Workshop door placement

[Dadnatron]

I will hopefully be building a workshop later this year, and I had a rough idea about how it would be.

I just happened to see this pic on FB this morning and it got me to thinking about main door placement.

The shop will be a mixture of shop tools, welders, etc but also I want to have a place where I can work on vehicles out of the cold and rain. I expected that the main door would just be centered on the end, but then I saw this building and it made me wonder.

I have no exact size requirements at this point, but I want something large enough to have all my shop tools in their place without a lot of jigsaw work. I want to have a decent size welding table, but I don't mind it being mobile. I want to be able to have my tractor parked inside, and still be able to work around it. I don't have to have equal room around the entire outside, but I need to be able to move well around it without a lot of trouble. I don't mind backing it in for bigger work on one side or another if room requires.

When I saw this offset door, my mind began to wonder about whether this would actually work better than a centered door.

What are your thoughts about the ins and outs of this or a centered door design. (outside wall height not being an issue.)

 

[joeyd]

Depending on your shop size a center door could give you three distinct areas. The center "bay" for working on vehicles and/or parking them if deep enough and two side bays for doing other jobs. One side of center for storage, the other side of center for a work area i.e. wood, welding, work bench etc. My door is offset and my shop is 24x30 so parking a vehicle off to the side used to take a multi-point "parallel parking" job. This year I picked up two sets of HF wheel dollies and just rolled the vehicle into place once I put it up on the dollies.
Again, depending on size your options are pretty open.

 

[John_Mc]

Depending on your shop size a center door could give you three distinct areas. The center "bay" for working on vehicles and/or parking them if deep enough and two side bays for doing other jobs. One side of center for storage, the other side of center for a work area i.e. wood, welding, work bench etc. My door is offset and my shop is 24x30 so parking a vehicle off to the side used to take a multi-point "parallel parking" job. This year I picked up two sets of HF wheel dollies and just rolled the vehicle into place once I put it up on the dollies.
Again, depending on size your options are pretty open.

Joeyd hit the nail on the head. My shop is only 24' wide, so I put the vehicle door off-center, and put a man door on the other side. I still have room to get around the other side of whatever I have parked in there, but my tools and workbench are concentrated on the other side. I made the door just a bit wider than a typical car garage so I can still jockey things by if I want: I can get my log splitter or Coot (and antique ATV which is about as wide as a modern side-by-side) in and out even if my tractor is parked there.

In a larger, wider shop, centering the vehicle door may give you more options, depending on how you want to set up your workshop inside.

 

[crazyal]

Will you have other things in there like a UTV or lawn mower? The center/ slightly offset door design if it's large enough will allow you to have two bays with just one door. Personally I wouldn't build a shop with less than a 12' wide door. If it's tight to the end of the wall like in your picture you would an even wider door or risk having your tractor stuck in the shop because a vehicle you are working on isn't finished (waiting for a part, etc.) and can't be moved.

 

[bigtiller]

My offset door works great for me. I have a 15 ft wide bay on the right for trailers and a small work bench. On the left, I have the weld/work area. And against the back wall is implement storage.

I need to take a newer picture, this one is 5 years old.

 

[Diggin It]

I think the door in question is offset too far. It may not give enough room beside whatever vehicle is parked there to work on it and be able to remove/install parts. I'd like to have at least 4-6 feet to the wall.

 

[bigtiller]

I think the door in question is offset too far. It may not give enough room beside whatever vehicle is parked there to work on it and be able to remove/install parts. I'd like to have at least 4-6 feet to the wall.

I agree, wall space is almost as important as floor space.

 

[Dadnatron]

My offset door works great for me. I have a 15 ft wide bay on the right for trailers and a small work bench. On the left, I have the weld/work area. And against the back wall is implement storage.

I need to take a newer picture, this one is 5 years old.

bigtiller... what size is your shop? And how wide is that door? Is that the only vehicle door in the shop?

 

[bigtiller]

bigtiller... what size is your shop? And how wide is that door? Is that the only vehicle door in the shop?

The building is 54'x75' and 14' tall with a 24'x12' door, and yep, that's the only vehicle door. Believe it or not, I wish it was a little bigger.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

No matter what you do; there will always be the after thoughts. My dream (never realized) was three bays wide by 40' deep. 12' X 12' door on each bay, man door on the front and back, and one 12' door on the back side for pull through. Grew old and downsized from the 21 AC tree ranch to a place closer in to town. Won't happen now.

Ron

 

[nybirdman]

I will be starting a 24x36x12' pole barn soon;my idea is to offset the main(12'x10') door.This frees the other side for work benches and storage.

 

[Stimw]

I designed my building with the doors like they are.
I have the right side for equipment/tools and have entrance door toward the right and house.
I can open doors for maximum ventilation.
It is 40' X 60' X 14'

 

[EddieWalker]

Since you are not sure how big your building will be, it's probably safest to plan on putting the big door in the center. More importantly is that you make the door big enough to get in and out of easily. Mine is ten feet wide and I should have gone 12 wide. Having it centered allows you to maximize our storage on one wall and have a work bench on the other wall.

My plan for my next shop is to start out building the main barn as wide as I can, but with super tall walls. I'm thinking 16 feet, but we'll see what happens when I actually commit to doing this. I will place the building so that I have space on both sides of it to add on to it. I want the tall walls so I can easily attach the lean to, or additional barn to it and still have a decent sloped pitch to the roof. Eventually this enclosed lean too area will be where my dedicated wood shop is, which would be separate from the tractor storage, vehicle fixing area.

I want to be able to build it, then add on to it, and then add on to it again and again if I need to, and as I can afford it.

My starting out dimensions are probably in the 30 foot wide range, and as long as I can possible afford to make it. Probably 60 feet long. 30 feet gives you plenty of room to have a vehicle inside and still be able to get around it with a work bench on one wall and a ton of storage on the other wall. I also like the idea of having a door at either end of the building so I can enter it from either side.

Currently I'm at 24 wide and 30 deep with 12 foot tall walls. It's more of an over sized garage then a workshop. I can park my truck in there, or my tractor, and work on it, but over the last few years, it's becoming more and more difficult to squeeze everything into there.

 

[Birdhunter1]

When I built mine it is 30 x 48 with an 11' ceiling. I have a 12' wide 10' high door on the front side with a walk in door next to it and a 10 x10' door on the back of the building with a walk in door next to it. My idea was I could pull a truck and trailer in and drive out the other side if I wanted to, OR I can park something inside of 1 door and work on it or whatever and be able to bring something else in the other end. The overhead doors are on the east and west side and aligned on the south edge of themselves, leaving 3' or so on the north side of the doors which is overhead shelves and cabinets along the north wall. The south side of the building contains a bathroom, gun/tack room, and workbench tool storage. The two tables I have are on wheels so I can move them where I want. I do a bit of everything in my garage and I like the moveable idea of everything. The only thing truly stationary is my wood burning stove.
I also have a lean to along the entire south side which is where my tractor lives most of its life when it isn't running.

 

[Xfaxman]

My first big shop only had a overhead door on the north end. With the prevailing wind from the south, I soon realized that I needed cross ventilation, so put one on the south end.

When we had this 30x40 built I specified a 12x12 at each end:

And the skylights on the side wall:

 

[RickB]

Put a man door in front and back. My back door was planned as an emergency exit and ended up doubling as a source of cross ventilation. I could also step out and water the grass occasionally.

 

[Xfaxman]

That reminds me, the first shop man door was also on the north. Once every few winters we would get an ice storm that would coat the doors so they wouldn't open. Fortunately we had added a shed on the west side with a man door into the shop, so I could still get in.

 

[Diggin It]

I could also step out and water the grass occasionally.

Watering is one thing. Fertilizing is another. For those with outbuildings 'too far' from the house facilities, has anyone done an outhouse out back of the outbuilding?

 

[ultrarunner]

Don't get 8' wide doors... the new place has a 34 wide by 24 deep garage with three 8 foot doors with is not good... the workshop is very nice but is accessed thought one of the bays...

Not sure what the builder was thinking... OK if you have a small import but 94" clearance is a mistake... no matter how many doors you have.

 

[Xfaxman]

Watering is one thing. Fertilizing is another. For those with outbuildings 'too far' from the house facilities, has anyone done an outhouse out back of the outbuilding?

Not an outhouse, but this is an option, with no plumbing required: https://incinolet.com/

Just need a 20 amp dedicated 120 vac circuit and a vent to the outside: