Layout opinions

[gearheads78]

About to pull the trigger soon on a new 40 x 60 with some covered parking along the front. If I can swing it I want to also do more covered parking along the 40ft side. I'm kind of limited on where I can put it and the is no access on the back side.

My thought was have the end of the building split close to the center of the driveway so I can back the trailer either inside or down the side with minimal effort.

I originally was just going to do the doors only in the front on the left but got to thinking about adding the 3rd door at the back right to allow airflow through the shop. Also figured I could us that as a mower / lawn equipment entry.

Also questioning if the LH side door 3ft from the wall is a good spot

Here is a rough idea of what I have in mind. I welcome input. I want to do this once and once only.

Thanks

 

[Hooked]

Personally, I like the door 3' from the wall. Mine is about 6' as I have a 3' walk door between the wall and the garage door. I would suggest going the full length with the front as I think you'll find it useful down the road. If you elect not to go the full length I would suggest relocating the walk door next the garage door opening so it's under cover.
Both of these are things I wish I had done during original construction of my 40x60 building.......lol At some point I plan to add a 12' cover along one end and one side.

 

[gearheads78]

Personally, I like the door 3' from the wall. Mine is about 6' as I have a 3' walk door between the wall and the garage door. I would suggest going the full length with the front as I think you'll find it useful down the road. If you elect not to go the full length I would suggest relocating the walk door next the garage door opening so it's under cover.
Both of these are things I wish I had done during original construction of my 40x60 building.......lol At some point I plan to add a 12' cover along one end and one side.

Someone else mentioned moving the walk door. That's a good idea

 

[larry_g]

Tell us the purpose of this building. Be specific with what tools you have and intend to do with them. Lots of difference between a fab, machine,wood, car restoration, autobody, and a variety of other things done in a building like this. Without knowing what YOU intend to do in there I can only suggest layout on what I would do in the building.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[astroracer]

And I will reiterate what I ALWAYS say about OH doors and the inside wall... Keep the OH's at least 4' off the inside wall. This clears space on the wall for benches, storage or just walking by. Anything closer then that and the vehicle door is opening into it.
In your case I would go 6' at a minimum just because you have all of that 60' wall to use.
Put your man door wherever it is best accessible from the house. Under cover is good but if you have to walk the full length of the building to get in, that will get old real fast.
And, like Larry said, telling us your intended use and tools will help us help you.
Mark

 

[u2slow]

Once, and once only.... that mentality scraped me through to lockup - barely (financially). Its not done inside yet, and there's still stuff I would have changed.

Covered parking - find out how your building bylaws classify and/or restrict it. I had to intregrate mine on the initial build (common roof over everything) but in some cases it may be favourable to add the covered parking afterwards. Agree with covering across the front of the bays. I have 24" eaves but its still difficult to prevent driving rain from getting past my overhead door.

Man door - I ran into a problem with one being too close to the overhead door due to shear forces. It got moved around the corner. The hasty move put the door 1' from the corner, which I regret. It would be nice to have it 3' away just like everyone is suggesting for the OHD. Lesser space can be occupied by the electrical panel, air distribution, etc - its just at the wrong end of the shop for me.

 

[GoodStuff]

I have a 40 x 60 shop… 16 foot ceilings. I did two 14 x 14 doors and I put them 3 feet off the end wall and 3 feet apart… Would not change a thing. This allows me roughly half the space to use as a workshop and roughly half the space for parking


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Falcon67]

Go get a bundle of grade stakes and about 1000' of twine or other cheap line. Lay it out on the ground full scale, including staking out doors and what not. Even interior bench locations, lifts, etc. Walk it, drive in it, back the trailer up, etc. You'll find out real quick what works and what doesn't.

 

[zmotorsports]

Personally, I would make two alterations.

First, I would stay 4' off the wall with the overhead door. Things get placed/stored along the wall and will encroach into the area very quickly. Also, if you install a lift down the road it will be at least that far off the wall so when pulling a car in you'll end up jogging slightly once you clear the door.

Secondly, I would forego the 10'x10' door and do two 12'x10' doors. You will be much happier with the extra cushion it gives you pulling vehicles in/out.

Otherwise congrats on the new shop.

 

[u2slow]

First, I would stay 4' off the wall with the overhead door. Things get placed/stored along the wall and will encroach into the area very quickly. Also, if you install a lift down the road it will be at least that far off the wall so when pulling a car in you'll end up jogging slightly once you clear the door.

Secondly, I would forego the 10'x10' door and do two 12'x10' doors. You will be much happier with the extra cushion it gives you pulling vehicles in/out.

So many ways to skin a cat... when you can build big, you can afford bigger clearances and spacing.

I'm at the mercy of half the shop I really needed due to bylaws. I have a very straight shot at my main door; my 12' wide door could have been a 10' and had more room on the side. My 2 post lift is 9' max between the columns too. I'm shooting for one post-column being 30-36" off the side wall. I'm a double-deep arrangement, so nothing wider than 9' will get to the back of the shop anyway.

 

[zmotorsports]

So many ways to skin a cat... when you can build big, you can afford bigger clearances and spacing.

I'm at the mercy of half the shop I really needed due to bylaws. I have a very straight shot at my main door; my 12' wide door could have been a 10' and had more room on the side. My 2 post lift is 9' max between the columns too. I'm shooting for one post-column being 30-36" off the side wall. I'm a double-deep arrangement, so nothing wider than 9' will get to the back of the shop anyway.

Agreed, but the OP is building from scratch and asking for opinions.

My last shop was smaller than I needed as well which is why I went with a 12'tall by 20' wide door to alleviate some of the issues I mentioned. If starting with a blank canvas I definitely wouldn't build in a pinch point when others are warning you of it. With an existing building you do with what you have.

 

[u2slow]

Agreed, but the OP is building from scratch and asking for opinions.

I built from scratch too. 4' wasn't something I could allocate for side clearance. I know from working in commercial shops, sometimes there's just enough space for a person to squeeze between a wall and lift column. I factored in something in-between.

 

[gearheads78]

Tell us the purpose of this building. Be specific with what tools you have and intend to do with them. Lots of difference between a fab, machine,wood, car restoration, autobody, and a variety of other things done in a building like this. Without knowing what YOU intend to do in there I can only suggest layout on what I would do in the building.

lg
no neat sig line

About a pretty even mix of fab, restoration, and mechanic work. Pretty much anything to do with building restoring cars except final paint work. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to put inside of it and where. My main concerns is where to put doors and where to place the building side to side. The driveway has to be where it is.

 

[gearheads78]

And I will reiterate what I ALWAYS say about OH doors and the inside wall... Keep the OH's at least 4' off the inside wall. This clears space on the wall for benches, storage or just walking by. Anything closer then that and the vehicle door is opening into it.
In your case I would go 6' at a minimum just because you have all of that 60' wall to use.
Put your man door wherever it is best accessible from the house. Under cover is good but if you have to walk the full length of the building to get in, that will get old real fast.
And, like Larry said, telling us your intended use and tools will help us help you.
Mark

My concern there is harder to get the trailer inside or down the side if I move the building over more to align with the driveway.

 

[gearheads78]

Once, and once only.... that mentality scraped me through to lockup - barely (financially). Its not done inside yet, and there's still stuff I would have changed.

Covered parking - find out how your building bylaws classify and/or restrict it. I had to intregrate mine on the initial build (common roof over everything) but in some cases it may be favourable to add the covered parking afterwards. Agree with covering across the front of the bays. I have 24" eaves but its still difficult to prevent driving rain from getting past my overhead door.

Man door - I ran into a problem with one being too close to the overhead door due to shear forces. It got moved around the corner. The hasty move put the door 1' from the corner, which I regret. It would be nice to have it 3' away just like everyone is suggesting for the OHD. Lesser space can be occupied by the electrical panel, air distribution, etc - its just at the wrong end of the shop for me.

I'm in an unincorporated area so no restictions

 

[gearheads78]

I have a 40 x 60 shop… 16 foot ceilings. I did two 14 x 14 doors and I put them 3 feet off the end wall and 3 feet apart… Would not change a thing. This allows me roughly half the space to use as a workshop and roughly half the space for parking


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

The second door like that wouldn't work. There would be no way to put a drive any farther over to the right because of where septic has to be.

 

[gearheads78]

Go get a bundle of grade stakes and about 1000' of twine or other cheap line. Lay it out on the ground full scale, including staking out doors and what not. Even interior bench locations, lifts, etc. Walk it, drive in it, back the trailer up, etc. You'll find out real quick what works and what doesn't.

not a bad idea

 

[gearheads78]

Personally, I would make two alterations.

First, I would stay 4' off the wall with the overhead door. Things get placed/stored along the wall and will encroach into the area very quickly. Also, if you install a lift down the road it will be at least that far off the wall so when pulling a car in you'll end up jogging slightly once you clear the door.

Secondly, I would forego the 10'x10' door and do two 12'x10' doors. You will be much happier with the extra cushion it gives you pulling vehicles in/out.

Otherwise congrats on the new shop.

I might not be able to do the second door at 12' if I move the first door to 4' off the wall

 

[u2slow]

I'm in an unincorporated area so no restictions

Are you sure? I'm in an unincorporated area too... the neighbouring city/district's restrictions apply fully.

 

[gearheads78]

Are you sure? I'm in an unincorporated area too... the neighbouring city/district's restrictions apply fully.

No I can do what I want on the shop. I have to follow county guidelines for house and septic.

 

[u2slow]

No I can do what I want on the shop.

Nice!

Try not to break your budget. Its far too easy.