building/barn door sizes

[bdog]

I am going to be constructing a steel building that will be 50' by 60' with the 60' side facing the driveway / approach. I want to be able to park as many trucks, trailers, tractors, etc in there as possible and will have the sides and rear of the building reserved for working space.

In other words there will be three 20' bays that are 50' deep.

My dilemma is the width on the doors. I was thinking at first going with three 18' wide doors centered on each bay but then I thought maybe one 18' in the middle and then 12's on each side pushed toward the middle as there will be workbenches and shelving along the edge of the building.

My thought is with the 18' door I could park two vehicles or trailers side by side, which would be 4 vehicles in the center bay, and then I could have two vehicles in each of the outer bays and room to work on them. Is 18' enough to comfortabll park two pickups or trailers side by side?

Does this seem like a good idea? It seems that everytime I build something it turns out good but I realize things I would like to have done different once it is done so I am trying to plan this out in advance.

 

[mjncad]

That's a nice size building you have planned.

My garage has a 16' and a 8' wide door. I can barely get my F-250 in the 8' door and we have two Honda's (Accord & CRV) on the 16' side. For my taste, both of our doors are too narrow. I would go with the 18' door for your storage bay, and a 12' minimum for your service bays. For efficiency, how about putting the 18' door/storage bay on the end instead of the middle, and the service bays in the middle and other end? This would keep your shop tools and equipment closer together to minimize walking back and forth across the shop. Or are you looking to achieve a symmetrical exterior appearance?

How tall are you planning the sidewalls to be? Get as tall of doors as you can afford, and depending on the door style, you might need to add two-feet to your sidewall height (e.g. 12' door needs 14' sidewall).

Since you're building will be 50' wide, you could put a single 16' wide door in the end wall and store your toys at an angle on each side of the door. The put a single 12' wide door in another bay for your service needs.

Or you could put two 18' wide doors in an end bay and have a drive-through storage bay which would be handy for trailer storage as you minimize any backing in, and have a single 12' wide door for your service bay.

Please post pictures as your project progresses. How else can we spend your money?

 

[texasjohn]

I have one word for you.

FLEXIBILITY!!!

I've got a 40x60 work shop. 18' wide door on one end, 16' wide on the other ... so can drive in one end, out the other. Wish I had made both 18'.

I have EVERYTHING on wheels/casters in the building except shelving along the perimeter and one ginormous work table...makes rearranging possible as my needs and equipment changes.

I set the drive thru doors back 6 ft from the sides, allowing shelving along the sides.

You cannot park two pickups comfortably side by side in an 18 ft opening... with mirrors on each, and needing to open doors and move around... it won't be comfortable, perhaps doable, but not comfortable... park two such vehicles comfortably side by side on a drive way... now, measure the distance, recalling that shelving and workbenches will encroach on both sides... this will telll you what you want to know.

 

[bdog]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I forgot to add that due to the lay of the land and other structures I can only approach the building from one 60' side so no doors on the sides or the back for a drive through unfortunatly.

I thought about storage on one end and the "service" bays together but I was thinking of setting one side up with tools and such for repairs and maintainence and the other side set up for welding. Often I have some helpers and one guy might be doing oil changes and the other welding so the middle bay would seperate them.

I see your point on the 18' not being comfortable. I don't plan on moving the vehicles everyday or anything like that but I did hope to back two trailers in there side by side and I did not want that too tricky.

 

[EddieWalker]

Are you sure you can get 20 foot bays? The farther apart you have your posts, the larger the purlins have to be. I know you can go 16 feet, which is fairly common, but I'm not sure about going past that. Have you spoken to a company that offers buildings that go 20 feet with their posts?

Eddie

 

[matt_isserstedt]

The metal building I work out of @ 50' x 125' has 5 bays...hence 25' centerline spacing. This is a Gulf States/Nucor bldg.

I think larger than 25' is where you get into custom fabrication.

 

[ovrszd]

Yeah I think Matt is right, my metal building spans 25 ft. I have three 12' doors. I can park my Kubota and my UTV side by side in one doorway and get in/out easily.

The Super Duty uses all of a 12' door if talking comfortable entrance/exit. My previous shop had one 10' door and one 12', I hated the 10', too small. I can't see using an 18' to park side by side in, gonna be a lot of dented door trim.

My building is 42x50. I understand the desire to keep the welding area separate, that was one of my goals as well. Good luck with your design.

 

[texasjohn]

I strongly suggest you take some T posts, drive them in at appropriate points, including outlining the drive way area.... now, collect your vehicles, trailers, etc and park, move, repark, drive forward, back in.... see how you turn, park inside and outside, etc. your stuff..... I did this and it helped me position my building and decide on door sizes, etc.... Still didn't get everything perfect, but it helped.

 

[mjncad]

Richard:

You have a nice shop, I'm envious.

 

[ovrszd]

Richard:

You have a nice shop, I'm envious.

I take no credit,,, I'm totally Blessed!!! Thank you for the comment.