not going to jerk a lift post out of the concrete.

I've seen some seriously kick *ss shops built with a small footprint and high cielings.

A friend builds huge agricultural irrigators in a 20X30X20 shop he built from stuff he had laying around. He's got a complete machine and welding shop inside and a 10 ton gantry hoist and it's not crowded.
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oldbiker
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re: Shop building advice sought

Post by oldbiker »

I dunno if it is the way it is poured in you part of the country, but I have seen now less than 7 slabs that were done w/fiberglass. Largest is 36X50. None are cracked. All are smooth as silk. It is had to find anything bigger than a sidewalk that has mesh in it that is not cracked. I will be the first to say that I am not a concrete man. all I have done is look around and listen with an open mind. Nobody said anything about sweeping up anything off their new floors. I was trying to keep the ceiling as low as I could because of the energy costs (heat & air) I need room for 4 vehicles inside at the same time.
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Post by wt4speed#2 »

Heat and air ? Dang oldbiker you looking forward at the possiblity of living in it after she finds out how much you've over spent :D
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