We purchased a new shop that happened to come with a house. Will be moving in a few weeks. It has a 54x100 shop with a 16’ porch on the front. It has concrete floors, water, drains, etc but is just studs. My plan is to put a wall somewhere near the middle and then fix up half. I also want to have a small party room inside of it fixed up a little nicer. I am looking for thoughts on insulation and lighting. I have been researching doing a small layer of foam and finishing with bat insulation. Thoughts on that and has anyone done foam themselves?? I would then probably put 4’ of plywood and finish the rest with white barn siding. It has 2’ cement walls around it. Also thoughts on type and number of lights??
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New shop
- Thread starter alex2929
- Start date
If you're considering spray foam insulation I'd hire someone. Not sure where you're located, but I got an estimate to do my rim joists in my house that was very reasonable - not much more than cost of materials to do myself. It was for my unfinished basement and I didn't think I could get the contractor the 3' space he needed along all the walls all at once so I decided to do it myself. It turned out OK but it was messy, the gear is heavy and awkward, and if you're not used to (or approved to wear) a respirator you could end up hyperventilating, or worse. Also, if you put it on too thick, wrong conditions, wrong ratio of chems, etc, etc you could end up with long term issues with the insulation itself. Get a contractor with good references.
For lights, I'd figure out about what you think will be too many and then add a couple more. It's hard to get too many. If you're concerned that it might be too bright, either install a dimmer or run multiple circuits so you can shut off some of them.
For lights, I'd figure out about what you think will be too many and then add a couple more. It's hard to get too many. If you're concerned that it might be too bright, either install a dimmer or run multiple circuits so you can shut off some of them.
dfiler2
Well-known member
I did 1 inch of foam then finished it with fiberglass, it's a 28x40 and it is very easy to heat. Around here they call that method "Flash and Batt". The 28x40 is part of a 40x80 building so it's a lot like what you have going on.
John in OH
Well-known member
......
For lights, I'd figure out about what you think will be too many and then add a couple more. It's hard to get too many. If you're concerned that it might be too bright, either install a dimmer or run multiple circuits so you can shut off some of them.
Definitely do NOT cheap out on ceiling lights!! Put in plenty, but install them on multiple switched circuits so you can turn on only those that you need at any given time. Also, you may want to consider installing ceiling outlets in areas that you may desire future task lighting.
I installed plenty of fixed lighting and added ceiling outlets in areas that I anticipated doing task-related jobs. That allowed me to add suspended lights on pull-cord switches to improve local area lighting. The shop is 1,836 sq.ft. with 12' ceilings and fixed lighting is 1.04 watts/sq.ft.. Fixed lights are twelve, 8 ft. fixtures each using 4, 48" T8 bulbs. The 12 light fixtures are controlled by 4 switches.
The suspended task lights are 4', dual-40 watt bulb fixtures with pull switches.