1066 bc

[gwellwood]

Planning to build this spring (2015). Certainly interested in tips and suggestions. I will be doing a lot more research within this site.

The plans (not entirely complete drawings - click pics to Biggie-Size them):

These drawings are not the latest.

[NOTE: CLICK FOR LATEST DRAWINGS (Feb 2015)]



May switch to 2x4 studs, with the garage wrapped in styrofoam insulation as well, to control noise & heat. Winters dip not much colder than -10°C/14°F, and summers usually around 35°C/95°F. Not much rain, LOTS of sun.

Old drawing showing only 3 skylights:


Workshop placement is restricted by septic field.



Tips? Suggestions? Thanks for having such an awesome forum!

 

[Aaron P.]

looks like a nice build n layout....look forward to seeing how this progresses

 

[larry_g]

***** of a property line ya got there. One thing that I don't like is the lathe and the mill out in the general shop where it is dirty. On my shop below you can see I went to pains to have the machine tools in a separate area that was easier to isolate from the dirt in the rest of the shop. I would suggest that you make the compressor room the machine shop and move the compressor out of there. Is your floor flat throughout the shop or is there a step up to the compressor room?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Tnwagn]

Will you be contracting out the work or doing the build on your own? Either way, looks like a great space. I will say, it looks like you've take a good look at the electrical layout in the shop and have a good amount of outlets planned. In the corner where the welders are listed there doesn't seem to be a dedicated outlet there. Will they be pulled out to another location in the shop for work or will they share that 20A outlet with the drill press or use that 20A near the furnace?

 

[gwellwood]

Good suggestions so far - thanks!

I originally envisioned the "room" being my "dirty" room, for sandblasting and solvent tank. I will ponder a "clean room" instead. Nothing set in stone as far as machine placement at the moment. If I keep it as is, I fully intend to make vinyl covers for the mill and lathe - keeps the **** off them when not in use (I have them for my welders).

The welders are positioned where they might be stored. The 30A at the back is intended for the welder, and I seem to have misplaced one at the front. I needed to plot out the footprint with respect to 1) a car being stored, as well as 2) a car to be stripped or repaired, as well as 3) a car being fabricated. Woodworking is under duress.

Shops I've worked in (I are a shop teacher, previously a mechanic) were already set up and I worked within their placement. Setting up my own shop has me second-guessing machine placement every step of the way. It has been suggested to have as many machines on wheels as possible.

I intend to build it myself. My back yard is a skiff of dirt on top of river rock, so I'll farm out the excavating and rock removal, but I plan to form/frame/roof/wire/insulate it myself.

My boys (7 and 9) pulling down the last shed:

 

[alanf]

Looks like a good start with your plans. I thought I recognized your name, I also teach shop in BC, on Vancouver Island. I am presently clearing a 2-1/2 acre lot and am planning a house and shop build too. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
Alan

 

[funflyer]

I like the garage/shop layout and also the auto projects, nice work. Are you allowed to build that close to the property lines up in Canada? Down here in Arizona, I had to build my shop 25 feet away.

 

[gwellwood]

Funflyer: The rules where I am allow 1.0m setback from the property line if there is no door or window, 1.2m if there is.

alanf: Some of my metalwork and mechanics stuff is making the rounds. Collapsible Shovel project is pretty popular. I presented at a BCTEA conference MANY moons ago with my starter-motor-powered midget karts.

I have mixed feelings about skylights. I'm not keen on heat loss in winter, and heat entry in summer. What is the general consensus here?

 

[funflyer]

I have mixed feelings about skylights. I'm not keen on heat loss in winter, and heat entry in summer. What is the general consensus here?

In my last house I used a piece of plexiglass in a frame at the ceiling level on on the skylights and it made a significant difference.

 

[gwellwood]

I'm thinking of losing the skylights alltogether. Maybe use light tubes, if anything.

Question though - how would the best way to do lighting be?

Three rows of fluorescents along the long length (near the walls, and along the peak)?

A bunch of rows along the short length?

I appreciate the tips and suggestions, I have a hard time wrapping my head around some of these details all by my lonesome.

 

[Flange]

***** of a property line ya got there.

I assume this refers to the angle?

I look at it the other way. Because of the angle you have more space and potential.

Why not redesign the building to fit the space and not be restricted by sticking to right angles? Sure you will have to put some thought into the roof but there are several ways to do a roof that sits on a building with walls that are not at right angles to each other. But in my opinion your building will be all the more interesting to look at and you will gain quite a lot more space.

 

[Jagmandave]

Is heat in the summer really a consideration in BC? Somehow I'd envisioned your climate as pretty mild year round....

I'd have the skylights if at all possible, but then we do have heat issues in the summer in Kansas......

I also wondered about the odd placement to the property lines, but it's always less expensive to build squares or rectangles than odd angles. But why is the shop slightly canted?

 

[APEowner]

Cool shop. That's going to be a great place to spend time. As I was looking over the layout and the other comment I did have a couple of thoughts.

Personally, I love skylights. For me the natural light more than makes up for their shortcomings.

Have you thought about where you're going to store stock, chemicals, parts and other materials? Long stock and sheet goods in particular can be difficult to store if you don't have a plan for it from the beginning.

I'd want a tooling cabinet closer to the machine tools than where you've got the tools now.

Speaking of machine tools, I like to keep the left hand end of the lathe open so that I can feed long stock into the headstock (properly supported, of course)

 

[bczygan]

Planning to build this spring (2015). Certainly interested in tips and suggestions. I will be doing a lot more research within this site.

The plans (not entirely complete drawings - click pics to Biggie-Size them):



May switch to 2x4 studs, with the garage wrapped in styrofoam insulation as well, to control noise & heat. Winters dip not much colder than -10°C/14°F, and summers usually around 35°C/95°F. Not much rain, LOTS of sun.

Old drawing showing only 3 skylights:


Workshop placement is restricted by septic field.



Tips? Suggestions? Thanks for having such an awesome forum!

Can you rotate it so the side with the number 47 is parallel with that top property line?

 

[gwellwood]

Is heat in the summer really a consideration in BC? Somehow I'd envisioned your climate as pretty mild year round....

Parts of BC are very mild. I live in more of the "desert" area of BC - Okanagan Valley. Lots of orchards, vineyards, very arid. Summers are mid/high 90's. It's like California in many ways. "Vancouver" is ~not~ representative of "British Columbia," despite what they would like us to believe (devious grin).

Have you thought about where you're going to store stock, chemicals, parts and other materials?

I plan on some stock shelving above cupboards/cabinets which would store tools, chemicals, paint, etc.. Not drawn yet, as I haven't totally set anything in stone.

This is as large a shop as I am permitted to build. I have two vehicles currently that need to be stored there to a certain extent, and another I intend on building in the near future. I'm trying to make the most of what I am allowed.

I'd want a tooling cabinet closer to the machine tools.... keep the left hand end of the lathe open...

"Tools" on the left side are mechanics, and either benches or just rolling cabinets, for wrenching. I have another mechanics tool box just for machine tooling, which I may keep near the machines, or hang cabinets on the wall. I will relocate the lathe as that makes sense.

Can you rotate it so the side with the number 47 is parallel with that top property line?

Initially I drew it like that, rectangular, with an access door into the corner of the yard. But marking it out in the yard and "driving" a vehicle too it makes the approach too sharp, so I angled it and it works much better.

 

[gwellwood]

Some relocation of outlets, add shelving, move lathe, more lighting in storage, reduce/change/upgrade welder plug, lights, add hoist, etc.

 

[gwellwood]

Click image to biggie-size:


View of the site so far, as viewed between the top left corner of the "existing house" garage (Plot Plan) and the fence.


.... and down the fence line.

With a rectangular 25x44 footprint, the corner of the shop would be at the middle of the three brown protrusions near the fence (used to be a grape arbor). With the angled dog-leg shop, the corner moves to the nearest of the four protrusions.

Tree will be felled in a couple weeks.

 

[gwellwood]

I think on the left wall, I want under-cabinet lighting at that work bench.

I don't have anything in front of the bays (top wall), because I don't want to pack in too much stuff and not be able to pull a motor with the door closed. I'll know for sure once I'm in there. Which also makes the wall outlets a bit more curious - if I'm going to put cabinets there, I won't have access to the plugs.

I'm not sold on the lighting arrangement yet.....

 

[bczygan]

Shame to lose that beautiful tree. Plant 3 more to make up for it.

Where exactly is the septic?

How do you get access to the shop with cars? Is it through an existing garage on the right side of the house?

Can you make the garage parallel with the house?

 

[gwellwood]

Nobody knows where the septic is exactly; records weren't really done in 1977. I know where the tank is, but based on the lay of the land, how things may have settled, and the suggestion of growth over the field, it likely runs the full length of the house.

There is just enough access to get a vehicle in the back, between the house and the fence on the right.

Parallel to the house, eh? I don't think I've entertained that yet. Let me see what I can come up with....

 

[gwellwood]

Rough drawings.....

On the property:



Theoretical (rough) floor plan:

 

[bczygan]

Yes!

I like that much better. It relates to the house.

I like how the superimposed rectangle in the upper right corner

You can make it even deeper so tools and benches can be along the back wall, convenient to the hood and engine of cars. Move the man door around the corner into the left wall and eliminate the bench on that left wall, put it on the back wall. Slide the overhead door to the left.

Now, superimpose another, smaller rectangle, on the upper right, filling in a little more of the corner of the lot. That can be completely walled in from the rest of the garage, with a door for access. That room becomes mechanical, compressor, heat and water supply, utility sink, wash tank, storage, etc.

The bigger square that you have already defined, becomes the machine shop, with tools on both sides of the opening into the storage/utility/ compressor room.

Try it.....

 

[bczygan]

Try this sketch as a thought process.



Lift still needs moving to the right or left.

 

[gwellwood]

I like the adding on, but it will get too big and I'll have to take area from elsewhere. My last drawing was 1075.6sqft, and I am allowed 1076 (100sqm).

 

[bczygan]

OK,
But try out the 2 doors and putting the bench and toolboxes on the back wall.

And put the compressor room in the corner so it's side walls are end walls for equipment.

And locate the panel more centrally. And locate the man door on the side wall.

And don't forget a couple of windows.

This layout is far superior to the first one.

Bill

 

[Onewolf]

I like the adding on, but it will get too big and I'll have to take area from elsewhere. My last drawing was 1075.6sqft, and I am allowed 1076 (100sqm).

I'm curious what the what is the 1076 sq ft limitation based on?

 

[gwellwood]

The limitation is just the rules according to zoning, lot size, and stuff dictated by the Regional District and beyond my control.

"New" drawings coming soon.

 

[Onewolf]

The limitation is just the rules according to zoning, lot size, and stuff dictated by the Regional District and beyond my control.

"New" drawings coming soon.

I would hate to be limited to 17% coverage of our lot. Does that include paved driveways/etc? Or just "under roof" buildings?

 

[gwellwood]

No, I think the total coverage is around 30 or 35% or something like that. BUT, based on some mystical formula, I am only allowed 100 square meters for total out buildings.

 

[PDM]

Hi Greg..... glad to see you on here...

Me too about to start my new garage/reno

As for skylights....we have several in our existing house, and I feel the disadvantages (excess summer heat, cost) outweigh the advantages in a shop. Looks to me that you have neighbors a long ways away, so focus on wall lights from windows and overhead lighting from fluorescents. My new shop I'm keeping all my main windows up high to keep any riff raff away from viewing or easy access and my only main windows on the back wall will be standard height but fully barred to prevent intruders out. The remainder of lighting especially over my welding, fab and machining will be fluorescent.

As for type of lighting, I was going to go LED tube - but a good friend of ours is a Regional manager at a large western Canadian bulb supplier, and he recommended unless it's commercial - standard fluorescent lights are still the cheapest method to light a shop. (they do light studies for business daily and LED bulb pricing up HERE has not come down enough to justify. I'll run spot LED's in pot lights around the exterior of the shop and a few here and there which will allow me to fast light the shop without turning on the rows and rows of fluorescents I'm planning on my 46 x 28 main shop.

What is your roof peak max up in Kelowna on a stand alone shop ? Still 14'9" ?

don

 

[ddawg16]

I'd do 2x6 studs for the walls. The additional cost is minimal....and a lot cheaper than doing foam.

I think I'd move man door door to the side. In the current position, you ruin too much usable space. Where the door is, you could stuff that full of shelves....

 

[gwellwood]

Hi Don! Fancy meeting you on here!

Latest drawings:





No windows yet, and may not have any. I do not want "point of entry" or "source of temptation."

I'm outside city limits, and I'm allowed 16'-6" max height as measured from the middle of the back property line.

 

[gwellwood]

I'm not warming to the extra doors, or losing the bench/cabinet along the right side.

I have a better idea for terminating the roof. This stuff is messed up.

Moving things around. Not sure I like moving the machinery like I did.

 

[alanf]

I also am not a big fan of skylights, especially where you are, skylights would make things plenty hot in the summer. I agree with not wanting lower windows, eats up useful wall storage which is always at a premium. What about doing some long skinny windows up high? Depending on amount of roof overhang, they should allow natural light and prevent direct sunlight in the summer months when the sun is high in the sky.
Alan

 

[gwellwood]

In some of my very early designs, I had 1' tall windows starting at the 6' mark - keep them high and hard to see in/get in. They may still come into play, just for that natural light.

In trying to wind down to sleep tonight, I drew up this. Parallel to right-side fence. Got this to 1065sqft or so.

 

[alanf]

"In trying to wind down to sleep tonight", apparently we suffer from the same malady. I tend to get a bit wrapped up in project design and than can't sleep too. Pro D for us tomorrow, I am working on a 2x72 belt grinder cookbook.
Alan

 

[gwellwood]

Way too many drawings, I know.

This is my latest. No elevation views until I survey that part of the back corner at bit better. Kinda like the floor in post #33 though.....

 

[gwellwood]

I think I have committed to this design. Tree company came and dropped the final honking big Spruce from the yard, and I still need to clean up the last of the two old sheds. Pops comes to survey elevations where this design will sit.

Also, it begins. Dropped the drawings off at the engineers for trusses. Once I plunk a deposit down and have paperwork, I apply for a permit. Better go sharpen the shovel.

Rough elevation drawing.

 

[gwellwood]

I now have a deposit down on trusses.

Refining my structural drawing.

Question though - If I were to wrap the outside of the structure in extruded polystyrene, from footing to soffit, would I notice enough of an energy savings to counter the thousands that such an effort would cost?

I'm keeping in mind that it is merely a workshop, that I will not be using on a constant basis as I would a home or a business. I'm not sure the benefit would be there for the handful of hours every other day or less.




Click to biggie-size it

 

[gwellwood]

Applied for a permit today, and contacted the surveyor for marking the dig.