Let's talk garage/workshops
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dave1949
Super Star Member
2LaneCruzer
Super Member
Not my wife. She would have it filled up with something. Sharn Jean is a pack rat.
TomSeller
Super Member
I did not think of that. Double jeopardy would be when she fills it with her stuff she might count my 11 tractors. She thinks I have 3 or 4. Red ones look the same to her, same for green, orange... Yikes!
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Not too long ago I was in the same camp as most of those on here who say to build one building and make it as big as you possibly can. But over time, I've changed my mind and really like the idea of different buildings in different areas designed for a special task. One massive building is an eye sore that takes up a huge amount of space. Combining everything into that one building means all sorts of compromises.
My plan is to build an extra tall parking barn for my tractors and backhoe. I need a really tall opening to get it into the building, so that will go in the middle and there will be two other openings on either side to create what will look like a three car garage. I will also store other tractor/equipment related stuff there.
I already have my 24x30 wood working workshop. I also work on metal there and it's where all my tools are to fix broken equipment and implements. I like having all that in one place, but the size limits me to only doing one project at a time. This has proven to be a good motivator to get that project done before starting another.
Then I want my hay barn to be in another location where it will be easy to load hay into it from the trailer and take it to the animals. It will be 24x90 with an 8 foot overhang to keep as much water out of the open front as possible and there will be a 12 foot overhang off the back for animals to go into for shelter.
Everything is within easy walking distance and close to my utilities. I can do one building at a time, get it done and move on to the next. Having buildings with specific tasks and uses should make them function better and allow me to remain more organized.
Eddie
My plan is to build an extra tall parking barn for my tractors and backhoe. I need a really tall opening to get it into the building, so that will go in the middle and there will be two other openings on either side to create what will look like a three car garage. I will also store other tractor/equipment related stuff there.
I already have my 24x30 wood working workshop. I also work on metal there and it's where all my tools are to fix broken equipment and implements. I like having all that in one place, but the size limits me to only doing one project at a time. This has proven to be a good motivator to get that project done before starting another.
Then I want my hay barn to be in another location where it will be easy to load hay into it from the trailer and take it to the animals. It will be 24x90 with an 8 foot overhang to keep as much water out of the open front as possible and there will be a 12 foot overhang off the back for animals to go into for shelter.
Everything is within easy walking distance and close to my utilities. I can do one building at a time, get it done and move on to the next. Having buildings with specific tasks and uses should make them function better and allow me to remain more organized.
Eddie
dave1949
Super Star Member
I'm sure the local weather makes a big difference in what makes the most sense for buildings. Multiple buildings in the cold north means more doorways to clear snow from and probably only one would get heated and usable in winter. Snow loads on roofs and where it is going to fall off and pile up matters too. Old New England farmhouses often morphed into a house connected to a barn via a general use/storage building in between them. They could care for the animals, bring in firewood, work on indoor wintertime maintenance shores, etc. without needing to go outdoors or shovel a path to the barn. In Raleigh I don't imagine that matters at all. 
For a southern climate two buildings joined by a covered patio area or carport type thing might be nice. It only adds one end wall to the overall cost--assuming you can make good use of the covered area. It would keep the utilities close together but provide separate buildings that could be built to different interior goals, different heights.
I agree massive pole barns aren't beauty marks. Their beauty is in their cost for functionality, not form. :laughing: If they are dressed up a bit it can make a big difference in their appearance. Cupola(s), attached covered porches, decent windows, trimmed-out exterior, overhangs on the eaves, wains-coat paint scheme, attractive exterior lights, accents on gable-end peaks and on the overhead doors, etc. All of those features work to obscure the basic blocky shape of a large pole barn.
Animal barns are best kept separate from most other stuff. You wouldn't want animals in a tightly sealed building anyways.
For a southern climate two buildings joined by a covered patio area or carport type thing might be nice. It only adds one end wall to the overall cost--assuming you can make good use of the covered area. It would keep the utilities close together but provide separate buildings that could be built to different interior goals, different heights.
I agree massive pole barns aren't beauty marks. Their beauty is in their cost for functionality, not form. :laughing: If they are dressed up a bit it can make a big difference in their appearance. Cupola(s), attached covered porches, decent windows, trimmed-out exterior, overhangs on the eaves, wains-coat paint scheme, attractive exterior lights, accents on gable-end peaks and on the overhead doors, etc. All of those features work to obscure the basic blocky shape of a large pole barn.
Animal barns are best kept separate from most other stuff. You wouldn't want animals in a tightly sealed building anyways.
s219
Super Member
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- Dec 7, 2011
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- Virginia USA
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- Kubota L3200, Deere X380, Kubota RTV-X
On the one hand, I like having a separate workshop and barn. But I find myself working on my tractors in the barn quite a bit, as that is where they reside and my workshop is full with woodworking projects. So I spend a lot of time going from the barn to the workshop to fetch tools, rags, etc. It's to the point where I may setup a separate stash of tools in the barn just to cut down on mileage. I normally look for any excuse to get some exercise, but when you're trying to fix or install something, constant back and forth walks kill productivity.
One thing is for sure, if doing a lot of woodworking, that is better off as a separate space from other equipment. I mainly do woodworking in my workshop, and it's a constant battle to keep sawdust swept up and clean (even with a vacuum system on my saws). I'd hate to have tractors and other greasy equipment parked in the same space. As it is, I keep all my chainsaws in the workshop, and am thinking I ought to move them to the barn and put in a little bench for sharpening chains and maintaining the saws.
One thing is for sure, if doing a lot of woodworking, that is better off as a separate space from other equipment. I mainly do woodworking in my workshop, and it's a constant battle to keep sawdust swept up and clean (even with a vacuum system on my saws). I'd hate to have tractors and other greasy equipment parked in the same space. As it is, I keep all my chainsaws in the workshop, and am thinking I ought to move them to the barn and put in a little bench for sharpening chains and maintaining the saws.
Branchchipper
Silver Member
Isolate and prioritize! We are big believers in keeping fuel, sawdust, grinding, welding, and other hazardous substances/practices isolated from living quarters and "high value storage." So, our house is 60' from the main shop, which is almost that far from the hay barn, and all fuels (gasoline, diesel, propane) are stored in the woodshed, isolated from all of the above. I don't work for OSHA, but I have seen many homes and shops lost to fire because of inattention to the above. Not talking wildland interface fires here- just a shorted battery charger in an RV in a shop, or a poorly capped gasoline can in a garage, or some soldering too close to a box of clothes in the barn, or a light bulb keeping chicks warm, or....... You get the picture.
300UGUY
Super Member
I'm sure the local weather makes a big difference in what makes the most sense for buildings. Multiple buildings in the cold north means more doorways to clear snow from and probably only one would get heated and usable in winter. Snow loads on roofs and where it is going to fall off and pile up matters too. Old New England farmhouses often morphed into a house connected to a barn via a general use/storage building in between them. They could care for the animals, bring in firewood, work on indoor wintertime maintenance shores, etc. without needing to go outdoors or shovel a path to the barn. In Raleigh I don't imagine that matters at all.
Not just NE. We had one near us with a massive barn that was over 100 ft long, and a string of attached buildings to the house. At one point, one area was turned into a garage. Really neat, but the barn roof got bad, and the whole thing got torn down.
For a southern climate two buildings joined by a covered patio area or carport type thing might be nice. It only adds one end wall to the overall cost
boggen
Elite Member
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- Trivoli, IL
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- SSTT (Sideways Snake Tain Tractor) and STB (sideways train box) tractor, dirt harvester
i am for one single large building. over the years different stuff comes up, and i end up storing something large, or small multi stuff, but will not fit were i located all the other stuff that may go for it. it could be painting, wood working, metal, fixing up/building lawn chairs (wooden), to fixing tractors /cars, holding some stuff for a friend/family temporarily as they move, tossing up a deer, or other animal, to storing some extra lights, fixtures, misc part bins, etc... that eventually comes along from various projects (pack rat here).
a multi buildings just a big pain, more so when it comes to electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, toilet, extra cloths (gloves, masks, glasses, helmets, etc...) more so when it comes to pulling stuff out to use it and then putting it away. a something there something over there. i do my best to keep things organized half way, but half the time i have a "junk table" that ends up getting a heap of crud on it, before i get around putting everything back to were it belongs.
i am in a firm believer various local stores have something with how they store stuff and put stuff up for sell. and try my best to kinda replicate same like doing in the building, some areas were i can stand lumber / pipe / fence posts / etc... up on end and have some stuff shooting out to keep it falling over, and not 40 pieces plus thick to get back to something different, but maybe a half dozen if that. (floor space), an isle per say were i keep corded power tools, an isle were i use screws / nails / wire hanger staples to hang all the various types of hand tools (screw drivers, hammers, paint brushes, zip ties, drill bits, sockets, etc...) a isle / side of a rack, for grease, fuel cans, various oils, and fluids for all the tractors / cars/ 2 cycle engines, etc...
some times i need a really large work area, so out goes the tractor, and some smaller stuff (engine lifts, chop saw, table saw, pull behind sprayer, wheel barrow, concrete mixer, and other like stuff) all get shoved up against a wall opening up a big area in middle so i can set out some stands, or do what ever i need to do, say glue and clamp a bunch of lumber together. brush on some paint or like.
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get over the "look" of something huge, bigger than house. it is the norm. at least in my opinion, and travels i have made, large buildings = functionality, and not spending 3 times longer walking ever were due to differing sheds / buildings.
a multi buildings just a big pain, more so when it comes to electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, toilet, extra cloths (gloves, masks, glasses, helmets, etc...) more so when it comes to pulling stuff out to use it and then putting it away. a something there something over there. i do my best to keep things organized half way, but half the time i have a "junk table" that ends up getting a heap of crud on it, before i get around putting everything back to were it belongs.
i am in a firm believer various local stores have something with how they store stuff and put stuff up for sell. and try my best to kinda replicate same like doing in the building, some areas were i can stand lumber / pipe / fence posts / etc... up on end and have some stuff shooting out to keep it falling over, and not 40 pieces plus thick to get back to something different, but maybe a half dozen if that. (floor space), an isle per say were i keep corded power tools, an isle were i use screws / nails / wire hanger staples to hang all the various types of hand tools (screw drivers, hammers, paint brushes, zip ties, drill bits, sockets, etc...) a isle / side of a rack, for grease, fuel cans, various oils, and fluids for all the tractors / cars/ 2 cycle engines, etc...
some times i need a really large work area, so out goes the tractor, and some smaller stuff (engine lifts, chop saw, table saw, pull behind sprayer, wheel barrow, concrete mixer, and other like stuff) all get shoved up against a wall opening up a big area in middle so i can set out some stands, or do what ever i need to do, say glue and clamp a bunch of lumber together. brush on some paint or like.
===========
get over the "look" of something huge, bigger than house. it is the norm. at least in my opinion, and travels i have made, large buildings = functionality, and not spending 3 times longer walking ever were due to differing sheds / buildings.
