The Build Begins

[Wertles]

 

[Deleted member 995608]

You guys with your fancy big shops are killing me! Enough already.

I want a new shop soooooooo bad.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Very nice. That'll be a good place to swill beer after it's finished.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

I want one!

 

[AnOldBiker]

Keep giving the info and pictures. I'm looking into one after I have more time to clear trees out of an area I own. This is on the back burner for me.

 

[Wertles]

You guys with your fancy big shops are killing me! Enough already.

I want a new shop soooooooo bad.

I have wanted one for so long as well. After the third "portable garage" from tractor supply came crashing down after the first snow storm, my wife said why don't you go and build a real one already. A year later, I finally get to break ground.

 

[Wertles]

Very nice. That'll be a good place to swill beer after it's finished.

I got the fridge for Christmas.

 

[Wertles]

Keep giving the info and pictures. I'm looking into one after I have more time to clear trees out of an area I own. This is on the back burner for me.

Well the site was all trees this spring.

It ended up looking like this by the fall.

My original building size was 40X42 then I switched gears to the current 50X40 so more trees needed to come down in September. The extra hardwood was saved to dry out for next year. My 74 year old dad stacked it all by himself.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Did you remove those stumps with that JD tractor and loader in the photo?

Bill

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Glad you're building a larger than planned shop. I've never heard a man say, "I wished my shop was smaller".

 

[Woodenhead]

Gonna be a beauty! Good call going with 16' walls and 12x14' doors, I did the same and will build a smaller work shop inside with a loft for storage. After years of working in the gravel or someone elses shop I had mine built the same time my house was done. What they say is true, no matter how big you build it, it's never enough .

 

[Wertles]

Bill- all but one of the stumps were pulled out with that John Deere. Fortunately I have a backhoe attachment for it. What I do is dig down about 2-3 feet all the way around the tree then rope off the tree as high as I can and pull it over. The stump comes right out of the ground. I didn't do that with the pine trees. They dig out easily enough. There was one huge maple that my FIL got happy cutting and just dropped it before I could dig. I spent a few hours trying to get it out but ended up talking to a construction guy 3 houses down. They were building a house and had a large mini excavator. He grabbed that last big one for me.

JHawes and Woodenhead- I am glad I canned my original plans. I had purchased a steel building that sat in my garage all summer but the more I looked at it, the less I wanted it. I knew it just wasn't going to work well for me at all. So I went bigger. This is now a full 6 car space with room for the Class C (the 5th wheel still won't fit). Already I am wishing I had gone just a little bigger. I would have gone 2 feet wider and kept it in increments of 4 feet. It wouldn't have cost anything more (no more trusses or posts needed) and that would have given me a 10 foot space to the right of the doors instead of 8. Things you learn from the building process.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Glad you're building a larger than planned shop. I've never heard a man say, "I wished my shop was smaller".

Yep. I've built shops at the last three places where we have lived and each one was larger than the pervious one. The first one was wood frame on a concrete slab and the others were engineered bolt-up steel on concrete. My most recent shop is 50'x 60' with 16' walls, 12'x12' and 12'x14' doors and I'm wishing I would have made it larger. I like the lean to Wertles is adding to his shop. I could use that lean to for storing my 24' utility trailer and some farm machinery that I have parked outside.

Bill

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I think 16' walls would be great to build a mezzanine for overhead storage.

 

[Woodenhead]

I looked at steel, pole, stick framed different LxW dimensions and wall heights. For me land space was not an issue, just trying to get the most for my $. I ended up with stick framed 36x72x16 with 14' wide lean to's down each side and 2 12x14' doors in one gable end. Trusses for 40'W were significantly more cost than 36'W and 16' high wasn't much more than 14', 72'L wasn't much more than 60'. I will build a 16'x36' workshop inside the back that will be conditioned year round and have a loft above for storage to clear out floor space in the rest of the building.

The lean to is a good call on your part, the cost is minimal vs. the bonus of covered storage outside the shop.

What are your plans for lighting? I lucked out and found a bunch of surplus 400W Metal Halide fixtures on Craigslist for a great deal. They're not the latest and greatest but I saved a ton of $$ and it's BRIGHT

Keep us posted on your progress!

 

[Bill Stockard]

I looked at steel, pole, stick framed different LxW dimensions and wall heights. For me land space was not an issue, just trying to get the most for my $. I ended up with stick framed 36x72x16 with 14' wide lean to's down each side and 2 12x14' doors in one gable end. Trusses for 40'W were significantly more cost than 36'W and 16' high wasn't much more than 14', 72'L wasn't much more than 60'. I will build a 16'x36' workshop inside the back that will be conditioned year round and have a loft above for storage to clear out floor space in the rest of the building.

The lean to is a good call on your part, the cost is minimal vs. the bonus of covered storage outside the shop.

What are your plans for lighting? I lucked out and found a bunch of surplus 400W Metal Halide fixtures on Craigslist for a great deal. They're not the latest and greatest but I saved a ton of $$ and it's BRIGHT

Keep us posted on your progress!

WOW!! That's big!! I used an engineered steel building with a rated ice load and wind load since we sometimes have ice instead of snow in the winter and high winds during spring thunderstorms. This is the second shop I built using the same steel building supplier. The previous building has stood up to 80-90-mph straight line wind gusts and as much as 2" of ice without a problem.

My present building has insulated skylights in the roof for light and I had instant start 40-watt 4-tube industrial type fluorescent lights spread throughout for added lighting on cloudy days. I have an office built in with a full bathroom, washer and dryer, mini-kitchen with a refrigerator and microwave oven, a desktop computer on wi-fi (no TV) and it is heated and air conditioned with a high efficiency heat pump. Above the office is decked with 3/4" plywood for additional storage. The shop is insulated with insulated overhead and walk-in doors and is heated with one 100,000-BTU LP gas fired unit heater. I keep the thermostat set on 55 degrees when I'm not working the shop and over an average winter it burns a little less than 100-gallons of propane. I enjoy my shop and spend lots of time in it and the office.

Bill

 

[Wertles]

JHawes- I plan on building an 8 x 16 balcony for storage over the entry door and another 8 x16 balcony for the man loft at the rear. I want to keep everything else open for the lifts and the Class C.

Woodenhead- I have been keeping an eye on craigslist for lights but haven't come across anything yet. I am open to ideas about lighting. This is the scarey part for me. I want it well lit and will probably go with 4 foot fluorescent lighting. I have it in my other shed and it has been flawless for the last 7 years.

Progress was a little slow today. Freshly frozen mud made for slippery walking and they had to pull out a few of the posts they did on Thursday. They were too short. As you can see, I have a 3 foot drop from the right to left side. I need to find some fill quickly. The plan for tomorrow is to set the 6 lean to posts and hopefully start on the trusses. Sorry for the dark picture, I was waiting as long as possible to get the most progress.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I like the HID metal halide lighting. Bang for buck, I thinks it's the best way to go for longevity. Sure it takes a fee minutes turn bright but the output is amazing compared to the cheapo 4' fluorescent lighting.

 

[Woodenhead]

Starting to look like something now, I'll bet it's exciting to finally see this going together. Those are some big posts! Are they one piece or laminated?

I paid $20 each for used 400W Metal Halide high bay lights with reflectors, ballasts, bulbs all ready to go. Like I said, I scored on Craigs List. I only needed 6 but I bought 12 so I would have spare bulbs and ballasts. They work well with a 16' ceiling. They have multiple taps for different voltages so I wired them all for 240V to keep the current draw down.
If you get florescent lights look into the T5 (5/8") bulbs. We have these in the warehouse at work and they are very bright and long lasting.

What about heating? Let me guess, wood?

 

[Bill Stockard]

Starting to look like something now, I'll bet it's exciting to finally see this going together. Those are some big posts! Are they one piece or laminated?

If you get florescent lights look into the T5 (5/8") bulbs. We have these in the warehouse at work and they are very bright and long lasting.

That's what I used with a reflector type fixtures installed between 18' and 20' high and am pleased with the light output. After a little over 7 years, they have been problem free, require no warm up time, work just as well at 55 degrees as 90 degrees, and no bulb/ballast replacements necessary so far.

Bill