Currently building a shop and wanted to get y’all’s opinions on ceiling height in a metal/fab/dirty room. Will 8’ ceilings be sufficient for anything I might eventually need, like a vertical band saw?
Ideally, I’d cover the ceiling but probably be bare joists for quite awhileWill the ceiling be covered or open beam
This...........above.8' should be fine, but remember- that would be FINISHED height. Before roughing it in, consider everything that will be going above the work area: lighting, electrical supply, HVAC ductwork, exhaust/vacuum ducting, etc. to determine what your rough-in vs. finished ceiling height will be.
Span will determine what size your floor/ceiling joists will need to be, which in turn may dictate the direction of your installed joists in order to maximize and simplify the installation of any overhead utilities- I would guess it to be 9' minimum, 10' preferable in order to keep your finished ceiling at 8' or so.
Yeah, that's why I said finished height of 8'- so everything can be tucked in above the finished ceiling and still have 8' clearance. No hanging lights- just troffer lights in the fab room, keep your overhead open. It may not be as critical in OP's Kentucky, but up here anything over 8' is a b**ch ($$) to keep heated in the winter, same applies to cooling in the summer. All that heating and cooling money coulda paid for those new TrickFlow heads I've been eyeballing...As mentioned, 8 feet is gonna feel really low once you start adding lights, etc. If it were my shop, I wouldn't necessarily be concerned with the height of my machines -- most floor standing vertical bandsaws are 6-7', unless you're getting a monster DoAll or something like that. My concern would be getting a gantry or hoist in there as @SIX225 said. I don't know what kind of fabrication you do, but if you're like me and work alone, something to lift and move your work will be necessary and 8' ceilings will drive you out of your mind.
Go as big as you can afford now and you'll thank yourself later.
I’d planned on using 2x8 joists every 16”, but I just looked up a joist span chart and prices, and decided I’ll use 2x10’s 16” apart. All wiring, lighting and duct work can be kept flush with or above finished ceiling height.8' should be fine, but remember- that would be FINISHED height. Before roughing it in, consider everything that will be going above the work area: lighting, electrical supply, HVAC ductwork, exhaust/vacuum ducting, etc. to determine what your rough-in vs. finished ceiling height will be.
Span will determine what size your floor/ceiling joists will need to be, which in turn may dictate the direction of your installed joists in order to maximize and simplify the installation of any overhead utilities- I would guess it to be 9' minimum, 10' preferable in order to keep your finished ceiling at 8' or so.
A trolly/crane setup has crossed my mind and I’ll have to do some more research/thinking on that. It would be handy to move metal into the room.Thought about an I beam and a trolley hoist or gantry crane? Even an engine hoist, I'd make it taller than 8ft. What are you going to use the loft for? I think I'd figure the minimum height used in the loft and maximize the height on the ground floor. Maybe even consider the I beam/trolley for moving stuff upto the loft.
I’ll likely do a good sized sliding door or maybe a double slider so I can up it up 8-10’If going with an I beam/trolley, I'd keep it up by the rafters, above the bay and loft. If you want to also access the "fab room", consider putting a ceiling/floor scuttle above the fab room, so you can open it up to use the trolley to lower things from above down into the fab room. Make the entry door(s) to the fab room large enough to accommodate an engine stand, consider a double door.
Heating shouldn’t be too big of an issue. All exterior walls are 7” thick and will have board and batten siding, 1.5” air gap, 2” foam board and then either another 3.5” airgap or 3.5” of batt insulation or blown in cellulose. I’ll have infloor heat and I’ll throw a 12k btu window unit in a window in the loft for A/C for now, with plans to install a 5-6 ton unit with duct work down the center of the shop down the road.Yeah, that's why I said finished height of 8'- so everything can be tucked in above the finished ceiling and still have 8' clearance. No hanging lights- just troffer lights in the fab room, keep your overhead open. It may not be as critical in OP's Kentucky, but up here anything over 8' is a b**ch ($$) to keep heated in the winter, same applies to cooling in the summer. All that heating and cooling money coulda paid for those new TrickFlow heads I've been eyeballing...
Agreed, I build with deck screws and a screw gun just for the fact that its not permanent. I can take it apart to modify it and reuse all old materials if it suits the change. Buy good quality screws, not dry wall screws that are prone to pop the heads off.It's easier to build it tall & decide later you didn't need all that space than to add space later.... I have 10 & 12 ft materials standing in racks along one wall, moving them I use all my ceiling height...
My fab room will be 12x20.My question is how big your fab room is going to be and how are you going to ventilate it. Metal working generates smoke and sometimes quite a bit. Taller is better.