New 48 x 72 Pole Building

[rgood44]

I am sure that this may be somewhat of a redundant ask but....

My 48 x 72 pole building will be completed by end of this week. It is a fully insulated Morton with in-floor radiant heat. I have dreamed of having a shop for many years and now that dream is finally coming true! I will primarily use this building to store my 2 boats, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, and my tractor. I will also have a woodworking shop and areas to work on cars/motorcycles etc. I have 2 large toolboxes (Harbor freight 44"). I also have most of my woodworking tools (table saw, jointer, planer, miter saw etc.). I have 4 six foot workbenches that I will move from my house to the shop. In a nutshell I am set up ok to get my shop up and running.

My question is: What would be the first 10 things you would buy once you moved into this shop (given my situation)? I know - pretty vague open ended question but I thought I would give it a shot.

 

[billconner]

Good comfortable stools of chairs so I could sit and look at my stuff.

 

[Kurt4440]

Materials for partition walls
Dust collection
2 post lift
More tool boxes
Storage cabinets
Pallet racks
Lumber racks
More motorcycles
Motorcycle lift

 

[rgood44]

I like the more motorcycles idea. 4 is not enough!

 

[jblnut]

A nice new shop and a Morton structure to boot !!! Sweet stuff. We have a couple Morton sheds and they are incredible buildings. Spendy but well worth it !!!

Are you going you going to do any partitions for the separate areas ? Bathroom ? Office/kitchen areas ? Upstairs loft for storage or additional lounging space ?

Good pair of fuzzy shop shoes
Beer fridge
Pizzazz pizza maker
Air fryer
Pizzas/tater tots/jalapeno poppers/junk shop food stuff
Ugly as sin shop chair
Dart board
Project tractor (think Farmall H or John Deere B to restore)
Large whiteboard to put shopping list/oil changes/maintenance schedule stuff
Backup beer fridge
Bean bag boards
6 sided card table (let people know how well you're doing lol)
Big bad 5hp Grizzley shaper !!

Couldn't keep it to just 10

 

[kwb]

Here are my regrets of moving in early - granted it would have sat for a couple years as I came up with money.

1. I wish I had sheetrocked the lid - now I am a stick built building so this is a bit different than what you can do in pole building but there is no time to do that like when the building is empty.
2. Get the utilities all in place - Air, 120, 240. Have a plan for the future run a few 240 plugs to the far walls from where you think you want things. I built 17yrs ago, I never would have expected to have a CNC Plasma table, I also wouldn't have guessed that I would put it in the loft. Luckily loft location for the table is directly above the electrical panel and I put in T's in at every joint between lengths of the air. It made it easy to add power and air for the table. I put 120 outlets every 4'. I only did a couple of 240, now being moved in and well established running the additional 240 plugs has been a PITA. If I had put one every 10-12' it might have been an extra expense but would have saved some swearing.
3. Sounds like woodworking is more your thing - go for the dust collection setup.
4. A small booth that you can use to weld and/or paint and extract "bad air" should be part of the plan - nothing elaborate and not even enclosed in my mind but to draw overspray or weld smoke to a place you want it. Think something along the lines of an overhead vent in a commercial kitchen. If you have a big thing to do, setup the temporary curtains like so many others have shown. For most stuff set on the bench and go to work.
5. Bolt and Nut Bins- This has one of my best things. Granted they came with a ton of hardware to start (auction deal) but as I consolodated and organized to fit what I need. They are great for a lot of consumables like cut-off wheels, tubes of goo, flap wheels, chip brushes.... you get the idea.
6. Whiteboard - good for noodling out a solution on the fly or making notes of something. Mine also serves as a door over a big part of my nut and bolt bins.
7. Stock organization - both stick and sheet goods
8. Garbage cans - if it isn't far to reach it is more likely to go into the trash. Your shop is 2x the size of mine and I know how easy it is to leave something on a flat surface that is trash if the can isn't nearby. I like 55 gallon drums because they are also a nice working height and sturdy if you need to make an impromptu bench.
9. If you do much work that requires masking/masking paper - get a mount for variety of width paper and put the masking machine on the wall. It may not be exactly where you want it to mask something but it also won't be another GD thing that is always in the way.
10. My shop is multi purpose and will go from wood shop, to body shop, to fab shop, to mechanics shop. I don't like the idea of walls because you will inevitably end up with something that doesn't fit in the designated area. Get cheap covers for the boat, motorcycles, other toys and just put the cover on them so project work of any sort doesn't create more detailing work on them. I did a whole ton of fab work one year and the boat was a mess after I let it sit outside one day while working - turns out all that "dirt" was mostly iron and ended up with rust streaks that I had to buff out.
11. Pallet racks & forklift. I have 14'+ to work with and being able to go vertical to store some stuff is awesome.
12. I have a jib crane but that was before I got the forklift- I don't use it much since forklift showed up but it is kinda handy at times.

Sorry that was 12.

 

[Jakemedic]

I must agree with the above response, don’t move in too soon! I resisted bringing anything beyond my table saw and a table to put assorted tools on before having the walls, ceiling and electrical done. Main reason, is I didn’t want to be moving all kinds of **** around to get things done. My table saw was needed as I finished my shop with 3/4 inch AC plywood. Had to be able to rip sheets as needed. Now don’t get me wrong, I wanted everything in my new shop right away. But glad I waited. Good luck!

 

[rgood44]

A nice new shop and a Morton structure to boot !!! Sweet stuff. We have a couple Morton sheds and they are incredible buildings. Spendy but well worth it !!!

Are you going you going to do any partitions for the separate areas ? Bathroom ? Office/kitchen areas ? Upstairs loft for storage or additional lounging space ?

Good pair of fuzzy shop shoes
Beer fridge
Pizzazz pizza maker
Air fryer
Pizzas/tater tots/jalapeno poppers/junk shop food stuff
Ugly as sin shop chair
Dart board
Project tractor (think Farmall H or John Deere B to restore)
Large whiteboard to put shopping list/oil changes/maintenance schedule stuff
Backup beer fridge
Bean bag boards
6 sided card table (let people know how well you're doing lol)
Big bad 5hp Grizzley shaper !!

Couldn't keep it to just 10

Thanks for the input! I am going to build a partitioned off area - couch/lounge area, office, bathroom (w/shower), and utility room. I will be able to store things above this space.

 

[rgood44]

Here are my regrets of moving in early - granted it would have sat for a couple years as I came up with money.

1. I wish I had sheetrocked the lid - now I am a stick built building so this is a bit different than what you can do in pole building but there is no time to do that like when the building is empty.
2. Get the utilities all in place - Air, 120, 240. Have a plan for the future run a few 240 plugs to the far walls from where you think you want things. I built 17yrs ago, I never would have expected to have a CNC Plasma table, I also wouldn't have guessed that I would put it in the loft. Luckily loft location for the table is directly above the electrical panel and I put in T's in at every joint between lengths of the air. It made it easy to add power and air for the table. I put 120 outlets every 4'. I only did a couple of 240, now being moved in and well established running the additional 240 plugs has been a PITA. If I had put one every 10-12' it might have been an extra expense but would have saved some swearing.
3. Sounds like woodworking is more your thing - go for the dust collection setup.
4. A small booth that you can use to weld and/or paint and extract "bad air" should be part of the plan - nothing elaborate and not even enclosed in my mind but to draw overspray or weld smoke to a place you want it. Think something along the lines of an overhead vent in a commercial kitchen. If you have a big thing to do, setup the temporary curtains like so many others have shown. For most stuff set on the bench and go to work.
5. Bolt and Nut Bins- This has one of my best things. Granted they came with a ton of hardware to start (auction deal) but as I consolodated and organized to fit what I need. They are great for a lot of consumables like cut-off wheels, tubes of goo, flap wheels, chip brushes.... you get the idea.
6. Whiteboard - good for noodling out a solution on the fly or making notes of something. Mine also serves as a door over a big part of my nut and bolt bins.
7. Stock organization - both stick and sheet goods
8. Garbage cans - if it isn't far to reach it is more likely to go into the trash. Your shop is 2x the size of mine and I know how easy it is to leave something on a flat surface that is trash if the can isn't nearby. I like 55 gallon drums because they are also a nice working height and sturdy if you need to make an impromptu bench.
9. If you do much work that requires masking/masking paper - get a mount for variety of width paper and put the masking machine on the wall. It may not be exactly where you want it to mask something but it also won't be another GD thing that is always in the way.
10. My shop is multi purpose and will go from wood shop, to body shop, to fab shop, to mechanics shop. I don't like the idea of walls because you will inevitably end up with something that doesn't fit in the designated area. Get cheap covers for the boat, motorcycles, other toys and just put the cover on them so project work of any sort doesn't create more detailing work on them. I did a whole ton of fab work one year and the boat was a mess after I let it sit outside one day while working - turns out all that "dirt" was mostly iron and ended up with rust streaks that I had to buff out.
11. Pallet racks & forklift. I have 14'+ to work with and being able to go vertical to store some stuff is awesome.
12. I have a jib crane but that was before I got the forklift- I don't use it much since forklift showed up but it is kinda handy at times.

Sorry that was 12.

Great suggestions especially on the future 240v outlets. I only have one in the plan but will add others. Morton finished all of the walls with steel except the South wall which was done in OSB for hanging cabinets etc. Unfortunately, I have move a bunch of my stuff in before the electrical is done. So many delays on this building caused my "stuff" to be scattered around the Mpls/St. Paul area. I have a tractor with hitch system on it so I can move things around pretty easily. Also have pallet forks on the tractor. Going to be musical chairs for awhile but I have 11 acres of land so I have plenty of room to park stuff outside while I am finishing up stuff.

 

[jives]

Put everything on wheels that can be retracted. Table saw and other large equipment, workbenches, lumber rack, etc. Tractor implements on wheeled pallets. Use this time to figure out the organization of the shop. It will likely change over time.

A number of years ago I read an article about a new indoor/outdoor complex being built (college I think). No landscaping was done. It was all left as dirt and let the students walk where they wanted to walk. Eventually the best routes became clear, and so that is where the paths were built. The rest of the landscaping went around that. Wheels give you a chance to do this and easily access lesser used items that are packed in a corner.

 

[Garcky]

So many exciting possibilities! I don't know where to begin, because it's YOUR shop.

 

[Zeke]

Two different types of lifts. A 2 or 4 post, and a flat table that sits flush with the floor that will serve for motorcycles, lawn tractors, snow mobiles (make if so you can remove sections) and anything you can't pick up but will roll. Or can be made to roll.

A chain fall on a trolley or better yet a jib boom. Or both. When you get older it gets tough to even load a welding gas tank.

Hand dollies, flat carts, and plywood cart, (preferably tilting type).

You can see I'm all about not having to pick anything up that's heavy. An old tanker desk is too much for me now, I'd rather move it to the lift table on carts, raise it to the level of the truck bed and roll it on in. That goes for just about any machine too.

And if you really want something handy, a small fork lift or Genie lift that will put things that are heavy higher up on racking.

Oh, and racking. That may not be 10 things but it's what I'd want in a working shop.

 

[rgood44]

All great suggestions. I have been thinking about this shop for about ten years but my interests have changed over time. I really like the philosophy of putting my stuff in there so it is mobile and let my preferences over the next couple of years take over. Kinda like the landscaping example above. We plan to live on this property at some point (waiting for building costs to normalize) and have a small hobby farm. Luckily, it is about 15 minutes from where I live now so I will be able to use the shop often.

I have been looking at the 4 post lifts that are movable mainly because I have no idea where I would want my lift and I feel like it may take a couple of years to figure that out.

Man the possibilities are endless. My wife’s prediction that she may never see me again may be pretty accurate.