30'x44' shop, what am i missing?

[leanburn]

my wife and i just bought an acreage with no garage so i finally get to build my dream garage. i have a couple hotrods, sled and quad so there is lots of wrenching taking place.
just to keep things short i will start with the pad and later i will add the rest of the build, i haven't totally made up my mind but i think i might go with what i think is called a slab on grade. is what i mean is i will not have a pony wall to avoid that ledge you end up with. i will have a 6''wide x 6''deep gutter down the centre [lenghtwise], pcv pipe in the slab to run my wiring through, i will also run a future airline from one side to the other. i plan on haveing a 2 post lift wich requires 6'' of concrete so i plan on 6'' through the entire pad. in floor heat is a must, i will also push 4'' pipe into the ground every 8' and weld a 1'' plate wich will end up flush with floor. i don't plan on a septic system but i'm going to install a future spot for a toilet just in case i change my mind. i will stop here so you guys won't fall asleep half way through. as far as the pad goes what else can i do? is there anything wrong with not haveing a pony wall? we live in northern alberta so winters can be long and harsh. thanks in advance.

 

[Mikea57]

How about an addition to the slab for a lean-to to house the air compressor? Just so it would not be in the same room where you have to put up with the noise of it. Or would it freeze up in those winters without being heated? Will you have at least a shop sink if not a toilet? What about a drain for that? What type heat will be in the garage? Do you need a gas line? Just spittin' out ideas here...

And, excuse my ignorance but what are the 1" plates every 8' for?

 

[PaulR]

I just bought a house with a 30x50 exactly one year ago. Wife also has her own garage 1.5 cars.

2 Jeeps, 3 mowers, quad, and a bunch of other stuff, I'm already starting to look at sheds to store the lawn stuff.

Hope this helps.

paul

 

[Steevo]

If you do a slab-on-grade, you have to watch out for the possibility of water coming in under the walls. Snow drifts against a wall will melt on the shop side, creating a puddle at the bottom of the wall. My father-in-law's shop is like this, and every winter, he gets water on the floor, coming from under the walls. If you slope away from the slab edges far enough that no water can puddle there, then this won't be an issue.

What are the "4'' pipe into the ground every 8' and weld a 1'' plate" all about? Is this to keep the slab from slipping away?

And what PaulR said: It's never big enough.

 

[leanburn]

How about an addition to the slab for a lean-to to house the air compressor? Just so it would not be in the same room where you have to put up with the noise of it. Or would it freeze up in those winters without being heated? Will you have at least a shop sink if not a toilet? What about a drain for that? What type heat will be in the garage? Do you need a gas line? Just spittin' out ideas here...

And, excuse my ignorance but what are the 1" plates every 8' for?

i think the compressor would freeze up, i will eventually mount it up high and build an insulated compartment for it, i will have a sink, i'm looking at an on demand electric water heater so i won't need a hot water tank, i will drain that to my gutter wich will be piped to drain outside.

as far as heat goes, i'm doing infloor and overhead radiant. i'm thinking of going with diesel water heater for the floor [ i get diesel for cheap] and gas for over head

sorry, i should have explained the plates. i have a couple reasons for this. first you can tie things down to the plates, i have a buddy who straightens axles this way. he ties the axle to the plates at each end and jack up at the bend. also i'm going to try to get these in the right spot for my hoist and since i get 4'' pipe and 1'' plate for free from the place i work i figured i will install lots. another reason is i'm going to have an overhead crane on rollers and i beam, my trusses are going to get beefed up for as much as 2000lb load but i figure if i ever wanted i could make a stationary lift that rotates on a pipe wich would get welded to the plate.

 

[leanburn]

If you do a slab-on-grade, you have to watch out for the possibility of water coming in under the walls. Snow drifts against a wall will melt on the shop side, creating a puddle at the bottom of the wall. My father-in-law's shop is like this, and every winter, he gets water on the floor, coming from under the walls. If you slope away from the slab edges far enough that no water can puddle there, then this won't be an issue.

What are the "4'' pipe into the ground every 8' and weld a 1'' plate" all about? Is this to keep the slab from slipping away?

And what PaulR said: It's never big enough.

i was planning on padding up at least 18'' from ground level with clay and maybe a skiff of gravel, that way i would be able to have slope away from the bottom of the walls but i'm still going to have snow piled up on the sides. the only reason i'm trying to avoid the pony wall is for ease of building shelves and benches tight to the wall but this is a very poor exuse. maybe i should go with a pony wall??