shed/shop/garage design

[nitsuj02532]

Hi all, im newly registered, but not new to lurking around here. I'm planning on building a small garage/shed/shop at my house int he next few months (once the ground is no longer frozen) and have a few variables that i'm trying to work out.

first of all, size. i have staked out 16x24 (or realistically 15x23 so i can stay in the realm of normal length lumber) unfortunately due to my yard shape and its location, i have to have my garage door on the long wall. i'm thinking of biting the bullet and going up to 18x24 (or 18x23) aside from having to redesign my trusses it will benefit me so that i can fit the car in all the way to work on it if needed.

second, is door location, should i put the door in the middle of the 24' wall so i have area on both sides or should i put it off to one end and leave the rest to storage/work shop? i may put up a partition at the end of the work area, but that will be a later thought.

third, is my floor structure, i cant realistically do a slab for a floor where i am, the ground water is too high and by chance if we have an extremely wet fall followed by a really cold winter, i will have to worry about frost heaves and my floor (or the entirety of my shed) so its going to have to be wood floor, i will be pouring tubes to hold it up, i'm going to do a girder in the middle to cut down on the span, my father in law is a contractor so hes going to help me design it so that i could park twice the car weight of the car that i would ever want to in there, only thing that is a concern is being able to cut/weld inside the shop. i'm not sure if there is a high psi concrete that i could pour ~1'' thick that would hold the weight of a car with out having to do constant repair or something else that would be a better option?

thanks in advance for your opinions

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Where exactly is the dream garage to appear?
There are all kinds of ways to have a concrete slab building with the types of conditions you related. It's just a matter of which one is best for the conditions and proposed use.
Then on your end it's just a matter of money!

 

[Falcon67]

Must be a really small car - our hot rods are 16' long at the bumpers and they are considered "intermediate" US size. I wound not want to park one head in to anything less than 20' unless it was pure storage. My **** takes up 2' easy I would put the door about 4~6' off one end, enough to get a car in there and fully swing open the door(s) with room to work around the sides. That leaves the rest of the length for shop area. You can put more support under the car parking and slack off some on the rest. You could cover your work/welding area with some tile to keep the wood floor protected.

 

[nitsuj02532]

Where exactly is the dream garage to appear?
There are all kinds of ways to have a concrete slab building with the types of conditions you related. It's just a matter of which one is best for the conditions and proposed use.
Then on your end it's just a matter of money!

I'm in Massachusetts, where i am, they built a nice neighborhood of 'McMansions' behind my lot and since then the water table has been really high, the only way i could legitimately keep the water out from under there is a french drain, a pile of crushed stone and a sump pit (which is also the only way to keep my basement from turning into a swimming pool). which is why realistically, the wood framed floor is my only 'realistic' choice from a initial cost as well as operational cost (running a sump pump continuously)

Must be a really small car - our hot rods are 16' long at the bumpers and they are considered "intermediate" US size. I wound not want to park one head in to anything less than 20' unless it was pure storage. My **** takes up 2' easy I would put the door about 4~6' off one end, enough to get a car in there and fully swing open the door(s) with room to work around the sides. That leaves the rest of the length for shop area. You can put more support under the car parking and slack off some on the rest. You could cover your work/welding area with some tile to keep the wood floor protected.

Car measures 14'6" end to end (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) anything else i own (jeep, camry, civic, etc) would be more or less one day maintenance. the STi i could see spending a night in there.

i figure doing the floor 2x8 12" on center with a triple or quad 2x8 girder down the middle so there is a max of a 8'6" span if i go 18 ft, which should be more than enough to hold the car, putting my tubes 6' apart.

what kind of tile could i use that would take the heat + weight?