Dream Shop!

[keith2210]

Howdy all! First off I want to start of with a hello from the hoosier state. Ive been reading on this forum for awhile and finally decided to post. As i said i am from indiana and going to purdue university right now. Im an agribusiness management major and have two years until graduation. I work on a farm at home and have only known agriculture. My long term plans after graduation are to move back closer to home (southern third of state) and buy some ground (Im looking in the 75-100 acre area mostly wooded) On that ground i would like to have a house and pole building to start. I started throwing this idea around my freshman year in high school and have been creating my dream on paper since then. I have a blue million ideas and criteria for my barn and house. It was not long after i got to college that i found this site. Ive been reading and thought this was about as good of a resource as i can get. You just cant beat first hand experience. Now this is where you guys come in and can hopefully give me a hand. Now keep in mind this is a DREAM. It doesnt have to be all done at once but i am planning to do it all eventually. when things get done i want them done right the first time. Cost is not going to be considered at this point. Im trying to figure out what i want, what will work best, and what i can live without. I will most likely do this in a series of posts and taking detailed notes on them all. So lets start by making this thread about the shop. I will give you guys the things i want and what i already have in mind and let you tell me what you think the best size, material, shape, and anything else you can think of should be.

Criteria for my DREAM shop:
-unnattached from house
-drive through doors
-lean to for storage of firewood and equipment
-concrete floor with hot water pipes in floor(cant think of what this is really called at the moment)
-outdoor wood burner to heat shop and home
-walk in door
-Loft (sleeping quarters for 1-2 people)
-walk in cooler
-small butcher shop
-tool storage (all power, air, hand)
-air compressor (complete with line all around perimiter of shop)
-welder
-workbench
-floor drain
-well insulated
-Opaque panels just below roof line (for natural light)
-windows

I dont want much i know but its a dream lol. Im basically looking for any input you guys have. if you could do it different what would you do and try and incorporate my things lol. You can get as detailed as you want or just comment on a certain peice. Either way i appreciate anything i can get. Im hoping for a ton of feed back so lets hear what you guys have to say. thanks in advance and sorry for the long post. I know this topic gets beat to death but im working on a dream here. thanks.

 

[keith2210]

thought of stuff that i forgot already lol. I would like to have also

-mini kitchen
-sidewall ligthing as well as overhead
-plenty of storage

THe reason for the cooler and kitchen is that i have a lot of hunting buddies. at home we all have a "camp". It has most everything i want. I just want mine and bigger and better. The american dream i know lol. But hopefully my education will allow me to do these things. I look forward to the reccomendations/criticisms you guys have for anything and everything!

 

[scgargoyle]

None of that sounds out of line. Remember, when you build any outbuilding, build it 3 times bigger than you think you will ever need, and it will almost be big enough! If you have plumbing, add a toilet. You'll want a work sink to wash up anyhow; might's well have a toilet. When I build my barn/workshop, it's going to have different sections, with one area devoted to welding and machining, and a separate area dedicated to wood working. It's not a good idea to weld around sawdust! Also, grease/metal chips/oil are not good when building fine furniture. Depending on your hobbies/interests, you'll want to build it so it can support an overhead hoist somewhere. It's nice to be able to pull in and yank an engine without all the drama.

You're young, but as I get older, I notice that there's not enough light, there's never a comfortable place to work sitting down, and, oh yeah, did I mention the toilet?

 

[wedge40]

Bathroom and shower. I'm sure this is implied but figured I add it.

In floor heating is called radient heat. Find anybody who has it and they will swear by it. If you're going to do this in stages this would be something worth the wait. But you will have to keep the shop at some minimum temp in the winter, because it's not instant heat like forced air. Depending on the size of the barn, boiler etc it could a day or two to bring it up to temp. It sound's like you are looking at a gambrel roof style barn because you said you would like to have room for two to live upstairs.

Where in Hoosier land are you from?

Wedge

 

[6sunset6]

I swear by radient heat. If you super insulate and vapor barrier to control drafts I will bet you can heat the building for free. Solar hot water panels on the roof, solar electric panels for pump power. Use antifreeze in the system , better the potable kind incase it ever is in contact with domestic water. A shop at 45d is plenty warm enough. A very small wood stove would boost it the rest of the way if you need it. I have radient heat in my house that I heat with propane. My shop was built 7 years before my house. My house was built 16 years ago. I kick myself everytime I think about it.
Or a ground source heat pump. They were still to new when I did all my work but they are readily available now.

 

[keith2210]

ah yes a hoist would be a great idea! and yes a bathroom/shower/sink is in the plans just forgot to mention it. This is going to be my combination hunting shack/welding/fabrication/mechanic shop/mancave. i want to try and get it all in one place and have one ideal man cave. thats why im starting now. hopefully i can get it figured out down to dimensions to types of lights to location of tools/implements/workbenches. thanks so far and keep em coming.

 

[wedge40]

The other thing I like about radient heat is. No open flame to worry about. I know they have certified gas heaters, but with this you are sure. Open flame and wood working aren't the greatest thing.

Wedge

 

[scgargoyle]

If you're thinking about a gambrel roof with a loft, check out barnplans.com. I like their plans, and the construction method. You could spend a lot of time looking over that site!

 

[hr3]

Keith,, I bet your lighting "If your doing this 5 years from now will be " LED".. They are getting cheeper every day..

 

[uniongoon]

garagejournal.com/forum this is a super busy site which will give tons of ideas. It will also humble those of us who think our garage is something special.

 

[keith2210]

thanks guys. keep those ideas coming. im taking notes. Sierra1 thats what im thinking. i want people to see this and throw ideas out there of things they would if they could put anything they want in their shop and not have to worry about a budget. wedge im from the southwestern part of indiana. about fifteen miles east of vincennes. but nine months out of the year im at purdue.

 

[chipsndust]

Put the doors on the gable end, not under the eves, (especially the man door) so you don't have to shovel your way in.
Use attic trusses so you have storage space above, make an access door in the gable end to the upper storage area.
Put a course or two of block on the slab before you put the wall plates down, more height, less lumber.

 

[daymon]

I would probably do a slab and a pre engineered metal building kit, less maintenace that way I think. Also at least 12'X12' doors, you never know what you might want to pull in there, and 14 to 16 feet sidewalls, so you will have more headroom in your loft.

 

[MikeD74T]

Keith, I saw an idea in Farm Show magazine that you might find interesting. Young couple starting to farm a piece of property build a large barn/shop, 50x100 with 18' sidewalls as I remember. Heat in floor with inside wood burning boiler. Pulled a 10x70 mobile home in on one side & jacked it up to the ceiling. Supported it with posts & beams to also create a 6' porch/walkway the entire length. This allowed parking underneath. Mobile home was older but in good shape inside. No more roof worries cause it never rains in the barn & easy to heat as outside temp (in barn) never gets below 40F. Seems like a really odd idea but actually quite practical. Couple figured when time & money permits building a proper house, they'll just lower the trailer & tow it away. MikeD74T

 

[602466]

We live in North Carolina and deal with the read clay soil. Our labs would track this all over the house when it rained. We put in a shower wash up area for the labs in the garage. Just the right shower size for them and not tracking it all over the rest of the house.

Thanks,

Wally

 

[Egon]

The concept is terrific! The reality is you will be so busy working there will be no time for enjoyment of the shop or the butcher shop.

The walk in cooler may be real good for holding a keg or two of beer which would be considered an evening sore muscle relaxant.

Old folks can be irritatingly realistic!

 

[yzbdsbp]

I love different shop ideas, thats kinda a hobby of mine is going to different peoples shops. I too use mine as a camp for me and my buddies! So here is the only peice of advice I can give you. Make it yours! but make it bigger than you think it will take, becasue as you said before you want it nicer than theirs, of course you do! But they will also want to move half of their stuff to your shop and hang out! So figure out the space you need and at a min. make it 1/4 to 1/2 bigger. TRUST ME, if you dont you will wish you did! Good luck and I cant wait to see the progress!

 

[flusher]

I dont want much i know but its a dream lol. Im basically looking for any input you guys have. if you could do it different what would you do and try and incorporate my things lol. You can get as detailed as you want or just comment on a certain peice. Either way i appreciate anything i can get. Im hoping for a ton of feed back so lets hear what you guys have to say. thanks in advance and sorry for the long post. I know this topic gets beat to death but im working on a dream here. thanks.

Think about your overheating lighting needs.

My 24x42 ft shop (12 ft wall height) has seven 8-ft long/4 bulb (T8 size) fluorescent fixtures-Lithonia from Home Depot.
Installed them 30 months ago. Two ballasts have failed already.

So I'm replacing these fixtures with compact fluorescent floodlights (Edison-type screw base, integral ballast, 32W power draw, 130W equivalent illumination).



I'll continue replacing those crappy Lithonia fixtures as more of the ballasts fail.

 

[flusher]

Check that--I meant "overhead", not overheating.

 

[Dave5264]

Im Just planning my new garage now. Some things im doing:

Set into a slight Hill, it will be 2 story, with a 48" double swing french door & ramp at the back (high side of hill) . Snow Mobiles, ATVs etc will go upstairs.

Extra height Doors so i can Drive the Tractor inside

Hydraulic lift so I can store the Vette up and another car underneath...handy for oil changes etc too. Great way to add capacity for another Car for $3k.

it will be 28 x 40 so i can ge 4 vehicles in the lower level , 5 with the hoist/lift.

Good support beam with a Track, & Winch on it.