New 3 stall shop suggestion requests

fidowanttobe · May 18, 2023

Planning stages for a 40' wide 34' deep 3 stall shop with my hoist being in the middle stall.
3) 10' wide 8' tall doors with 1 entry door and 1) 3x4 window in the 3 other walls.
4" slab with thickened edge, 3) floor drains, and 2) dead-man anchors.
2x6 walls, closed cell spray foam, OSB interior and exterior sheeting with pole barn tin.
Blow in 34R cellulose ceiling insulation with tin ceiling and roof. May spray the ceiling instead, depends on $$$
Forced air electric furnace with off peak rates.

How TALL??

Ceiling height needs 12' for the hoist, doors only need 10', I really want the heat down low and experience in other shops tells me 12 walls have a lot of heat up there.
So, . . 10' walls and box out rafters above the hoist?
10' walls with scissor rafters?
Or 12' walls?
North Dakota winters and I will be constant heating to 45 degrees and raising when needed. Reeeeaaally want to keep the heating costs down.

What am I forgetting or doing wrong?

workinonit · May 18, 2023

8' high doors may be good for you but they wouldn't work at all for me. I assume you are going with rollup doors. They are the only doors that make any sense at all. I'm about to have to replace my garage door on my house and I'm going with a rollup. The rest is really whatever floats your boat. Make sure you double the thickness of the concrete under the lift legs.

fidowanttobe · May 18, 2023

Yup on the hoist piers.
Not a fan of overhead doors? Why? Mine will need to be insulated so yes, they will be overhead.
I have been eyeballing my friends wall mount opener though. Like that no opener is in the middle of the bay ceiling.

zzvyb6 · May 18, 2023

I'm pretty happy with propane powered ceramic infrared ceiling heaters. Just heat the tools and 'stuff' in the bay(s) you are working with. My FOUR bays 30' deep are still not enough space for tools, shelves, metal shop, welding area, boat storage, tire changer, rotabins, refridgerator...
Make sure the ceiling is high enough to clear any vehicle, tractor, or container that you may way to park on the lift in a fully raised position.
Consider a 'mezzanine' as a partial 2nd story for storage of seldom used 'stuff'.

JJT · May 18, 2023

I have a similar setup, 3 bay 28'x44', with a lift in the 3rd bay. 12' side walls, vaulted ceiling, 10x10 doors. I can put a full size truck on the lift and run it up to 8'. I went with 6" floors. Highbay T5 lights, (would be led if I did it today). Lots of outlets and widows. I have no issues heating it with a 100kbtu kerosene heater.

I'd recommend bigger doors, and the lift on one side, not the middle. I have 4'+ of clearance around my 4 post lift, no access issues.

WM75Guy · May 18, 2023

I have 2 8'X10' doors on the garage and 2 10'X10' rollup doors on the shop. I wish I had gone with 12' wide doors on both. Backing a trailer in or even pulling in one of the pickups with the camper/towing mirrors is tight. But hopefully this is the last place I will ever build from the ground up so I will live with it.

dodge man · May 18, 2023

That’s a great size and a good overall plan. You might want one of the overhead doors bigger? 12 foot high ceiling, that’s a no doubter in my opinion. I might also look at a 6” thick floor also. Mines 28’x30’ with a thickened edge, that works fine, but mines closer to 6” thick. Mine also has a short wall, maybe 4” high around the edge just to get the lumber off the floor.

BigGG · May 18, 2023

I'd strongly recommend 9' or preferably 10' high door. My little Kubota L35 just barely clears 8'.

repete · May 18, 2023

I have a side winder door motor on my 10' by 10' door with a lift in the bay. The side opener allowed me to have the door go up much higher and really hug the ceiling, even matching the vault angle if the vault is perpendicular to the door opening.

A 6' interior height cargo trailer is only going to clear an 8' door by maybe a couple inches.

Since I knew I was going to have a lift, I dug out the areas where the two posts would go and poured a monopour slab with 2' x 2' squares dug out to set the lift anchor bolts in. I have kids working on cars and I wanted 0 doubt about it moving. It said it could sit on a 4" slab but 12" bolts into a 24"x24" block was way better with a rebar cage. I may switch the 9000lb lift to a 12,000 pound lift in the future.

On another thought when building, I installed a wire from my lighting circuit down to a box by my compressor outgoing line. In the outgoing line I installed a solenoid valve that opens with electricity. Since I have multiple yellow drop lines and air hose reels I was concerned about blowing a line when I was not in the shop. With the solenoid valve activated by the light switch, any time I leave the shop, the entire overhead air system is shut down. If I blow a hose, only the air in the down side of the solenoid drains and the compressor does not run. Cheap insurance. Another benefit is if I come in the shop in the morning and I turn on the lights and hear the system charge from the compressor, I know I have a leak to take care of.