My new replacement shop 40x68x13

[Joe Jensen]

Roy, the 6" d/c pipes are buried under the foam app. 4" down. All the electrical is 1 1/2" conduit buried at about the same depth, with pull wire in it. I had the same set-up in the old shop, and it worked great, hence, do it again.

I am building a shop about the same size and keep wondering about how to run the DC pipe. My shop is 31 feet wide inside and about 70 feet long. I have a large sliding table saw now and a full shop but in retirement I will add a wide belt sander, and some more industrial grade/size machines. Because I'm not sure on layout I was thinking about putting concrete trenches like 6 feet in from each side wall running the length of the shop. Make them like 12" wide and 24" deep. I would use 1 1/2" plywood decking as a cover and I could then cut holes for DC and power wherever needed. The hope would be the ability to run all under the floor. Thoughts?

[Peter Christensen]

I worked in a large machining plant that had trenches/troughs/channels in the floor to get services to machines. Usually have checker plate over them to allow forklifts to drive over. Just remember to have enough room for large radii dust collection pipe and to ensure electrical wiring can handle being submerged in water if there is any chance of water getting in from below or above slab.

Oh never mind the water part. You live in Arizona so probably don't even know what water is.

[Randy Henry]

During the setting up the forms for the walls, I acquired a Martin T-72 table saw..what a monster. I also set the d/c lines for that, along with my PM-66. With the Martin, I also ran larger conduit for the wire coming from the Phase-perfect I will be getting. Also, it takes air to raise the scoring blade, so I ran conduit with Pex in it for that. I thought about the trenches, but, the next owners after I'm gone, will only have to fill in the holes for the d/c and conduit to make the shop into what they desire. The rest of my machines will be overhead d/c and electrical. Once we had the gravel backfill in, I wanted to let the gravel sit for a few weeks to settle, I made full size templates of the larger machines out of cardboard. Doing that confirmed where I wanted the 2 table saws, etc.

[Jim Becker]

Randy, AFAIK, PEX isn't rated for air...I hope that works ok for your scoring setup. That said, I like that you make full size templates of your machinery to truly figure out where best to locate things!

[Randy Henry]

Yep, Jim, I know the Pex companies don't recommend Pex for air lines. I've read lots of posts, pro's and con's on several Garage forums and here. I put it in a conduit sleeve, and if it fails, I will just pull it out and put in the Maxline. I also ran a separate conduit to my 40'x60' machine shed and put pex in it, too. It will be easy to change if needed. I had a separate compressor for the machine shed, but got tired of turning it on when I needed it, and then having to wait for it to charge up. I always turn the power off on the a/c and bleed the air out of the lines every day I use it.

[Jim Becker]

I suspect that the PEX tubing itself will most likely be fine with reasonable pressure in it--the line dedicated to the scoring blade can be regulated to just over what's required for the purpose. It's the terminations that may be tricky since they are primary designed for liquids at somewhat lower pressure than typical air lines...

[Joe Jensen]

During the setting up the forms for the walls, I acquired a Martin T-72 table saw..what a monster. I also set the d/c lines for that, along with my PM-66. With the Martin, I also ran larger conduit for the wire coming from the Phase-perfect I will be getting. Also, it takes air to raise the scoring blade, so I ran conduit with Pex in it for that. I thought about the trenches, but, the next owners after I'm gone, will only have to fill in the holes for the d/c and conduit to make the shop into what they desire. The rest of my machines will be overhead d/c and electrical. Once we had the gravel backfill in, I wanted to let the gravel sit for a few weeks to settle, I made full size templates of the larger machines out of cardboard. Doing that confirmed where I wanted the 2 table saws, etc.

We plan to leave this property in a wheel chair or on a gurney so the resale will be my children's problem

We are building the shop and guest house as an extension of the main house connected via a large covered patio. The new structure will have the same design, windows, roof tile, etc as the main house with a complex roof line and perimeter. The idea is that a future owner could make if a large addition to the house adding more rooms and baths.

[Randy Henry]

Here is a pic of the acoustic metal. My local metal place has it on a spool and can cut any length for me. They have it on the walls in their truss plant. They had a bunch of their saws running, d/c, etc. and the echo effect was not noticeable at all.

[Dustin Stoll]

I work for a large post frame material manufacturer, and we do a lot of perforated metal interiors. One thing to keep in mind is that if you use it on your ceiling, wind blowing in your overhead doors will blow your attic insulation around. Also, depending on what kind of insulation you blow in the attic, it can fall down through the holes. We apply a product called “drip stop”(felt vapor barrier) to the back side of the metal as it goes through the rollformer, to prevent this problem.

[Randy Henry]

Thanks Dustin. If I decide to use it, I will only be using it on the top 3 ft. of the walls. My vapor barrier will be black plastic (6mil) to hide the roll insulation. I am still in the planning stages for this part of the shop. I have concerns over dust build-up in the holes over time. I am very uneducated about it and have not seen any woodshops using it on the net. The truss plant had it, but it is relatively new, and I didn't inspect it up close to see about the dust. Tho, I will check on that "drip stop" you mentioned. Thanks for the advice.

[Dustin Stoll]

We usually dont put anything behind the perforated metal when it is on the side wall, besides the wall insulation. You will not be able to see the wall insulation through the holes unless you are standing really close to it. The dust will stick to the holes, but I think it is worth it for the acoustic benefits. Good luck with your project, it looks great so far! You will love the floor heat.

[Randy Henry]

Here is a pic of the shop with the completed exterior. Very happy with the way it turned out. I also attached a few pics of the hack-job the previous crew did. One is where the d/c vent is and the butcher job they did. You will notice the tin does not even get to the J-trim, much less go inside it. The other pic is of the porch roof ridge vent, where it meets the wall, and another of the porch over-hang. The last pic is the finish room exhaust fan, where the pic speaks for itself. I have about 30 more pics of this kind of slop. It's all water under the bridge now. Been working on wiring, etc. in prep. for the inside metal.

[Dustin Stoll]

<p>
Wow, that is some of the worst trim work I have ever saw. Glad you found a reputable crew to fix it. Finished product looks great!</p>

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Dustin...wow...I cannot believe they felt they could be so slopping "just because it's a shop building". E-gads!

[Randy Henry]

I was in disbelief. My dream shop turning into a nightmare. Windows weren't level with each other, which showed up very noticeably with the color break on the outside, etc. But, all turned out well. Expensive mistake for the original crew. They had to eat the cost of the tin. The way it ended up, it saved me quite a bit of $$ by just paying the new guys by the hour, instead of a "total cost" by the other guys. We turned a lemon into lemonade. I'm sure some folks are wondering why I waited so long..these guys move fast. I was working on putting the electric meter base in when they started the exterior walls, wasn't really paying attention to what they were doing. When they finished for the day and I did a walk around, and that' when I noticed it. They were about 75% done.