I can't remember ever hearing someone say, my doors are too wide or too tall, my shop is too big or my ceiling is too high, but I've heard the opposite.
I've owned houses with garages turned into workshops with 7', 8', 9' and 10' ceilings. Presently we are building a new house with a 9' foot basement, allowing for the support beams for a finished 8' ceiling and 10' ceilings on the main floor and in the garage and workshop. I can get by with an 8' garage, 9' is an great improvement and 10' is ideal for my needs. It also accommodates an 8 foot high overhead door.
In a 24 x 30, the difference between a 9' and 10' ceiling is a increase of 720 cubic feet or 11.1% increase.
What does that mean in BTU’s? Not much…
According to this Mr Heater Reference
http://www.mrheater.com/upload/10-27...at%20Guide.pdf
Nine foot ceiling at 6480 cf or ten foot ceiling at 7200 cf, you are going to want to round up to the next higher standard size heater or furnace which is a 45k heater on this chart, the same as you estimated.
Living in Michigan you may want to pay attention to and consider if their temperature rise of 42 degrees C is acceptable for your worst conditions.
– 21 C to + 21 C or
– 6 F to + 70 F
If you think you may need a greater temperature rise, move right on the chart to a larger heater.
You probably do not need to heat the shop over 70F, but your coldest days may be considerably colder than – 6F. Alternatively you could run a second, auxiliary heating unit if the need is infrequent.
Personally I would prefer and buy what I need plus a little extra capacity up front as it would the most economical over time with the least hassle and disappoint later.
Lighting
In the top menu, in the articles tab there is a great article
Lighting the Small Workshop - by Jack Lindsey
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/content....y-Jack-Lindsey
Jack assumes a 10' ceiling and unless I missed it does not mention compensating for higher or lower ceilings. I read the complete article some time ago, but just skimmed it this time, looking for ceiling height.
It is interesting to note, both Jack and the Mr Heater reference assume a 10' shop ceiling height.
When building I always try to think in at least 2' increments and preferably 4', as it is more economical with less materiel waste and more efficient with less cuts required. Its for the same reasons you are building a 24 x 30, instead of a 25 x 29 or a 23 x 31 shop. With 9' ceilings you have to buy 10' material, saw every piece and have a 1' drop / waste piece. Granted you can use some of them someplace for some things, but the total board feet of scrap is huge, by design and could be avoided; could be used to build a more spacious structure overall with little added cost.
On that note, the whole idea of a pole structure does not seem like the best design in my estimation as you are going to build a pole frame, then line the space with 2 x 4's for sheathing / sheet material inside and out, 2 x 4' and/or batten/ nailers as applicable. It sounds like a frame inside a frame work, a bit redundant, when the 2 x 4's alone could be the frame.
You have a concern about heating cost and rightfully so. The heating cost is not so great. Reheating the same space over and over again is. Insulation is an investment that pays back continually over time. I would skip the poles and 2 x 4's and invest that money in 2 x 6's and insulation. I also think it would be an easier build, but that is just me. I'm not fond of vinyl siding either but I'm not funding this project. I've seen so much cheap quality, faded, broken, warped, bad installations, wavy, and hail damage, my desire for it is squelched.
I would definitely move the DC to an outside enclosed room. First for noise reduction in the shop and secondly for ease of cleaning, keeping the dust outside. Well, considering the heating concerns with the caveat that the room is insulated and with the heated dusty air going into the DC be returned to the shop as make-up air. The room could be within the shop floor space, with an outside access door for cleaning and servicing the DC.
Those are my thoughts and opinions; use what is helpful and applies to your needs, budget, preferences and situation.
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Originally Posted by Jim Andrew
