Planning a 30x50 x 16 workshop

[Benjy Walters]

Happy Easter to everyone, per the Pastor this morning, He is Risen Indeed.

And on the topic of rising, I'm trying to get my workshop plans to rise to fruition and I've been nosing around a handful of forums lately and this seems to be the best when it comes to insightful comments so, here are my plans;

I've got an acre lot on the outskirts of Houston, TX with a 10+ year old home and an area to the side that'll hold a 40x80 workshop, pending approval. I'm planning on a 30x50 as this workshop will be for much more than just making sawdust. I'm hoping to be able to teach my sons to weld, work on all kinds of mechanical equipment. Have a 20x14 craft room for the wife, 2 restrooms (urinal for the boys in the family) plus a shower. This is all on the first level. Above the craft room, I'm planning on an office for myself with plenty of room for a future bedroom. In my line of work, we travel a bit and after the boys are out of the house, I figure we'll take on some assignments away from home, so we want to rent out the house and use the workshop as a place to stay when we're back in town, plus storage for anything in the house currently that we don't want renters getting into. In the back of the barn, I'm wanting to have a loft area to hold maybe a pool table, foosball table, man-toy kinda stuff, maybe exercise equipment, who knows. Around the interior perimeter I'm hoping to fit in a 6-8' wide walkway at about 8' for storage of seasonal items. Might build a roll-around ladder/platform or something for access.

On the construction of the barn, I'm wanting to have cedar siding facing the street, just like our home to give it a barn feel, but the sides and roof I'm wanting to be metal. For the roofing system, I'm planning on metal standing-seam on top of radiant barrier OSB which will sit on 2x2s running vertical which will sit on another layer of OSB which will sit on the roof truss system. The goal will be to reflect most of the heat with the metal roof & radiant barrier and the heat that does get through will be drawn out through the ridge vent. If too much heat is still getting through, I can spray foam insulation between the trusses.

I'm just not fond of metal buildings, so I'm wanting to build a post & beam concept, with a twist. After the concrete is placed, I'd like to build the posts & beams on the concrete out of 16' 2x12s with 10" flat steel (1/4"?) sandwiched between the posts & beams. In doing this, I believe that over the course of the 50', I'll need fewer than if I went with typical 6x6 posts. Additionally, I could weld on tabs to make connections for my loft & elevated walkway/storage. I might also switch to 10x10s with a steel T sandwiched in there. For aesthetics, I might wrap with some stained veneer and bolt on some plates at the joints. I'm hoping for some additional strength to allow for future capabilities, whatever they may be.

I've got a 200A breaker about 30 feet away in the garage servicing a 2000 SF home, so I figure I can peel at least 60A from there. Water service is nearby, but I'll need to install a sewage pump right nearby to send wastes to the septic tank on the other side of the property. I've already run some sketches past the HOA, so no concerns there. I do have some concerns with the county regarding the tax liability here, but I'll get with my realtor for advice.

I'm planning on subcontracting out the u/g plumbing, concrete work, siding, roofing & electrical supply & terminations. I would love to have a "barn raising" with family, friends & neighbors.


So, my questions are;

1) Any thoughts on the post & beam vs going with traditional 6x6 beams? The goal is extra strength & rigidity and hopefully some cost savings over same sized 12x12 traditional post & beam.

2) Can I run standing-seam metal horizontally? Or should this be vertical and would this look ok with stained cedar lap siding facing the roadway?

3) What else am I not thinking of? I know I didn't cover a few thousand details here, but is the concept headed in the right direction?

Appreciate any comments you all may have. Attached a few photos to show my thoughts, the model was a cold-rainy day project to show the roof system, but it kept growing as I waited for the glue to dry.

Thanks,
Benjy

[John Upton]

Overhead lifting ? Do you ever forsee the need for a crane for automotive-welding projects ?

[Benjy Walters]

Hi John,

Possibly, I grew up with a shop on the farm that had a chain hoist on a rail that would pivot on a column. This would be easy to add in later, especially if I beef up the foundation in that area now.

The soils aren't great, we have 8-12" of topsoil, then sand for 12-24", then clay.

Not planning on real heavy loads, so I've been planning on a 4-5" slab with #4 or #5 rebar. I'll need some running footers inside as well as around the perimeter. A home builder friend is telling me I should post tension the slab as well.

I will be extremely picky on the rebar installation, concrete slump, placement & finishing. Might get my QC buddies to help on the placement & finishing.

[Keith Outten]

Have your electrical utility run a new line and meter to your shop rather than trying into your home. My shop has its own 600 amp service and I can't imagine anything less plus my meter bill is paid by my business so I don't have to estimate energy consumption.

At the point in time that you rent your home and move into your shop apartment you will be glad that your renters are not sharing your electric bill.
.

[marty shultz]

I have a similar size bldg. I've listed the things I like and don't like about my setup on another website and I've pasted them below. I would pull 100 amps from the house rather than 60.

The good -

Position the saws, planer, jointer, shaper so the outfeed is in front of the garage door and you won’t lose valuable working space.. I realize this only works when the weather is nice and you have a large garage door to point them at.


Make a covered patio and supply electricity to it. It’s nice to work outside in the shade and it’s healthier too. Clean-up is easy with a leaf blower.


Put skylights in the shop to let in natural light. Supplement with a lot of T8 florescent lights


Make dedicated cabinets to hold items. e.g. plane cabinet, sanding cabinet, drill cabinet. ...


Learn how to make customized dust collection fittings. it will save you a bunch of money.


Mount your dust collector and compressor outside (if possible). They take up floor space and are noisy.


Put dust collection floor sweeps in the corners and blow the dust from one end of the shop to the other.


Plumb in a lot of electrical outlets (inside and outside) and install airlines to get to the major areas.


If you have both a radial arm saw and the miter saw build them on the same platform to reduce space.


Put equipment on good castors to move it easily.



The bad (what I regret):

I wish I would have put the dust collection piping and some electrical outlets in the floor. It would look nicer and be safer to work around.


Don’t install too many windows because they take up valuable wall space.


I would consider having a wood floor because it would be more comfortable than standing on concrete. I don’t have any experience with wood floors and I’m not sure they would withstand the weight of some of my tools.


I wish I would have purchased a 3 phase rotary converter and purchased 3 phase equipment. I believe three phase is less expensive and better than single phase. Higher end equipment is made with three phase power and it can be cheaper than single phase.


I made an office that I really don’t use. I would rather have the shop floor space.


Before I acquired some of the bigger tools there was enough room to park a car in the shop. Now I regret allowing a car there because my wife thinks it’s her parking space.



The ugly:

Don’t use the rubber flooring that I used. It shows all tracks and never looks good. I would use epoxy with sand next time.


I hope this helps.

[Matt Day]

I don't think you want to run your metal roof horizontally. Water will try to get in between the crimped seam and will likely reduce lifespan. Check with the manufacturer though.
Sounds like a cool/big project!

[Benjy Walters]

I don't think you want to run your metal roof horizontally.

Sorry, not the roof, just the siding. The side facing the road will have stained cedar siding, the other sides should have metal siding or if that won't work, I might go with hardiplank.

[Jak Kelly]

I like the idea in trying to match the look of the house, since this building will be occupying the same property. That being said I would consider using the concrete lap siding that has the wood texture to it, then paint it to match the house. Use it all the way around the outside of the building, since you want to stay away from the metal look. If I was building any type of structure today, especially a new home, I would not use brick. Just my opinion.

[Todd Burch]

I like the pitch of the roof on your model a lot better than the pitch on your drawing.

I think the separate electric service is a great idea for your situation.

I personally like windows. It's free light.

I dislike metal buildings too. So much so, that I'm willing to spend several thousand more $ to not have one. I do, however, like metal roofs. I'm not so much a fan of post tension slabs either. I guess they are cheaper to pour though. I'm going conventional on my slab - just steel and concrete.

Let's see…. 10" flat steel, 1/4" thick, 16' long. Wonder how much that would weigh and what type of machine would be required to lift it. I suppose big. You could always just glue and nail up 4 or 5 thicknesses of 2X12 and it would be a ton cheaper (I think) and plenty strong (I suppose). I'm not an engineer, so any comments from me on the matter are for entertainment purposes only.

If you are going to work on cars, I always though it would be a good idea to set some big rings into a slab in case I wanted to pull anything via a chain. (Think frame work).

Good luck. Post pictures.

[Jim Andrew]

I have used 1/2" plate between 2x10's for a beam. Pretty heavy. Not as stiff as a steel beam, but adds a lot of strength. You have to drill it and bolt through the boards. The size of your building would not be difficult to build as a conventional frame. You can get floor trusses that will span the width, and use trusses for the roof. Probably less expensive than going with posts and beams. I'd rather have a stem wall foundation than slab. You can pour a floor if you want concrete inside the stem walls, or build a wood first floor.