shop size

[Anonymous-0]

i have no shop to work in,im thinking of building a shop , is a good shop long better than square, what would anybody change if a change was to be made in building a shop. i need good ideas, i dont want to make unwanted mistakes. gonna build it myself.

 

[Wisconsin Cowman]

Sometimes I wish it would be bigger in depth.

 

[old]

Build it just as big as you can. You can never have enough room. My shop has 2 bays in it that are about 30 deep but because of all the tools I have added over the years the shop is now getting to small. I wish my shop was as big as my machine shed is and its 32X32 and even that would not be big enough for very long. If I could afford it I would have a shop at least 100X100
Hobby farm

 

[MSS3020]

My shop is a Cleary building 43 x 63 feet REALLY NICE...BUT aint big enough..Yep that right ...but i store ALL my equipment in it. Swather, bailer, tractor, skidstear, mower, splitter, blade, trailer, small trailer, three lawn tractors, Hay, tools, etc. You get the idea. Now I have a place for everything and everything has a place. One thing I would LOVE to redo would be: I have two sliding doors on the front and two 36" walkouts on the front of side and back of side. I wish I would have but a nother slide door on the side at the back 90 degress from the main one. Why..You could pull things in in a different direction that you wouldnt normally be able to turn around with. ALso I had them put bubble wrap up in cealing before the metal roofing went on. Keeps condensation from dripping on my Green & Yellow. And no matter what it aint never big enough.

two cents worth..

 

[Anonymous-0]

Build it round, then you can't throw crap in the corner!

 

[Gun guru]

Make is as BIG as possible, 30X80X10 would be good for me. Put in a wood shop, Machine shop, painting area, tractor storage too. Compressor-with sound enclosure, with air line outlets every 10 feet. Lots of lighting, outlets, lots of benches. Put in a 1/2 bath, with large utility sink. Big wood heater for heat, AC too. Alarm system, which I may be getting soon. 2 bay doors, 9 foot tall each.
I only have a 22X50 X 8 foot ceiling garage, holds 2 cars + tractor + tools and benches.
I should have made a 22X22 attached garage and a detached barn/workshop. Oh well.

 

[Gary in da UP]

My shop is 30' x 40' with 12' walls , I wish I had built with 14 or 16 walls and I could add wider lean-to's on the sides . My roof has 5/12 pitch so I'm limited if I want to continue with the same pitch and I wouldn't want any less pitch even with a steel roof because of the snow fall I have in my area , I'm only about 7 miles from Lake Superior and we can really get a lot of snow .As I write this I still haveabout 30" on the ground. gh

 

[bradley martin]

It all depends what you want to use your shop for. Also keep in mind potential future uses, either by yourself or future owner(resale value). As others have stated, once you get your tools, equipment, etc.,etc., in to what appears an adequate size, it suddenly seems too small. Also consider heating costs, etc.

 

[Dandy Don]

If you had one as large as the Superdome it would last a few years but eventually be too small. Mine's 35x40 and was okay for one year. Wish I'd put a side door on the south side to get breeze thur on select days. Put a deck drain some where that's going to help you. I put welder just inside of the big door. Wish I'd thought to isolate the air compressor sound.

Don

 

[Rome]

I just built a 60 x 88 and, like everybody says, it's too small. Probably could have shaved alot of cost, but I've waited my whole life to build one and wanted to do it right. It's 100% concrete and both doors are overhead doors. They keep dust/wind/rodents/ out. Also a floor drain. Build it tall enough. It is equipped with a fire alarm and security system to protect from unwanted guests.Already have underground plumbing in place as we are going to finish it off with a washroom and toilet.

 

[farmer boy]

If I only had a real shop. Given the money the things I would do are: 40x48x17, 1 foot cement wall for the bottom of the building and 16 2x6. The reason for the cement wall is so mositure doesnt cause problems. In floor heat everywhere including right under door for ice melting powered by propane. 20x16 o.h. door in the front as well as a 12x12 door on the side. 20 ft of 38" deep work bench at waist level. Outlets every 3 feet on the workbench an 15 ft the rest of the way around with 1 breaker for every 3 outlet with 200 amp service . Floor would have a slope for the 20x30 service area with a drain in the centre. 5'x10'x3/4" welding table about 5-6 feet from the workbench. Every tool you would ever use plus more. Since it's 48 feet long and the workbench is only 20 you could add 20 of steel and parts storage. On the side you could add an utility room bathroom and an office. 20x20 cement pad outside for outdoor service. The compressor would be outside in a seperate building. Lots and lots of flourescent tube lights.

 

[IaGary]

And on top of the tool boxes bring them to a point so stuff don't collect on them as well.

Do the same to the welder so it don't collect stuff either. ~})

Gary

 

[IaGary]

Hey Wisconsin Cowman we are talking about Shops here.

Your just dreaming.

~})

 

[MapleStone]

Here is a link to a neat site for a company that builds buildings.

If you use the Design Online feature you can play with different size buildings and place shop equipment and "stuff" (i.e. lawn mower, ATV, tractors, trailers and vehicles) in the building to see if all your "stuff" will fit. You can adjust the sizes of the "stuff" so if you want to take the time and measure your stuff you can get pretty accurate.

I had fun just dreaming!
FBI Buildings

 

[VADAVE]

Mine's 30X40X17. I put a 12 foot balcony along one 30 foot wall sized for light industrial, that's to store parts. Underneath is a kitchen, for parties, a bath with shower, clean up befoe going to the house. I store no equipment in the shop, it's for working on the stuff. The shop is built on the end of a 100X40X17 machinery storage building. I put a 10X10 door in the 40 foot wall seperating the shop from the machine storage area THAT was the mistake. In order to bring equipment in I sometimes have to clear two 16 foot storage bays. Were I to do it again that 10X10 door would be on an outside wall! The personnel door is on the other (outside) 40 foot wall. And it isn't too small yet.
OH Yeah Overhead propane heat and insulated as thick as possible.

 

[WyoDave]

If you're going to build it yourself, I wouldn't go overboard on size. I built my 40x56x16 shop last summer. I did everything by myself except set the trusses and pour the floor. I pursuaded some buddies to help with that. I have many, many, many hours into it, and its a long ways from done. This summer I'm working on the ceiling, insulation, wiring, plumbing, and walls. Not to mention finishing the office and bathroom, and building work benches/storage. I also plan on pouring more concrete out front. We'll see how much I get done this summer.

David

 

[bill mart]

Why did you go with the style garage door you used? just asking as when i had my barn built i went with a tracked overhead. thanks, bill m.

 

[WyoDave]

Well the main reason is it only takes 3" of overhead space away. I have a 16' shop, and I can get a 15'9" piece of machinery in. Most overhead doors reguire more room for tracks and everything. Also this door seals tighter, and is really quite simple. No tracks, cables, springs, etc... I can rebuild a hydraulic cylinder if I need to, and I can open the door with a tractor remote if the power is out. Plus shade when I'm working out front in the summer time. Just lots of little reasons besides the overhead space savings made me decide this was the door that worked best for me. All doors have pros and cons, like everything else, just gotta pick which one works best I guess.
David

 

[bill mart]

the only reason i asked was with mine in the up postion inside the buiding and yours in the up postion on the outside, the door opening itself is still the limiting factor as to what will fit in the building.Pretty cool door and openers. bill m.

 

[Rusty wheel]

I built my shop 32x40 with 10foot sidewalls. It has a 9x18 foot overhead door. It could have been a little larger but cost, available room and drainage limited me. It"s an all wood building with siding to match the house. It"s full. One word of advise. Build your building a size that is compatable to dimensional lumber. Cuts down a lot on waste and you get the most for your money...........rw

 

[Alex-41JDb]

One of my dads more inforced rule in his shop at the golf course (he is a superintendent) is to keep sh*t of his purty lincoln welder. Lol
Alex

 

[Alex-41JDb]

One of my dads more inforced rule in his shop at the golf course (he is a superintendent) is to keep sh*t of his purty lincoln welder. Lol
Alex

 

[MF294-4]

I have a 40x60 at home and a 40x200 in town and both are to small and both are to big at tax time.

 

[Anonymous-0]

THANKS everyone i can see shops can be too small and not high enough for doors, great ideas.

 

[THEkyroastnear]

mine is 36x50 but i only have 9 ft. walls biggest machinery i own is a super m and not likely to get bigger.has slider doors at each end and well insulated. just one kerosene heater can keep it comfortable but i am not out there all the time.still have alot of fine tuning to do and so far its big enough but filling fast

 

[Kevin in OK]

Hey, that thing is pretty neat. By putting in the equipment about where it is now, I figure our current barn is 20x30 or so, and if I do some rearranging in there, I could squeeze in Grandpa's tractor and brush hog.

Of course to do that would mean emptying and cleaning the whole thing out. I'm sure there's already more in there than we know what to do with.

Kevin