ideas for shop

[smittster]

May be buying a house that is being built. It will have a shop on it. Any suggestions for this shop that will help with our hobby? Mostly what kind of electrial to put in,fans, lighting,anything.

[kgmunro]

Try the garage journal forum....there are lots of ideas there.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php?

[sgtusmc]

Originally Posted by kgmunro

Try the garage journal forum....there are lots of ideas there.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php?

Yeah...there's a lot of good info there!

[BlueJeep]

Having just bought a new construction house 1 1/2 years ago here are my suggestions:

minimum of 24' deep. 30' deep if you hope to pull an engine with the door closed.
electrical sub panel in the garage so you can easily add 220 circuits later
as many outlets as you can get away with, on dedicated circuits not shared with other rooms in the house
gas line for a heater
insulation for heating and cooling, walls and ceiling
flat floor, not sloped if you do any chassis fabrication type stuff
hi-lift garage doors so the doors hug the ceiling instead of hanging down

[skip99]

how big? tons of ideas, but at what cost? what are you gonna do in it? metal fab,? paint?
would a mid rise lift be considered an appliance? best money I ever spent..electrical is easy.... 220 for welders and compressors, although I only use a small mig that runs on 20 amp 110..
LOTS of light !!! wire it for a lot of t8 fluorescents. i think i have like 40 in a 30 x 40 shop , that includes 8 for the walls in the paint room.
nice sloping floor drains..in a wash or paint area, but flat in a fab area !!. a heater.... exhaust fans (louvered) built in.

like I said, we all have tons of ideas, but answer the above questions!

[OrrieG]

High ceiling so you can lift rigs up, pull engines, or even install a lift someday. Also gives you storage up high for larger pieces. I wish I had plumbed a sink in mine, wife is always on me about the "garage smells" I bring in on my hands and greasy door knobs. I built mine with a stair to the attic using attic trusses with 250# psf floor loading, I assumed correctly that I might be storing heavy stuff up there one day. Lots of blocking for shelving, supports. Make sure you have at least two outlet circuits, one switched and one hot all the time. I staggered mine and have the stero, portable lights, and one light plugged in to them so when I leave I don't leave the lights burning. Wire the main lights separately. Size for 3 220v separate circuits, welder, compressor and a/c or future big draw tool.

[smittster]

Believe it will be a 24' x 30'. I like the ideas, did not know there was a garage forum. I will check it out. I may be buying the house and the builders don't budge on the price but will put in extras so I need to make a list.

[S10Fan]

Everything mentioned above and..............

Lights Lights Lights and Outlets Outlets Outlets!

Wiring for a couple ceiling fans.

Maybe an I-beam you could attach a winch or chain hoist to.

And of course, wiring for cable, phone, and internet.

[OrrieG]

Here is a pic of mine. S-10 reminded me I also had two of the trusses 6' in from each end designed to support 2000# so I could use them for lifting which I have.

[waybad]

radiant floor heat for sure...

[Thunderwagen]

I did a 40x40 metal building with 15 foot walls insulated. I would do roll up doors front and back so that when it is hot you can get air to circulate through it unless you go with vents with fans built in. On my electrical I have 6 8 foot florescents on the celing. 220 outlets on every wall. 2-3 110 outlets on every wall. Dedicated wiring for the compressor. I did a 110 amp disconnect from the house for mine. I would run tv, phone, and internet if you dont have wireless.

put in extra stobs for electrical and water when you do the forms. I wish I would have put in more than i did with everything i ended up putting in my shop.

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by kgmunro

Try the garage journal forum....there are lots of ideas there.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php?

................ Don't go there!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It will just double everything except the cost, and that will triple !!

[dwcsr]

on more than one occasion I have wished I had floor anchors so I could chain down a frame or front end.

[drivea55]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

on more than one occasion I have wished I had floor anchors so I could chain down a frame or front end.

X2!!!

We are actually seeing how much trouble it would be to add pods into the floor.

if you need to poor a floor??? Put Pods In..!!!

[blackdiesel]

Heres a link to a little something i've been throwing together.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=97652

[vjjack04]

Originally Posted by smittster

May be buying a house that is being built. It will have a shop on it. Any suggestions for this shop that will help with our hobby? Mostly what kind of electrial to put in,fans, lighting,anything.

I recently built a nice detached garage and I echo most of what others have mentioned. I would advice you to consider what you think it should be, square foot wise, and add 10 feet to the length or width. You can never make it too big. Also, I used a 12" stem wall for the foundation and like it alot. Water and such from whatever stays away from the foundation. Also, I have a seperate office area and like that a bunch. Again, like other folks have said, you can never have too many outlets. And I don't have a sink in it and wish I did. Just my opinion of course.

Oh, and I used 'U-Coat It' epoxy floor coating and (if your thinking of that) would recommend you use a dark color (I used light grey and it is not as stain resistant as they say)...Also, buy more than they recommend.

[dicer]

We don't all have it, but the best thing to have is a 40 x 60 or larger all metal shop with 14 foot inside height, and the steel rails or I beams in the floor is a good idea, as somthing to weld stuff to to pull against etc. A little attached house garage is not the way to go. And not safe either. I think they should have been outlawed years ago, all houses should have detached garages.

[poncho_villa]

I recommend plumbing for at least a toilet. A shower would also be nice but maybe not worth the sacrifice of floor space. I hate running into the house just to take a leak, especially in winter.

[smittster]

This is great, this is what I wanted "those, I wish I would have", "word from the wise", ideas. I am gathering the suggestions for my list. Thank you.

[Kid]

one of my "wish I woulda done" is put 2, 220 volt plugins in the same area that you designate the metal fab area. I get tired of unplging the welder so I can plug in the plasma cutter. another idea i did do & glad I did. Put a 220 plugin close to the big door, so you can reach outside & weld on stuff you cant get into the building.

[dwcsr]

one other thing I would like is a jib crane. It would be very useful for what I do.
I have the 220 in two locations and it's used a quite often. Mine isn't near the door but I wish it was.

[CSGAS]

For San Jose I'd make sure that AC goes in during construction...in California getting permission to add it later (especially if an HOA is involved) will be a nightmare. Beyond that, everyone's already said most of the best ideas.

Even though you will not be painting whole cars in the shop, you'll catch yourself painting parts--think about filters and ventilation. A hood where your worktable will be should do fine for that as well as for any fumes that may arise during welding and cleaning.

[NONHOG]

Pole building? stick frame? If a pole building spend the money and have beams installed to eliminate poles in your work area. One of my few issues with my shop.
Lots of windows for natural light but way up high to keep sneaky sorts from peering in.
Warranty, get one if your having it built. My gutters are so close to the roof edge I can hardly clean out the fir needles and leaves.
I'll be speaking with my builder(again)about this soon.

The lay of the land spend time and money if needed you don't want to build in an area the normally catches water run off. Maybe not a big deal in your area. But worthy of mention.

Lots of good ideas already mentioned.

[smittster]

The building would be a metal building and it is going to be in Oklahoma City, so it probably would be a good idea to put air conditioning in it. What I hear consistently is a lot of electrical outlets and light. Heat for the winter would be nice too.

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

one other thing I would like is a jib crane. It would be very useful for what I do.
I have the 220 in two locations and it's used a quite often. Mine isn't near the door but I wish it was.

Dave,
What deminisions is the arm, and height, considering the building height