So what would you have done different with your new shop?

[KennyG]

A bit off posting (my apologies for that) When you say "foam" did you have it sprayed or are you talking about ridged sheets? Closed-cell-Foaming is one thing I have considered for retro-insulating my ceiling and I'd be interested in other's experience.

I used closed cell foam in my walls and it works well. Blown in cellulose in the ceiling is the easiest most cost effective choice. I was able to get a good deal on a lot of used roofing closed cell (poly-iso) insulation sheets. Would have been shockingly expensive if I had used new material.

Agree with Eddie on 12 foot or more doors. I have one 12 wide door and one 9 foot wide door. Putting my trailer or truck into the 9 foot door is a lot more work than I want it to be.

 

[Rustyiron]

A bit off posting (my apologies for that) When you say "foam" did you have it sprayed or are you talking about ridged sheets? Closed-cell-Foaming is one thing I have considered for retro-insulating my ceiling and I'd be interested in other's experience.

I cut & fit recycled rigid p-iso foam and sealed all edges & seams with can foam, 3" and have room for 3-1/2" fg batts.

 

[flingwing1969]

I used closed cell foam in my walls and it works well. Blown in cellulose in the ceiling is the easiest most cost effective choice. I was able to get a good deal on a lot of used roofing closed cell (poly-iso) insulation sheets. Would have been shockingly expensive if I had used new material.

Agree with Eddie on 12 foot or more doors. I have one 12 wide door and one 9 foot wide door. Putting my trailer or truck into the 9 foot door is a lot more work than I want it to be.

I agree on the door width too. I would rather have two 12' doors in my shop that the two 9-foot and one 12 I have now. When I put my tractor in I have less than 1.5' on either side - a twitch when backing can take out the trim for sure.

 

[Rustyiron]

Bigger amperage and more slots for breakers than you think you need.

:thumbsup:
While not a huge shop @ 38x64, I ran a lot of conduit under the slab and have a 200a service with a 200a panel on each long wall (2 total) to make home runs to the panel easier/shorter. I think that there may have even been a cost saving's with the extra panel when I have a lot of 50a runs that quickly would have eaten up the extra panel cost, esp. with 16' walls.

 

[STx]

My building is 40x50x16, I put in 2 12x12 rollup doors, I wish I'd gone 12wx14h instead.

I also wish I'd run a 2" electrical conduit in the slab. Instead, I'm having to run a 1" overhead and I still haven't "gotten around to it" almost a year later.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the way mine came out.

 

[mapper]

I wish I would have used plywood on the interior instead of drywall. The drywall is getting damaged from no heat and moisture. Plus with plywood you can hang things anywhere.

OSB works well for interior walls, less expensive than plywood and a lot smoother than the least expensive plywood.
Paint the finished walls white, makes lighting the shop much easier, dark or unfinished walls soak up a lot of light.

 

[flingwing1969]

OSB works well for interior walls, less expensive than plywood and a lot smoother than the least expensive plywood.

Some people even like the look of it. I've seen folks put it in their homes and varnish it.

 

[woodlandfarms]

OSB on the walls, metal on the ceiling. I actually have T-11 as a wainscot and then 8 feet OSB to ceiling. Looks better than all OSB. What I wish I had done differently is surface mount all the electrical in conduit rather than run through the walls and above the ceiling. Would make insulation and wall/ceiling finish easier and allow easy mods later if necessary.

Kenny, what you are saying is put the electrical on top of the OSB, not in the walls, right? I think you are on to something here.

 

[woodlandfarms]

OK Fantastic stuff. 3 More questions.

If you have a pole barn, would you paint your trusses white or put in a ceiling?

Would you buy a roll up door or a "Panelized Door" I am looking at Panelized because it is inulated but also it can have windows. Downside is when up it is going to block my celing lights.

Rignt now I am working out electrical in my head. the 2 Panel option is interesting. If the quote comes back the way I hope, it will be a 45X72X18 Single Slope pole barn. Divided into thirds, the first third will be entirely closed and become a woodshop on the first floor, and a office and storage on the second. The next two bays will be open, with 12X14H doors. I did plan to put the shop vacuum and the air compressor in an enclosed attached closet outside. I plan on putting an exhaust fan in one end.

What about lighting. Any interesting ideas or complaints?

Oh and is this stupid? The concrete is quoted at 4" thick. I was going to pick a spot to make the concrete 6" thick so I might one day put in an auto lift.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, when you look at lights in a showroom, they are placed pretty low as compared to where they actually will be in a taller shop. So you think they are plenty bright at 8' high in the display, but they'll be too dim when mounted 12-14' up.

 

[KennyG]

Kenny, what you are saying is put the electrical on top of the OSB, not in the walls, right? I think you are on to something here.

Right, and don't install ceiling runs for lights until the metal ceiling is installed. That way you don't have to cut holes in the walls and ceilings for electrical, as well as being able to make future changes easily. Standard practice in industrial buildings for a reason.

 

[KennyG]

Definitely white metal ceiling. Easy to install, permanently white, no painting. You'll never regret it. I left my OSB unpainted. Doesn't seem to be a problem. I think the white ceiling is much more important for lighting than the walls. A lot of them are covered by shelving, pegboards, hanging equipment, etc. anyway.

 

[MossRoad]

A white metal ceiling sounds great. Reflects a lot of light back down, and keeps birds out of the rafters. Also, rafters just collect dust and bird poop. But rafters are also a handy place to hang things quickly. Can easily put up hooks to hang though.

 

[Cat_Driver]

An oil change pit, I'm always changing oil on something. Led lighting. A bathroom. Some sort of lifting system to lift heavy items. Security system with video cameras.

 

[4570Man]

I'm not sure that's it's possible to over light a shop. They're not beautiful but it's hard to beat a a cheap porcelain fixture with a 300 watt bulb screwed into it. My shop is fluorescent lights but I've got a lean roof over my wood splitting area that's about 40x40. I've got 4 300 watt bulbs under it and it's nice and bright. I finally put a central vac made for houses in my shop. It's a built in separator unit that vents outside. No filters to clog. I can suck up a 5 gallon bucket of drywall dust if I wanted to. It works great for general clean up and was well worth the money. I'm still lacking on proper dust collection, but an over head air filter was a big improvement.

 

[Redneck in training]

My shop is 75X36X12 with partition at 14 ft. 12X12 panel door and 36" man door. There is shower, toilet, guest room and office/workout room in the partition. I have sink and hot water in the shop. The guest room and the office are heated/AC by two zone mini split. The shop has 6" slab insulated by 2" pink closed cell insulation, has about 18x25 concrete apron outside of the door. 9" R-19 insulated walls and and R30 insulated ceiling. Shop has no windows and is finished in metal inside (I was the cheapest option). All electric wiring is in conduits outside of the walls. Air, 220 and 120 V outlets every 6 ft on one long wall. The shop is heated/AC by 36000 BTU mini split. Originally I wanted floor heating with a heat pump but then decided to invest the money in solar panels and use the mini split and baseboard heat as backup. Problem with PEX in the slab is that you might hit it when anchoring something to the floor. Shop has wired and wifi ethernet and is connected to the house network.
I think the mini split heat pumps are way cheaper to operate than floor heat with a water heater.
1.) The time constant of floor heating is measured in 2-3 hours/deg (I know it because we have it in the house) while the air heat is about 5-7 min/deg even when it is cold outside. In other words the floor heat has to be more or less set to constant higher temperature all the time while I maintain 50 deg when not present and up it to 65 when working there. Since the mini split inside unit is in the middle of the long wall it blows warm air pretty much where the action is.
2.) The mini split heat pump is at least twice energy efficient than a water heater.
3.) Floor heating doesn't do AC.
4.) The minis are very quiet.
5.) Most utilities will pay you energy efficiency rebate for the mini.
Mini split cost from mail order 3600, minus 450 rebate plus 180 to commission it. I did all the installation work, the HVAC guy only connected the lines and vacuumed it. 2 hours of work including travel.

If I do it again I would go to 14 ft high and make the door 14 wide. I am changing fluorescent to LED instead replacing the non working tubes.

 

[dragoneggs]

Great thread! I have immense envy for those of you that have have built large shops! I'm replying here in part so I am subscribed and can recall the great ideas to plan around. I have always been limited to a garage/shop scenario. And even when I build my dedicated shop... it won't be the dream shop due to lack of size. Just no flat real estate unless I want it 'down the hill'. For some reason, I feel strongly that it needs to be connected or within a covered walkway (I want quick and painless access for max usage).

I suppose if I outfit it such that it doubles as a man cave, properly equipped I could locate it away from the house. But that just seems wrong... I'm on my second marriage and don't want to screw this one up. :confused3: Maybe my wife would appreciate the space though?

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have been told by 2 contractors that in the pole barn scenario a 14ft door is costly and complcated. I guess poles are 12 o.c. so a 12 ft wide is adviseable. I was hoping for 14 as well.

I am trying to figure out the room for the compressor and dust collector. Since the beginning I had planned on it being outside, in an attached shed. Just had a friend say that with mice and rain, the dust collectors do better inside a closet inside a building, not outside.

Totally planning on a working bathroom with a low shower (more to wash the dogs) .. As well the wife is requiring a washer/dryer in the shop. I guess my greasy clothes in her "house machine" have worked a major nerve with her.

 

[mcfarmall]

Make a careful, accurate layout of your shop and stub out the electrical and dust collection pipe for your table saw and other stationary tools under the slab. Put transom style windows up near the ceiling for natural light and ventilation while giving maximum wall space. Ten foot ceilings in the wood shop...high enough to swing boards around but not too high to heat. Dust collector outside the shop room but still in the building with a return duct so you aren't sucking all your heated air out of the shop.

I would have made my drive through area with 16 foot sidewalls to allow for a 14 foot high overhead door. This would allow me to park a 5th wheel travel trailer in there in the future and a vehicle lift for car work.

 

[mapper]

Don't put the compressor and dust collector in the same closet, even with 1 micron filter bags they do leak a little bit of very fine dust. I run a cyclone and have a 2hp blower that is located in the attic space to cut down on noise.
If you put duct work under the slab, provide clean outs in case of clogs, not too much of an issue with a table saw, ( I have had small offcuts get into the ducts get jammed and cause a clog) but a floor sweep can put a lot of heavier trash into the system that can settle in the duct and eventually clog it.