32 x 48 inside configuration thoughts??

[tdkkart]

Hello,
Awhile back I mentioned that we were looking for a new place with either an already built garage/shop, or finding a place I could build a shop.
W've found a suitable property with a 1 acre lot and a decent house, just no shop other than the attached 2 stall.

So, I get to build a new shop!!!!


Thinking 32 x 48, which the city will let me build as long I go with 8' walls.(structure cannot be taller than 12', or taller than the principal dwelling)
No big deal, I can deal with 8', i don't work on monster mudders.

Anyway, given a 32 x 48 space, and if I want a seperate full-time heated space inside, which way do I configure it??

Looking at the front of the building, the lot configuration somewhat dictates putting a 9' or 12' wide door in the left side, service/entrance walkin door will be in the right side somewhere.

So, the 32x48 can be broken down into 1/3's, 3 "rooms" 16x32'. Which area would you wall off?? 16 x 32 across the back, or 16x32 to the right side of the roll-up door, which would leave room for another roll-up door and another drive-in stall across the back??

Thoughts???

 

[JB740i]

So will the heated space open to the outside or to the inside or both?

Personally I'd rather have the "third" with the garage door heated but that wouldn't be the most efficient with the door losing all your heat.

Heck, I don't know. I live in Florida.

 

[tdkkart]

"Heated" space will be open to the inside only.
Actually with my plans of floor heat, it will be 2 zones. The heated primary work area that contains my machine tools, primary workbench, tools etc will be 16 x 24 or 32, heated to a higher temp constantly, than the rest of it which will be mostly open work area. Plans are to have a double wide walk-through door(s) seperating the smaller room from the larger.
Depending on what the heating costs turn out to be, I may heat the whole shop at a later date. The heat will be there if needed.
My current garage is 24x24 with a 15x15 workshop area on the back which is heated continuously, opening the man-door heats the rest of it fairly quickly as needed.
This configuration works fine, gives a heated work space without heating the car storage area. The new shop will not have daily drivers in it so heating will be a different situation.

 

[tdkkart]

Anybody else care to enter their thoughts??

 

[D KRAGER]

I have a 30 x 56. The narrow end faces the front of the lot. In the front there are two 10' doors, I use this as my parking garage. I built a wall in the middle. Front (30 wide x 24' deep) I keep my two vehicles in there along with lawn mower. The back portion (30x32) is my heated area (shop). You enter the shop from the side, I just put one 16' door into it. Also I did put a garage door in my partition wall in case you wanted to pull something all the way thru.

Your demensions are a little different, I don't know if i'd want to divide it into 3 separte rooms, that would make it seem smaller than it really is. I don't know. I guess it depends of preference, and what you will be working on.

 

[tdkkart]

Maybe I mispoke(typed??), not 3 seperate rooms. Divide the space into 3 16x32 spaces and enclose one of them, which one would it be??

 

[D KRAGER]

ok gotcha now..... Enclose one bay on the end .... make some sort of sliding door system that could open up the space when you need it.

 

[rburke65]

Enclose the center and have the two end spaces as a dead air space helping you with your insulation. You would have only 2 walls exposed to the "outside".

 

[Chris J]

I have to disagree with rburke65. You are going to suffer a lot of aggravation with a "small" space if the total area is divided into three separate rooms. Also, while the end rooms will help somewhat with the heating situation, any gap more than a 1/2" thick is not a "dead-air" space because it is not thin enough to prevent the development of convective currents that will move the heated air from the interior wall to the exterior wall. Granted, it will not be as bad as being a true exterior wall, but the benefits are just not great enough to be worth suffering the consequences of another interior wall.

 

[tdkkart]

I keep thinking that making a 16x32 room across the back is probably the best bet. Actually, I'd probably split that area into a 16x20ish enclosed shop area and a 12ishx16 storage area which would probably house the heating system, compressor, shelving etc.
Both of these areas would have a 6' double door for moving large items in and out.

This would leave with a 32x32 open working/fab area which is huge compared to the 1/2 of a 24x24 that I've been working in.