need advice on new shop plans

[bdog]

I am closing on a house with 7 acres in a couple weeks. It has a double garage for parking the cars a 30 x 40 dirt floor steel building, and a 40 x 50 concrete floor steel building.

I have my own business and need to store 5 pickups, 7 trailers, 4 atvs / utvs, and other misc small equipment.

I am planning on using the existing buildings for parking, and building a new insulated shop to work on things in and probably store a few of the vehicles / trailers so they are not so crowded.

I am thinking around 3000 SQ ft but am not really sure how I want to layout the shop as far as dimensions, number and size of doors, etc. my first thought was a 50 x 60 building with three 18' doors on the 60' side. Any ideas or thinks to consider will be greatly appreciated.

 

[wayne 70]

If i were to build a new building again there will be 2 bay's that have door's on each side to drive thru for trailer's.

 

[s_morrison57]

Planning a new garage is so cool. Things to consider are the drive through option, doesn't have to be on every bay but it is a nice thing, power, water, washroom, lights and heat are all considerations. Ceiling hieght and a hoist should be thought of now, you don't have to put this in but if you can think it in the plan it can add up to a lot less grief later. Up stair storage/office space??? Cable TV, phone line(s) the net. Windows, flooring, if you put it in, AC ?? Man your a lucky guy!

 

[flashpuppy]

http://fbibuildings.com/Pages/FBiPlanner.html

 

[ddawg16]

X2 on the drive through....

Think in terms of a central work area....bays on both sides...

Also...consider a second story....put a hang out room up there....storage..etc. The cost of the second floor is a fraction of the ground floor.

But we must warn you....pictures of the project are now manditory....failure to do so can result in a lot of harassment....

 

[medic583]

Hmm... how about...

• Line a room with metal on walls/ceiling for easy clean up
• Separate rooms for separate work spaces (mentioned above I think). Keeps sound/noise down, don't have to heat/cool wasted space not being used.
• Thick walls (2x6 or 2x8) for insulation to keep building warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer... don't skimp on 2x4 walls
• Good quality insulated doors (big doors are nice... but even the best insulated ones do not keep things warm like a wall full of insulation does... same with cooling in the summer).
• 10' plus ceilings or cathedral trusses - ceiling fans to circulate heat/cool.
• Room-in-Attic trusses or a loft over an area where you will store the smaller vehicles
• Plumb air lines in for the compressor
• Separate room for air compressor/vacuum system
• Separate room for painting or somewhere you can put vents/fans in walls.
• Radiant in floor heating when the slab is poured (no open flame in the room)
• Office to keep dust/dirt out of the computers used for invoicing/browsing the net for plans or manuals, etc...
• Scissor style trusses for lift if cannot go higher on the walls.
• Air conditioning in shop for hot/humid days
• Lots of opening windows/skylights for summer/winter light and venting - placed so building can take advantage of natural heat/light.
• If steep roof slope, maybe build seperate entrance on gable ends so snow coming off roof doesn't land on people when entering/leaving
• Lots of 220V plug ins where you might eventually want to put and air compressor, saws, welder, etc...
• Plugs on the ceiling..
• Pull down ladder into the attic for more storage space.
• Beam in attic before gable walls go on for lift points for come-along (to spread weight over several joists)
• Garage Screen door kits for keeping the mosquitoes out at night when you want to open the doors for cooling.
• Lean-too/porch on the back of the shop to store trailers, etc... that do not need to be inside just out of the snow/sun.
• Conduit run in through the slab before the pour for things already mentioned... cable, Ethernet, alarms, etc... give yourself enough room to pull more wires later