Fantasy Shop

[larry merlau]

this has the potential to become long, but i think it could be helpful to others. if someone wants to make it a poll if it would be better suited then go for it. but here is my idea.. we have a set size of 28 x 40. now add your input on wall construction .covering, in and out ,floor construction,insulation. electrical service.plumbing, air and water heating type this can vary from location and this would need to be clarified. some of you guys dont need any more heat and some of us dont need any more cold roof coverring. ceiling hieght, lighting prefernces. and windows & doors. what would you want if you had it your way. cost not being an issue? this is a dream i had and thought it could help others in there quest for there perfect shop. thanks for the replies and or critisms.. have fun dreamin with idea of helping others

[John Dingman]

Well let's see......

I would want tongue and groove walls and ceiling.

I would want all the dust control and electrical run under the wooden floor. With the outlets and the DC piping placed where the machines would be located.

More lights than a football stadium.

10' Walls

Lot's of windows for natural light, but the tpye of windows that are higher on the wall to keep folks from watching what I am doing in the shop and to keep them from being able to walk by and see what I have in my shop.

Tons of outlets.

A huge service panel with room for expansion.

A separate ventilated room for finishing.

There's a lot more, but since this will NEVER happen in my lifetime, I'll let the rest of you guys fill in the blanks

John

[Larry Browning]

Everything on John's PLUS
A loft or upstairs area for long term lumber storage/drying
A bathroom with toilet and big utility sink.
A separate room for the compressor and DC.
Radiant floor heat.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Above all radiant floor heat! Man is that heat toasty!!

I too would want 10 foot walls and wood sided walls and ceilings.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Larry. Since you are in Michigan I suggest that you build it just as if you were building a house.

For the floor, I would put in radiant heat with a heavy layer of polystyrene foam under the concrete slab. Also a good layer of insulation around the outer foundation.

For outer walls, consider using structured insulated panels. When we built our home, I used 8" thick SIPs for an R-30 in the walls. If you go for standard framing, use 2x6 studs at least, that will allow an R-19 in the walls. Be sure to use Tyvec(sp) wrap.

Ceiling height minimum is 10 ft., and in your case, with a large shop, 12 ft would be nice.

Ceiling insulation, I would go for 15 to 20 inches of blown in fiber glass giving an R-45 to R-60. While you are in the attic, specify roof decking that has the reflective aluminum foil of the attic side. Ridge vents and continuous soffit vent are the best ventilation option. Yes, you need ventilating year round, even in the cold of winter.

Electrical: Install at least a 200 amp panel. Run 240v oulets everywhere, even if you don't expect to use them now. Install 120v quad outlets with one duplex on circuit 1 and the other duplex on circuit 2.

Lights, use fluorescent fixtures, many of them. Go with electronic ballasts, and use bulbs that are at least 5000 degrees, Kelvin, with a color rendition of around 90 or better.(not your standard HD bulbs.)

Walls, I would use a 3/4" "shop grade" plywood. Ceiling just standard sheet rock. Paint the entire interior the brightest white you can find, semigloss.

Consider putting your dust collection piping in a channel in the floor to eliminate pipes hanging down from the ceiling. This can be done when the slab is poured. Putting a lip on the channel allows using 1/8" diamond plate steel to cover the channel.

Put the cyclone in a closet( an nice to do, but not required.) Put the compressor in a separate room.

There are a hundred things that need to be considered, but to me, the most important part is getting a good air tight building. Everything after that is an add-on.

Hope this helps. I did most of the above except for the radiant heat, and the closet for the cyclone

Thought for the day: people are put on earth for a reason, if only to make others look good.

[Brad Knabel]

First I'd start with Lou Sansone's shop and I would add...let's see...I would add a... no wait he's got that already...hmmm...I think that does it. Just box up Lou's shop send it my way and I'd be happy.

[Don Baer]

I would add doub maybe even double barn doors for ease of bringing in and out equipment and projects as well as large sheet goods etc. Also I would probubly put in a powered small gantry crane for loading and unloading stuff.

[Brad Olson]

Radiant floor heating...

You've been to Just_George's shop but you haven't been there in January. He can keep his overhead door open and gets minimal heat loss in the shop. MUCH better than forced air. He can also run his cyclone outside and he also doesn't get much heat loss since 1/2 the heating effect is by warming ther person standing on the floor.

Electrical...

Put a box on every stud, I did that in my shop and everyone made fun of me for overkill, but I have about 2/3 of my outlets used and I am never far from a receptacle

If you have extra $ make each box a double gang with both a 220 and 120V in each.

For my elec., I put every 4th stud on the same circuit and no circuit crossed a corner, also I have outlets in the ceiling just in case.

[Bill Lewis]

Larry, you're evil!

Well, I was going to build somthing close to the picture included in this post. It included a garage, with a wing off of it. The garage portion was the car, and metalworking shop. The area measured about 30' square and the interior was to have a minium of a 12' ceiling (or vaulted) to accomodate a two post car lift. The wing off of the garage is for the Woodworking shop measures 22 x 30 or so. It would be built over a full walkout basement. The WW shop would have through the floor DC to the cyclone below. The basement would also house the compressor, water heater, HVAC equipment, additional lumber storage, and a home for the tractor, or other L&G equipment. The shop would have at least a half bath, with additional sinks where needed. Obviously this design works best for a sloped lot.

This was my dream shop, but I had to comprimise, and put the WW shop in the basement. I did oversize the house garage to 24' x 34' with (3) 9'w x8' h doors. I still intend to build another garage, similar to what I have shown, just without the wing.

[Dan Oelke]

Living up north - Radiant floor heat! A boiler that is outside would be nice, but even better would be a boiler in an "extra" room that is completely concrete - fireproof. That room can hold the firewood and have a separate outside door for bringing in firewood. But you can still get to it from inside so you don't need to go outside in Jan to fire the stove.

Lots of outlets with lots of circuits. Each outlet should be labeled with it's breaker number.

Dust collection built into the floor - nice (I'm planning on it in the far off future when I build my shop....) - wood floor would be nice for ease on the legs, BUT could you put "Lou-sized" equipment on it? If no plans for Lou-sized equipment then no problem.

Compressor in basement/closet. Air drops readily available, with coil hoses that can be easily moved from place to place.

Cabinets - with doors - keeps the dust off the treasures and gives a nicer look than open shelves.

Big double doors. I like the look better than an overhead door. Should be big enough to drive in forklift for that big equipment.

Oh - such a fantasy.......

[Tom Sontag]

What everyone keeps forgetting is that dream shops have 3 phase tools. Put 3 phase power on my list.

[lou sansone]

dear all


thanks for the complements on my shop. I think that most of you know that if you are in the area and would like to have a look that you are welcomed

lou

[Steve Stube]

Larry, are you planning to build a dream shop or do you already have what you think is a dream shop and are at some point going to share that with others?

You do realize that you will not get a consciences of opinion on design. Even if money were no object (dream on) some design features are mutually exclusive. Such things as climate and water table, full time heating/cooling versus part time or occasional use, zoning (It's true what they say, location, location, location.)etc., etc., etc. can all affect the final design.

Anyway (Larry), if you already have the dream shop - I'd like an invite. If your looking to build a dream shop - come and see mine and modify to suite your needs. I've done the research and built a shop that makes the most efficient use of materials and is more economical to operate 24/7 than any others I seen or heard of. I have put together a presentation outlining the important decision points of home shop construction and hope to make that available on CD or DVD in the future (near - a hedge word). I have all the construction details for my shop in AutoCAD. BTW, it is a 28' X 48' two story structure.

[Jim Becker]

Hmm...dream shop, eh? 28'x40', eh? Hmm...

12-14" ceiling, preferably open to the roof with skylights near the peaks for natural light. Windows, but most near the top of the walls for the same reason. Normal entry door for regular access and either roll-ups for major portals or a big slider if it could be sealed properly for weather. I'd much preserve a traditional structure look externally, although for something this size, it may be more practical to use a steel building or pole-barn construction. Wood floors, either on joists with a crawl space or on sleepers over a concrete floor. Radient heat. A/C. Fully insulated. Lighting with "natural" brightness and coloration. Security system.

Walls, T&G and natural colored combined with other materials that are painted--a warm feeling like Lou Sansone's place, if you will. Multiple rooms...machine, bench and assembly room, finishing room, storage/DC/Compressor room, office and bathroom with shower. And if it were a business, I'd want the office to double as a show/meeting room with lots of glass looking into the working area.

[Doug Shepard]

Anything but concrete for the floor. The older I get, the less I can tolerate standing on it for long periods of time. Even the anti-fatigue mats don't seem to help an awful lot. So maybe a wood floor over the concrete? Or those 1" x 2'x2' commercial tiles they use for workout room floors? Either would make rolling mobile based stuff more difficult, but at the size of the shop you're fantasizing, I doubt mobile bases are a big concern.

Lots of natural light would be my preference. Maybe a skylight or two?

If the ceiling is going to be open, I'd go with beefier framing to better support the wood and other stuff you'll be tempted to store overhead.

A separate finishing room would be ideal.