Optimum Small Shop height design?

[dragoneggs]

I have a detached two car garage 24' x 28' with single door... time (well way past time) to expand the garage so the better half can park inside. I am limited in which way I can expand. Basically to one side and/or up. I can expand to the side about 14' (making it 42' total). Beyond that, then it becomes complicated as I would be blocking light/view with a detached, or connecting and making it attached to the house with a 3ft elevation change.

Goal: Dedicated shop and wife parks her car inside in the existing shop, I mean garage, as long promised.

I have the footprint pretty well settled based on topography, property lines etc. Question is shop height? Current detached garage has 100in ceiling. I think I would like a high bay roll up door entrance on the 14' side of the 14x24 extension.

Question: What is good height for a ceiling that would work well for a small gantry, RV maintenance, shop? I plan on trusses overhead. Any comments on truss design, etc. welcome too!

Total shop area will be 20' x 24'. Believe me I have maximized the footprint! But this is what I have to work with on my steep sloped property and existing structures.

 

[NewfieDan]

To have an rv shop you should look at a door 14ft high and 12ft wide. This will give you room for the tallest rv. My current fifth wheel is about 13-1/2ft high. You may currently have a bumper pull, but at some point in the future you may end up with a fifth wheel.

To have a 14ft door you will likely need a ceiling slightly above that. For mechanical openers, you can get low headroom openers that will limit the ceiling height required.

As for trusses, where I park my vehicles is 30ft deep, with trusses that span the entire width. Do you plan any heavy lifting? (Electric or manual hoist?) this will change the truss design, or possibly add a steel beam to support the hoist. Add a provison for you power, you may want to work in the rv bay in winter or heat of the summer, so heat or AC may be needed.

 

[oliver1555]

When we built our new shop last summer, we went with a 14' sidewall to allow for a 12,000# two post lift. On one bay, I have a 14' wide x 12' high door. Any of our tractors fit with ease. The other two doors are 10' x 10'. It's perfect for what we do. We do not have an RV. If I had on one, then I would go with 16' sidewalls and a 14' x 14' door. Think about what you may need down the road - it's easier to allow for that initially. We also put two commercial grade ceiling fans in. On a tall shop, that is a must, in my opinion.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I had my drive shed built with 12 foot ceiling height. So far, this has been well thought out.

I have a garage, that I had to modify the door years ago to get the roll bar of my JD770 inside. It worked, but it was fudged. Now, I need helper springs because I don't have enough drop in the door rails to get the door moving downward. It works, but I can't use the door with no power (which isn't really a problem for me) because the jackshaft opener keeps the door open against the springs. Pull the emergency release and the door will close.

 

[Aussiebushman]

Re blockage of light, why not put panels of polycarbonate over any areas where there are windows, doorways etc. This stuff is available in many different profiles to match whatever material is used for the rest of the roof. In my case. I prefer a "corrugated" profile - it is stronger weight for weight than most other materials and is far easier to install. Also, it comes in clear as well as tinted finishes.

Re height, go as high as possible, even if it means lowering (steppin down) the ground level. I learned the hard way what can happen if the roof clearance is too limited

 

[RNeumann]

A 14' door is for the bigger (huge) RVs and fifth wheels. Your design isn't long enough to house one of those. If the idea is to park it inside I doubt you will need the 14' as 12' will work. If you want a monster in the future 14' is needed- but only to bring it in far enough to work on part of it. The other 3 issues are cost, ascetics and light blocking when it's up. The light blocking is an issue for a sectional- not a roll up. I have been an RV owner for years and wanted to plan for future needs. I debated the 14' vs 12' door. I realized the 14' door isn't needed for my situation. If I'm in a place to own and store something that big I'll be getting another shop that is sized to house the beast (at least 40').
Good luck, enjoy the project and good luck keeping it clean enough to park in!

 

[texasranger556]

If you have a sloping property, have you considered adding a basement? The upstairs floor can be poured or precast sections laid in place. I did some research but my property is nearly flat and moving over 100 yards of dirt gets into another level of permitting so I'm leaning back toward attic trusses.

 

[dragoneggs]

Okay here are a couple pics to help describe the situation.



I plan to build towards the house which is lower and to the NW in direction. This means sun is a premium at the front of the house. Here is my in progress CAD design of the shop addition. Connecting to the house will be huge $$$ and I don't think aesthetically it will work. Keep in mind the drive comes straight into the garage so the house is lower on the hill and at a right angle to the left.

 

[texasranger556]

If you haven't already, check out the forums on garagejournal.com. Tons of information on all things garage/shop.

 

[dragoneggs]

I should also add that the RV parking (if I could fit it in around all the tools) would be a temp storage/maintenance thing. Most likely I will only have room to pull in my tractor for repair. A gantry setup would be great... might not get built at same time but I want to be sure I put any structure in now that makes sense.