Building your own Shop

[Greg Hairston]

I am currently about to move to TN and will need to build a shop on my new property. I know several on this forum have undertaken such a task. I would like to get as much information as possible on planning and starting this project. I am looking at the shop being anywhere from 1000-1600 sqft. My options are build from scratch, Kit, or Metal building. Looking for as much input and advice as possible. Location will be Memphis so I figure mild winters and oppressive heat in the summer. So I would also like input on heating and cooling. I can be emailed directly at realwood@icsurf.com.

Greg

[Frank Pellow]

As someone who is in the final stages of building his shop, I would like to congratulate you and to wish you good luck.

One thousand square feet or more -WOW! Are you going to do some or all of the construction yourself?

I certainly recieved a lot of good advise from the members of this forum both during the planning and building portions of my project. I am glad that I built from scratch rather than a kit -it gave me much more flexibility and much more fun. Some other advice:

• have as high a ceiling as possible

• use skylights -I put in 3 but I should have installed 4 or 5 (and my shop is less than half the probable size of yours)

• use wood floors

• have both a single door and double doors

• pay for good dust control and plan in the location and ducting from the start

[Rob Russell]

The basic elements of building a freestanding shop are those of building a small house. Have you been through that before? Do you know what you want long terms in terms of space for machinery, workbench and finish space? Are you planning just power or also water and sewer? How handy are you from a construction perspective? What's your budget like? Somewhere between unlimited and tight, but it makes a difference. Is appearance of the shop an issue or strictly functionality?

Just some quick questions to get the ball rolling.

Best of luck on the project!

[Dave Moran]

Greg, The best thing I ever did in my former shop and am ready to do in my current one, funds situation at the moment, is to have 2 electrical sub boxes. I split the lighting and have a few convenience outlets on the main box. Should I trip a main, I am not in the dark with rotating machinery, and when I need to rearange or add any power I can take either sub box off line and work in a dead box and still have light and power from the other. I do wish a wood floor would work, but I can not give up the vertical space, I only have about 8'4" clearance to the overhead so stall mats from the farm supply work.

Dave

[Jim Becker]

Greg, no matter what method you choose to build your shop with (Metal building, pole barn, conventional stick-built, etc), give yourself plenty of height, use a design that does not require "interior support" such as poles, etc., insulate it thoroughly for more comfortable and economical working conditions year-round, place windows high on the wall or use skylights for increased natural light during the day and avoid doors that block ceiling or wall space when they are open. And build the largest structure you can afford and accomodate for the project...you'll use the space. Separate finishing room, separate closet/room for DC/air/utilities and if possible/practical, a bathroom with at least a sink and a toilet, if not a shower, too. Those would be my "ideal" basic recommendations.

The actual construction method will likely be affected by your area as well as your own preferences.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Greg......Congrats! This could be fun! If you are going to contract it out get several estimates. When I decided to build mine (I'm starting the electrical as I write) I knew I had to have somebody else build it or it wouldn't be done this year (job gets in the way). I gave the same specs to 3 different contractors. One replied with the estimate for a pole barn...$9,000+.I specified 2x6 stick built...he's out....he can't take instuctions. A second gave me an estimate for $23,000. He's got good recommendations. The third contractor have me an estimate for $16,000. He had good recommendations and in fact did a good job building the shop. Plan everything you can in advance...size...ceiling height....electrical....HVAC.....dust collection.....finally, find a contractor who has good recommendations from previous customers and that you personally like.....you have to get along with him! I made several changes (window size and door style) during the process. This guy was easy to work with...and didn't overcharge me for the changes. If you're building it yourself......plan it out and eat your "Wheaties"!
Good luck and enjoy!


I am not associated with any breakfast cereal I might have mentioned in the above....just a happy consumer.

[Bob Smalser]

I gotta get the house done first:





And in the meantime, these temporary shop buildings work just dandy:

At the house site...




...and at the milling and drying yard:



No store-bought wood in either or those structures.

[Greg Hairston]

Great start on the recommendations. Keep em coming.
Ken,
that 16K is for what size structure?

Dave,
Great idea about the 2 sub panels. I will definitely do that.

Jim, Thanks for the advice I plan to design with all that in mind

My plans are to do most of the design and building myself. Not yet familiar with all the county codes but will adjust as needed. My Ideal shop would have 12 ft ceilings and lots of light. I am looking at sky lights and large windows. Dust collection will definitely be pre-designed. Once I have the drawings for the shop my plan is to go to Oneida and work out the dust collection design and then adjust as necessary. I am currently in a 900SQFT shop and I have MiniMax gear so I will have the tool placement worked out in my initial plans. My budget will be around 20K Max including the new dust collection system so I am limited somewhat but I figure 20 K with sweat equity should get me enough shop.

I want to go with wood flooring and I am thinking about running the dust collection under the floor. Problem with that is if there is a need for clean out or a leak occurs it may be difficult to deal with. (thoughts ???)

Foundation is another area I have not yet figured out. Going with wood flooring do I need a SLAB foundation or are there alternatives. I would like this to be a 1.5 story with a loft for office space and a bath room. Any suggestions on this are welcome. I plan to have a clean area, spray booth bench and machine area in the shop. I realize my goals are high but this is a one time only job. I want to do it right and not worry about additions later.

Greg

[Jim Becker]

If you go under-floor for the DC, you'll want to consider enough access in a crawl space to get to it or put it in channels with removable covers. I personally prefer overhead as it's more flexible over time and generally can be more efficient in design when done correctly. IMHO, of course.

[Frank Pellow]

...

Foundation is another area I have not yet figured out. Going with wood flooring do I need a SLAB foundation or are there alternatives.

...

Greg

I used concrete piers rather than a slab. You can see an example of what I did by starting at post #59 in the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...9&page=4&pp=15

Also, like Jim, I would advise you no to place the ducting for the dust control under the floor. It is too inflexible.

[Greg Hairston]

Frank,

I see your point. I will do some research and will probably go with a foundation similar to yours.

Greg

[Bob Smalser]

What I'm suggesting, Greg, is that you find a local sawyer and use airdried framing, siding and flooring if you like the price.

I and a couple other fellas out here are building our retirement houses now and the hurricanes and oil prices are killing us on so many material prices.

Most codes allow ungraded, roughsawn stock to be used in everything but residences, where graded stock is required. That said, I did have all my structural lumber graded and it only cost 600 bucks for over 100,000bf.

Shiplap solid boards for flooring, roof decking and siding, letting in 1X4's into the 2X6 studs on the diagonal at the corners for shear. Then if you hang your wall sheathing shiplap on the opposite diagonal you have better shear strength than the now-ridiculously expensive plywood or OSB for the sheathing.

For your foundation, a slab-on-grade is the cheapest but the most uncomfortable to live with. I prefer wood floors, and bolt P/T sills on kneewalls and footings. But with the sawmill, I can be lavish with wood. An alternative is P/T 2X4 joists resting on your slab, which provides an easier space to run electrics and piping without conduits.

If you do a slab, insulate it with visqueen/hard styrofoam...then the rubber tiles gymnasium weight rooms use might be a good choice.

You'll probably need an engineer stamp on any design that doesn't use plywood and trusses for your permit, so talk to the county bldg dept now to get your alternatives. I have found a retired structural engineer out here who works for 40 bucks an hour...and that find has been a Godsend.

Good luck.

[Jim Ketron]

Greg Sounds like you are going to have fun!
It's a lot of work but you will enjoy your new space.
If you will look here http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...=shop+progress and here http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...=shop+progress
you will see some good Ideas that SMC members have helped me with
Also look at Frank Pellow's shop threads for good info.
Jim

[Tom LaRussa]

I am currently about to move to TN and will need to build a shop on my new property. I know several on this forum have undertaken such a task. I would like to get as much information as possible on planning and starting this project. I am looking at the shop being anywhere from 1000-1600 sqft. My options are build from scratch, Kit, or Metal building. Looking for as much input and advice as possible. Greg

Greg,

Just one piece of advice.

If possible, hire Jim Ketron to build it for you.

[Tom LaRussa]

I gotta get the house done first:

Bob,

If you make/re-make/rehab any special tools during this project, I'm sure we'd all love to hear/see the hows and whys of it.



Tom