Shop Talk

I have had 2 independant contractors put up buildings I bought from Menards. They make a good product. I am adding on an open fronted addition to the honey/food processing shed this summer. Cement is poured, poles set. Next year I want to add an open fronted shed to park the tractors and hay equipment. Good luck with your investment.

WE have a couple sheds with dirt or gravel floors where the tractors park.. Saves cost... It is nice to have concrete where you work/ shop... Long skinny sheds were tractors are parked in a row are a pain if you want the FRONT tractor out.. Put a door at both ends, or even better park the tractors side by side facing OUT... We have a shed like that without doors.. Open on one side. works great and you can move anything out without bothering others.. Cheaper and you can box in LATER if you ever want.  Smallest shed is 50 x 20 ft deep... 5 bays 10 ft wide open on that front.. 12 ft TALL opening.. Works good for CASE Hoe, FORD 75 HP tractor, Bobcat, couple mowers, and oil / parts / ladder/ cable rack at back wall.

Edited by steve(ill) - 09 Apr 2020 at 9:02am

Thanks guys,

In a friends shop they put a 48" man door between the shop and the cold storage area I kind a like that. We have a 10'x10' insulated sliding door that we made in ours with the idea we could get stuff from the cold to the shop without going outside but once there is stuff packed in front of it that dont happen. Put in a drain and running water, we just have a hydrant in the shop, friends that built after ours all have sinks. Dont use your shop for storage our shop struggles to be a shop we have accumulated too much crap. And have a plan for what you want in it and what you want to do because you can overfill a shop getting  every welder lathe press drill press and milling machine.

The in floor heat is great if you are using it every day. But if only part time then the radiant 4" tube hanging about 8' from the floor is real nice. They burn LP/natural gas. I set the t-stat around 45- 50 for the winter and turn up to 60 when working in the shop.

My shop is too small, was big enough to repair the 7G, to construct the grain truck but was seriously lacking room. 30' deep, 48' long, 12' ceiling and 10' doors. Needed to be 40x80 at this point and 16' ceiling height with 14' doors. Man doors mean squat unless use them for materials 3/0 doors are fine to walk in and out, otherwise use the overhead doors. Sliding pole barn doors leak air like a screen door, do not seal to the floor, always cold wet or hot, do not dissuade critters that eat on wiring, destroy insulation and in general make a mess everywhere you do not want it. Concrete floor, 6" poor with perimeter frost wall, stick built Not pole built, or go red iron building for strength and structural integrity. Fully insulate the ENTIRE structure, do not squabble or go cheap as the end result is costing more to work in it, for lighting, heating, keeping other materials controlled.

Wow Lots of great suggestions and ideas and also some, wish I had made things different related to buildings. 

Edited by Sugarmaker - 09 Apr 2020 at 6:38pm

Well, you got a dozen different ideas... They range from $15K to $125K .......... i guess the MAIN question is What SIZE and COST "range" are you thinking ?  If your 40 years old and got another 40 years to work in it, it is different than if your 70 and part time working ! .............. or are you planning ahead for kids / grandkids to take over ?

Edited by steve(ill) - 09 Apr 2020 at 7:19pm

I have 400 amp in my shop.
Also, each plug has it own breaker and most have a switch inline before the plug.
I have a light at each station. If the light is on, you have powder to that tool.
I also, have 6- 220 volt plugin, all with their own breakers.
At times I may have a welder, plasma cutter, air compressor, drill press, powder coating oven and bandsaw running at the same time.

Designate high ceiling shop floor space for equipment projects ONLY.

Addon a 8-10’ tall x 25’ wide leantoo adjacent to long side of shop for tool room, welding, & paint booth etc..wash bay? Give leantoo better lighting, heat, air, & proper ventilation. If leantoo budget allows, build a break room with sink/refrigerator/microwave and bathroom. Also closet the air compressor for reduced noise.

Cart all tools, welder, parts, jacks, wood blocks into shop as needed. Pipe compressed air to each shop exit door making it ‘s quick coupler hose hookup readily available inside or outdoors. Stand overhead crane/hoist to the side of main shop door so crane can pivot outdoors or inside. It could lift items from outdoor truck & swing them inside over equipment in bay nearest door. Forget the stand crane if you have a forklift. But enable forklift to enter/exit leantoo tool room/welding/paint booth/wash bay as necessary. Park the forklift inside the leantoo.

Edited by AC7060IL - 10 Apr 2020 at 12:13am

Folks,

Edited by Sugarmaker - 10 Apr 2020 at 6:51pm

Folks,

Your idea of sketch of the building would be good. Make it to scale and take measurements of tractors and other "toys" so you know things will fit where you think they will.

For insulation, go with spray foam. I did foam on my shop that's a combination concrete block/pole lean to. It basically turned it into an Igloo Cooler. My heat source is a mini split ductless system. It provides both heat and A/C. I went this route because the first summer I had a layer of mildew on everything. The beauty of the mini split is it's very economical to operate so you just turn it on and leave it on.

Guys,