Planning my shop Build-out for next summer, looking for advice.

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Make sure to check the current/wattage ratings and be sure they are on an appropriately fused circuit.

Also, get a reputable name brand with a CSA or a UL rating .

There's a lot of cheap chinesium junk out there!
^^^^^Bingo!!!!

@ProjectBazza -- my advice would be to make sure you have enough power to grow. In other words, if your panel only has 100 amps, consider upgrading to 150 or 200 in case you want to move some bigger equipment in there. My shop only has 100 amps, and every day I wish I had at least 150. But then again, I have a couple larger machines.

And another vote to have water and a basin.
 
I have a 10ft ceiling in my garage and I have installed a MaxJax lift. It raises the vehicle to about 4 ft high.
I've been looking at lifts, I really have, but everything I've found necessitates cutting-up my floor so I can lift my trucks. And I'm not sure I want to do that....yet. Maybe sometime in the future...

Another feature I'm thinking about doing in my garage is to mount LED tube lighting fixtures close to the floor on the walls so when I'm under the car, I get way more light
Sounds like a pretty good idea, but I don't think it will work, as I'm already running out of usable space along the walls when I draw things out with my Crayons! Think I'll just stick to ceiling/overhead lights, with a couple pull-down "trouble" lights.

You can buy insulation in a big blanket that goes around the roof trusses right on the underside of the roof and down the walls. It insulates better cause there are no 2x4’s to transfer cold to the inside wall. On mine I ran siding faced plywood up 4 feet on the inside walls and the rest metal siding in including the ceiling. There is 10 inches of blown in insulation on top of the ceiling plus the blanket insulation on the underside of the roof. This is where most of your heat loss is. Don’t forget to put a vapor barrier between inside walls and insulation.
That's what I'm doing right now: planning-out the insulation and what-not. (Never heard of these "blankets, though, so Thanks!). I have a "friend of a friend" who does closed-cell foam insulation as a side business, and he quoted me something like $8k to spray the walls and ceiling (he called it a "hot roof") with 2" of foam about a year ago. Not sure what to think of the "hot roof" idea, but I like the idea of using the foam as the vapor barrier.

Floor drains are a nice touch!
We have a drains (2) in the garage up at the house, and I agree that they're nice, but I would have to tear-up the existing floor to put them in the shop/shed, and I'm not too keen on doing that right now.

Finished the floor.
Installed the largest stationary tub I could find and hot water tank under it.
Windows.
We had the garage floor coated (for the house), and we love it, so that's on The List! As for water, the PO of the property buried about 100 feet of 1" PVC in the ground from the house down to the shed/shop (cold water, w/a shut-off for winter), so there's a spigot about 10' from the side service door already. Not Code by any means, but it is handy. This is an intriguing idea, thanks! As for windows, Yup! I plan on installing some up high, so prying eyes can't peek inside the space (easily).
 
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Installed ballistix floor coating on floor my air compressor is under stairs. The air line wraps entire shop complete 360 for maximum air pressure with several drops throughout. I went with brighter lights under mezzanine as easier to see for engine work or tedious work. And will complete a separate paint booth next year just to do everything myself (hopefully). Stainless sink area needs finished and full bathroom need completed as well.View attachment 1716310545View attachment 1716310546View attachment 1716310547
Beautiful space! I'm jealous!

And more than likely I'm going to run air lines around the perimeter of the shed/shop, as I hate tripping over air hoses.
 
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^^^^^Bingo!!!!

@ProjectBazza -- my advice would be to make sure you have enough power to grow. In other words, if your panel only has 100 amps, consider upgrading to 150 or 200 in case you want to move some bigger equipment in there. My shop only has 100 amps, and every day I wish I had at least 150. But then again, I have a couple larger machines.

And another vote to have water and a basin.
Damn! Now you're making me actually plan this out! :lol:

But seriously, my signature kinda-sorta explains my skills, as I have ZERO formal training working on vehicles (but I do have 60 years of "School of Hard Knocks"), and I'm not sure what else I'm going to need other than my welder, drill press, compressor, lights, and furnace and A/C.

But this does make sense....
 
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So I’m out in the “shep” (shed/shop) moving things around and putting things away for the winter, and I think I just had an epiphany…..

Seems to me the ideal shop is one where you wouldn’t have to move something to find, or gain access to, something else. For example, I’m tired of moving the snowblowers just so I can get to my engine hoist and stand. Or moving the welder so I can get to the oil and antifreeze shelves.

Is this possible/realistic? Or am I dreaming?

Jim
 
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So I’m out in the “shep” (shed/shop) moving things around and putting things away for the winter, and I think I just had an epiphany…..

Seems to me the ideal shop is one where you wouldn’t have to move something to find, or gain access to, something else. For example, I’m tired of moving the snowblowers just so I can get to my engine hoist and stand. Or moving the welder so I can get to the oil and antifreeze shelves.

Is this possible/realistic? Or am I dreaming?

Jim
Let me know how that works out for you!
:poke:
 
My own philosophy is to put everything that I can't easily lift on wheels. Sometimes it's like working a big slider puzzle. Whatever amount of space you have, you will find one more thing that you really need than will fit into it.
 
I just responded to this thread regarding winterization, and it got me thinking:


I've always only had a garage, and never a Shop, per se, and this metal building was one of several reasons we bought the new place a couple years ago. Here's a picture from when we were moving-in:

View attachment 1716309791

Building measures 24' x 42' with a 10' ceiling, has 100 amp service, and the wall posts are 7' on-center. I'm planning on building the walls "sideways" (7' tall w/either 18" or 24" centers, laid-down sideways) so that I can utilize readily available R-25 insulation), and I already have a furnace and A/C for it. Floor is already in, and because I don't know the thickness, and don't want to drill (plus I don't have much height to work with), a lift of any sort is out of the question, sad to say.

I have all winter to think about what I'd like to do with this space, and I do have some ideas (such as adding windows, and getting rid of that back OH door), but I'm also smart enough to know what I don't know, so I'm looking for advice from those who have "Been There & Done That". What should I be thinking about, and what mistakes should I avoid?

Thanks, all!

Jim
First off, I really love your trucks. Super cool bumpsides. Secondly, once you decide on a size, double it. That's my best advice.
 
First off, I really love your trucks. Super cool bumpsides. Secondly, once you decide on a size, double it. That's my best advice.
Size is already “carved in stone”, as it were, as the building is already in place (24’ x 42’. Think double wide and double deep.) I just need to finish the build-out next summer.

I have an old computer with AutoCad on it still (if it fires up!), and maybe this winter when it’s twenty below outside I’ll play around with it a little. Lay things out, make a plan….

And thanks for noticing the Bumpsides! They’re my “toys”!
 
My own philosophy is to put everything that I can't easily lift on wheels. Sometimes it's like working a big slider puzzle. Whatever amount of space you have, you will find one more thing that you really need than will fit into it.
That’s a great idea! A friend of mine has his shop press on wheels, and I never made the connection.

Until now!

Thanks!
 
Installed ballistix floor coating on floor my air compressor is under stairs. The air line wraps entire shop complete 360 for maximum air pressure with several drops throughout. I went with brighter lights under mezzanine as easier to see for engine work or tedious work. And will complete a separate paint booth next year just to do everything myself (hopefully). Stainless sink area needs finished and full bathroom need completed as well.View attachment 1716310545View attachment 1716310546View attachment 1716310547
What a great layout. Can I ask what the white panels hanging from the ceiling joist are for?
 
What a great layout. Can I ask what the white panels hanging from the ceiling joist are for?
Thanks. The shop empty had lot of echo running through it , they were supposed to be deflection of that, didn’t work so much to thin and not low enough. If I went any lower it would cut into the lighting so now there just decor.
 
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