Budweiser John
Platinum Member
Build it as big as you can afford and be ruthless about getting rid of clutter sxxt expands to fill the space.
B. John
B. John
Working space in a barn
- Thread starter Captain Dirty
- Start date
- Views: 5125
My main shop is 50x50. It has three 12' wide doors centered in the building about a foot apart and then 6' along each sidewall with work benches. One side is setup for welding and metal work and the other has mechanical tools. Width wise I have no complaints and each 12' bay is adequate whether working on pickups, backhoe, semi, tractor, etc. part of the reason I think it is adequate is you have 12' in each bay and then the foot in between plus whatever is parked in the next bay isn't 12' wide so you have working room you can "steal" from the adjacent bay. If you didn't have this I would think you would want a minimum of 15' wide.
My only regret on my shop is not making it longer. I have shelving across the front and it makes it really tight parking two vehicles back to back in a single bay. You can fit them but can barely squeeze between them. If I built another I would keep the width the same but go at least 60' deep. We have a lot of vehicles and equipment though for a small business. This might be overkill for a personal use shop.
My only regret on my shop is not making it longer. I have shelving across the front and it makes it really tight parking two vehicles back to back in a single bay. You can fit them but can barely squeeze between them. If I built another I would keep the width the same but go at least 60' deep. We have a lot of vehicles and equipment though for a small business. This might be overkill for a personal use shop.
TomSeller
Super Member
Yep. That is good advice.
jack707
Veteran Member
You never know what you might need so keep it if you have the room.
bigtiller
Super Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2006
- Messages
- 6,371
- Location
- central Iowa
- Tractor
- John Deere 2720 John Deere 3039R John Deere Z545R
Just last week I used one of about a dozen pieces of 8"X120" galvanized sheet metal that has been laying on the floor against the wall since August 1993! I might be a bit of a hoarder but it has to be kept neatly and in order or it's outahere.
TomSeller
Super Member
Raw material like lumber and metal don't count
My wife comes from a long line of hoarders. Her mother would hoard everything down to McDonalds cups. Drives me crazy.
oosik
Epic Contributor
Bruce's pic of the hay storage shed looks just about right. My tractor sits in a LARGE carport with three enclosed sides. There is at least five feet around the tractor on the three enclosed sides. This is OK if I'm checking engine oil level or to top up the fuel tank. If I'm going to get serious and bust knuckles and get grease on my elbows - the tractor comes out and sits in the middle of my lawn.
Besides - I just see a lot better in the bright sunshine & a lot less likely to get dumped on by a barn swallow.
Besides - I just see a lot better in the bright sunshine & a lot less likely to get dumped on by a barn swallow.
TomSeller
Super Member
Same here I make room, often outside weather permitting, if I need to do much. Mine sit mostly in the long style old milking parlor. The parlor was built for jersey cows (small) so I kind of have to crab walk past the equipment. The B21 is in the shop with my wife's carp on either side. On that one I have to suck in my gut to get by.