What Would You Do?

[04fivefour]

Hey Everyone!

It's been a long time since I have posted on here. We are getting ready to build a new shop. We are going 50x80x16. I want to consider everything prior to concrete so that I am not stuck.

Heat: I am leaning towards in floor heat. Is there something better? We are in the country so it has to be Propane/electric.

Electric: I am in works with the POCO to see what my best options are and if I need another transformer. I am wanting 2 200 Amp panels. Opinions?

Plumbing: We will be having a bathroom (1 sink,1 toilet, 1 shower), and then a shop sink. Most likely going to have to run a separate septic system. As far as water supply, my well guy has said we can T off of our well line to our house. Does that seem okay?

Concrete: We will do 5" pad with steel mesh and rebar and I will probably add fiber mesh to the mix. I am going to do 2 reinforcement boxes for a 2 post lift. What should to concrete be sealed or coated with? Any other suggestions?

Lighting: Going LED high bay UFO style fixtures. Any others I should consider?

Insulation: It will be a pole barn structure. How is everyone insulating them? Spray Foam?

We are a powdercoating shop/performance shop. So I am going to have a small show room. Any suggestions there?

What else am I missing?
Thanks in advance!

 

[ford33]

It would help if you provided more information on how you plan to use the shop. Is this a wood shop, metal fabrication, auto shop or art studio?

You should perform a search for previous posts asking this same question. Lots of good information from previous postings.

 

[04fivefour]

We are a powdercoating shop/performance shop. So I am going to have a small show room. Any suggestions there?

What else am I missing?
Thanks in advance!

It would help if you provided more information on how you plan to use the shop. Is this a wood shop, metal fabrication, auto shop or art studio?

You should perform a search for previous posts asking this same question. Lots of good information from previous postings.

We are powdercoat / performance shop as listed in the post.

I have done a lot of research to come to most of the plans. Basically just asking for evaluation of my plan to see if that is the best route to go and make sure that I am not missing/overlooking things.

 

[Copymutt]

Sounds like you have a great plan. My initial comments: I have same set up for bath/water from home well, been great for since 96. Set it up w/ a separate shut off at the well and place a pressure gauge somewhere easily visible in the garage. This is invaluable for early detection and isolation of any future issues. I also turned the bathroom into a sauna. Keeps one healthy and chases out the winter chills.
Electric heat will kill you w/ the operational cost anywhere above 9 cents a kwh. Here propane is reasonable, but we have even cheaper nat. gas, in floor.
Ive oriented the garage to take advantage of passive solar heat and light w/ inserts for two OH doors. Big savings.

 

[thammel]

Your plans sound great! Definitely put in the pex for in-floor heat as you'll never have another chance to do this. I put it in over 10 years ago but have not connected it yet. I also have propane and electric. Mini-splits are great for the summer and heat in all but the coldest times. I have them. Also have a reznor udas propane heater which is great for quick heat up in the cold times. You will be very happy to have the shower. that's the one thing I didn't go with and I regret that. Yep, you should be fine teeing off the house water supply. My garage is attached via a mudroom so I did that and also connected to my house septic system.
For your floor, 5" sounds okay as a minimum. You might want to rethink the fiber mesh. I've read stories about the fiber sticking up and giving a rough surface. For a floor finish I went with Armorpoxy 3 layer system and it's fantastic.
For insulation, go with what works best for a pole barn. Mine is stick construction and I did the insulating myself. went with R38 in the ceilings and R19 in the 2x6 construction walls. I was very careful to tape all joints and penetrations in the interior paper (I used fiberglass). All I can say is that temperature changes very slowly in the interior with hvac off; a sign of good insulation. Obviously, go with thermopane windows and insulated doors.

 

[66Caprice]

Insulation under the concrete pad. As thick as you can go. It will help keep the heat from transferring through the concrete into the ground.

 

[PoorUB]

Hydronic floor heat is the only way to go! Can you get off peak electric? If you can consider an electric boiler with a propane back up. If not, just propane. With in floor you can set the shop heat to 60-65 degrees and be very comfortable. Zone the shop and showroom/office separately as the offices will need to run a bit warmer.

Do you have code inspections in your area? You might need two bathrooms and they may need to meet code for handicap accessibility.

 

[nadogail]

Can you recapture any heat from your Powder Coat Baking Ovens? Maybe a heat ex changer to preheat your boiler feed water?

 

[p00p]

for hvac, could you do geothermal?

 

[MushCreek]

Get three phase power if you can. Lots of shop tools go dirt cheap because they are 3 PH. I picked up a monster 12" Baldor grinder for $160, and saw a gear-driven DoAll drill press for $100 yesterday.