Help Me Design/ Build a Shop

[Dunno]

Here’s something you might not have considered for electric power to the barn - solar power, but with a catch. I recently sat through an info session on converting to solar. They will only hook up to a residential meter, and no to a commercial or garage/industrial meter. It seems the wave of the future is solar, so planning for that is not a bad idea. You can run the barn off of the house meter, and best to go underground. My 200 amp circuit seems to work fine. So, if/when you hook up to solar, the power goes into the house meter and to the barn, which is allowed because it is a residential meter. Big plus!
PS This is for the low cost/subsidized/“free” solar installations. I’d think you could get solar to the barn at full price.

 

[twinotterpilot]

Your are lucky to be at the planning stage with a clean slate. I moved into a place, made a few changes, but didn't have the time or money to get the most out of it.
You didn't say how you were planning/designing the layout. Are you using some sort of CAD software? If not, I would suggest so. Another exercise I did in the design world was what I called the "paper doll". Draw individual scale size outlines of as many items as possible. Cut them out, and play around with moving them inside the scale size rectangle that will be the building. CAD is easier, but....
I also drew my tractor and equipment roughly to scale (in CAD) and played around backing up the tractor with an implement attached to figure out maneuvering room and access. Turned out I could nest my baler in the opening of my haybine draw arm, and I easily gained back 80-90 square feet.
The pit sounds like a great idea, as would a hoist. Also a wash bay. All would require some thought ahead of your pouring the flooring
Good luck!

 

[aircommuter]

Having been in construction for 45+ years as an electrical contractor I have done design/build for residential and commercial, I have learned that you must think of your electrical needs as you do your well, how much you need depends on how many things you need to do at the same time. Lights and plugs really don't require much especially with the new LED lights. Probably your highest draw will be the HVAC, electric heat or an electric stove. Electricity is the least efficient way to heat anything so you must plan. That HVAC unit and your basic stove will each draw about 50amps, but most uses will be intermittent, Plan ahead and think small and point of use, like window AC, baseboard heaters and a 6 gal electric water htr or on demand small water htr under sink. I ran my 1st house and shop with a hot tub out back on 125amps with never a problem. I have a neighbor with a 30x60 shop with every tool and a lift, he runs on 100 amps. Two more things to consider, most residential panels will only accept a max 100 amp breaker to plug in, so talk to your elec. contractor before he installs it, and last but not least consider permits, here in rural AZ up to 200 sq ft, the county doesn't care, 200-400 they care about WHERE it goes, after that full drawings and engineering, which ain't cheap. Good Luck

It depends a lot on what the local jurisdiction wants. I got my permit showing two receptacles. The inspector is the plan checker and said he didn’t care about the shop. In California of all places!
Just one if my welders can pull 70 amps and the compressor is 7.5 hp, lighting on one side 22 - 400 watt HID, but I divided it into three areas. So it can add up and all three of them being on together is not uncommon.

 

[MT Kioti]

Post and beam is by far the cheapest method of construction. Typically 6x6 treated posts on pad footings below frost line with built-up beams of 2x10 on top. Trusses span beam-to-beam.

Distance between posts will determine beam size, which is also calculated with your snow load, wind load, etc.

2x4 straps applied horizontally on outside of posts, which you can apply delta-rib steel directly, or (if you have extra money) plywood or OSB.

Personally I would use OSB on the roof, then your felt and metal roof, although some people will strap with 1x or 2x lumber and apply the metal to that.

Now you have a shelter. You can spray-foam interior walls, finish with drywall or other material, add electrical, plumbing, heat, ventilation, etc. as you can afford it.

For the floor, you can keep it gravel, or install asphalt or concrete at any stage of construction after the posts are in.

This type of design is very forgiving, and flexible, allowing extras as you can afford, while still giving you shelter.

 

[dbritt]

Go with red iron. You won't be sorry. You will have about 15-17 feet of clear overhead room. I built 40x60x12 and wish I had made it 50x80x14. But you know what they say about hindsight. I was budget limited, though. I built a 16x16 room in the back corner and used 2x10's for the rafters, decked the top with Advantek and thus didn't lose any storage floor space.

Draw up your plans for what you want, then add a little more to it. No one ever plans big enough. It's cheaper to add a little now than to add on later. Plan for a toilet and sink, even if you don't put them in now. You will be glad later. The only downside to the red iron construction is difficulty insulating the building. You can go with the blanket type, which looks very nice, but you can't good R-values. Spray on gives you an airtight seal and as high an R_value as you want, but it gets collects dust in all those wrinkles and is hard to clean, if you are into that kind of thing. Also, being air tight isn't always good, as you have to get fresh air in the building. If you have an overhead garage door (Do it! Make it big! At least 12hx16w) you'll have your needed ventilation.

I put a 150,000 BTU overhead natural gas heater in mine, enough to knock off the chill in winter and keep the water pipes from freezing. But, it will run it up to 75 degrees on the coldest days, if I want to pay for the gas. I went with the blanket insulation, so barely have an R9, and don't even have that at the purlins and girts where it's compressed to less than 1/4" under the metal siding and roofing. I could have done a lot better in that respect, but I chose to go that way over the spray-on stuff. I have considered installing an A/C system to knock the summertime 90-degree temps down into the 70's so I can work in there when it's hot, like now. But, the system, and the electricity to operate it regularly is more than I want to spend, so I either work in there in the mornings before it gets hot, or the evenings after it cools off. It's only about 2 months of the year that it's that hot. The middle of the hot days I retreat to the 16x16 room with it's mini-split heating and cooling system and play on my electronics workbench and radios (Ham radio operator).

The only thing about mine that I would change if I were to build it again would be to make it 50x60 instead of 40x60. I can get everything in this one, but the extra 10 feet would allow me two advantages. First, it would let me be able to leave my pickup and/or car and/or tractor inside if I needed to work on a large project that requires me to move one or all outside now. Second, it would allow me to build a full-height second story on my current room (not really critical). I might also change my mind on the insulation and go with spray-on even though I hate the stuff. I would probably then install A/C in there. An option I am considering is to build the room on across the full 40ft width across the back, with decking so I don't lose any floor space for storage, put a workbench in there and add another mini-split unit for that area. A large sliding door would let me get mowers, motorcycles, even my compact utility tractor in there for servicing in a heated and air conditioned environment.

Those are just my suggestions. On the other hand, if it is going to be mostly just storage, disregard all the above. ;-)

Oh, yeah! Put a walk-through door in BOTH ends. You do NOT want to be in the back, have a fire break out in the front, and not be able to get out. Go with steel doors and deadbolt locks to supplement the knobs and they will be as secure, or more so, than your overhead door.

Good luck, and enjoy your new shop. I built 3 years ago and absolutely love mine. The best part is the toilet. I can even leave the lid up!

 

[blksn8k]

Your are lucky to be at the planning stage with a clean slate. I moved into a place, made a few changes, but didn't have the time or money to get the most out of it.
You didn't say how you were planning/designing the layout. Are you using some sort of CAD software? If not, I would suggest so. Another exercise I did in the design world was what I called the "paper doll". Draw individual scale size outlines of as many items as possible. Cut them out, and play around with moving them inside the scale size rectangle that will be the building. CAD is easier, but....
I also drew my tractor and equipment roughly to scale (in CAD) and played around backing up the tractor with an implement attached to figure out maneuvering room and access. Turned out I could nest my baler in the opening of my haybine draw arm, and I easily gained back 80-90 square feet.
The pit sounds like a great idea, as would a hoist. Also a wash bay. All would require some thought ahead of your pouring the flooring
Good luck!

I did something similar. I purchased a 40x50 full steel building including the internal framework and then used the manufacturer's blueprints to create a 3D model of the building in AutoCad. Believe it or not, it includes every nut and bolt. I used that to inventory all of the materials when they arrived and it was a huge help during building erection if for no other reason than visualization. That model also helped me identify parts that were manufactured incorrectly or missing and there were a few of both.

I also used the model to design the block wall foundation and drainage system for the building. After the building was erected I then used the model to design the corner office space and second story loft within the building. And, yes, like you, I also created "blocks" that represented all of the vehicles that would eventually be stored there as well as equipment like a sandblasting cabinet and upright air compressor. When I did the wiring I used the model to verify routing and lengths of wire as well as placement of outlets and lighting fixtures.

 

[mx842]

When I built my house back in 1992 I had then put in a 400 amp service because I knew one day I was going to have a shop out back. About 15 years later I started my shop. I started with a pole barn style but later decided to frame up the inside walls so I could add insulation. That's probably not the way to go about it especially now because of the exploding price of lumber these days......thanks Jo.
It took me another 15 years to finish doing it a hundred dollars at a time. I finally had it up with all my old stuff I had been collecting over the years and it really looked good. This past December the 10th it caught fire and burned to the ground along with pretty much everything I owned.
The moral of this story is do a lot of thinking about how you finish your shop and what you put on the inside walls. Nobody ever thinks that the hard work and money you put into something like this will ever be gone in just a couple hours. There is no amount of fire-retardant paint you can put on wood walls will protect you from total loss once a fire has had time to get going good. Sheet rock is slightly better because you take away a lot of the combustible material on the walls and you would maybe have a little more time to get the fire department there. Even then if something like your car or truck was to catch fire in the building sheet rock will only last so long, once it gets hot enough in there the sheetrock will crumble to the floor exposing the framing underneath.
In my new building I am putting medal siding on the inside walls. That's still not a 100% cure that everything will be safe in case of a fire. If something like a car or truck was to catch fire on the inside all that medal siding would hold a lot of heat and become a giant furnace keeping all the heat on the inside until everything is no longer usable. That's what happened to my building once that OSB got to going it was no stopping it.
Another thing is to make sure you have enough insurance coverage just in case something like that would someday happen.
twinotterpilot has a good point too. Sit down and draw up plan as to just where you want everything you have to go. Then allow yourself a few hundred extra sq. ft for future stuff you are sure to pick up along the way. Drawing it out on paper will tell you right off if the 1000 or 2000 sq ft building is going to be enough. I've found out that no matter how big you build it there still won't be enough space.

 

[MRTOES]

I just started building my house, and all but decided to wait on the shop. My wife and parents are on me about going ahead and building it while the house is going up.... They have a point, I really want a shop and need indoor storage for several things. We are planning on this being our retirement spot. I'm 40 and My wife is 44 so it needs to last for many decades.

My dream was a 50x60x12 red iron framed building. With inflation driving the price of the house so high, not to mention the shop price, that is not in the cards. Now hoping for at least 40x50x12. I know I can get 40' wood trusses, potentially 45'.

Proposed shop use:

1) Honey house/ bathroom with shower/ kitchenette for canning etc. This will likely be a framed out room 15x15 - 20x20 no set size but large enough for chores with A/C and ideally set up like an efficiency apartment. Initially I will rough in the plumbing for the shop construction and build out the rest over time.
2) General shop related tasks. light/ medium wood work, wrenching on random stuff, tractors, mowers, etc.
3) storage/ I bought a big shelf system from Bed Bath and Beyond when they went under. 12' tall and probably 40' long. lightish duty. no pallets but great for totes.
4) Motorcycle, mower and additional vehicle parking.

Proposed style.

A) Red iron frame - too expensive
B) Post Frame - Wood in the ground, Rot, Termites etc. Longevity? Much worry.
C) Stick built - Looks like potentially the best option for me.

I plan on getting the pad ready myslef, hiring concrete finishers, hiring framers and hiring out the metal skin installation. Planning on pulling power to a sub-panel from the house and wiring myself. I don't know anything about foundation requirements. Would prefer to add any required footing type things and pour all at once as opposed to digging footers, laying blocks, filling, then pouring the slab. There is probably around a 2' fall on the pad location so I would need to build up with the fill I set aside from my pond. It's clay and Shale, it was almost all shale but when I dug it back out for the driveway lots of the shale has broken down into clay.

I might could do a lot of the framing myself but I don't know the requirements for door headers and anchoring to the floor etc. Basically I'm not scared of hard work and can follow a plan but I don't have the knowledge for what's required.

Planning on 2 man doors and 2-3 overhead doors. At least one of those being about 18' wide.

Please help me with this. I know there have probably been several threads about this exact thing so links would likely also be helpful.

Sounds like you got it all. Be sure to get that concrete floor strong enough for a lift in your future. Use fiber reinforced concrete and rebar. I found out that having an older washer and dryer around for both shop rags and house emergencies was a life saver. Small water heaters are not that expensive.

 

[hummertom]

I'm starting to design my wife's shop/she shed, going with 12x32 with a 6' porch on one end and man door, double door on long side facing house. Porch end will have 10x12 clean room, carpet or tile, windows, insulated walls and door into larger workshop, window AC, baseboard htr. Power from house to 60amp subpanel. Shop area wood floors all insulated, dust collector, comp air lines. My wife does a LOT of crafts, some dirty some clean. Remember, happy wife happy life. My shop just starting design.

 

[OzarkChris]

I just started building my house, and all but decided to wait on the shop. My wife and parents are on me about going ahead and building it while the house is going up.... They have a point, I really want a shop and need indoor storage for several things. We are planning on this being our retirement spot. I'm 40 and My wife is 44 so it needs to last for many decades.

My dream was a 50x60x12 red iron framed building. With inflation driving the price of the house so high, not to mention the shop price, that is not in the cards. Now hoping for at least 40x50x12. I know I can get 40' wood trusses, potentially 45'.

Proposed shop use:

1) Honey house/ bathroom with shower/ kitchenette for canning etc. This will likely be a framed out room 15x15 - 20x20 no set size but large enough for chores with A/C and ideally set up like an efficiency apartment. Initially I will rough in the plumbing for the shop construction and build out the rest over time.
2) General shop related tasks. light/ medium wood work, wrenching on random stuff, tractors, mowers, etc.
3) storage/ I bought a big shelf system from Bed Bath and Beyond when they went under. 12' tall and probably 40' long. lightish duty. no pallets but great for totes.
4) Motorcycle, mower and additional vehicle parking.

Proposed style.

A) Red iron frame - too expensive
B) Post Frame - Wood in the ground, Rot, Termites etc. Longevity? Much worry.
C) Stick built - Looks like potentially the best option for me.

I plan on getting the pad ready myslef, hiring concrete finishers, hiring framers and hiring out the metal skin installation. Planning on pulling power to a sub-panel from the house and wiring myself. I don't know anything about foundation requirements. Would prefer to add any required footing type things and pour all at once as opposed to digging footers, laying blocks, filling, then pouring the slab. There is probably around a 2' fall on the pad location so I would need to build up with the fill I set aside from my pond. It's clay and Shale, it was almost all shale but when I dug it back out for the driveway lots of the shale has broken down into clay.

I might could do a lot of the framing myself but I don't know the requirements for door headers and anchoring to the floor etc. Basically I'm not scared of hard work and can follow a plan but I don't have the knowledge for what's required.

Planning on 2 man doors and 2-3 overhead doors. At least one of those being about 18' wide.

Please help me with this. I know there have probably been several threads about this exact thing so links would likely also be helpful.

Not sure if this will help, but we are in the process of building a 50 x 100 x 10 for a barndo - 1st 30' is garage. We've been looking at all metal and things like a pole barn that is wood structure with metal sides & roof (post frame). We can get this 50' wide in either fashion - at least our rep said he can do 50' cross beams/trusses. For our purposes we would rather have a flat ceiling (not vaulted), cost wise if we go metal, we almost have to do a stick built under the roof to get that. Adding a mezzanine is extremely expensive unless you are having a 2nd floor - we aren't.

As far as the foundation, we've found out that for this location an 18 x 18" footer will suffice - this is based on snow load and frost line. Rather than trying to make generic round footers for each post/beam we've decided to pour the footers the entire length of the bldg e.g., 2 ea 18"w x 18"d footers (14" deeper than rest of the concrete pour) that will be poured during the foundation pour. Obviously, this will have rebar throughout.

As far as the rot/termite issue we will Not bury the post (if we go wood), we will use the Simpson type post hangers or Ramset or drill & set bolts after concrete has setup. We also have at least 2.5' of extra concrete around all 4 sides, outside of the bldg. This should show any termite, carpenter ants, etc trails so we can nip it in the bud quickly, however where the house is being placed is quite dry so we shouldn't have to worry about it too much.

Total cost of the cement work - including 2 part colored epoxy over entire foundation ~60k. Metal bldg ~60k delivered (not erected). Post Frame quote still hasn't arrived but they sat it should be cheaper than metal bldg.

Hope this helps!

 

[Borane4]

We recently built a 40x60x14 iron barn with a plan for it similar to yours. Our primary usage is a weekender for the ranch. Apartment inside with upper and lower bedrooms, closets, a bathroom and a kitchen - all walls and ceilings are fully insulated with roll fiberglass. Floors are LVP or engineered wood. That takes up about 21x22. 4Ton HVAC - with a long trunk on a damper to make the barn a separate zone. 1" of spray foam insulation throughout the barn. Walk doors on 3 sides and big doors on each end - 12x12 & 12x14. Conduit-ed electrical and 200A service. A couple things we WISH we had thought of is to put in hook-ups for a washer and dryer. We are kicking ourselves for not plumbing that into the floor before we got started. Too late now without trenching the floor. Also, out kitchen runs out into the barn along the front wall in an open-style layout. If I did it again, I would have enclosed the kitchen so the AC would cool all the living spaces. It's hot as balls here already and the AC in the barn (and kitchen) really struggles. I dont want to put in a mini-split in the barn and adding more insulation is too expensive to retrofit, so it's going to be expensive during the summer. Some things we did get right...We polished the concrete floors and it really keeps down the dust. I also added brushes to the edges of the roll-up doors and they are a game-changer. There are no wasps, moths, flies, etc. that get in. If you are in a "safe" place, put in as many windows as you can afford. A walk door near each rollup is helpful too. Maybe consider making a covered porch. The porch separates the dirt from the inside and is a good place to grill, sit and relax, etc. Finally, budget about 2x what you _think_ it will cost!

 

[Deanes]

I just signed a post-frame contract for a 40x50x12 garage with a small shop. 12' shed along the 50' side. I really appreciate you asking the question, because I learned a lot here. I'll use the post sleeves. Probably bite that cost bullet and spray foam insulation.
My son-in-law builder just built two 60x80 shops on his farm. One is dirt floor and uninsulated for machinery storage. The one with spray foam insulation is heated/cooled with just two small mini-splits. He says it is so efficient he doesn't notice the bills. (wild Kentucky climate) Built as a farm shop, but with large windows overlooking the lake, he installed a bath and small kitchen after the inspectors were gone. It's nice enough that church bible study groups meet there year-round.
Be sure you understand your codes and inspection requirements. We learned that if it can be used for residential, the utilities won't even allow power or gas without full septic system all codes, and a final inspection.
My home is a separately owned lot surrounded on 3- sides by the farm. If the building is on that lot, there is a whole separate set of codes required. If I build it 30' from the house on "the farm" we can do most everything ourselves. (Unless we make it possible to have living quarters.)
So I'm building pretty basic, Just adding a wash sink, so no black water drainage. Conduits to the house basement for natural gas, water, electricity, and data cable for security systems. But most of that work will be done later so no inspections required. I am thinking 100 amps since I will be only using one machine at a time and the mini splits don't draw very much.

Question.. My hobby is rebuilding classic motorcycles, small trailers, lawnmowers etc. Instead of a lift or a pit has anyone tried a platform and ramp to drive these small vehicles up for service? I'm 77 and getting up and down is a little more struggle than it used to be.

 

[albs]

I just started building my house, and all but decided to wait on the shop. My wife and parents are on me about going ahead and building it while the house is going up.... They have a point, I really want a shop and need indoor storage for several things. We are planning on this being our retirement spot. I'm 40 and My wife is 44 so it needs to last for many decades.

My dream was a 50x60x12 red iron framed building. With inflation driving the price of the house so high, not to mention the shop price, that is not in the cards. Now hoping for at least 40x50x12. I know I can get 40' wood trusses, potentially 45'.

Proposed shop use:

1) Honey house/ bathroom with shower/ kitchenette for canning etc. This will likely be a framed out room 15x15 - 20x20 no set size but large enough for chores with A/C and ideally set up like an efficiency apartment. Initially I will rough in the plumbing for the shop construction and build out the rest over time.
2) General shop related tasks. light/ medium wood work, wrenching on random stuff, tractors, mowers, etc.
3) storage/ I bought a big shelf system from Bed Bath and Beyond when they went under. 12' tall and probably 40' long. lightish duty. no pallets but great for totes.
4) Motorcycle, mower and additional vehicle parking.

Proposed style.

A) Red iron frame - too expensive
B) Post Frame - Wood in the ground, Rot, Termites etc. Longevity? Much worry.
C) Stick built - Looks like potentially the best option for me.

I plan on getting the pad ready myslef, hiring concrete finishers, hiring framers and hiring out the metal skin installation. Planning on pulling power to a sub-panel from the house and wiring myself. I don't know anything about foundation requirements. Would prefer to add any required footing type things and pour all at once as opposed to digging footers, laying blocks, filling, then pouring the slab. There is probably around a 2' fall on the pad location so I would need to build up with the fill I set aside from my pond. It's clay and Shale, it was almost all shale but when I dug it back out for the driveway lots of the shale has broken down into clay.

I might could do a lot of the framing myself but I don't know the requirements for door headers and anchoring to the floor etc. Basically I'm not scared of hard work and can follow a plan but I don't have the knowledge for what's required.

Planning on 2 man doors and 2-3 overhead doors. At least one of those being about 18' wide.

Please help me with this. I know there have probably been several threads about this exact thing so links would likely also be helpful.

I just started building my house, and all but decided to wait on the shop. My wife and parents are on me about going ahead and building it while the house is going up.... They have a point, I really want a shop and need indoor storage for several things. We are planning on this being our retirement spot. I'm 40 and My wife is 44 so it needs to last for many decades.

My dream was a 50x60x12 red iron framed building. With inflation driving the price of the house so high, not to mention the shop price, that is not in the cards. Now hoping for at least 40x50x12. I know I can get 40' wood trusses, potentially 45'.

Proposed shop use:

1) Honey house/ bathroom with shower/ kitchenette for canning etc. This will likely be a framed out room 15x15 - 20x20 no set size but large enough for chores with A/C and ideally set up like an efficiency apartment. Initially I will rough in the plumbing for the shop construction and build out the rest over time.
2) General shop related tasks. light/ medium wood work, wrenching on random stuff, tractors, mowers, etc.
3) storage/ I bought a big shelf system from Bed Bath and Beyond when they went under. 12' tall and probably 40' long. lightish duty. no pallets but great for totes.
4) Motorcycle, mower and additional vehicle parking.

Proposed style.

A) Red iron frame - too expensive
B) Post Frame - Wood in the ground, Rot, Termites etc. Longevity? Much worry.
C) Stick built - Looks like potentially the best option for me.

I plan on getting the pad ready myslef, hiring concrete finishers, hiring framers and hiring out the metal skin installation. Planning on pulling power to a sub-panel from the house and wiring myself. I don't know anything about foundation requirements. Would prefer to add any required footing type things and pour all at once as opposed to digging footers, laying blocks, filling, then pouring the slab. There is probably around a 2' fall on the pad location so I would need to build up with the fill I set aside from my pond. It's clay and Shale, it was almost all shale but when I dug it back out for the driveway lots of the shale has broken down into clay.

I might could do a lot of the framing myself but I don't know the requirements for door headers and anchoring to the floor etc. Basically I'm not scared of hard work and can follow a plan but I don't have the knowledge for what's required.

Planning on 2 man doors and 2-3 overhead doors. At least one of those being about 18' wide.

Please help me with this. I know there have probably been several threads about this exact thing so links would likely also be helpful.

Suggest you look at the YouTube channel “R&R Buildings”. He’s a wealth of knowledge about pole barn building. 12 days ago they showed how to lay out the foundation and set the foundation.

 

[Timmy1957]

If you run the water lines under the slab, then put them inside another pipe so if you have trouble you can pull them out. … I also agree that I would put a separate service but if you’re going to put 400 on the house, I guess that’s good enough….. build it tall so you can have overhead floors for storage

 

[redman135]

You said you may have accomodation in your shop while building your house. As an ex farmer there is a glaring omission and that is a dirty gear room,ie rain coat and leggings gum boots , snow gear and snow boots, leather work boots. It is best to have a sloped floor for ease of cleaning/hose out. Also plenty of cupboard space.

Another thing is to make sure you have a water proof membrane under your concrete floor or it will "sweat" after a cold snap, and the carpet will be clammy.

Building: is 12' high enough to be future proof?
Fire safty, most juristictions require a minimum of 2 external egress in event of fire.
Suggestion, Lay in power cable to support EV now AND have stand alone EV shed in case of battery fire.
Suggestion Due to LiON batteries burning a dedicted fire proof battery charging area may be a good idea. Ask your insurance co what they think?

Locally the most cost effective building is a pole shed with non-load bearing walls. Is it the same for you?
Adding a "lean-to" type open side extension(impliments) won't be practical at a 12' roof on the main building.
Floor: will 4" be thick enough to future proof?
Honey room: Be sure to allow for expesion and PLAN on a warm room /large cupboard to warm (not hot) honey to a temperature that is easy to work. Cool honey slows things down a lot and forget about working with cold honey.Don't cheap out on the concrete apron in front of the main shed either, you will find it is very useful for small quick jobs.

DESIGN the shed to be built in stages. This gets you the building consent and allows you to build as finances permit, while insulating yourself against policy changes.

Pay attention to the floor fall to avoid standing puddles from wet machines.
Where are you going to do wash down of vehicles?
Ensure wash down, spouting, water tanks etc discharge well away front sheds. Some people forget water won;t run uphill.
Some food for thought.
Good Luck

 

[jim_wilson]

I just started building my house, and all but decided to wait on the shop. My wife and parents are on me about going ahead and building it while the house is going up.... They have a point, I really want a shop and need indoor storage for several things. We are planning on this being our retirement spot. I'm 40 and My wife is 44 so it needs to last for many decades.

My dream was a 50x60x12 red iron framed building. With inflation driving the price of the house so high, not to mention the shop price, that is not in the cards. Now hoping for at least 40x50x12. I know I can get 40' wood trusses, potentially 45'.

Proposed shop use:

1) Honey house/ bathroom with shower/ kitchenette for canning etc. This will likely be a framed out room 15x15 - 20x20 no set size but large enough for chores with A/C and ideally set up like an efficiency apartment. Initially I will rough in the plumbing for the shop construction and build out the rest over time.
2) General shop related tasks. light/ medium wood work, wrenching on random stuff, tractors, mowers, etc.
3) storage/ I bought a big shelf system from Bed Bath and Beyond when they went under. 12' tall and probably 40' long. lightish duty. no pallets but great for totes.
4) Motorcycle, mower and additional vehicle parking.

Proposed style.

A) Red iron frame - too expensive
B) Post Frame - Wood in the ground, Rot, Termites etc. Longevity? Much worry.
C) Stick built - Looks like potentially the best option for me.

I plan on getting the pad ready myslef, hiring concrete finishers, hiring framers and hiring out the metal skin installation. Planning on pulling power to a sub-panel from the house and wiring myself. I don't know anything about foundation requirements. Would prefer to add any required footing type things and pour all at once as opposed to digging footers, laying blocks, filling, then pouring the slab. There is probably around a 2' fall on the pad location so I would need to build up with the fill I set aside from my pond. It's clay and Shale, it was almost all shale but when I dug it back out for the driveway lots of the shale has broken down into clay.

I might could do a lot of the framing myself but I don't know the requirements for door headers and anchoring to the floor etc. Basically I'm not scared of hard work and can follow a plan but I don't have the knowledge for what's required.

Planning on 2 man doors and 2-3 overhead doors. At least one of those being about 18' wide.

Please help me with this. I know there have probably been several threads about this exact thing so links would likely also be helpful.

This is a personal prejudice of mine - but I hate trusses. I think they're completedly wasted space. You paid for walls and a roof, might as well take advantage of ALL of the space contained within those walls and roof. I built my 28x42 barn/garage about 14 years ago - and stick framed it. I designed it in such a way that I have attic space on both ends. One end has two garage bays with 9ft ceilings and a full room overhead - and above that is attic space with about 4ft of height at the peak. The back half has the ceiling 15ft high - so I can put a lift in there. Above that is "attic" space that is over 6ft high at the peak so I can walk standing up in the entire space.

Both attic spaces are full of stuff that needed space to be in storage. If I had used trusses - that would been completely wasted space. I see a lot of houses designed these days with trusses used for the roof structure - and even though they often have 12 pitch roofs and are large houses - they have almost completely un-usable "attic" space because trusses were used. I've seen houses with what could be massive living and or attic space - designed like this and the space is pretty much completely unused because of the use of trusses.

People trade some slightly faster construction times and possibley cheaper material costs - for 100 years of wasted space. Seems foolish IMHO.

 

[TimberFarm]

You can have a truss designed to give open area for storage

 

[jim_wilson]

You can have a truss designed to give open area for storage

It still doesn't give you an open room. It gives you one that has less web pieces in the way.

I forgot to mention the other reason I don't like trusses - I don't trust them to stand up to snow load - in the long term. I live in snow country , and every time there's one of those massive snow winters the news starts filling up with stories of collapsed roofs. Trusses are strong - until they're not. Then it seems like they catastrophically fail - sort of like that imploded submarine.

 

[Al Ben]

I just started building my house, and all but decided to wait on the shop. My wife and parents are on me about going ahead and building it while the house is going up.... They have a point, I really want a shop and need indoor storage for several things. We are planning on this being our retirement spot. I'm 40 and My wife is 44 so it needs to last for many decades.

My dream was a 50x60x12 red iron framed building. With inflation driving the price of the house so high, not to mention the shop price, that is not in the cards. Now hoping for at least 40x50x12. I know I can get 40' wood trusses, potentially 45'.

Proposed shop use:

1) Honey house/ bathroom with shower/ kitchenette for canning etc. This will likely be a framed out room 15x15 - 20x20 no set size but large enough for chores with A/C and ideally set up like an efficiency apartment. Initially I will rough in the plumbing for the shop construction and build out the rest over time.
2) General shop related tasks. light/ medium wood work, wrenching on random stuff, tractors, mowers, etc.
3) storage/ I bought a big shelf system from Bed Bath and Beyond when they went under. 12' tall and probably 40' long. lightish duty. no pallets but great for totes.
4) Motorcycle, mower and additional vehicle parking.

Proposed style.

A) Red iron frame - too expensive
B) Post Frame - Wood in the ground, Rot, Termites etc. Longevity? Much worry.
C) Stick built - Looks like potentially the best option for me.

I plan on getting the pad ready myslef, hiring concrete finishers, hiring framers and hiring out the metal skin installation. Planning on pulling power to a sub-panel from the house and wiring myself. I don't know anything about foundation requirements. Would prefer to add any required footing type things and pour all at once as opposed to digging footers, laying blocks, filling, then pouring the slab. There is probably around a 2' fall on the pad location so I would need to build up with the fill I set aside from my pond. It's clay and Shale, it was almost all shale but when I dug it back out for the driveway lots of the shale has broken down into clay.

I might could do a lot of the framing myself but I don't know the requirements for door headers and anchoring to the floor etc. Basically I'm not scared of hard work and can follow a plan but I don't have the knowledge for what's required.

Planning on 2 man doors and 2-3 overhead doors. At least one of those being about 18' wide.

Please help me with this. I know there have probably been several threads about this exact thing so links would likely also be helpful.

The Garage Journal

Garage design & tool discussion for the working man,,,

www.garagejournal.com

 

[TimberFarm]

It still doesn't give you an open room. It gives you one that has less web pieces in the way.

I forgot to mention the other reason I don't like trusses - I don't trust them to stand up to snow load - in the long term. I live in snow country , and every time there's one of those massive snow winters the news starts filling up with stories of collapsed roofs. Trusses are strong - until they're not. Then it seems like they catastrophically fail - sort of like that imploded submarine.

What do you mean by open room?
You can get an open room area like in Cape Cod 2nd flr, with trusses. Open down the middle and knee walls on the lower slope of the truss.