Need Tips for how to make my shop AWESOME!

[njc41980]

After several years of various projects on my new home, I am FINALLY getting ready to organize and finish the space inside my shop.

As I start putting the interior together, I'm looking for tips, tricks, and ideas to make it great. I want the interior to be organized and awesome so that I will be able to quickly do projects of all types and I'll be happy to spend more time doing that stuff. I told my wife that I'm not doing any more projects until I first finish the shop so that all my tools and materials can be organized for use. I'm envisioning that my organized household will start at the shop interior and work it's way out across the whole home.

A little background,
When I bought my home, it came with a huge 110' x 40' metal quonset shop. Quonsets leak, and it's so big that, even if I could afford the $40K to spray insulate it, I wouldn't have a good way to heat the whole thing, so I decided to frame a couple of workshops inside of the shop. I now have two insulated bays that are 24' x 16' each with an additional stall on either side. One bay is closed in and will be used mostly for a wood shop, the other is going to be my automotive workshop. Welding and/or tractor storage will go on the sides, and the top is sheated, painted, and ready to be used as a mezzanine storage area.

So before I move all my junk inside, I'm looking for any tips and advice on how to organize it and things that I should do.

 

[njc41980]

What is the best advice that you can give?

Should I use wood cabinets for tools? or get more boxes?
Peg board?
Hang wrenches or put them in drawers?
Tips on lighting?
Bench height?
Epoxy floors?
Cushioned floor tile?
How to separate tools of different trades?

Future: Put in a pit, or just get a lift? Lift inside the workshop our outside?

I'm a construction guy, so getting stuff built isn't a problem, but many of you guys have had real workshops for long enough to have some great ideas I'm sure.

 

[egnorant]

Bowling alley!!??!!

 

[Tundruz]

Whatever you do with your awesome shop, make sure to leave a small corner up on the mezzanine for your wifes sh*t. She'll be happy you thought of her during this process and that means more time in the shop. Keep posting pics of progress.

 

[njc41980]

Bowling alley!!??!!

Gotta friend that really, really wants me to put in an indoor shooting range.

 

[Bronson]

Just curious, did you repair the roof leaks, or is the water going to drip on the mezz?
Awesome start there!

 

[njc41980]

Just curious, did you repair the roof leaks, or is the water going to drip on the mezz?
Awesome start there!

I'm working on the repair.

There are a million leaky bolts. I'm going to have to put someone on the roof and someone on a lift inside, so that we can replace them one at a time.

Currently, when it rains, I feel like I'm getting more water inside than outside. (notice the line of buckets) I think once I go through and replace bolts, making sure to add nuts to the back side under the wind bracing, the leaking will be minimal, but I'm afraid that I'll still get some condensation and random drips no matter what I do.

 

[njc41980]

Snapped a few pics of my random strewn tool mess for comparison to what it will look like once I'm able to put everything organized in one clean place.

 

[gnpenning]

Are you going to put a door of any kind in the back wall? ? With your lay out any small or large projects will need to go the length of the shop. Which would be okay if you can keep a clear drive lane.

Myself I would have put garage doors on the other end then left 20 plus feet before building the rooms. that way I could. Have close access for getting tools, equipment and materials in and out. Plus providing a dirty work area. The mechanical, welding and other work could be done on the long side. Or I would have left a thru drive with doors on both ends and kept the rooms on the side walls.

I put up a one of those years ago. Putting in all the bolts took most time in building it. The guy on top needs to make sure the washers don't tear before moving on to the next bolt. The expansion and contractions over the seasons will have you checking them every few years.

Mine wasn't as long as yours. I did the drive thru with rooms on the side walls. Allowed me to park truck and trailers in side to work on.

 

[njc41980]

Are you going to put a door of any kind in the back wall? ? With your lay out any small or large projects will need to go the length of the shop. Which would be okay if you can keep a clear drive lane.

Myself I would have put garage doors on the other end then left 20 plus feet before building the rooms. that way I could. Have close access for getting tools, equipment and materials in and out. Plus providing a dirty work area. The mechanical, welding and other work could be done on the long side. Or I would have left a thru drive with doors on both ends and kept the rooms on the side walls.

I may end up cutting in a back door some day in the distant future.

So far I haven't gone that direction because:

A) It gets REALLY cold in Idaho, and garage doors don't seal or insulate well.

B) The quonset is so huge that I don't have a problem with space in the foreseeable future. I plan to park cars diagonally along the left side and leave as much room as possible on the right side for tractor maneuverability and rollerblade play space for the kids.

 

[Zeke]

You asked about bench height. I like to have everything pretty much at the same height with some tables, or benches, on casters so I can assemble cabinets, etc. A decent table saw will determine the heights you will want but make sure that it is adjustable in case you get another TS that is a different height. 38" seems to work well for a 6' person. However, one or 2 lower tables makes for easier work on taller items.

 

[njc41980]

Any thoughts on wood cabinets?

I picked up a ton of decent P-lam cabinets when we did a Dr office remodel, and I've got in mind to put upper cabinets around both workshop bays with benches below.

I've got one roller tool cabinet, and I'll leave a spot for it, but I'm leaning towards using cabinets for the rest of the space.

Are there any downsides that I'm not considering?

 

[FJ 432]

Free cabinets = free storage.

What ever you decide today can or will be changed as you go along. My advice is to go slow and read everything on this site. It will start to give you ideas on your own building....which is awesome!

 

[Bronson]

There are a million leaky bolts. I'm going to have to put someone on the roof and someone on a lift inside, so that we can replace them one at a time.

I have never put up a Quonset barn, but I was a steel erector when I was young, so just a thought: I wonder if you could just paint each bolt with a generous dab of roofing tar , to seal the leaks? Cheap and fairly easy....Time-consuming, yes.

 

[Frank_Z]

Gotta friend that really, really wants me to put in an indoor shooting range.

Your friend is an ambitious fellow

 

[gnpenning]

Any thoughts on wood cabinets?

I picked up a ton of decent P-lam cabinets when we did a Dr office remodel, and I've got in mind to put upper cabinets around both workshop bays with benches below.

I've got one roller tool cabinet, and I'll leave a spot for it, but I'm leaning towards using cabinets for the rest of the space.

Are there any downsides that I'm not considering?

Will you be putting power tools along the walls? ?
Drill press, chop saw, etc. How about dust collection? ? I run a main behind the cabinets along with an overhead. Nothing wrong with quality wood cabinets. Maybe leave space for hanging long tool's. Or use the ends of the cabinets. You can hang any peg boards if you want them on the sides or doors of the cabinets. Just watch weight.

I'm with Zeke for cabinet height. I did mine at 36" pick a good height for you. Including how high you want to lift things.

As to bad garage doors. You are using the wrong door company if you are having those issues. I'm in the right next to you and understand cold and wind. Also I do garage doors. You shouldn't be having that as an issue.

 

[njc41980]

As to bad garage doors. You are using the wrong door company if you are having those issues. I'm in the right next to you and understand cold and wind. Also I do garage doors. You shouldn't be having that as an issue.

I understand that you can get decent garage doors, but I'm not going to be rolling in and out often enough to warrant doors on both sides.

No matter how good the door is, it won't match the R-40 that I've got in the back wall now.

 

[njc41980]

You asked about bench height. I like to have everything pretty much at the same height with some tables, or benches, on casters so I can assemble cabinets, etc. A decent table saw will determine the heights you will want but make sure that it is adjustable in case you get another TS that is a different height. 38" seems to work well for a 6' person. However, one or 2 lower tables makes for easier work on taller items.

Thanks.

Hadn't thought about it, but matching the table saw height makes a lot of sense.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I had a leaking concrete deck sprayed with RHINO LINER. The leaking stopped and the deck looks so much better. Rhino Liner do surface treatments as well as spray in truck box liners.
If the cost of having the roof covered is too high, maybe only the rows of bolt heads could be done. My deck colour is about the same as the colour as your Quonset .
http://liners.rhinolinings.com/en/p/home

 

[njc41980]

Will you be putting power tools along the walls? ?

I'm tentatively planning to hang wrenches and automotive tools along the walls on the right half. I'll have a big bench at the back (head of the car) and where I don't need room for hanging wrenches, I'll put upper cabinets with maybe a 12-18" bench along the sides.

The left half will probably have a wood workbench with upper cabinets all the way around so that I can park a table saw and maybe a future jointer in the middle. I'll build my chop saw into the bench near the man door, and maybe my band saw on the other side. Haven't figured out dust collection yet, but that's why I divided it into two so that I don't get dust inside engines and stuff.

I run a main behind the cabinets along with an overhead.

What do your mean by main?

 

[njc41980]

I wonder if you could just paint each bolt with a generous dab of roofing tar , to seal the leaks? Cheap and fairly easy....Time-consuming, yes.

RHINO LINER.
If the cost of having the roof covered is too high, maybe only the rows of bolt heads could be done.

Surface sealant is going to be plan B after I replace the bots with extra nuts.

90% of the leaking comes from the two seam lines at 10:00 and 2:00 around the quonset. (see pictures) There is small angle there that I think is intended for wind bracing. The longer bolts that go through that angle seem to be the worst ones, and it makes me think that either those bolts have worked their way loose since 1972, or they should have had a nut behind the angle.

I'm going to replace bolts on those lines and add an extra nut before putting the angle back on. If that doesn't work, I'll have to seal the outside somehow.

 

[nes999]

I volunteer at a dog obedience school that operates out of one. We chased leaks for years. We eventually had to pay a professional to spray the outside with a sealant. What we were finding was that the leaks could be 30 or more feet from that actual roof part letting water in.

I am 5' 10 and I like my work benches between 41 and 42 inches tall.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

 

[66HertzClone]

Have you considered hanging a wide gutter along the seam?

 

[njc41980]

Have you considered hanging a wide gutter along the seam?

Plan C

 

[isb cornbinder]

I think my car has one of those "rack-opinions." This Old Ford pulls to the right every time I pass the easy-on-the-eyes crossing guard at the middle school.

 

[jbmatth]

I've also got a large quanset hut that leaks but mine is wood framed with barn tin. I had it coated earlier this year and it didn't do a lot to help but I think my two biggest problem areas are where nails have come loose and where the sheets overlap. One day (haha) I'll tar every seam and put screws on every joint but that takes a lot of time and it tough to get to.

I ended up building 8' walls about 3' out from the curve so I actually have something flat to with. I installed outlets every 4' about 6" above bench height. I should have built my benches taller but they work well for the time being for a lot of stuff, but at 33.5" they are just too short when working at them for a long time.

I wouldn't put a bench at the front of the vehicle, you will need that space when working on bigger stuff. I didn't expect to ever own a truck as long as I do now but I do have a crew cab long bed 1 ton that is nearly 22' long. If you install a lift keep it 4' from the nearest permanent obstruction on the walls so you have room to work around it. Also if you have a 12' tall 2 post like I do you will need at least 6" if not a foot on top when installing it. That is all I have for now, but feel free to check out my thread on some of the stuff I've done to hopefully get a few ideas. Read all the threads you can to also get more ideas on other peoples builds.

JB

 

[njc41980]

Any comments on tool storage? -- Specifically wrenches

I've been thinking about hanging things on the wall and/or in the cabinets. It seems that most guys here gravitate towards big tool boxes with tons of drawers, but I think that's cuz a professional mechanic needs a way to lock up his tools.

I'm thinking that the fastest way to organize and get to my wrenches is to lay them out on the wall. I've got plenty of wall space, and I'm thinking to put metric on one side and standard on the other.

My OCD likes the idea of one continuous set of wrenches from 1/4" to 2-1/2" on the wall instead of having multiple runs staked in different drawers. I think I'll add some furring strips so that I can make steps for different types of the same size wrench (stubbies, 6-point, 12-point, ratchet)

Why doesn't anyone else to that? What am I missing?

 

[alskdjfhg]

I don't like wrenches on the wall.

I prefer a midsized roll around for the stuff I know ill use, with those plastic horizontal wrench organizers. That way I have all the basics with me and since it rolls, I have mobility throughout the shop. Don't have to walk all the way across the shop for the one wrench I forgot to get.

For mobile work/field work, I like bags with slots woven into them for the individual wrenches. The canvas craftsman is the best one ive come across.

You may feel like you have a lot of space, but it gets full. I have 6400 sq ft where half is open lean too storage. 54 tons of machine tools, pallet racking, tables, small and large (25,000lbs) forklift and what ever else is in the shop at the time really fill it up.

For me, small and medium sized rolling toolboxes, pallet racking and a small forklift greatly aid in organization.

 

[njc41980]

I wouldn't put a bench at the front of the vehicle, you will need that space when working on bigger stuff. I didn't expect to ever own a truck as long as I do now but I do have a crew cab long bed 1 ton that is nearly 22' long.

I thought about that, but I have over 24' inside my workshop, and outside that door is still technically inside the quonset hut. If and when I work on a super long pickup, it may stick out a foot or two, but that won't bother me much.

If you install a lift keep it 4' from the nearest permanent obstruction on the walls so you have room to work around it. Also if you have a 12' tall 2 post like I do you will need at least 6" if not a foot on top when installing it.
JB

That's my other question -- Like almost everyone here, I dream of getting a lift one day, and they're not insanely expensive, so it may actually happen one of these years. I thought about framing my workshop 13-14' tall so that a lift would fit inside, but I wanted the mezzanine space on top, so I settled for a ceiling height of 10'-6"

I'll either get something short for inside and live without the ability to walk upright under a pickup (with a small pit maybe) or I'll install the lift outside of the workshop (might be able to use it for an elevator to the mezzanine.)

 

[jbmatth]

Max Jax makes a short 2 post lift a lot of folks here use. I think they are limited to 6,000 pounds (3k per axle) and even 1/2 ton gas trucks are darn close to that on the front axle.
Also it is within spitting distance to the same price as the 10k I picked up.

As far as wrench storage, I keep mine in a drawer but have really been thinking about hanging them, I need to get some bigger sizes especially in metric and would no longer be able to keep them in the current drawer. I'm sure there are some really cool layouts out there you could find.

Something I've noticed lately with my tool storage on one end of the shop and lift on the other I do make lots of trips but also have a rolling box I keep the majority of tools for the project and it helps but I still need the odd or end tool pretty often.

JB

 

[njc41980]

Finally finished the sheathing - (Feels like sheathing took longer than everything else combined)

Im probably overthinking things, cuz I got a little obsessed with making sure that the floor was sealed and everything was caulked to the wall preventing moisture from getting into the sheathing. I'm planning to put rubber base on and seal it with another bead of caulk so that I can hose or map things down without worrying about rotting out the bottom of my walls.

Started painting walls in the right (auto mech work) side

Finally got the shop floor painted

 

[njc41980]

Tools and cabinets waiting to go in to the left (wood worknig) side

 

[BoilermakerFan]

I don't 100% know why, but I would love to have a Quonset shop.

I personally wouldn't put much in the shop until the roof leaks are fixed. And in the mean time I would cover things with tarps or store them in totes with lids. Rain or snow melt in the spring is going to **** with a leaking roof and you risk ruining or damaging the start of what you have already done.

I have a customer that is a commercial smoke house producing hams. They used Rhino Liner on all of their doors and walls. They bought the equipment to spray it themselves. I remember the customer saying it was the most cost effective and most durable coating they found for their washdown areas. So I know you can buy the equipment. You might even be able to offset the cost by spraying other buildings in the area... I know that the Rhino Liner flashes off and cures quickly too. My customer said it's washdown ready in less than 2 hours. I don't remember what he said the prep procedure was.

WRT tool storage, that's really an individual choice. A friend of mine hates tool boxes and has all of his tools hanging on pegboard. It drives me nuts. I like mine in their cases and I'm just planning to buy a couple of the rolling 3 or 4 drawer carts that I can drop the tool kits I need onto. Then when I'm done, they'll go back on the shelf.

I love your idea of creating sections in the shop. You could also spray insulate a section at a time over a couple of years. I'd keep an eye out for a used farm livestock building ventilation fan and put one up high on the back wall.

 

[PelicanPines]

Learn garage Tetris..... label everything.

 

[LeeG]

Don't get too married to one layout. You can't think of everything up front. Get your tools in there and start doing projects. The organization will come as you use your tools and develop your work flows. That being said, have a place - any place - for each and every tool. This allows you to put stuff away, and find it again. If your initial places don't work out, you can adjust, but a big part of it is figuring out how you like to work. Do you like pegboard? Maybe you prefer drawers for all your stuff. Or shelves, or totes, or, whatever. You will probably change your mind along the way, so if you don't have as much invested in any one option, it will be easier to change to something you like better.

 

[njc41980]

Spent the whole weekend working my but off caulking, masking, painting, and grinding concrete floors and walls.

I'll post pictures later.

 

[njc41980]

One thought just occurred to me:

I need shop stools.

Any other things that are needed for a good shop that I may be overlooking?

 

[BoilermakerFan]

One thought just occurred to me:

I need shop stools.

Any other things that are needed for a good shop that I may be overlooking?

A shop crane/engine hoist/cherry picker, whatever you want to call it, pick up a 1Ton or 2Ton cherry picker. I have a small garage so I downgraded from a 2Ton to a 1Ton, but does everything I need it to do. Also pick up one or two chain hoists and a nice come-along. You will use them a lot once you have them.

And fans... ceiling fans, pedestal fans, drum fan, whatever... I like the small oscillating Tornado fans. They're inexpensive at the end of summer clearance sales and don't take up much room when stored.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

I now your are compartmentalizing the wood working equipment, but I would build a couple air filters for the open areas to help mitigate dust. The dust in my small garage drives me crazy. I'm not a neat freak by any means, I'm more of a subscriber the club of controlled chaos, but dust just irritates me.

And I'm biased, but I believe all garages/shops NEED a dart board. Even if it's just to take a short break to think about a solution for a problem or to calm down after making a mistake that just chaps your backside.

 

[njc41980]

I believe all garages/shops NEED a dart board.

I like that idea.

I don't want to turn my workshop into a trendy "man cave", but a dart board might be just about right.