Converting a tractor shed into a metal shop

[patrick_g]

I have a shed on the side of my garage-shop. the garage-shop is 36 x 48 divided into two 36 x 24 portions, one is a three car garage and the other is my wood shop. the shed is 21 x 48 and is on the south side of the garage and wood shop. The shed is enclosed on three sides and has a 3:12 shed roof (or is that 2.5:12 ??? anyway about 9 degree slope) It is not large enough for the tractor with implements installed.

I left the south side open thinking if it rained and snowed into the interior too much I could enclose it. Now I am enclosing it. It will hereinafter be called the metal shop. Wood and metal working are incompatible and I NEED a separate metal working space. The tractor and implements and trailers and ... will go into the 35 x 70 metal bld being moved near to the house.

The shed is engineered steel trusses on 12 ft centers with engineered truss type columns dividing the space into 4 bays of 12 ft each.

I am doing the drop ceiling in Hardy panel (fiber cement board in 4 x 8 sheets 1/4 inch thick) and also on the walls for fire safety (welding and such.)

Here are a few pix to show the work in progress...

Picture of cluttered shop was included by accident.. The door leads to the metal shop however.

Dark picture is inside the metal shop looking out the hole for the overhead door (inline with overhead door leading into wood shop. The wood shop has nearly everything on wheels so I can move stuff out of the way and bring a vehicle into the shop to work on it under A/C or heating.)

The picture showing 3 recessed windows shows the newly built wall. There are 6 windows, 2 per 12 ft bay (3 of the 4 bays) with the 4th getting an 8 ft tall 10 ft wide overhead door.

The picture with the ladder in is is inside the metal shop showing window holes which now have windows installed, pix later.)

The windows are recessed 2 feet. The apace below the windows will be shelves.

The ceiling gets pretty low next to the windows. I am 6'2" and with boots on I have good head clearance at the windows. Ceiling goes up over 12 feet at the common wall between the shed and the wood shop and garage. I will be blowing in F/G ceiling insulation to get an R value of at least 45 and using batting for the 2x6 wall cavities. Lowe's had a sale on widows with no upcharge for low E glass and argon fill for the windows which are in rough openiings of 48x17 1/4 (sliders.)



I can extend the A/C duct from the wood shop to the metal shop. I haven't decided if I will "zone" the metal shop or what. I can heat and cool it as part of the wood shop with little mod to A/C or install some dampers and a thermostat and it can be its own zone. decisioins decisioins. I have a propane line to the shop so can easily put in a separate heater or maybe even a barrel heater fired from wood scrap from the wood shop (supplemented as needed with cordwood.)

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

This is the picture supposed to be posted in place of cluttered wood shop. It shows the lights on the wall instead of the ceiling where they started out.

Pat

 

[sandman2234]

One thing i have been told about using propane sourced heat is that apparently generates a lot of water when used non vented. Wood working equipment is suspect, but metal working tools are even more suspectable to the water in the air. Another cooling/heating scenario, and you are asking to create a lot of rust on your machines, so be careful on how you generate heat in your shop. If constant temps are possible, that is the best way to keep your machines rust free. Even at lower settings, dry conditioned air is better than moisture enriched air for your machines.
I am sure you probably have already considered this...
David from jax

 

[scgargoyle]

It takes a real man to weld in 6" of sawdust LOL! That's what I'm hoping to do when I build the barn on our property. I designed a monitor barn with a tall center section for a lift, and two wings, one for wood, one for metal. Of course, the way the economy is going, I'll probably end up working under a tarp strung between trees.... Keep us posted on you progress- lookin' good!

 

[patrick_g]

One thing i have been told about using propane sourced heat is that apparently generates a lot of water when used non vented. Wood working equipment is suspect, but metal working tools are even more suspectable to the water in the air. Another cooling/heating scenario, and you are asking to create a lot of rust on your machines, so be careful on how you generate heat in your shop. If constant temps are possible, that is the best way to keep your machines rust free. Even at lower settings, dry conditioned air is better than moisture enriched air for your machines.
I am sure you probably have already considered this...
David from jax

David, I refuse to install an unvented heater in an occupied space. I have 4 DIRECT VENT propane heaters as decorations and no electricity required backup heat in the house (sun porch, sitting room, great room, basement.) If I use any heater in any location where people breathe it will vent all products of combustion to the outdoors. I prefer getting the combustion air from outside too (direct vent) and don't even like the "B" vent which uses room air for combustion but vents the stack gassed to the outside. These can back draft whereas direct vent can't.

As my metal shop shares 24 ft of wall with my wood shop (and 24 feet with garage) and the wood shop is heated and cooled it will be pretty easy to extend ducts into the metal shop. The ducts in the wood shop are suspended on wires below the 10 ft ceiling so it is trivial to extend them into the metal shop. The unit servicing the wood shop is sized to handle 2 of the 3 spaces it services but all are zoned so in extreme conditions (really hot or cold) we can't handle all three spaces. The metal shop will be the 4th space on this unit. With 2 people it is hard to be upstairs in the second floor shop, down stairs in wood shop and in the sun room at the same time so adding the metal shop to that unit will not be a big deal. All areas are on zone dampers and their own thermostats.

We don't cool the sun room in summer, just extend the spring and fall usage a bit. The sun room has a decorative but fully functional parlor stove which we prefer to heat the room with if we choose to use it when it is too cold for the passive solar system to make it comfortable. So there is "excess" capacity for heating and cooling/dehumidifying the metal shop. I still may burn scrap wood and or propane (dry heat) in the metal shop part time. I am putting in R-49 in the ceiling and from R-19 to 29 in the walls of the metal shop. The windows I recently installed are low E and argon filled.

Machine covers are a good idea and help protect against condensation.

scgargoyle: Progress? I work on the metal shop when I have nothing I can do regarding the barn move. I will be off the shop project most of the time for a few days until the 35x70 barn is welded down in place.

Pat