My Build: 30x40 in south florida!

mburrus · Jan 6, 2015

Hey everyone, this is going to serve as my build thread... i cut the first $2k check to the architect/engineer today, so it looks like this is happening.

Please see the attached image for my proposed layout, i will have the layout superimposed on my property posted in the future so you all can see.

please let me know if you have suggestions, this is my first crack at it... i am planning on 2x exhaust fans wall mounted, and 2x windows to let in a little light... i wasnt going to install windows originally, but my architect thought it would be a good idea... if i do install them, im not sure i would make them opening windows, just solid glass for light.

the area under the loft will house machine tools and a possible welding area... the interior setup isnt finalized yet.

overall dimension is 30x40 exterior, and i am going for 15' floor to the bottom of the joist. joists will be parallel chord, flat with a 1/4"/ft pitch to the rear with a built up roof.

fire away!

slidemx5 · Jan 6, 2015

Congrats, I can imagine the excitement in starting this build. I get excited about a few new light fixtures for the garage. Looking forward to the build.

mburrus · Jan 6, 2015

excited and scared at the same time! its going to be a major commitment both time wise and financially, so i hope i can pull it off.

i was having a mini-nervous breakdown while talking to the architect at my house today, it was a bit overwhelming actually... im a bit scared about the height... its going to look a bit out of place i think... but i want walking loft storage and plenty of height for a lift and/or a possible future trolley crane setup...

mburrus · Jan 8, 2015

as promised: here is a scale rendering of the shop with the alignment of the garage door shown on top of a survey of my house/property... for your reference: my property is 75x134..

Bib Overalls · Jan 8, 2015

My shop is 30' x 40' and it is a comfortable size. No office but I do have a small room with a toilet and sink. The loo gets more use than I imagined during the design phase.

As for being to tall, if the authorities let you build it then it is OK. :thumbup:

I lived in Perrine for a couple of years. Our lot would not accommodate a shop. Lucky you.

mburrus · Jan 14, 2015

OK! got some prelim drawings from my architect... i made comments back to him in red...

what do you all think? comments on layout, windows, doors etc?

also got a quote for the rolling door...

FURNISH AND INSTALL:ROLL UP DOOR: MODEL HV-1665 • GALVANIZED SLATS (WHITE OR GALVANIZEDFINISH: GAUGE 22) • GALVANIZED HOOD • STEEL ANGLE TRACKS • TORSION SPRING• +/-65 P.S.F.(150 MPH) • STATE OF FLORIDA PRODUCT APPROVED FOR HIGHVELOCITY HURRICANE ZONE: APPROVAL NO.: FL 14444.2 • MOTOR OPERATION

DIMENSIONS AS FOLLOW:12' WIDE X 13' HIGH,

1/2 HP MOTOR OPERATOR (OMH): 115 V • 60 HZ • 1 PH- INCLUDES (1) PUSH BUTTONN STATION- INCLUDES PHOTOCELLS

total price for door, motor operator and installation is $3,358.09... sound reasonable? this is from rolling-door.com, they are a local company. this is a roll up style door, not a standard residential style door...

cbacres · Jan 14, 2015

I like the layout.
You mentioned a crane, you may want to consider more solid poured cells in the block for anchoring points, or if you are doing a fixed crane on a post, a large footer for future install. Depending on the size of a swing crane, at least a 4'X4'X 4' footer is needed.

I think you should go with the windows while building,as going back and breaking the blocked up areas would be more work than it's worth later. You could put the the windows up higher in the shop area for security.

On the future office window you could incorporate security bars inside.

I also like the fans, I live in Ft. Myers and know how much a fan helps.

How hard would it be to add plumbing for a bathroom? They are handy out there. I know Miami- Dade can be tough to permit in, but I will always include a bath room in any shop I build again.

I put windows in my shop and glad I did, the natural light is great.
What kind of roof finish will it be?
I would think there is enough slope for a galvalume PBR sheet metal roof.

mburrus · Jan 14, 2015

just a quick reply... i actually worked in ft myers for about 3 months in 2013... off MLK and I75... loved ford's garage in down town, great hamburgers...

im not overly concerned about security, i live in a good neighborhood... i was planning to put in impact rated windows anyway. im more concerned about the windows being in a bad place or something... the idea was to have the lintels and square openings made, and then just block them in if i dont want to use them... that way it would be easier to remove the block, nice cut lines and no steel holding those blocks to the rest of the wall.

as far as plumbing, drainage is going to be a major issue due to the location of the septic... its in the far front of the house so it would be a long trench... i MAY put in a drain for a toilet ahead of time and leave it covered, but we will see... i am planing on a clean up sink that drains to the yard though.

as far as a crane... i would be planning a 4 post trolley type system, free standing, but anchored back to the wall for extra stability. thats down the road a bit though.

so far its going to be a built up roof with shingles, but i would really love to have a standing seam tin roof... i have to control my costs though. there is the possibility of a deck up there one day though... planning to sheath with 3/4 ply, nailed to code with some screws interspersed for extra lift off strength.

cbacres · Jan 15, 2015

My office is one exit north from MLK. I also like Fords garage, lot of neat features in there.

On the plumbing, you can use a grinder pump and pump through a 2" pvc to tie into your inlet of your septic tank or sewer line. I added a bathroom to the back of my barn and used this set up, as my tank inlet is about 3' higher than my bathroom. It's been there for nine years with no problem.

I travel for work on your side going to Fl. City. Look forward to your build.

mburrus · Jan 15, 2015

you dont work for FPL also do you? i worked off of luckett rd also at ortiz service center...

cbacres · Jan 15, 2015

No, but my company is working for FPL at Turkey Point, been doing projects down there for a few years now.

mburrus · Jan 15, 2015

ahh, layne drilling??? i knew there had to be an fpl connection when you said florida city... i have done some work at turkey point my self

cbacres · Jan 15, 2015

Guilty as charged.

ErVikingo · Jan 15, 2015

CB. Just a note, from my research and permitting up in Broward. Up here we are required at least one opening window for fire escape purposes. In Miami Dade might be different. On my day/day garage not required but on my workshop it was.

Check out my build in the gallery "the alter ego garage".

JACDes · Jan 15, 2015

I would make the office a bit smaller and the loft a bit larger, ideally align them..

say 12 X 20 for the loft and 12X10 for the office. or 10x20 & 10X10

You could also leave the loft size "as is" but the office is way too big for just one person. and waste floor space for the shop. you could make the office 8x10 and still have room for a desk chair & bookshelf.

This gives you a bit more floor space for the main shop about 30x30. versus the cut up shape you have now.

A window for the office would be nice, for the main shop a few skylights would let in more than enough natural light too.. ideally on a residential lot like this you want the building to match the pallete of the house.. (colors. design elements, etc) otherwise it will look out of place. add some lites to the garage door too.

mburrus · Jan 15, 2015

well, what i havent told you yet is that i am heavily involved in electronics... the office will have a large work bench, shelves and several thousand in test equipment... the office will be built will a 2x6 ceiling and it will be used as overhead storage space as well... will post more later, gotta work to make the money right now...

mburrus · Jan 15, 2015

alright i have a few minutes now...

i have a 10x10 and a 10x16 at my current rental shop, and its shared with another person... the 10x10 is mostly storage (clean storage), and the 10x16 is the shop... there is a full length work bench in there and we each have half, but it is very cramped in there, so i want to make sure i have more than enough room for my self... the office may also have a couch/tv, as well as storage and book shelfs...

the shop is likely going to be a very dusty place due to welding and grinding... and my current shop experience shows that everything in the main shop gets covered in dust. my plan is to put machine tools (mill, lathe, drill press, grinders) under the loft... just in front of the loft will likely be a welding/fab table and some work benches... the roof of the office and loft will serve as my storage area... ideally the area in front of the garage would be kept as a vehicle bay...

i will post pics of my current shop setup a bit later on when i get home.

mburrus · Jan 16, 2015

as promised... these are some pictures of my 10x16 "electronics shop" at present... this is when i was working on a large paging transmitter, but its the ony pictures i have for now...

so as you can see, i need the size/room for my electronic work as well...

cbacres · Jan 21, 2015

Any updates to your drawings?
I found a place that supplies metal roofing, gulfcoastsupply.com. I'm likley going to be buying galvalume PBR panels from them to reroof my shop.
They have the Florida product approvals and approvals for the high volicity wind zones.
Plus, the metal is easy to do yourself.

mburrus · Jan 22, 2015

no way im doing the roof my self. no updates on the drawings, i was supposed to have the next rev this week, i will call tomorrow on it...

what kind of metal roofing are you referring to, the "wavy" corrugated stuff, or standing seam tin? i was wold i wouldnt have enough pitch for tin, but i need to ask the arch.

been an insane week with work so i havent been on top of this like i should have been...

mburrus · Feb 23, 2015

quick update: got the final set of drawings, architect is going to submit them to the bldg department with my permit application, then i will have a months wait. as time permits i will post the final prints for permitting...

cbacres · Feb 24, 2015

Good deal. Miami Dade permitting can be fun.
What roof did you end up using?

mburrus · Feb 24, 2015

unparallel chord wood trusses... bottom will be flat and level at 15' above the floor, top will be 16'6" on the low side, 17'2" on the high side. 3/4" plywood nailed to code with screws as an added uplift countermeasure

mburrus · Mar 8, 2015

update: plans were submitted to the county for permitting... i was failed, lol. building and structural want the architect to specify a few things, exact footing dimensions, slope of the finished floor, eaves, etc. zoning however... zoning says that the maximum size of a detatched garage can be no larger than 500sqft. so, we have to call 500 sqft the "garage" and the rest can be called storage or a work shop... architect and i are working out what delineates the garage from the work shop... a painted line on the floor? a stud wall? they were Ok with the over all size, and height, which is an excellent sign for me.

i am also considering adding 2 feet to the short dimension, thus making 32x40 outside dimension, this will give me a clear 30 feet inside (instead of 28'8") on the garage bay... thoughts?

cbacres · May 4, 2015

Any updates?

mburrus · May 15, 2015

yep!!! got the drawings approved by the county today finally (after almost 2 months), the size has increased to 32x40, going to pick up the permits next week! finally! i need to get organized and post some photos, but thats whats going on... cant believe how long it took at the county!

mburrus · May 24, 2015

ok update! got my permits!! $878 for building and electrical, and i was allowed to pull my own electrical permit, which is fairly uncommon around here... i had to pass an oral test with a plan reviewer.

see below for a pano of the backyard... the mango tree in the middle will be getting removed... the existing slab to the left will also be removed. thats my forklift in the bottom of the pic...

and lastly, the shop next to my rental shop is closing, and i am getting one of the challenger e10 lifts for $1500. will be in storage until my garage is complete.

mburrus · Jun 2, 2015

small update: magno tree is gone. got a quote of $1000 to remove existing 36'x14'x6" slab and tree stump, including removal and disposal, same guy will do footer excavation for $300. got quotes of $52500 for the shell including trusses and roof sheathing, no windows, doors, stucco, or paint. got another quote of $36700 for a shell with no roof or trusses... needless to say, high on both fronts. found a block layer that will do $1.25 per block for labor, with an increase of $.25 per unit for every section of scaffold he needs to use. i thought he was extremely fair... got a quote of $1.05 per CBS block delivered for the quantity of block that i need... looks like i may be piecemealing this thing out instead of using one shell contractor. my carpenter advised me that he can/will do all steel work and form work, which leaves me in need of a concrete guy, but so far we are looking pretty good with the independent guys.

mburrus · Jun 14, 2015

survey/layout is done! orange spray painted line shows the outline of the garage walls. footers get dug next saturday! i do have an issue i didnt realize until the survey was done... architect put the finished floor at 11.67, surrounding grade is between 10.21 and 10.47... thats about a foot and a half difference! i need to see if we can get that reduced somehow so i dont need to build a ramp to get in to the garage!

(photo from the top of my forklift)

mburrus · Jun 23, 2015

THE GROUND HAS BEEN BROKEN! backhoe came yesterday, removed the existing slab, tree stumps, and top layer of grass. dug a short section of the footer as a test, there is solid coral rock about a foot below the surface. GOOD TIMES!!! excellent conditions for the footer. he comes back today to finish digging the footer.

test footer section

sorry for the bad quality, it was late and my phone was covered in sweat. ITS HOT OUT!

mburrus · Jul 14, 2015

photos to follow when i have time to upload, but footers were dug, steel installed, and footers poured last night. i have 8 cubes of block, mortar and wire coming tomorrow early. got an excellent price on block from a new block company, $0.98 per block. things are progressing well... next step is to have the mason lay 3 courses of block, then prep to pour the slab...

mburrus · Jul 18, 2015

OK!! picture time! the shop is finally "out of the ground", so to speak.

this is the footer, dug, with steel...

#4 copper rebar bond (yes this is a requirement and was inspected!)

footer was approved for the pour by my cat... lol

pouring the footer!

poured footer, approved by miss cleo...

and 3 courses of block went up today! this guy was seriously fast... arrived at 830am, left before 2, all for the price of $325... i staged the blocks for him, but the rest he worked by him self.. it was prety amazing to watch.

next step is to pour the columns to the top of the 3 courses, and begin to prep for the slab...

mburrus · Jul 18, 2015

and some time lapse videos...

setting up steel for the footer

unloading block with my 1966 clark cf40b, and the delivery guys block forklift

block guy laying the 3 course on the eastern wall

1/2 Cup · Jul 18, 2015

Many thanks for sharing the videos, looking forward to following your build.

Regards

LegacyIndustrial · Jul 18, 2015

cbacres said:
I like the layout.
You mentioned a crane, you may want to consider more solid poured cells in the block for anchoring points, or if you are doing a fixed crane on a post, a large footer for future install. Depending on the size of a swing crane, at least a 4'X4'X 4' footer is needed.

I think you should go with the windows while building,as going back and breaking the blocked up areas would be more work than it's worth later. You could put the the windows up higher in the shop area for security.

On the future office window you could incorporate security bars inside.

I also like the fans, I live in Ft. Myers and know how much a fan helps.

How hard would it be to add plumbing for a bathroom? They are handy out there. I know Miami- Dade can be tough to permit in, but I will always include a bath room in any shop I build again.

I put windows in my shop and glad I did, the natural light is great.
What kind of roof finish will it be?
I would think there is enough slope for a galvalume PBR sheet metal roof.

Fans are nice in Orlando too!!

Good luck on the build.

mburrus · Jul 18, 2015

i may end up installing some ceiling fans, but i am planning 2 24x24 exhaust fans in the back wall to keep air moving through (heat moving out!)... anyone know of any large format fans that are cheaper than the big *** fans?

cbacres · Jul 18, 2015

Glad you finally got started.The rock makes a nice base for the footer.
Looking good.
Look forward to your updates.

[Anonymous] · Jul 28, 2015

I have been reading through some of your threads. Looks like you started all with the same dilemmas as me. Looks like you looked in to a metal building for a quick and less expensive build, but then decided on concrete block. I am now leaning in the same direction as I think that radiant heat even on an insulated metal building is going to be a major issue.
I can't believe that they approved you to build such a large accessory building. I applied for a variance with Orange County for 1200 sq ft, 30'x40' and all they would give me is 1025 sq ft total of any and all covered area that is not part of the main house or residence.

Yours surely is coming along nicely though!

cbacres · Aug 5, 2015

Updates please!

mburrus · Aug 8, 2015

anonymous, thanks. i kind of thought that metal wouldnt blend in, or have the longevity of a CBS structure. I dont know your land size, but mine is 10,050 sqft, and my house is about 12-1300 sqft... so i am still under my maximum allowable lot coverage. as long as i meet my setbacks, there is nothing in our county code (i am in the county, not a municipality) that limits the size of the building, other than total lot coverage.

cbacres, no updates to speak of so far. i had to get a plan revision in to the county building office to change the finished floor elevation, so i am waiting on that. i bought a bosch rotating laser level with grading stick and sensor, and am using that to measure elevations all over the place so that i can get exactly what i want. we have the 3 high block done, we are going to form up the columns, put in the column ties and pour using 5000PSI bag cement (it works out to a bit over a half yard, no one is going to deliver that). once that is done, we will prep for the slab to get poured.

i am in oklahoma right now to commission a wind farm, so hopefully the county will be ready for me by the time i get back next week...

My Build: 30x40 in south florida!

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