NM East Mountains Metals Garage

[weldeng]

Hello, I have looked around here for some time and finally started my shop build. The shop will be 30 x 48 x 16 feet pole barn, I am breaking up the build into sections, the dirt work (which I did and done), framing (farmed out to start this coming Tuesday), the rest will most likely be all me except maybe the slab.

Primary this will be for welding (my past time and former method of employment), wood and mechanic work.

I'll have to get some better pictures of the pad tomorrow.

 

[weldeng]

I am also looking at lighting options and I have searched primary this forum, from what most people have posted is a lighting level of 75 to 100 FC at 36 inches or so is strongly desired. I have came up with these ideas:

This as the first option in no order, I only found one person mentioned them briefly but not in depth:

www.primelights.com/shop/items/led-...bay-fixture-132-watts-clear-pl-6srhbld132xlfm

It would be using 8 of them.

The other options use this light www.prolighting.com/commercial-lighting/fixtures-high-low-bay-high-bays/b4146ssumxx-18w5k.html
in two different configurations a 9 and a 12

Does anyone have any opinions or suggestions?

Fixed both links

For a garage door I am really looking at using a roll up to eliminate the interference. Floor will be concrete and walls will be metal for some time then insulation followed by an unknown covering but it isn't gong to be white and the ceiling will be open trusses.

 

[weldeng]

For electrical I am looking at a 100 to 125 amp service off my house. The biggest draws is a welding machine (50 amps), a plasma cutter (40 amps) and a 5 HP air compressor (10-15 amps). I am normally a one man band, but I two sons that are growing up and may find both in use at the same time. Granted those amperages are at max capacity. Other large loads would be a swamp cooler at some time.

 

[weldeng]

For heating, I originally thought of in-floor heating which is nice, but I don' think I will be out there with enough frequency and it has a slow response rate to make it justifiable. I have a wood stove and would like to add a pellet stove at a later date.

 

[weldeng]

Here are some better pictures of the site

 

[rixtrix1]

Looks like you have a beautiful site to build on. Do you get much snow? Altitude?

 

[weldeng]

This is will be our second winter here since moving from Katy (near Houston), our first winter saw 3 feet and that lasted a good bit, most of the other snows are gone in a day or two. We are about at 7000 feet.

 

[Riley]

For heating, I originally thought of in-floor heating which is nice, but I don' think I will be out there with enough frequency and it has a slow response rate to make it justifiable. I have a wood stove and would like to add a pellet stove at a later date.

While it's expensive to "have" installed, the parts to DIY it aren't bad. Further, you don't have to hook it up, but you can't do it once the floor is in.

I'd consider both putting the tubing into the floor and a couple inches of insulation under the slab. The cost to keep it set at something above freezing and not worry about it all winter would be minimal. If it needed a quick, unplanned spike throw a log on the fire. Or, if down the road, you wanted to play with solar panels you'd have the infrastructure ready to do it.

My time in NM was in ABQ many years ago and I remember the winters being cold, though like heat, it's a dry, windy cold.

 

[Bib Overalls]

100 amp service is going to be much cheaper and easier than 125 amp.

You can get a 100 amp breaker that will fit in your existing panel and you can use 2-2-2-3 MHF (Underground Mobile Home Feed) for the run. MHF is aluminum wire rated for underground use. At 100 amps it will be your cheapest cable option.

You can not get a 125 amp breaker that will fit in your existing service panel. Further, #2 MHF will not carry a 125 amp load. What this means is you will have to put up a stand alone box with a 125 amp breaker at your meter and make a tap. You will also need a heavier cable and that will bex more expensive.

My 30' x 40' shop is about 50 feet from my house. When we built I had a meter base installed with 4 breaker slots. When the shop went up I simply ran my cable to the meter base and connected it to a two pole breaker. You could consider upgrading your base as described or go with the tap I discussed earlier. I am a do-it-yourself kind of guy and I have done a lot of wiring. But I do not lift meters and work inside meter bases. I leave that to a licensed electrician. Some electric utilities get down right ugly if the seal on a meter is snipped by anyone other than a licensed electrician.

100 amps is a lot of electricity. I have 70 amps to mine and I run an air compressor, 10hp phase converter (mill and lathe) heat and air, lites, etc. Never had a main breaker pop from overload.

 

[weldeng]

Good thinking, I didn’t know that about the 125 amp breaker issue. Thanks for the heads up. I haven’t figured wire gauge yet, will measure distance today to determine voltage drop at 100 amps.

 

[weldeng]

The distance from my house breaker box with some extra factored in is 100 feet.
At 100 amps at 100 feet to be less then 3% voltage drop it would be 1 Cu and 1 ought for Al.

 

[weldeng]

Got progress today, and was lucky we didn't hit any rocks when digging.

A skid-steer is a versatile tool, but for using an auger it doesn't really have enough front weight and they do wheelies.

Poles are in the ground but not set.

 

[930dreamer]

Welcome, I spent 8 years working in Abq. Congrats on starting your build.

 

[weldeng]

I am educating myself on rollup doors, and I thought most of them were the slat type but I believe I am incorrect and they are the corrugated sheet type. I received some estimates for the slat type and for a 14X14 door I do not believe it is worth 7k. While the door will be used more than a storage door, it is not a full time garage either.
Currently looking at Janus offerings and similar. Any suggestions?

 

[readhead]

Have you considered a sectional door versus a coil door. Coil doors don’t seal well and are hard to insulate. A sectional door will be less expensive, seal better and come insulated.

 

[weldeng]

The reason for not wanting a sectional door is they block a ton of light when they are up, or at least in every garage I have had it has gone that way.

 

[readhead]

Do a high lift track a put the lights under the door.

 

[weldeng]

That is a thought, I’ll look into those next week. Thanks.

 

[weldeng]

They got some more done today and two trusses hung.

 

[weldeng]

I spoke with a couple of door manufacturers and there is insufficient headroom for a high lift track.

Looking at a Janus model 2500 for a rollup solution. The insulation on all these sheet rollup doors appears worthless.

I am also looking at a normal insulated garage door.

I plan on putting lights up this week, I will see what killing the covered lights looks like at night.

 

[weldeng]

I ordered 9 of these lights and they gave me a discount referencing this forum, I should have them Friday.

http://www.prolighting.com/commerci...high-low-bay-high-bays/b4146ssumxx-18w5k.html

 

[weldeng]

They got some more wore done and I am hoping the lights come in tomorrow.

I am still on the fence for slab heating or not. If I do the work it won’t be to bad, I am going to find out next week if the concrete guys will work with me forming, laying the rod and tubing out.

 

[Riley]

Looks great! Good call with the insulation and the tubing, I doubt you'll regret it. Buy the stuff and have the layout in hand, the labor ought to be reasonable.

 

[Jayman17]

Damn, you have some blue skies there! Shop is looking good.


Jay

 

[weldeng]

Thanks they made more progress today and should be done with their scope of work

 

[weldeng]

Been busy with life, but some progress has been made, winter is cutting things short.

Cleary finished their scope of the shell (a bit late) I purchased lights from
Prolighting, ran some of the power and digging trenches inside to run conduit under the slab.

It has been either to wet or cold to look at concrete and I don’t want to deal with blankets or trying to heat it.

These are the lights, I used:

TechBrite 48" 6 Lamp T8 LED High Bay - 16,038 Lumens - 5000K - 120-277V

 

[rixtrix1]

Looks great so far. I would definitely consider the insulation under the slab whether you add the pex for slab heating or not, Both now would be a good thing, IMO.