Building a garage from scraps

[plow]

Ok not REALLY scraps, but reclaimed material.












4"x4"x 21' 3/16 thick 76 Pcs. of the straight, A couple 6"x 25' I beams, a couple of 15 footers as well. I can't remember how many of the angled Pcs. there are but the pic shows them all. Some of these have air couplings on them.

I will be using these for a 40 x 50 with 2 14 x 14 roll ups. and a couple walk thrus. 4 BIG windows....like 6' x 8' ( I found a place that sells 2nds and left overs).

I was planning on copying an existing building I have, but wanted a steeper pitch for some lightish attic type storage. Maybe use the I beam for a light chain fall/hoist set up.

So other than changing the angles, is there anything I should know? I'm not an engineer, nor do I plan on getting one involved Concrete slab, an awning on one side, Z purlins (sp), tin walls. I'll post a napkin sketch of my initial thoughts tomorrow.

Btw, I may have bought the toppers (25 total) for 250.00

 

[plow]

gotcha.

 

[plow]

Something like this.

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

What were/are they, the yellow angled square tubing?

 

[plow]

All this was part of a conveyor system.

 

[MN4x4]

Forget that, let's see a picture of your wife!

(evil grin)

 

[plow]

Forget that, let's see a picture of your wife!

(evil grin)

Can't you see she has a black eye?

 

[941designs]

You must be an engineer, love the sketch!!

 

[PugetDude]

So other than changing the angles, is there anything I should know?

Not trying to piss in your Cheerios, but just looking at the quick sketch you provided...(hopefully you're still in the intial excitement phase over getting the materials so cheap) it's evident you're going to have to put a lot more time (and money) into planning this build.

Points to ponder:

Insurance- who's going to insure a building not built to any kind of code?

18' sidewalls will definitely require cable crossbracing, c or z wall girts alone won't do it.

The sidewall-roof connections really should be engineered, you've got a lot of wind load forces acting on the eaves with tall walls.

Trusses will be probably be required for 40' clearspan, not simple rafters built with the yellow tubes in the pictures, They are not deep enough for that span.

Any wall with a a 14x14 overhead door needs to be reinforced on either side of the door and a sufficient header is installed. Mandoors aren't that big of a deal.

Foundation is going to be required, detailed for your structural columns...anchor bolts for those columns need to be set into the concrete, we're not talking those little 1/2" expansion bolts you get at the local lumberyard.

A metal roof over 4:12 pitch is difficult for a novice to install and walk on.
3:12 provides more than adequate drainage and is a lot more user friendly up on the roof.

Are you going to fabricate the frame and trusses yourself? If so, I'd definitely get someone who knows metal buildings to take a look at your plans- might save a lot of angst down the road if your eyeball engineering is a bit myopic.

(Maybe sell the canopies and invest the money in a few hours of professional plan review.)

All in all, a great score on the steel material, but don't build a Korean deathtrap (like that guy up in BC) out of it by trying to save a few bucks by just guessing at static and dynamic loads, spans, bracing and connections..

Finally, We need a better drawings of the wife, dog, and truck to see if you are worthy of a 40x50 shop...

 

[runt262]

Finally, We need a better drawings of the wife, dog, and truck to see if you are worthy of a 40x50 shop...

Also need to figure if shes worth a country song or a breast reduction. Health and safety first.

 

[little d]

Not sure a 4" by 4" will be stiff enough for the span but, you seam to have enough extra and your talking about storage anyway, why not build attic trusses? Maybe a little over kill but, you'd damn well know it is there to stay... Something like this-


I'm gona keep an eye on this one, want to see what ya end up doing.

 

[plow]

Finally, We need a better drawings of the wife, dog, and truck to see if you are worthy of a 40x50 shop...

Good info PD. Thanks.


Here ya go.

Truck.....


Wife.....


Dog...

 

[NHBandit]

lol... You been going to surplus auctions again old buddy ? Merry Christmas to you & yours. Here's Mrs Bandit..

 

[plow]

Merry Christmas to you to Bud. I ran across this stuff at a new customers parking lot. Been sitting out there for 4 years.

 

[Sureshot]

having storage on top of an 18' wall seems "off". Why not run a wall system down one side so it is more accessible?

Not sure what to expect of the wife pic. It looks like her arms are longer than her legs but I guess a nice rack will trump that in the dark.

 

[plow]

having storage on top of an 18' wall seems "off". Why not run a wall system down one side so it is more accessible?

Not sure what to expect of the wife pic. It looks like her arms are longer than her legs but I guess a nice rack will trump that in the dark.

I'm lowering the wall Ht. to 15'

 

[Bib Overalls]

Are you planning to do the cutting, welding, and erection yourself? You may want to contract with an erector who specializes in welded construction.

4"x4" square tubing with 3/16" wall is some stout stuff and also heavy.

Z metal purlins are ok and they will span 25'. That means you only need one center truss. It would be a heavy sucker, particularly if you used the I beam for the lower chord. But certainly doable out of the material you have. I would insure that the slab has good depth and bearing at the points where the posts are placed and I would double up the posts that support the truss.

Z metal waste a lot of floor space when used as wall girts. I would frame all your openings with the 4X material and then fill between with inset 2" x 4" girts spaced 2" on center.

You can screw sheet metal to 3/16" material but you will need to pre-drill.

 

[plow]

Are you planning to do the cutting, welding, and erection yourself? You may want to contract with an erector who specializes in welded construction.

Yep. I'm cleaning a spot to do the cutting and welding that's outta the way of the day to day stuff that goes on around here.

I'll rent a sky trac when that time comes.



I would frame all your openings with the 4X material



That's the plan.



and then fill between with inset 2" x 4" girts spaced 2" on center.


Can you elaborate/explain this to me a bit more.

You can screw sheet metal to 3/16" material but you will need to pre-drill.

I'll probably weld the purlins to the 4x4 and screw the sheets to that.

 

[Bib Overalls]

My friend Barry is building a weld up shop. You might get some ideas from the build thread I put up.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216682

There are two ways to attach the wall girts. One is to run them on the outside of the posts. This adds thickness to the wall (cuts into floor space) and makes framing penetrations more complex. It simplifies wiring and plumbing.

The second is to fit the girts between the posts. This saves floor space but makes it more difficult to run wiring and air lines.

Barry used both techniques. For the side and back walls he ran the girts on the outside.

For the front wall, with the garage door, he inset the girts.

 

[plow]

Yep. I subscribed to it. I'm going to try to get the material from it's current location to it's home by next weekend.