Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Bill’s Marana AZ Shop Project

[911TES]

Hello All:
I just bought a lot and hired an architect for a new home in Marana, AZ - just outside of Tucson. I retire at the end of this year after working non-stop for 50+ years. I’m 67 and hopefully in decent health. I’ll need to be, since everyone is telling me to plan on 3+ years to complete architecture, HOA approvals, county permits and the build.

Like a lot of us, I like working in the shop, love nice tools, good organization etc. Shoved into the corner of my current garage in Beaverton, Oregon is a lathe, mill, tig welder and sheet metal shear, brake, Rotex hole punch etc.
I’m looking forward to ample space to place and store everything. We have a small “winter” patio home a short walk from the home we will build in Marana so I can be present much of the time through the process.

One of my goals is to transition to CAD/CAM and would like to do so soon so I can participate in the design of the shop. I’m thinking of AutoCad Fusion 360. I have no CAD skills at this point. (I’m thinking I’ll get a Haas CNC mill at some point and have a micro at-home business).

I’ll have an house-attached 3-car garage for “regular” cars and household items, garden tools and the like. The shop will then be able to be a “pure” shop likely with a small office area. I told the architect to find an area for roughly a 30x40 shop. The lot is 2+ acres with great views - city lights on one side and mountains on the other so the house will have priority on the views. I’ve also asked for driveway access to the shop.

I’ve just now started on my first step in the shop design which is listing “what do I want to do in my shop?” What functions do I need to include in my shop?

There are so many great threads in GC and I hope mine is interesting and maybe even helpful. I’m certainly looking forward to help and suggestions form the members here. The last thing I’ll add is I’ve been very fortunate throughout my life with help from family, friends and strangers and I appreciate it each and everyday.

I’ll get going on pics as well. I’m terrible at organizing all my files, pics etc. I’m still on Netscape e-mail if you can belive that - good retirement project to learn and upgrade all my software capabilities.

Thank you in advance for your good counsel.

Regards,
Bill

 

[nadogail]

Welcome Aboard from Southwestern California. I am a former Webfoot, my family Mom, Dad, and we three boys moved from Portland in 1951.

I am in Coronado and am retired.

 

[911TES]

Love Coronado. My sister lives in Mission Bay. I was born and raised in SF Bay Area.
Tucson is a good all around place for us. My wife was pressing for San Diego.

 

[LXCam]

Welcome aboard and good luck on your retirement project. I got to ask how in the world did you settle on marana? Don’t get me wrong it’s beautiful country but a bit off the map. I’m down there occasionally doing work on the correctional facility

 

[911TES]

Great question. I was into golf 25 years ago and my friend joined a golf club in Marana. I visited many times and really like the desert and prefer to be somewhat away from the crowds. It’s a good 30 minutes to drive to “anywhere.” I’m less of a golfer now and only do it for the exercise. It’s a 7-mile walk ruined (as Winston Churchill said). My wife loves golf so we checked that important box. We don’t have children so pretty blank canvas.

 

[911TES]

My first planning roadblock is that the office/shower/toilet/laundry section of the shop and the one stall for the lift take up a lot or room and it doesn’t leave much room for machine tools.

Maybe I’ll move some/all of that to the house-attached garage or just go into the main house dirty.
I like the idea of having an “office” in the shop for internet research, but maybe just a computer, stand-up desk and large screen for project research and so forth.

Thoughts and suggestions?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Max78]

Welcome to the area, I'm just south of Marana in the Picture Rocks area. looking forward to seeing the progress.

I use Solid Edge education for my at home projects. I do 3D printing and build all sorts of stuff like RC tractors for the kiddos and such. Fusion 360 is a good program from what I have seen so you can't go wrong with it. Its pretty easy to learn.

 

[911TES]

Welcome to the area, I'm just south of Marana in the Picture Rocks area. looking forward to seeing the progress.

I use Solid Edge education for my at home projects. I do 3D printing and build all sorts of stuff like RC tractors for the kiddos and such. Fusion 360 is a good program from what I have seen so you can't go wrong with it. Its pretty easy to learn.

Thanks Max.

 

[911TES]

Hi all,
We’re thinking we will a Mercedes Sprinter (or Similar) RV in our future and want to size the garage or shop accordingly. For the Mercedes there are three lengths and I’d like to size for the longest which seems to be close to 24’ with a width of just under 9’ and height just under 10’.
When I say “just under” I mean 5” to 7”.

Question 1: When the architect says garage depth of 26’ does he mean a usable 26’ or is that an exterior dimension?

Question 2: When discussing garage door sizes is a, sa, 10’h x 8’w have an actual usable opening of 10’ x 8’ ?

I’ll do plenty of research and review all manufacturer’s specifications, but just trying to orient myself now and decide if the future RV would be best place in the garage or the shop?

Thanks for any comments.
Bill

 

[911TES]

Hi all:
I’ve been looking for an applicable pic to make things more interesting.

I’ve been evaluating 4-post, 2-post and mid lift. I’m thinking this is right for me.
I want a clean and flexible space. I don’t want to do porcelain tiles (I think), but want something this clean. Maybe park the RV over the flush lift and move the RV when I need to use the lift. I’ve restored cars and done heavy maintenance in the past, but I’m thinking the space is more machine shop and less auto repair. That said, I don’t want to crawl under the cars anymore.

 

[wagoncrazy]

Welcome to GJ site Bill. Your project sounds like an exciting bucket list kind of thing. Congrats to you for having the dream and wherewithall at 67 to go for it!

I built my standalone 6 car garage about 4 years ago now (santa clarita CA area) and the comment about it taking 3 years will be very real. But it sounds like your going about it in the right order.

From what I know about my experience, I'll answer some of your questions:

Question 1: When the architect says garage depth of 26’ does he mean a usable 26’ or is that an exterior dimension?

26 is most likely the exterior dimension. So assuming you have 2x6 walls, and exterior stucco and interior drywall, you end up losing about 14 inches from that dimension for usable interior space.
A suggestion: Go with a deeper garage. I did mine 30 feet deep (exterior) and ended up with about 5 feet of extra space in front of parked vehicles, such that I put a long workbench across the front and have room for a stool and laptop/monitor, roll away toolbox, lots of upper and lower cabinets, etc. 25 or 26 feet deep is only going to be deep enough for a vehicle and not much else. I never regretted making mine 30 feet deep.

Question 2: When discussing garage door sizes is a, sa, 10’h x 8’w have an actual usable opening of 10’ x 8’ ?

10 foot high x 8 foot door is the actual door width. (garage doors are typically made in even foot dimensions). Assuming it's a metal sectional or roll up door, it needs to overlap on the inside about 1 1/2 inch on all 3 sides, so you end up framing your king post and header at 10 x 8, then add a 1 1/2 trim board around the inside of that "rough" cavity. So you end up about 9 foot 10 1/2 tall x 7 foot 10 1/2 wide for actual working dimensions.

I’ve been evaluating 4-post, 2-post and mid lift. I’m thinking this is right for me.

I have a 2 post lift in one bay of mine, and love it. But i mostly work on cars in my garage, so I dont want to crawl under them anymore and having that lift makes it so easy. The one in your pic is a scissor lift, and it will work OK also for anything but a heavier vehicle (think truck or big van). If you don't plan to do much under vehicles, then that compacts down flat to clear up some space easily. If you do plan a lift make sure you pour the foundation thicker (I did mine 8 inches thick) only about a 4 to 6 foot diameter around where the posts will mount to the floor. It needs the added structural/lateral concrete strength to hold vehicles in the air. The lift you choose will have installation specs you can download, and read those to incorporate the recommended slab thickness specs.

 

[911TES]

Thank you Wagoncrazy for your thoughtful response.

It's very helpful. I've been reading about people's builds here for at least 10 years. When I have a car/motorcycle/fabrication project today and I have the choice of doing the project or upgrading or organizing my shop - at least half the time, I'll pick working on the shop. That just means that it's the journey, not the destination.


I haven't run into the HOA CC&Rs yet, but that will be soon via the architect. I may hear about that this Thursday. Height limitation for sure. Probably a square footage out-building limitation. That said, I’ll want it to look like it all fits together.


Whatever occurs, it should be better that my current “shop on wheels”which gets spread out on weekends and compressed for the week so the cars will fit in.

 

[911TES]

My present set-up. Much to improve.

 

[Boosted1]

Congrats on your future garage / shop. I'll second the comment above about making it 30 feet deep. I did the same in my last shop for same reasons mentioned. I also had the workbench on wheels so in a pinch if I needed to store another car out of the weather, I could roll the work bench to the side and fit 2 sports cars bumper x bumper under one on the lift.

 

[911TES]

For certain the detached shop will be 30-feet deep (and 40-feet wide) assuming I get through all the approvals. Separately, there will be a 3-car attached garage which is penciled-in at 26 feet deep. That should be okay, but would leave about 24 1/2 feet, maybe 25 feet of usable depth. That would be tight in case I want the small RV parked in the attached garage instead of the shop.

I need to start laying out the shop, but I already know that an RV stall, 2-post lift, office with washer/dryer/toilet/shower uses a lot of space.
I promissed my wife I wouldn't come in the house with dirt, grease, metal chips etc. Apparantly, it's a Class A felony to have a metal chip in the house .

It probably makes sense to have a mezanine in the shop, but I'm trying to avoide stairs and too many places to accumulate Junk."

I have a call scheduled with the architect tomorrow.

 

[911TES]

This what my present garage looks like on the weekend when I spread things out. It only takes 10 minutes, but is annoying enough that it's a barrier to getting things done. In the new shop I'll still have some things on wheels I suppose.

 

[911TES]

Hello all:
1) I confess it’s totally lame to be laying things out by hand. I promise I’ll learn a CAD tool soon.
2) I meet with my architect this Friday after thanksgiving. We agreed on 30’ deep x 40’ wide for the shop, but when I spoke to him last week he said “I thought we said 26’ deep.” He’s worried about moving some big rocks. I’ll work through that. I’m thinking the 30’ depth is critical.
3) I’m thinking that the Mowhawk 1-A-10 lift will meet all my needs. It’s expensive, but I can, thankfully, cover it. Made in America is important to me if I can afford it. I have it outlined along with a typical SUV. I can move things fore and aft.
4) I’ve shown a 12 x 12 door in the “lift bay” and a 10 x 10 in the “utility bay”.
5) some basic dimensions for an office and bathroom. In the bathroom I want to squeeze in a shower, toilet, hand wash basin and compact clothes washer/dryer combination. If that’s too much I could possibly put the washer/dryer combination in the attached garage and not in the shop.
Right now, my goal is to settle on overall dimensions and garage door sizes so my architect can keep up the momentum. I’ll start laying in my machine tools soon.
All comments and suggestions welcome.
Have a great thanksgiving!!

 

[911TES]

Hello all:
A little more layout work. It's more like "thinking outloud" than a fixed layout. I'm just trying to see if it all makes sense. The challenge I have is that I'm trying to combine auto repair, metal fabrication, machine shop and wood working all in one space. I made a list of all tools present and future and grouped them in size. So the #1 through #17 roughly represent the sizes of sheet metal shear, drill press, table saw etc. Large tool #1 and #2 represent CNC tools if I ever get that far. What ever is on wheels today I'll likely leave that way.
I don't have any significant woodworking machines, but it seems popular to have extendable casters. The woodworking tools I'll use a lot when finishing the house and making furniture, but less later on.
The dilema now is how to run power and exhaust?
Exhaust for woodworking - portable?
Power - Pony wall? In ground? celiing drops? Looks like only about 6 to 8 tools need power. Quite a few are manual sheet metal tools.
Happy to take comments and suggestions.

 

[wagoncrazy]

You are attempting to nail it all on the first try, and I admire that.
Here are my thoughts:

The dilema now is how to run power and exhaust?
Exhaust for woodworking - portable?
Power - Pony wall? In ground? celiing drops? Looks like only about 6 to 8 tools need power.

In my 60 x 30 garage, I ran 120v outlets about every 6 feet along the walls (above the workbench) and around the perimeter at 18 inches off the ground. I can plug just about anything I need in there with a short extension cord if needed. I have alot of battery tenders plugged in keeping all the vehicles "topped off". I put 2 in the cieling at the front edge of the cars, so that I can put extension cord reels hanging down to plug in battery tenders.

12 x 12 and 10x10 door

What are you planning to put in the lift bay that necessitates a 12 foot high door?
A trailer or RV? And your going to lift that up even higher once inside? How high is your ceiling going to be?

I have two 8 foot x 16 wide sectional doors on mine (4 cars in those bays) and can pull a f250 with a rack in as long as its not "loaded" full of lumber. It clears the 8 foot height.

If your planning to park an RV inside "full time" then you may want higher than 12 foot door.

Mohawk 2post lifts are beasts. Are you really going to lift up 15,000 pounds?
I have a bendpak 10K 2post lift in mine, and can easliy lift the 6500 pound f250 truck.

Sink in your toilet room

I had to do that to pass final inspection in mine, and then promply removed it and plumbed in a urinal opposite the toilet. Best thing I ever did. Use that 4 times for every time i sit on the toilet.
You have another sink drawn in next to your stack unit, so just one sink (a deep one) is all you really need. Deep so you can also wash parts and stuff in it.

No shower

Good call. You will rarely use that.

Air compressor?

Don't forget where your air compressor will go, and plumb the air lines to outlets around the perimiter of your garage walls. I have mine terminating in 6 places, including one in the cieling with a drop hose reel mounted up there and a 75 foot hose. I can drag that all the way out onto the driveway and fill up trailer tires, truck and car tires, etc. without having to move them closer to the garage door. Just sayin'....go for convenience with air outlets.

 

[911TES]

Thanks wagoncrazy - responses below

You are attempting to nail it all on the first try, and I admire that.
Here are my thoughts:

In my 60 x 30 garage, I ran 120v outlets about every 6 feet along the walls (above the workbench) and around the perimeter at 18 inches off the ground. I can plug just about anything I need in there with a short extension cord if needed. I have alot of battery tenders plugged in keeping all the vehicles "topped off". I put 2 in the cieling at the front edge of the cars, so that I can put extension cord reels hanging down to plug in battery tenders.

I'll certainly run power somewhat like you did. I'll put some power in the ceiling for garage door openers (assuming I use the overhead style - I need to see how that fits with the 2-post lift). My challenge is that I will run out of wall for some of the machine tools such as drill press, bandsaw etc. I'll probably have 12, or so machines that need to plug-in. Some machines like a table saw will want to be away from the wall. I could layout the power and run conduit in the slab, but I'll really need to know where to put it and I lose flexibility in placement. A small "pony wall" 4 ft high between two rows of machines would work, but that really eliminates flexibility.

What are you planning to put in the lift bay that necessitates a 12 foot high door?
A trailer or RV? And your going to lift that up even higher once inside? How high is your ceiling going to be?

My wife is thinking we want a Sprinter based RV. That would typically get underneath a 10 foot door, but little room to spare plus there's a lot of gadgets people fix to the roofs of RVs and I don't think the heigths are consistient. My plan would be to park the RV between the columns of the 2 post lift which are spec'd 10 feet apart with the Mowhawk 1A-10 and the arms all the way parallel are just under 9 feet apart. With a 12 foot door I'm guessing the ceiling heigth will be ~14 feet. Not really sure. That brings up the question of putting a mezanine above the office. The style of the house is "desert contemporary" and the roofs will be flat.

I have two 8 foot x 16 wide sectional doors on mine (4 cars in those bays) and can pull a f250 with a rack in as long as its not "loaded" full of lumber. It clears the 8 foot height.

10 Feet might be a better choice for my RV garage door. If I remember correctly the RV we're interested in is 9' 6". I'm trying not to overdo things, but don't want to be 2 inches short either.

If your planning to park an RV inside "full time" then you may want higher than 12 foot door.

The possible RV will be on the small size.

Mohawk 2post lifts are beasts. Are you really going to lift up 15,000 pounds?
I have a bendpak 10K 2post lift in mine, and can easliy lift the 6500 pound f250 truck.

The smallest Mowhawk is 10,000 pounds capacity. I agree it's a beast. I'll go back and look at the Bendpak. I need the width between the two columns to fit the RV between. I doubt I'll ever need the full capacity.

I had to do that to pass final inspection in mine, and then promply removed it and plumbed in a urinal opposite the toilet. Best thing I ever did. Use that 4 times for every time i sit on the toilet.
You have another sink drawn in next to your stack unit, so just one sink (a deep one) is all you really need. Deep so you can also wash parts and stuff in it.

Wife told me last night that there absolutely needs to be a shower in the shop. She was traumatized when she saw a metal chip in the house five years ago. She said the cat might eat it and die. She's the worst case scenario person - I'm the opposite. I do want a "dirty" utility sink in the shop somewhere. Presumably, it makes sense to cluster all the water using appliances togther.

Good call. You will rarely use that.

My wife is letting me do 99% of what I want so I'll likely conceed on the shower and put one in - it does use valuable space. I could possibly put it in the attached house garage and say it's for the future dog

Don't forget where your air compressor will go, and plumb the air lines to outlets around the perimiter of your garage walls. I have mine terminating in 6 places, including one in the cieling with a drop hose reel mounted up there and a 75 foot hose. I can drag that all the way out onto the driveway and fill up trailer tires, truck and car tires, etc. without having to move them closer to the garage door. Just sayin'....go for convenience with air outlets.

Thanks. I've been delaying my thinking on the compressor. I've had ratty systems all my life and want a nice professional installation. What did you use for piping? Thick wall copper would be nice, but my recollection is that it's border line. Iron pipe would be a big job. Maybe one of the "aluminum" systems, but I'm not sure it can go "in-wall."
I expect to do some painting and plenty of air is needed for CNC. I want a really nice system. prefereably with the lines in the wall

Thanks for all your feedback. It's very helpful.
Regards,
Bill

 

[wagoncrazy]

I put in the RapidAir system inside my walls before drywalling.

Here's a low cost starter kit you can get from Amazon:
115 bucks on Amazon

Do a web search using "garage compressed air piping systems". There are lots of kits to choose from, and you can buy the extra fittings you will need for your specific setup. I'd say I may have $300 total in the piping system I put in. I just did the 1/2 inch diameter hose, and it puts out plenty of air for the few things I use:
-outlet at the Air hose reel (mostly used for filling tires)
-quick connect outlets at either end of the workbench (mostly for blowing stuff clean)
-outlet at the media blast cabinet (short hose connecting it, so I can move the cabinet outside of the roll up garage door, to keep any dust minimized inside the garage.)

I'm running a dual cylinder 220volt compressor with a 60 gallon tank. Plenty of air for what I need.

 

[911TES]

Hello all:
Finally, a couple of images: Architect’s renderings of the house-attached garage and the shop.
Also a picture of the view of the lot. Downtown Tucson is to the left and Phoenix way up to the right.
If you look at an earlier post you will see my generic shop schematic and now, the architect’s idea. The constraint is the large boulders which we don’t want to disturb. They are depicted in the sketch. Next step is to figure out what I really want / need to do in the shop.

 

[j p smith]

Welcome to GJ from west Phoenix. Looks like you some challenges to get the layout that will work for you. Have you thought about making the 3rd bay on the house garage large enough to accommodate the RV. That would free up some space in the shop. The Rv will set most of the time, if you have it in the shop you may find yourself moving it out to work on a project. It will be difficult to set up your space with the tools and equipment you have and then work on projects. Another time to think about is grinder burrs flying and landing on nice painted surfaces. Just my thoughts from working in my shop with my pickup parked inside. The process is sometimes challenging to get where you want but the enjoyment later on is great.

 

[911TES]

Welcome to GJ from west Phoenix. Looks like you some challenges to get the layout that will work for you. Have you thought about making the 3rd bay on the house garage large enough to accommodate the RV. That would free up some space in the shop. The Rv will set most of the time, if you have it in the shop you may find yourself moving it out to work on a project. It will be difficult to set up your space with the tools and equipment you have and then work on projects. Another time to think about is grinder burrs flying and landing on nice painted surfaces. Just my thoughts from working in my shop with my pickup parked inside. The process is sometimes challenging to get where you want but the enjoyment later on is great.

Thanks JP,
I agree and I’ve thought about putting the (potentially) future RV in the house garage. You’re right that it will be used infrequently. We may never get one. My wife has a lot of “use it once” situations. I could also store it in an RV storage facility. I don’t want it to wreck the whole plan.
The present plan is 2 each 12 x 12 sectional doors for the shop and 3 each 9’ wide x 8’ tall doors for the attached garage.
The architect says having a different sized doors in the same structure would look odd. I’m inclined to agree with him.

I’ve given the architect most of the information on the house so that he can proceed from the “sketches” as seen above to what he calls the “digital design.” I told him I’m stymied on the shop and will work through it. I told him the most valuable space is the linear “along the wall” space as it has power and so forth.

You’re 100% right on grinding debris. I need a way to control all the “swarf” - it gets nasty quickly. I would really like an industrial exhaust system.

At my age, I’m happy to work hard in the shop, but getting tired of moving things around.

Regards,
Bill

 

[911TES]

Not much new to report.
I’ve communicated to the architect that as much shop square footage and linear wall length (to accommodate powered machines) as practical. Also, make the “office/bathroom” as small as practical to give the shop more square footage. I’ll have a nice office in the main house so I just need a place to support research for projects etc. I told him irregular shapes avoiding the big rock formations is fine. I told him corners are useful too.
I’ve asked for a “back pad” which would be a concrete pad of, say, 8’ x 10’ behind the shop for dirty/noisey things.
I have a review this coming Wednesday December 13th.

 

[911TES]

Ohh, an I retire in three weeks

 

[Chrisb62]

Ohh, an I retire in three weeks

I am also just retired on October 27th.... a cost reduction by the company I worked for almost 29 years,a nice little going away settlement to boot. You will enjoy it every moment and congratulations.

 

[911TES]

I am also just retired on October 27th.... a cost reduction by the company I worked for almost 29 years,a nice little going away settlement to boot. You will enjoy it every moment and congratulations.

Thanks Chris.
I’ve worked continuously since high school when I worked swing shift during high school. I had somewhat of a break when I was a medivac pilot from 2000 - 2006. I was on call and had some free time. That said, when it was busy, it was really busy. I once flew 66 hours (fixed wing) in 8 days. The wierd thing was that, invariably, my beeper went off at 5pm every Friday as I headed home with a steak, veggies and a beverage. (I was single and shopped for groceries one day at a time ). After my medivac flying I needed to get a “real” job to make some “real” money and it’s all worked out well.
I guess January 2, 2024 will be the first day I wake up “unemployed.”
I think it will all be fine. I am very fortunate.
Thanks !!

 

[Eric W11]

Saw your comment on my thread. Funny thing is, my house is about smack dab in the center of the view photo you posted.

Whichever bay you decide is the "RV" bay, whether that's on the house or the shop, make the door 14' high. That way, regardless of what type (if any) of RV you end up with, it will fit. I've got 12', which is ok for a lot of trailers, but it's definitely in the realm of having to check what's mounted on top and making sure I know the exact height of the accessories on the trailer. Or, do whatever door height works well with the structure and plan to store the beast somewhere else if you end up with one.

I was limited to the 12' door to meet overall building height and HOA style requirements.

The door is 18' wide. Love that there's no post between doors or single-vehicle doors.

As for power, I took the clue from this forum and have the outlets at 4' off the floor, rather than standard (too close to the floor) height.

Good luck!

 

[LXCam]

Well darn the back luck bill. I was thinking the next time I’m down at the marana jail I’d reach out and see about shaking hands. But yesterday I got a call from the department of corrections that they are closing that facility the end of this year.

Anyhow I’m still looking forwards to how it turns out.

Best regards, Cam

 

[Xti04]

How about just movingnthe shower out side. Outdoor showers are awesome. Always loved a beach house with an outdoor shower. As fast as it dries in the desert you might not even have to worry about a real drain for it. Just install it affter your final inspection. I did 10 h x 12 w doors. The extra width is nice when backing a trailer into the shop which I do about 4 x a week during boat season. If you cant add floor space to the building then build upwards. Make a loft where all your ancillary stuff like dust collection and such can be. That way yhey dont **** up floor space.

 

[911TES]

Saw your comment on my thread. Funny thing is, my house is about smack dab in the center of the view photo you posted.

Whichever bay you decide is the "RV" bay, whether that's on the house or the shop, make the door 14' high. That way, regardless of what type (if any) of RV you end up with, it will fit. I've got 12', which is ok for a lot of trailers, but it's definitely in the realm of having to check what's mounted on top and making sure I know the exact height of the accessories on the trailer. Or, do whatever door height works well with the structure and plan to store the beast somewhere else if you end up with one.

I was limited to the 12' door to meet overall building height and HOA style requirements.

The door is 18' wide. Love that there's no post between doors or single-vehicle doors.

As for power, I took the clue from this forum and have the outlets at 4' off the floor, rather than standard (too close to the floor) height.

Good luck!

Thanks Eric,
Probably I’m limited and okay with 12’ x 12’ doors in the shop. I do agree with the sentiment of bigger is better, but HOA and all. We’ve never done the RV thing, but it will be just my Wife and me. I don’t imagine going bigger than a long Sprinter RV with a pull-out. They are sub 10’ but a lot of accessories go on the roof. I just was in Tucson yesterday and a broken down (looked new) monster class A motor home was blocking a good part of I-10 south. I don’t want to be in that position .
I spend a bunch of time on the electrical and compressed air layouts. Right now is finalizing the building size and overall layout. I’ll post an update this weekend.
Regards,
Bill

 

[911TES]

Well darn the back luck bill. I was thinking the next time I’m down at the marana jail I’d reach out and see about shaking hands. But yesterday I got a call from the department of corrections that they are closing that facility the end of this year.

Anyhow I’m still looking forwards to how it turns out.

Best regards, Cam

Hi Cam,
We’ll meet up at some point. Fortunately (unlike some of my old friends) I’ve avoided living in a correctional facility. . Is that a state run facility? I sight-see every time flying out of TUS and it seems like there are multiple facilities. Around 2000 I was a charter pilot and we occasionally flew federal prisoners to federal corrections medical facilities. They were generally in pretty rough shape, but the guard warned me they could do some real damage before you blinked if you weren’t really careful. There were three guards one of whom had a weapon.
Regards,
Bill

 

[911TES]

How about just movingnthe shower out side. Outdoor showers are awesome. Always loved a beach house with an outdoor shower. As fast as it dries in the desert you might not even have to worry about a real drain for it. Just install it affter your final inspection. I did 10 h x 12 w doors. The extra width is nice when backing a trailer into the shop which I do about 4 x a week during boat season. If you cant add floor space to the building then build upwards. Make a loft where all your ancillary stuff like dust collection and such can be. That way yhey dont **** up floor spa pretty secluded

How about just movingnthe shower out side. Outdoor showers are awesome. Always loved a beach house with an outdoor shower. As fast as it dries in the desert you might not even have to worry about a real drain for it. Just install it affter your final inspection. I did 10 h x 12 w doors. The extra width is nice when backing a trailer into the shop which I do about 4 x a week during boat season. If you cant add floor space to the building then build upwards. Make a loft where all your ancillary stuff like dust collection and such can be. That way yhey dont **** up floor space.

Good idea on the shower. I’ll think about it. in my current garage I have a loft with the pull-down stairs. I’m trying to avoid stairs, but not only do you get space above, the lower cealing can be useful for hanging things.
During the holiday break I need to seclude myself for a few hours (several times) to wrap my head around all the details and start making decisions. The preliminary plan for everything is close enough for the architect to submit to the HOA. I guess that’s the first pass to ensure we’re not violating the big items like height, setbacks and so forth. I haven’t studied the CC&R’s but they are usually pretty concerned with out buildings.

 

[PugetDude]

Subscribed.

 

[911TES]

Hello all:
Some adjustments I sent the architect prior to preliminary HOA architectural review. I’m not sure what the preliminary review entails, but I assume it’s to ensure the overall structure, square footage, heights etc all comply with the CC&Rs.
I’ve spent less time working through the shop design than I expected. Not sure why since that’s usually a big focus and pleasure of mine. I guess I don’t have a detailed vision of what I want to do in the shop so a general space seems okay. I think it covers all the main functions I need.
In this drawing I’ve (sloppily) marked it up to expand a few areas.
The “triangular” shape in the upper right is an exterior architectural feature that’s important to the architect but will nicely fit an 80 gallon air compressor. It will be a bit far from certain things, but I’m thinking a large diameter primary run and I could do a receiver tank, say next to the bead blaster.
I’ve expanded what the architect calls Office/Hobby and expanded the Mechanical Pad. I’m thinking I can put the utility sink and a bead blast cabin outside on the pad with an awning.
Later when I start laying out the lighting, power, etc. I can better decide what goes where. Do I really need an office area or would a desk and computer space suffice? As I get older, the working/relaxing ratio will likely change.
Wifey says I get whatever I want as long as I have shower and laundry- pretty good trade.
I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years. I always like the fresh start.
Regards,
Bill

 

[bugman-74]

Hi Bill,
Looks like a cool build. I'm not too far down the road from you (near Saguaro Park West). Looking forward to updates.

FWIW on the topic of doors: my smaller doors are 12'x10' and the large door is 12'x14', and I have been very happy with those choices. I don't have an RV, but the RV bay (50' deep) is useful for my lifts and I thought it might also add to the future resale value (not that I ever plan to).

 

[911TES]

Hi Bill,
Looks like a cool build. I'm not too far down the road from you (near Saguaro Park West). Looking forward to updates.

FWIW on the topic of doors: my smaller doors are 12'x10' and the large door is 12'x14', and I have been very happy with those choices. I don't have an RV, but the RV bay (50' deep) is useful for my lifts and I thought it might also add to the future resale value (not that I ever plan to).

Thanks for checking-in. I’ll be spending more time there next fall. Right now, I’m toughing it out in the Nothwest. Snow and ice tomorrow.
I’ll have two 12x12 doors. Seems okay to me. I was originally thinking more “machine shop” than “auto shop” but I will have a couple of cars and maybe a RV. I can always keep just one bay for a car and locate machinery in the other bay. Presently, most of my equipment is on rollers so I’ll start that way and see where things go. Another dilema is how to not mix metal working and wood working. Not sure yet.
A partial solution to my relatively small space is to allow the “Office/Hobby” area to be part of the shop with a desk and computer. That will free up a lot of space. I just need to be attention contamination control.

 

[911TES]

Hello all:
Happy Superbowl Sunday. What is it - Superbowl 58? Wow, time waits for no man.

Updated rendering of the shop:

1) The exterior layout is pretty much finalized. It gets its own driveway since the shop is 3 feet below the grade of the house and a combined driveway would be difficult. I like the separate entry.

2) The preliminary plans (for the whole new house and shop) have been submitted to the HOA architectural review committee and the “approving” architect.

3) The immediate feedback I received is no garage door exceeding 9 feet in height. We submitted 12 feet. It’s not actually called out in the CC&Rs, but they say it’s going to be in the April 2024 revision. I’ll see what I can work out. They say the advantage of the April revision is that I get sufficient building envelope in exchange. Hopefully, they will approve 10 feet in garage door height. I can work with that. The interior ceiling is 13 feet.

4) If you compare the present layout to the prior layout you will notice I added some “hobby/office” square footage and expanded the exterior pad. The new layout is all that will fit between several large rock formations. I haven’t really figured out how I want the office/shop/car storage to be utilized/partitioned. I’m thinking I’ll just have it built out as open space and configure and place the equipment after completion. Maybe the office/hobby room is really just shop. All I need is a small desk and computer

5) I’ll make sure to to place power and compressed air outlets in enough places for convenience such as alternating 120 VAC at 18 inches and 48 inches. I’m thinking I’ll put 2 or 3 240 VAC receptacles in areas where I could put a larger machine such as a CNC mill. Unfortunately, no 3-phase available. For the compressor room I’m thinking of specifying 240 VAC 60 amp which I believe is ample for a 7.5hp compressor.

A couple of questions:
1) would you recommend 1/2 plywood behind the appropriate drywall so I I can place small screws almost anywhere? I plan on a painted drywall finish everywhere.

2) Thoughts on a central vacuum?

3) For the air compressor in its own “closet” would I put a vent to the exterior for fresh air (exterior to limit interior noise).

4) I’m thinking a mezzanine. Any suggestions on access. I have the pull-down ladder at my current home, but I’m not getting any younger. A proper staircase would take up a lot of room.

Feel free to comment on anything and thanks for your support.

 

[911TES]

Also, I’m thinking 200 amp service for shop to cover most eventualities. Seem okay?