Car Restoration Shop Doors?

[Cb-man]

I want to build a shop in the next couple years and i have been debating on which side to put the doors.
Considering around a 36x50 shop.
So car guys where do you like the doors? 2-3 doors on the short Gable end so you can work on long term projects in the back and still pull drivable vehicles in the front?

Or doors on the long side so you just have working bays and some extra room on the end for tear down work?

 

[rburke65]

Well that is a personal choice. Myself, I did the 2 doors on the long side. There is no right or wrong. Good luck. And as always, it's never big enough......at least that's what she said. How about 40'x60.....a nice round number!

 

[justanengineer]

I prefer as few and as small of doors as possible, as far away from the working area as possible to retain the heat/cold.

 

[RPH]

One on the gable end to be able to pull the trailer and truck in complete. One on the side wall for the quick bay work.

 

[twertsy]

If I had it to do over, they'd be 3 doors on the long side. Particularly with alot of cars. I have to move a car on a body cart and a car on a roti outside just to get a car out from the back, where I store "done" cars.

 

[Ohio Auto]

I've got a 30 x 50, I put 3 garage doors on the long side as well as 1 man door. It's worked absolutely great for me. I can have multiple projects going on and can move stuff in and out easily.

I used insulated follow the ceiling doors in my clear span building.

Pics in my shop thread located in my signature.

 

[MScott]

Depends on where you live (should have your location in your profile) and the amount of snow you receive. If you get a lot of snow you are going to get a buildup in front of the doors if they are on the long (non gable) side.

 

[bulletbob]

I like the long side, I have a 10' & 16' wide doors with a walk in on the front. A 8' wide door on the back and a walk through on the far end. All the doors are insulated along with the shop. With a good heater it stays nice inside.

 

[marzo91]

I'm building a 36x48 in the spring. I live in Wisconsin so the overhead doors will DEFINATELY be on the gable end.

 

[csp]

Is there no such thing as snow removal equipment where some of you live?

 

[TractorJeff]

In SouthEast Wisconsin, my neighbor has a small Hobby Shop 36 by 50(?). His main Doors are one on each Gable end. At least once a month you will see Collector cars pushed out to get to the other one in the back. I would opt for either a Gable end door offset from the middle and do a carefull layout plan of what goes where inside before I build the garage/shop. In my area, multiple doors are put on the long walls as much as they are put on the end walls. Biggest thing is asking for the 2 foot overhang on the roof which will help with the rain and snow at the doorways.

 

[Whirnot]

The first thing I consider is where is the prevailing wind from, and never put a door on the north side in Snow country.

 

[bams50]

Depends on where you live (should have your location in your profile) and the amount of snow you receive. If you get a lot of snow you are going to get a buildup in front of the doors if they are on the long (non gable) side.

It says Newport Michigan right in his avatar.

My new building is going to have one large door on the gable and, for exactly the reasons stated above – snow sliding off the roof. I will also have one door on the long side, and mostly just figure not to use that during snow season.

Is there no such thing as snow removal equipment where some of you live?

Not sure I get your question- just being a smart ***? Those of us in heavy snow areas do have snow removal equipment. But with the amount of snow we get, combined with a metal roof, We would be out there several times a day on some days repeatedly removing the snow.

At least here in the snow belt, It is ideal to not have to access the long & of the building all winter if possible.

 

[Falcon67]

If my shop was longer - 48' instead of 40' - I'd have used dual 9' overheads in the long wall towards one end. Our hotrods are all "midsize" being 16' or so, so they fit fine in the 24' depth with plenty of work room. However, I'd not turn down another 8' of depth for just the reason you mention - parked projects.

End doors can also work - but make sure you have turn room. Also think about how you'll handle a vehicle coming in dead on a trailer.

The good thing is my door faces SSE. When we get a bit of warm in winter I can open the door and pick up sun on the slab to store some heat. It's also nice to sit in the doorway in the spring and summer looking out to the street where the kids are running around and people come and go.

I can tell you the best thing I did, which drove my wife nuts, was play with string and stakes. I used 24" rebar pieces and a lot of nylon twine to mark off the perimeter of the building. I then used a bundle of grade stakes to mark door locations. Found out real quick which ideas would not work on our build lot.

 

[marzo91]

Is there no such thing as snow removal equipment where some of you live?

Sure we have snow removal equipment.

A couple inches of snow on a wide building can be over a foot deep pile in front of your door on a slide off. Have dripping water freeze on that and you have a mess you'll have to clean up every single snowfall for the rest of your life. Have a big snowfall or have a couple slide offs build up (I've had 3' deep piles of ice and heavy snow) and you'll wish your big overhead doors were on the gable end. Ask me how I know....

If you live in area that gets frequent heavy snows, and you don't want to spend precious shop time chipping and shoveling ice and snow, the gable end is best for your largest or most used OH doors.

 

[Cb-man]

Thanks for all the great replies! I know it is mostly personal preference like someone said but the opinions and experience from others is great.

I think I like the idea of main doors on the gable end and one door on the South long side to be able to get in for maintenance or get cars or other things out from the back.

I have a 30x32 pole barn right now with a north facing door and yes right now there is a 3 ft snow drift 10 ft in front of the door.

I plan on finishing it till I figure out what to do.
I have a boat and tractor I need to store so I would like to build a shop and keep the boat and tractor in the 30x32

I am trying to research as I would like to try and build it myself and mostly alone

 

[bams50]

Another thing I learned from experience: Go with as much height as you can, and a main door as big as you can.

Last time I built, I figured on doing just cars and pickups. In no time, I had a chance to do paint on a classic Peterbilt for big bucks. Why big bucks? Because there were no shops around that did restoration work that could get a vehicle that big inside their shop.

We always say to build as big as you can, you'll always use it. But that refers to square footage. But interior height is not as often considered.

I think the same applies to doors.

 

[RMR&C]

Do you plan on having a lift? I have a 40x60 shop with a single 10x10 door at the gable end(snow country). I had to put my lift at the back of the shop so it didn't block the door. Two doors on the gable end would be ideal,

 

[Kirkvkid]

As said above if you have lots of snow the gable end is preferable. you also want to consider how many cars you will be storing. If it will be 4 or 5 then you almost have to put 2 on the gable side unless you want 4 doors acorss the other.
Due to snowfall i went on the gable end of my 30x50. My doors are both only 10x10 and i have decent room to pull in even with the plow truck. But if i only had 2 or 3 doors on the long side, meaning one bay was 'land locked', then i think it would be a pretty tight fit.

Best thing you can do is to string off the site (or use road cones) , including with the door sizes you are going to use and drive all the cars that are going to be in there. Really puts the size you are going to use in perspective. Just keep in mind it wont be a completly empty barn when your all done.

 

[Zeke]

Thanks for all the great replies! I know it is mostly personal preference like someone said but the opinions and experience from others is great.

I think I like the idea of main doors on the gable end and one door on the South long side to be able to get in for maintenance or get cars or other things out from the back.

I have a 30x32 pole barn right now with a north facing door and yes right now there is a 3 ft snow drift 10 ft in front of the door.

I plan on finishing it till I figure out what to do.
I have a boat and tractor I need to store so I would like to build a shop and keep the boat and tractor in the 30x32

I am trying to research as I would like to try and build it myself and mostly alone

Would this be good as well for cross ventilation? I think I would make that a consideration.

 

[Cb-man]

Zeke,

I think having doors on the gable end and one on the long side would give some cross ventilation but not as good as a door on each end.

and i think if i do bite the bullet and built a lets say 40x60 i would want three doors across the front. a 10x10 on each side and a 10x12 tall door in the middle
as tall as i could get it.

 

[volleyball]

Without knowing how the space will be used, it is hard to pick the best layout. And for a storage garage that won't have vehicles coming in and out during the winter, which side is less an issue. Sometimes a patio french door unit on the sides will give you great access or ventilation. You don't always need real garage doors. When you get large, over 35', I think the side walls need to be taller. Better proportions and who cannot use vertical space?

 

[csp]

Not sure I get your question- just being a smart ***? Those of us in heavy snow areas do have snow removal equipment. But with the amount of snow we get, combined with a metal roof, We would be out there several times a day on some days repeatedly removing the snow.

At least here in the snow belt, It is ideal to not have to access the long & of the building all winter if possible.

Partially being a smart ***, partially serious.

Notice my location. Just came in from blading about 8" from my driveway and road and will be doing it again in the morning, so the "snow belt" isn't foreign. I can see this being an issue in a production shop or business, but for a home shop it's not that big of a deal, IMO. I have doors on the non-gable side of two shops and both face are on the north side. One has a metal roof with a 8/12 pitch so it definitely slides. I get the snow off before it's driven over and there isn't any chipping or ice to deal with.

Sure we have snow removal equipment.

A couple inches of snow on a wide building can be over a foot deep pile in front of your door on a slide off. Have dripping water freeze on that and you have a mess you'll have to clean up every single snowfall for the rest of your life. Have a big snowfall or have a couple slide offs build up (I've had 3' deep piles of ice and heavy snow) and you'll wish your big overhead doors were on the gable end. Ask me how I know....

If you live in area that gets frequent heavy snows, and you don't want to spend precious shop time chipping and shoveling ice and snow, the gable end is best for your largest or most used OH doors.

See the above.

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

I'm getting ready to build a garage/shop and YES, I'm in snow country - 15" on yesterday alone. Anyway, due to my lot, I'm going to have to build an west-east building with the doors on the north.

During a site visit with one contractor, he suggested having a 24" wide soffit overhang on the north side. That way, when the snow slides off, it is 2' away from the doors and I can take a ATV with a blade and run parallel to the building to clear it away. He said he has done several like that and the owners are happy.

Great, but as Reagan said "trust but verify." I'm going to visit a couple of his build sites and talk with the owners to make it works as good as he says. - Hey if it does, maybe I'll go with a 30" overhang.


.

 

[RMR&C]

I have 2 foot overhangs on my shop and it helps keep the snow from piling up against the walls.
However, if the whole roof slides (metal roof), It will make a 2-3 foot high berm of packed snow that you'd be lucky to move with a bulldozer. Gable end doors for me...

 

[wnstwolf]

If I could do one thing over it would be the doors. As mentioned having them at the gable ends is needed due to snow sliding off. We just got over 16" this week and I can easily walk right on the roof the piles are so high.

The design of my barn limited me to 7' doors on the left and right but I could have went with any height in the middle but I went with 8' high If I do it again it will be 8' on the ends and 12' in the middle

 

[volleyball]

If you need to be on an end wall, you can raise it up so that it is the high point where the doors are and low in the back, a shed roof.
My house is 2 story with metal roof and 2' overhangs. The snow avalanches off and does pack but it isn't hard to remove.
You can also put a perpendicular porch roof over the door to redirect it away from the opening.

 

[48windsor]

I've got a 30 x 50, I put 3 garage doors on the long side as well as 1 man door. It's worked absolutely great for me. I can have multiple projects going on and can move stuff in and out easily.

I used insulated follow the ceiling doors in my clear span building.

Pics in my shop thread located in my signature.

I read with interest this thread ! Im planning a 30x 40 with 2 garage doors and aman door.

 

[48windsor]

If my shop was longer - 48' instead of 40' - I'd have used dual 9' overheads in the long wall towards one end. Our hotrods are all "midsize" being 16' or so, so they fit fine in the 24' depth with plenty of work room. However, I'd not turn down another 8' of depth for just the reason you mention - parked projects.

End doors can also work - but make sure you have turn room. Also think about how you'll handle a vehicle coming in dead on a trailer.

The good thing is my door faces SSE. When we get a bit of warm in winter I can open the door and pick up sun on the slab to store some heat. It's also nice to sit in the doorway in the spring and summer looking out to the street where the kids are running around and people come and go.

I can tell you the best thing I did, which drove my wife nuts, was play with string and stakes. I used 24" rebar pieces and a lot of nylon twine to mark off the perimeter of the building. I then used a bundle of grade stakes to mark door locations. Found out real quick which ideas would not work on our build lot.

This is a great thread ,Ive learned so much from all ideas.I will try the stake idea . Didnt think about the N facing door but thats the way it has to face. Good going guys thanks

 

[Cb-man]

Yes! thanks for everyone's input. Many things that I never thought of specially living in Michigan and getting some bad winters occasionally