Hey guys

I am in the planning stages of building a new workshop. Planning to have 1 large bay (for farm-related repairs) and then 1 or 2 bays for my trucks. I have never had a "real" shop before, always working in the back yard, driveway, or in the 2-car garage at my moms house in the winter.

I was wondering if there are any things that I should watch out for? Any common mistakes that you've seen? I know I am going to build the ceiling high enough to accomodate a lift and maybe a chain fall somewhere in the larger area. I also am going to design it large enough so that I can store used parts and/or new parts.

Are there any other posts on this subject? I didn't see any when I searched. Any advice, pictures, blueprints... anything at all would be a great help! Thanks!

Ryan

 

I've been thinking about this alot lately also. My father in law is going to be building a garage probaly this spring for his truck (an international semi) and we've had many thoughts about it. Since I work as a drafter for an architect, i've become aware of many things.

first, plan for the future. If you are going with a metal building type garage, lay it out so that in the future you will be able to add addional bays if you ever need to. Meaning, that the "easiest" way to add on, would be parallel to the roof peak, that is the way that alot of our industrial clients lay out buildings, so that it can continue on, basically uninterrupted for however much property they have. also, think about a floor pit, or at least some sort of floor drainage system. if you can't afford a vehicle lift, a floor pit may make things a little easier to work on.

second, plumbing. even if you aren't planning on running water right now, in the future you may decide that it might be nice to have a throne in youre shop. It shouldn't cost much more to rough it in, and then cap off the pipes at the floor and the building perimeter. in that same token, have you thought of "in-floor" radiant heating. even if you just lay the pipes, and connect it later, it may be something to think about.

third, electric. think worst case scenerio. how many times have you been working on something, and just dont have enough extension cords or have too many things on and start popping breakers? think about dropping outlets from the celing, that way you would have outlets handy in the middle of your garage too.

fourth, storage. the way that he is planning his garage, is to have a mezzanine, or second floor in a portion of his garge in the "workshop" area. this would be nice to store extra parts or supplies that you don't necessarily need on a regular basis, thus freeing up your valuable floor space, and essentialy doubling your storage area in the same amount of square footage, and taking advantage of the height of your garage which you may not be using to its fullest.

and the last thing thats come up in our scenario, is the way to seperate the "bays". what we are planning (at least right now) is to run heavy duty cables between the bays, at probaly 14' or so. this way, once we figgure out what we are going to use, we will have basically 14' tall "shower curtains" that will seperate them in the event that we need to wash down a vehicle or whatever.

Hope that helps you out, and that i didnt bore you too much. These are just things that we have come up with to be "issues"

 

Ryan, What ever size that you think is enough, double it. Make your doors wide and tall and the ceiling high. :-)

John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

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66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Might be a time to put in a `cement pad` somewhere on the side for the Air compressor.

Over rate the power panel for future use (like the welder).
Cold water line at the front of the garage.
Sky lights on the roof and turbine vents!

__JOHN__Õ¿ö
FTE Club #7
Member-
http://www.cruisin-north.com/
Santa Rosa, Calif.
72 F-250
ICQ#6030753
http://www.ford-trucks.net/users/jbhf250/
https://www.ford-trucks.com/pictorial/big/1972_f250_2.html

 

I agree with John W. No matter how big you build it, seems you always need just a little more room.

 

Well what I do know: I am going to have 1 large bay opened up to use as a work area typically, yet large enough to fit a few haywagons or a large piece of farm machinery into it if it's raining/snowing outdoors. I am going to have a semi-large area set aside for project trucks, meaning a place where I can put a frame, cab, etc and not have it be in the way when I want to change the tires/oil on my daily driver. I will purchase 1 lift for the shop, however I am still planning on floor grates and channels for water to run in. With the amount of salt on the roads here, I'd be stupid to think that I will never wash my truck in the winter in there.

I am also designing an office, where I can keep all of my manuals, papers, etc.... will have a bathroom in there, probably including a shower and everything since I am usually covered head to toe with grease at the end of the day.

To match the barns up at my farm (all Morton Buildings) it will be a steel building, and the roofine will be continuous so that I can add on in the future.

Hmmm... I guess I have a pretty good idea of what I want... Maybe I ought fire up the ol' AutoCAD and see what happens. Maybe I'll send the blueprints to ____ (I forgot who said they worked for an architect) to be looked over Thanks for your help so far... the more people that remind me of things the better.

Ryan

 

Morton is a nice building but the one my dad has and most i have seen are actually pole barns which isnt a metal building

 

Ryan start with 100 feet wide, you can always add another 25 ft. to the back when you need it. :7

John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Are you building your own design or going with a custom metal shop? I am planning to use a Morton or Wick building for my shop down the road. My grandfather had a Morton 40' shop with no insulation, dirt floor built back in the late 70's. You couldn't get the door's open in the winter, but they shop only cost him about 7500 dollars then. I can get the equivalent with the options I want for around 30000 grand today.

 

I should have caught my own mistake - I will probably build this thing like a pole barn, except in some areas using a lot of concrete block (for water problems in my area). I will have steel I-beams inside (maybe) to help support different sections and to help hang my chain falls from.

Morton buildings are fine, what I meant by saying steel building is that it will have steel "siding", not wood, vinyl, etc. I want it to look like the Mortons, not be one of them WILL be insulated (in upstate NY it'd be pointless otherwise), will have a poured concrete floor. This is something that I am going to work on for years I am sure, but I need to be sure I dont get ahead of myself and begin construction before I finish designing.

Thanks. Actually, my initial thoughs of size were 48x60 - however, the cost of a shop that large may be more than I can ever finish. We'll see. I really need a place to work on my tractors and farm equipment...

Ryan

 

Ryan, How far do you live from Stockman, he is from that area?

John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

The suggestion for radiant heat in the floor is excellent!! If you have ever worked in a shop with this type of heat, you wondered how you ever lived without it. My next garage (and maybe my current one) will have this. I'll probably "power" it with an outside wood furnace.

Boy this subject gets the juices flowin! My ideaq of heavin is the perfect workshop!

Nathan

 

You were talkin about the metal "siding" u can buy the metal in almost any colors you can imagine, one piece(long) not covering the whole building, and it looks good, i work with my dad in construction and we build alot like that, but one thing is for sure if you're not gonna stud it up and make it a pole barn you'd be better off if you put the big rolled insulation on under the metal or u will regret having to go in and do it with the metal on. The metal "siding" is the same metal they put on the roof.

Proud66owner
Justin
I would rather push a ford than drive a chevy.

 

I am not sure where Stockman is from. I am from Hornell, about an hour south of Rochester, NY. Radiant floor heat... man, that sounds comfortable in the winter. I am afraid that if I get heat in the floor, I wil decide I'd rather lay there than buy a lift.

The way I figure it, I will get dark blue or dark gray steel panels on the sides (to match the other buildings there) and put a nice layer of insulation between that and probably OSB I use on the inside. I am also lookig at "alternative" types of construction, the best choice being a Geodesic Dome structure. I know it would stand out... but it would also be something unique, and if you know me, you know that I am unique.

Thanks for the help so far, everybody. Plans are coming together... now if I can only find a way to buy all new tools with this shop, I'd be set. Wha do you think? Craftsman hand tools, Ingresol Rand <wrong spelling?> air tools?

Thanks again
Ryan

 

Ryan I think he is north and east of you somewhere in the Syracuse area. I know they get a lot of snowfall each year.

John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.