New Shop Planning

[MattN03]

I was hoping everyone could help me with the layout of my proposed shop. We've purchased a 5 acre lot to build our home and shop on. We first plan to build the shop, fully insulate & heat/cool it, and live in temporary living quarters that will eventually be partially removed leaving the bathroom and a floored upstairs area for additional overhead storage.

I'm looking at a 48' x 48' with a full width 12' wide lean to. The ceiling height will be 12' as the Atlas lifts require 11'-10" minimum. The living quarters will have 8' drop in ceiling and I'd like to have a floored area above this area for additional storage. The problem is that only leaves me about 3' of height. Could I do a scissor truss and pick up more height in the center?

 

[Homerr]

Scissor trusses would certainly help, but height will still be limited.

A couple of notes on your design. The refrigerator is shown very small and the dining will probably be inadequate as a real space. The interior bedroom is illegal, and also a bad idea.

 

[matt_i]

I don't know all of the factors in your selection, but I would at least look at considering dropping your width to something like a 32 x 72 or a 40 x 60 instead of a 48 square. I believe it will be less money to clear-span the shorter width. I would take a look at I-joists for the 2nd floor if you are going to have a true 2nd floor, I think it will be more satisfactory than trying to attic-storage truss it.

 

[tomroblee]

I agree with the previous replies.

Your drawing shows floor drains. That implies that the floor will slope toward the drains. This may be fine for a garage, but less desirable for living quarters.

Even if you can legally use your floor plan, it seems plain nasty to my tastes.

Rather than spending your $$$$ to build temporary bedrooms in your garage, have you considered adding a shed roof addition to the back of the garage (for the bedrooms?) Your elevation drawing makes it appear that you will have a relatively modest slope to the roof. If the roof has a 4/12 slope, you could continue this same slope an additional 12' over the addition and still have 8' ceilings in the addition.

 

[MattN03]

Scissor trusses would certainly help, but height will still be limited.

A couple of notes on your design. The refrigerator is shown very small and the dining will probably be inadequate as a real space. The interior bedroom is illegal, and also a bad idea.

I'm not sure how I got that fridge depth...to much stretching in AutoCAD I suspect.

I'm expecting us to eat out on the lean to or inside the shop a lot of the time honestly, due to the space being small.

Is the bedroom illegal because of needing egress? I don't know if I'll need to have it inspected, but I want to be safe. If so, what size window should I be installing?

 

[MattN03]

I don't know all of the factors in your selection, but I would at least look at considering dropping your width to something like a 32 x 72 or a 40 x 60 instead of a 48 square. I believe it will be less money to clear-span the shorter width. I would take a look at I-joists for the 2nd floor if you are going to have a true 2nd floor, I think it will be more satisfactory than trying to attic-storage truss it.

The only reason I have the depth at 48' is because I want to back my F250 & 20' trailer into the shop hooked up. I originally had it drawn at 64' wide & an extra bay, but I'm trying to trim it down to save cost. The way the property lays, I have to have the overhead doors in the drawing as shown.

 

[MattN03]

I agree with the previous replies.

Your drawing shows floor drains. That implies that the floor will slope toward the drains. This may be fine for a garage, but less desirable for living quarters.

Even if you can legally use your floor plan, it seems plain nasty to my tastes.

Rather than spending your $$$$ to build temporary bedrooms in your garage, have you considered adding a shed roof addition to the back of the garage (for the bedrooms?) Your elevation drawing makes it appear that you will have a relatively modest slope to the roof. If the roof has a 4/12 slope, you could continue this same slope an additional 12' over the addition and still have 8' ceilings in the addition.

I added the floor drains as space holders mainly. I've not talked to any concrete contractor on the best way to do this.

I've not thought of the shed roof, but it's a good ideal. Thanks!

 

[tomroblee]

Your elevation drawing shows the roof sloping toward the doors. This may not be the best orientation if you are located in snow country--especially if you have a metal roof. Have you considered having the doors on the gable end?

If you only need 12' ceiling height in one bay, you could build narrower building (to reduce the free span) and add shed roof bays to one or both sides. A variation of this would be a monitor barn.



I'm a fat 70 year old geezer with bad knees and feet, so I don't really appreciate low ceiling second floor storage as much as some younger fellows might.

I can imagine that having a bathroom and a (break area?) eating/lounge area would be nice in a large garage/shop on a permanent basis. I don't know just how temporary the sleeping arrangements would be. I know several folks who have moved in an older mobile home next to their garage or parked an RV in their garage for short term living arrangements. Would this be an option for you?

 

[tomroblee]

The IRC (International Residential Code) first story egress window requirements are a minimum free opening width of 20", a minimum free opening height of 24", a minimum free opening of 5 sq. ft., and a maximum window sill height of 44". Most local building codes are based on the IRC, but your area may be different (or may not even require egress windows.)

 

[MattN03]

I've made some revisions to the layout based on suggestions and added an in-ground tornado shelter. Can you please provide feedback on this revision? We're estimating living in this for about 12 - 18 months before having our house move in ready.

 

[tomroblee]

Interesting!!!!

A few observations:

The way you have extended the roof over the lean to seem to give a pretty low slope. You need to talk to your truss manufacturer to see if it is practical. Some roofing materials require a minimum slope.

Every plumbing fixture requires water pipes, drain pipes, and vent pipes. You seem to have the bathroom, kitchen sink, and washing machine spread pretty far apart. You might also want a utility sink of sorts in the garage. You can save material and labor by having these as close together as possible.

Building codes (and safety concerns if you don't have building codes) require that living (sleeping?) quarters be separated from garages with firewalls and fire rated doors. The HVAC systems have to be separate. Some codes require that the floors in living quarters be higher than the adjoining garage floors.

You don't provide much detail on your lean to. Will it be a concrete floor? Will there be an outside wall or just posts supporting the roof? If you are building a concrete floor and a roof, you will have incurred most of the costs of a finished area regardless of whether the "exterior" wall is located at the edge of the roof or at the edge of the garage bay.

Even though you will only be living in the building for a short period of time, some of the "living area improvements" might be nice to have in a garage (such as a mini kitchen and storage closets) It would be nice to have them in locations where they could be left in place after you move to your new home.

 

[kwschumm]

Our new build is roughly similar to yours. These are not yet final.