Projects new shop size help

In looking to build my first shop at my house . It will hold (1 )1934 Ford Truck and 2 Harley Davidsons. What size should i build with room to work on all 4 sides of the truck. Plus room for toolbox. Air compressor(vertical) and misc items . I have half an acre to build on.

 

my choice would be 30x40 minimum. with at least 10 foot sidewall. 12 foot would be better. the bigger the shop space for the wifes car the happier she is and you.

 

Wife has her own garage to park in. This is strictly the hotrod shop.

 

Oh boy, how big can you make it? Is there setback issues? Mine is 30x32, 13'6" tall, has an upstairs with a balcony and a single 10x20 door. It'll fit 4 model A's and a 56 wagon but that leaves no room.

Do you have any size constraints?

 

80' x160'

 

Easy to answer this question...

Build it large as you can afford and then add on as much as you can borrow. Take advice from experience...it will never be too large.


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Will ONLY.House 1 project and 2 motorcycles. Im kinda on a budget. And building. It myself . Lumber framed with commercial grade metal siding . 1 dtive in door and one walk thru door.

 

32' x 40' with a 12' ceiling would be my minimum size if I were to build another shop.

That with an 18' x 10' door with 3" track and rollers and an industrial electric door opener.

A walk in door and 4 windows, 2 per side and you are good to go.

 

As big as you can afford. Tall walls are nice also

 

Check out the garage journal and see some of those garages.

 

What size should i build with room to work on all 4 sides of the truck. Plus room for toolbox. Air compressor(vertical) and misc items . I have half an acre to build on.


"Kinda on a budget", LOL. We've all been there on projects. However, lumber framed with metal sides, you should be able to very accurately estimate your material costs-unlike building a Hot Rod.
Having done some building, I can tell you that you can frame a 30' wall in almost the same time as a 20' wall, so build it on the big side if you can afford the material, though concrete costs will be a big factor.

34 truck project; Will you be pulling the body off the frame? That requires space.

Only a tool box and air compressor? What about other metalworking equipment? Welding or body work areas?

I'd go 30' deep x 36' wide. That's a deep 3 bay. Double bay for the truck, one for the bikes. Going deeper than a typical 22'-24' depth would allow you to keep all your tools and shop area at the back of the building rather than taking up a bay for a shop area.
Frame the back wall with a 16' wide (two car garage door) header. This will allow you to easily add a rollup door to the back or add on to the back of the garage later and have a 16' walk/drive through.

 

As they say the bigger the better ,but in the real world we have to make compromises. Suggest 24' wide by 30 feet deep. The rear would be for benches and tools. Framing for a future door is a great idea. If you can go high by all means do so, used lifts are cheep, lofts for storage are also a great idea.

 

Shop mistakes I've made in the past (some were leased, others I built, some I had limited choices):

Going deep means always having to move something out to get something else out.

Putting doors on the side where the roof pitch dumps all the snow.

Not getting at the very least an insulated steel roof.

Not taking sun orientation into account. With doors open for ventilation the sun can be in your face or reflecting in your welding helmet. A real pain.

Not orienting for privacy. It can be unerving when crackhead looking passersby gawk in your shop.

A row of trees would have helped shade the metal siding if I had oriented broad side south.

Not building a bumpout for the air compressor. The noise wears on ya after days of heavy use.

Things I was happy with:

Sliding doors. Overheads are a maint. pain, always needing adjusting or coming off the track. Usually when your tired and want to lock up and go home but can't 'cause the frikin' door won't close!

Building a high enough pad where flooding is never an issue.

Orienting so that I can drive a trailer in one side and out the other.

Going with 14' high doors. It sure was handy when I had to get a dmp truck inside.

 

I would build as large as you can afford. But one thing to keep in mind,well maybe more than one. Keep your out side measure ments to fit full sheets of metal. 3' coverage means like 36' , 39, Whatever. No sense buying extra sheets to cut off 6''. The roof is another figure depends on overhang. The other thing is you can add on way cheaper and easier now than later.. Good luck Jack

 

^^^^^What clik said-that's some really good advice.I would go at least 32-35 deep x 32-35 long x 14 high (bottom of ceiling joist) with a 12 high door.Remember no one says I should have made it 2 feet smaller.

 

I went 32' deep so I could slip in 2 OT cars in nose to tail for storage. Should have gone 36' so I could walk between them. If the size is budget restricted (isn't it always) consider future expansion possibilities in the original design and siting. My 32X54 is too small now but because of the position on the lot will be difficult to add on.

Consider aesthetics and blending in to the neighborhood.

2X6 studs allow more insulation.

I built a small compressor room in the corner. A bump out would have been better, but more expensive.

I went with 10' stepped to 12' walls (8' and 10' studs on 3 courses of split faced block). 2' higher would allow a useable loft.
Consider attic or at least storage trusses, but leave room for real stairs. Pull down stairs are a PIA.

Min of 100 amp 220 v service. 200 amp would be nice if you will have machine tools.

Pre-plumb for water and sewer. A toilet or urinal is nice as you age. A sink and hot water is great. Floor drain if code allows.

I have eve doors and live in an area with 300 inches of snow annually. Big mistake. Snow sliding off a steel roof quickly turns to concrete in front of your door and it laughs at your plow truck.

Big windows are your friend if you live in a secure area, as I love natural light. Not so much if you live in a crime infested area. They also steal wall space.

Steel liner is better than drywall if you weld or blast. Partition walls or a bump out for the dirty work would be nice.

Leave money in the budget for an apron, or else you will be constantly sweeping tracked in dirt.

 

I would say, 20w x 24 deep, minimum. My deuce coupe lives in a 20x20 space in the back of my garage. It's got tools and workbenches on 3 sides and it's a little tight front and back, 24 deep would have been better. But, there's no way I could fit two Harleys in there! The best way is to draw it on paper, or even better, put your stuff in your other garage and see what fits and go from there.

 

what ever size you decide on, partition off space large enough to store the truck and bikes from the work area.

 

Mines 30' x 40', 16' main door, 10' door on side towards back (for cross ventilation, I window and one personnel door. Side walls are 10'. 2 projects fit easily, even apart.

I still have room to work on other things.

As said more than once, build the biggest you can afford and I might add, plan for heating/cooling and future expansion.

 

I built a 30X40, 8' tall almost 11yrs ago. I have no real use for a lift. The shop is the perfect size for 2 projects but I had to sort of force my into it due to caring for parents. Now it's got 2 lifetimes of stuff in it and gets crowded fast. I had always planned for a storage shed of some kind and just haven't got to it yet. Soon I hope...

 

Tall enough for a 2 post lift and deep enough to park a loaded car trailer inside and wide enough to handle as many projects as you can afford(or not). Sun and shade is a big deal so figure that out. I like to work outside for some things so consider a carport or leanto if you need to cut costs somewhere but make it so you can enclose it down the road if desired.
Roll up garage doors are great although barn type sliders might work better for you.
Barn doors and residential garage doors are a PITA for a workshop.
Try to put a the electrical entrance box close to where you would do welding and fab work. Think about roughing in PVC for the air and water lines in the concrete pad when it is poured. Maybe electrical as well if code allows. Spend a few bucks more on the concrete pad and put in rebar reinforcements and a bit thicker for the 2 post lift pad area. Cantilvered trusses can get you a few extra feet inside and let you use 10 foot walls instead of 12 feet. Try to figure out a floor plan so you can store parts and junk out out of sight in a separate "parts bay" or under a lean to because sanding dust is a PITA to deal with and unhealthy.
If you are using sheet metal for the siding and roof use screws instead of nails if heat expansion is problematic.
Frame headers for doors and windows for the future if you can't afford them upfront.
I used a computer program to play with floor plans generate a blue print for my framer and truss mfg.

Good luck - you can save a boatload of money by doing it yourself.

 

I would suggest at least 30' x 40'

With your pickup,if you blow it apart your going to need room to work and store parts and still have room for the bikes.



You mentioned you have minimal tools,tool box & compressor but you will buy more tools as time progresses.

Your going to need a work bench & probably want a refrigerator for cold refreshments,,maybe a blasting cabinet in the future,,engine hoist?

Believe me you can run out of room fast. HRP

 

Thank you all for the advice . Very helpful.

 

Park every thing in your yard, put some stakes and string around them. Walk around them, move stakes and string to give you room to do what you want to do. Mark out you workbench, compressor, toolbox, ect. Keep moving the stakes to fit everthing you can think of. Now double it! As far as height build as tall as you can, side walls are cheaper than a roof.

 

No matter how big you build it, you will eventually say "I should have built it bigger"
That's why these guys are saying airplane hanger size.

To keep cost down, stay with a 24' truss. Costs rise exponentially when you go wider than 24, but the cost rises only linearly taking the 24' width deeper. Choosing a truss that will give you a usable attic space and you'll be happy that you did.

A project car will take room, and every bit of that 24' width. Go at least a minumum of 30' deep but deeper if you can. A second rear single drive thru door makes the space fantastic, a roof over a rear pad makes it fucking awesome. And let you sneek the bikes in and out easily so they don't get stuck in there or out of harms way.
Go with a 10' high wall, at least. With this height you can build a small mezzanine storage over the bikes and free up some floor space. Yea it costs more but vertical space is cheap and very usable.

Want a really nice shop, make it with a full height attic with a steeper pitch roof.

I've had plenty of spaces in addition to the standard attached 2 car garage.
24x26 with 8' covered side patio.
24x30 10' walls and rear door
30x30
24x40 10' high walls, 12 x24 rear mezzanine.
30x100 20' high walls.

Every one has eventually became too small.

 

Same decision when I built mine, Finally decided on 28' deep by 32' wide with an 8/12 pitch roof and 9' walls. Wish now I had built 10' walls. Anyway I used floor trusses upstairs and you get a 14' wide room above with the peak being 7 1/2 foot for upstairs storage. That makes a ton of difference if you have a car torn apart. Fits well on my lot too.

 

The bigger you build it the more junk you will put in it. I built my 29 chevy in a 13x17 under house garage. It was hard but it can be done. My father has a 40x60 garage and you cannt walk from one side to the other.

 

Couple ideas regardless of size, floor drain to a septic leach field, put pex tubing in your concrete, pour in reinforcing pads for a lift. All of theses can be completed later but can't be easily done after the floor is in. The drain and pex can be capped off until you get to them, the pex can be run to an external ground temp recirculation to cool the shop and in the winter you can get 50 degree ground temp. Make sure your elevation is high enough to prevent water issues, run your roof line so you can add another stall, it does slant your roof over your door but it sure makes adding width later an easier deal. Concrete is a major cost, consider a larger building and pour your footer, leave rebar stubs to the interior, then only pour the floor in half the shop. You can expand into the other half a few years down the road. Or just ramp the floor to the footer height with stone and you have secure storage. Consider a "rat" wall, 4 to 6 inch perimeter raised concrete to set your wall on, this takes care of a lot of water and bug issues. Makes cleaning very simple. Decide if you're doing pole barn or wall on slab construction. Pole barn costs less but isn't as tight. With a pole barn you can throw a large building up and come back later and pour the floor in stages within the walls provided you used a 2x skirt on the perimeter. Same idea as wall on slab with the footer in place.

 

Ummmmm no matter on what size you decide on the answer to your question will always be, "bigger".......I'm not kidding either....

 

If you have half an acre, cover it all!

Since you're in Louisiana, snow likely isn't a concern so you don't need a steep roof pitch. I'd suggest a 32 x 40 with a roof pitched in one direction. Section off 10 feet to store the Harleys and the other 30 x 32 for the truck and shop so the cycles stay clean. 16 ft high wall in front and 12 ft in the back.

Use engineered ceiling joists instead of trusses for more headroom. If you use overhead doors, order them to go as far up the wall as possible before turning in to keep them close to the ceiling. Put windows high in the doors and walls to allow light in but keep undesirables and prying eyes out.

Consider poured concrete walls at least a foot above the floor as rat walls to keep the critters out and the wood or steel farther from the ground. This allows you to wash the floor down without getting the walls wet.