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Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT 24'x48' Pole Barn Workshop - Orono, MN

Workspaces between 705 and 1200 squarefeet.

Ray916MN

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Apr 15, 2012
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Location
Orono, MN
24'x48' Motorcycle Workshop - Orono, MN

Local zoning limited me to a 1200 sq. ft foot print, a bit smaller than I wanted. Building was built to store a horse trailer, a truck, and about half dozen motorcycles, to provide space to work on motorcycles and cars and to allow for some toy expansion.

After a bunch of playing around with different layouts what I ended up with was a 24x48x14 building. I considered building a taller building and putting in a mezzanine floor, but came to the conclusion that the limited foot print would make a taller building look disproportionately tall. While considering a mezzanine, I struggled over how I would lift motorcycles up to the second level and came up with the idea to get a four post lift. I ultimately came to the conclusion that 4 post lifts are cheaper than mezzanines and that pallet racking is even cheaper so I ultimately designed the space around using pallet racking and a 4 post lift to gain the floor space I wanted and to keep the building short enough to look proportionately reasonable. Due to the height of the horse trailer and width of the truck and trailer 10'x18' garage doors were necessary.

Construction started after I had the site filled. leveled and compacted.

Framework.jpg

Man%20Door.jpg

Roof.jpg

Shell.jpg

Exterior.jpg

Once the building was completed utilities (Electric, gas, water, Internet, Satellite) for the building were pulled from my home via directional bore. With utilities at the building the electrical work was done. There are 88 4' T8 6500K bulbs in 4 rows against the ceiling and 24 over the workbenches areas and open areas overhung by pallet racking. The workbenches are 2x12 boards cut to fit between the pallet racking beams, and the same approach was used to make the decking for the motorcycles that sit on the racking. The floor was coated straight gray to make it easy to find stuff that gets dropped. The building is heated and air conditioned by a horizontal mount setup mounted high up in one of the corners of the shop.

Pan.jpg

Loft.jpg

Workbench.jpg

TV.jpg

Loft%20Rear.jpg

Top%20Lift.jpg

Loft%20View.jpg

Couldn't have built and setup this thing without all the informative posts of those who have gone before me on this forum. Thanks to everyone here for their contributions, insight and ideas on how to build and setup a garage!
 
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little billy

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Oct 22, 2012
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Funny how you run into people on forums, I'm on MNSBR as well. I'm here to try and get my garage organized. Hell of a nice shop you have there.
 
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Ray916MN

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Apr 15, 2012
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Orono, MN
Really nice! Do you get the bikes up there using the 4-post lift?

Yes, if you look at the photo which shows the top of the lift, you can see the deck I made to span the lift runners and the board I use to get from the lift to the racking. Right now I can lift two bikes at a time.

Funny how you run into people on forums, I'm on MNSBR as well. I'm here to try and get my garage organized. Hell of a nice shop you have there.

Yeah I've seen MomentumPhoto (Jonah) and ScoobyVroom (Chris) post on here. If you want to see how to organize a garage, check out Chris' post in this section of the forum. So clean and well organized it looks like he could do surgery in it.
 

2001RedCoupeBandit

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Sep 6, 2012
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229
Ray,

It's Gary, the guy that is giving you all the praises for all your great and thouighful advice on my Lift. WOW, that is a beautiful place! Inside and Out!

Fantastic Job my friend!

Bandit...............

P.S. I'm in Texas, we have all kinds of horse trailers down here. Your not supposed to in Mn.... You have cars, bikes, cool barns, lifts. You're full of surprises.
 
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Ray916MN

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Apr 15, 2012
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Orono, MN
Thanks for the compliments folks. It has done much for my mental sanity. I had a series of homes with 3 or more car garages and then about a decade ago my wife and oldest daughter decided they wanted horses and we ended up moving to a house with a tiny garage. Finally my truck doesn't have to sit outside and I don't have to play shuffle the bikes when I want to ride one or break up service work into tasks that can be done in a day, so my cars don't have to be parked outside.
 

e-tek

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Dec 19, 2007
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Saskatoon, SK
Love it too!! Total PALACE and the bike storage is GENIUS. In 6 years here I haven't seen that before. I've used my lift to sort and store stuff on shelves next to it, but this is an entire 'nuther step! Now I'm gonna put big-*** shelves (like yours) right down one wall - accessible from the lift!
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Looks good! What 4 post lift is that you are using? Do you get nervous pulling the truck in underneath?

The lift is a Direct-Lift ProPark 9 Plus. One of the reasons I went with the Direct-Lift is there is a distributor in the Twin Cities, which provides service and stocks part. The truck is ~80" tall so my biggest worry was getting a lift which would have enough clearance underneath. The Direct-Lift distributor guaranteed they could set the lift up with enough clearance for the truck to sit underneath with the lift sitting on its locks. I've got about 1.5" of clearance and don't worry about the empty lift coming down on the truck, since the locks are strong enough to support the truck (~8000lbs).

What makes me nervous pulling under the lift is the antenna bangs and scrapes the underside of the runways. It always makes me pause.
 

Stuart in MN

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Sep 8, 2005
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Minneapolis
Very nice! I see an '86 GSXR on the shelf - that's one of the bikes on my someday list, I have a handful of old Suzukis including an '82 Katana and a '79 GS1000S.
 

jakeb

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Feb 11, 2008
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317
Location
Bay City, MI
This is really nice!! How is the furnace and AC working out? any regrets going forced air over in floor heat?

For my next shop I want central air....have been debating going with infloor heat tho.

Lots of insulation in this building?
 

milner351

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Sep 14, 2010
Messages
205
Location
SE Michigan
Very creative use of the racking / lift, well done indeed. I'm curious about the insulation package as jakeb is. I'm also curious about noise?

I have metal walls like yours - but icynene foam exposed on the underside of the roof - so the "echo chamber" effect of the metal walls is reduced - with metal all around and concrete floor - I would imagine sound really reflects inside this space - is your compressor enclosed neatly in a corner somewhere?
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Love it too!! Total PALACE and the bike storage is GENIUS. In 6 years here I haven't seen that before. I've used my lift to sort and store stuff on shelves next to it, but this is an entire 'nuther step! Now I'm gonna put big-*** shelves (like yours) right down one wall - accessible from the lift!

The inspiration was the original Barber warehouse where motorcycles were stored like a Matchbox collection. When I was setting up the pallet racking, I also realized I could put a hoist across the beams and hoist bikes up to the storage level and then put the boards underneath them to get them into position. Not nearly as convenient as the lift, but definitely another way to get storage space for bikes or other large heavy items without having to have a fork lift or overhead block and tackle setup.

Very nice! I see an '86 GSXR on the shelf - that's one of the bikes on my someday list, I have a handful of old Suzukis including an '82 Katana and a '79 GS1000S.

The Muth Katana and Cooley GS1000S are on my someday list. Have I seen your bikes at first Thursday? I own bikes under a rule that they all must see regular use and my limit at this time is 6 bikes. The GSXR only did about 2000 miles this year. I dropped it in my garage in early July, cosmetically damaged it, got bummed out and stopped riding it. Gotta get the paint fixed over the winter.

When I get old enough to have to cut back on riding, I'm hoping I can set the workshop up like a mini-Barber.

This is really nice!! How is the furnace and AC working out? any regrets going forced air over in floor heat?

For my next shop I want central air....have been debating going with infloor heat tho.

Lots of insulation in this building?

R19 walls, R44 ceiling, R16 garage doors. I knew windows would be the weakest point in the insulation (R6) and would also take away from storage and bench space so there are only two.

I'm happy with forced air. Since I wanted central air it was the obvious choice. I also didn't expect to use the workshop very frequently so the instant heat or cool of forced air made the most sense to me. Of course, I've been using it almost daily and against overnight lows in the low 30s it only loses 4 degrees overnight when I leave the shop at 60 around dinner time. Haven't seen a representative utility bill yet, so there is still a chance I might regret my choice.

....

I have metal walls like yours - but icynene foam exposed on the underside of the roof - so the "echo chamber" effect of the metal walls is reduced - with metal all around and concrete floor - I would imagine sound really reflects inside this space - is your compressor enclosed neatly in a corner somewhere?

A little noisy, but it doesn't bother me. The compressor isn't on most of the time, while the TV or radio is almost always on and my hearing isn't the greatest since I listened to music at way too loud volumes and rode without earplugs for way too long when I was younger.
 
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Stuart in MN

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Minneapolis
The Muth Katana and Cooley GS1000S are on my someday list. Have I seen your bikes at first Thursday? I own bikes under a rule that they all must see regular use and my limit at this time is 6 bikes. The GSXR only did about 2000 miles this year. I dropped it in my garage in early July, cosmetically damaged it, got bummed out and stopped riding it. Gotta get the paint fixed over the winter.

You may have seen them there in the past, but it's been a few years since they've left the garage - I violated that six bike rule and am up to an even dozen at the moment. :) The problem is that the more I have the less I do with them, and now it's at the point where I do nothing with all of them.
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
You may have seen them there in the past, but it's been a few years since they've left the garage - I violated that six bike rule and am up to an even dozen at the moment. :) The problem is that the more I have the less I do with them, and now it's at the point where I do nothing with all of them.

Sounds like you're at the mini-Barber stage. I've got a good source for used pallet racking.... :lol2:

I rode a little over 300 miles on Sunday.
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Not even 8 miles from my house...

Yep, my oldest daughter's competition horse is at a stable in Medina. Gotta watch out for the Medina officer who ticketed the chief of police when I'm in your neck of the woods.
 

Luis A.

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Dec 2, 2007
Messages
10
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Ray,

Really nice man. How do you get (heavy) stuff to the higher level racks on the shelving?

What size/mfg are the smaller beige racks? Thanks!
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Ray,

Really nice man. How do you get (heavy) stuff to the higher level racks on the shelving?

What size/mfg are the smaller beige racks? Thanks!

Don't really have any heavy stuff on the racks around the work area yet. Most of the pallet racking is wire decked so if I needed to lift something heavy up on those racks I'd probably just slide the wire deck out of the way and use a hoist across the top of the rack beams.

The smaller beige racks are from Menards. They are just like the Edsal's they used to sell, that Home Depot still sells and are 8' tall 18" deep supports with 6' and 10' beams. I wish I could have found a better solution than these but standard racking isn't generally available in less than 3' depths. It was expensive for what it is, especially given the low level of strength and quality compared to pallet racking.
 

jimdi4

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Jul 14, 2011
Messages
14
Nice setup....I got a couple questions....basically its a pole barn (building) correct?

My guess because you constructed it with wood post in the ground as opposed of pouring a slab first then anchoring the building to the slab...???...

Did you put that up yourself?...or payed someone to construct it?

I am looking at buying a pole barn (building) its realatively new in construction and its sitting on 5 acres of land; Problem is that it has only a gravel floor.
I would like to have a concrete slab put in the building if i purchase the building; from the outside it measures at 72' x 40' and its divided roughly one third its size by an 10 ft roof the other 2/3 of the building has 12 or 14 foot roof....really nice setup as well but i want to know roughly in your estimate what the concrete cost was on your building?...also...when you put in the lift, did you add special mix (higher strength) concrete in those lift support posts areas?...What is your concrete bag mix and depth, I guess, would be another interest as well?

-btw-

Are those 4ft florescent lights cold weather ballast's as well? When you turn on the lights do all ceiling lights go on at the same time or did you section off half the garage lighting on separate light switches?

Thanks Man!:beer:
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Nice setup....I got a couple questions....basically its a pole barn (building) correct?

Thanks, it is a pole barn

My guess because you constructed it with wood post in the ground as opposed of pouring a slab first then anchoring the building to the slab...???...

Yes, the slab was poured after the building was constructed. The skirt boards are used as the form.

Did you put that up yourself?...or payed someone to construct it?

It is a Sherman pole building

I am looking at buying a pole barn (building) its realatively new in construction and its sitting on 5 acres of land; Problem is that it has only a gravel floor.
I would like to have a concrete slab put in the building if i purchase the building; from the outside it measures at 72' x 40' and its divided roughly one third its size by an 10 ft roof the other 2/3 of the building has 12 or 14 foot roof....really nice setup as well but i want to know roughly in your estimate what the concrete cost was on your building?...also...when you put in the lift, did you add special mix (higher strength) concrete in those lift support posts areas?...What is your concrete bag mix and depth, I guess, would be another interest as well?

My concrete pour was 4" 4000 PSI fiber mix 4x4 rebarred. $3.68 per sq.ft. The only forming that was included in the job was the 10x48 skirt outside the garage doors.

-btw-

Are those 4ft florescent lights cold weather ballast's as well? When you turn on the lights do all ceiling lights go on at the same time or did you section off half the garage lighting on separate light switches?

Thanks Man!:beer:

The lights have 32F ballasts. Since the garage is kept at a minimum of 44F, I really didn't need to worry about cold start. They are on 3 switches. 1 for each bay and 1 for the center. In practice I end up almost always lighting all of them when I'm in the workshop and letting the motion sensitive garage door lights handle lighting when I dash in and out for something.
 

kwoody51

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Jan 19, 2010
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215
Location
Twin Cities, MN
Great garage! I suspect I've ridden by your place before, I live in Mound. Thus have hit up pretty much all the roads in the area going nowhere just out riding.

I've currently got an 02 Mille R, 73 Commando and CRF 450. I'm in the process of selling the Aprilia as it only gets ~700 miles a year and the commando seems to get ridden more. Plus a free day = MX track and the CRF being ridden.

I'd love to swing by sometime and do a little bench riding!
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Great garage! I suspect I've ridden by your place before, I live in Mound. Thus have hit up pretty much all the roads in the area going nowhere just out riding.

I've currently got an 02 Mille R, 73 Commando and CRF 450. I'm in the process of selling the Aprilia as it only gets ~700 miles a year and the commando seems to get ridden more. Plus a free day = MX track and the CRF being ridden.

I'd love to swing by sometime and do a little bench riding!

I'd be surprised if you haven't gone by my place if you ride around the area given the number of bikes that go by during the riding season. I'm having a Daytona 200 viewing party in March. PM me if your interested.
 

tncumminsguy

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Feb 26, 2012
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Nashville,TN
I love the pallet rack workbench idea, I've been trying to come up with ideas for my home garage with storage/ workbench that is removable. I am stealing your idea:evil:
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
I love the pallet rack workbench idea, I've been trying to come up with ideas for my home garage with storage/ workbench that is removable. I am stealing your idea:evil:

You're not stealing my idea, for I am but a single person in a long line of people on this forum who have done this before me. Just one of the benefits of belonging to this forum.
 

tncumminsguy

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Nashville,TN
Well it still has saved me searching through tons of threads. I don't plan on being at my townhouse with 22x22x12 garage for a long time so this solves my home storage problem
 

ShumanSS6.0

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Nov 11, 2012
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Location
Minnesota
Did you have someone do the floor or did you do it yourself? How does it hold up with the weather? I'm west of you and am looking to have that done in my garage if you hired it out. Very simple but effective. Pallet racking looks great in there! You can never have enough light, great setup!
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Did you have someone do the floor or did you do it yourself? How does it hold up with the weather? I'm west of you and am looking to have that done in my garage if you hired it out. Very simple but effective. Pallet racking looks great in there! You can never have enough light, great setup!

I had a moonlighting garage floor installer do the floor for me. He diamond ground the floor, primed and then top coated the floor. The floor seems to be holding up well, although my workshop is used primarily for storage so it doesn't see much salt. PM me if you're interested in contacting him.
 

b4z

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Dec 31, 2008
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82
Very cool shop. I noticed the Sony rptv LCd on the shelf. You do know that most of those are defective and that Sony is giving owners free TVs. Mine turned yellow and I took a pic of the issue, sent the serial number in, etc and they sent me a flat screen.
 

muibubbles

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nj
sorry if i missed it, but whats the height of your garage?

This pole barn is AWESOME. I wanna attempt making my own...!
 
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Ray916MN

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Orono, MN
Very cool shop. I noticed the Sony rptv LCd on the shelf. You do know that most of those are defective and that Sony is giving owners free TVs. Mine turned yellow and I took a pic of the issue, sent the serial number in, etc and they sent me a flat screen.

Sharp eyes! Indeed that was one of the defective TVs that Sony gave credit on towards a new Sony TV. I got the credit a couple of years ago, but couldn't get them to take the TV away so it was out in my workshop. I sold it with full disclosure for $30 a couple of weeks ago and now have a Sharp 60" in the shop.

New TV.jpg


sorry if i missed it, but whats the height of your garage?

This pole barn is AWESOME. I wanna attempt making my own...!

Thanks for the compliment on the shop. It is a 13'6" interior ceiling height. I would have made it taller, but I didn't want it to be disproportionately tall.
 
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muibubbles

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damn i can get over the simplicity and how clean this turned out. i freaking love this!! keep posting updates =)
 
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