The bad news... I am losing my workshop...

[Anthony Tony Ennis]

The good news... I am moving and get to build another.

I have the opportunity to build what I want within reason. But so many things are preferences not needs. Help me decide!

I am a hobbyist, not a professional, so I don't need a lot of square feet. I could easily fit 24 x 24 in the new space, and this is about twice the footage of my current shop.

Concrete floor? Tell me about radiant heating... and what covering on the floor, if any?
(My current shop has a rough-sawn oak floor I put down 30 years ago. I'm going to miss it.)

I want 9' high ceilings joists so I can maneuver 2x8 material.

Would the walls be...
Wood plus vinyl siding?
Concrete block plus siding? (Is this done?)
Corrugated Metal?

Overhead garage door for ease of equipment in-and-out?

I don't need three-phase; my metal lathe is my only 3-phase motor and it has a VFD.

And I must have plenty of natural light. Plenty of it. I am tired of being in a barn.

Also, heat at least, AC could be nice.

[Jim Becker]

Congrats. I did a lot of looking at various options when I was planning for my own new shop build. I went post frame. Metal walls/roof deck. I do have a concrete floor with insulation under it but not radiant heat...I use a mini split for HVAC. I used closed cell spray foam for insulation. I opted for a 10' ceiling for pretty much the same reasons you mention, but also left it open to the roof so I could tuck DC, air and electric infrastructure up there out of the way. While I'm not a fan of overhead doors, I did put one 8x8 on the shop because it makes for easier movement of materials and projects in and out and for those between season times when I don't need heat or AC, I can open it up for a lot of fresh air.

You have to cost things out in your geography after you determine what's permitted by zoning for size and setbacks, etc. For me, Post Frame was a financial winner by many thousands of dollars over stick frame for the structure. I also saved a ton of money by doing the site prep myself (I have a small Kubota tractor with FEL and BH) and did all the interior finish work myself, including wiring beyond the service installed by my electrician, wall coverings, lighting, painting and trim as well as the walkway to the house.

[Michael Burnside]

Well, congrats! I mean spending money is sometimes not fun, but a new shop is great.

Like Jim, I opted for high cleanings. I did a 12' plate. I personally wouldn't go any shorter than 10' as it is nice wielding a long Festool track or long lumber without worrying about hitting anything. Especially true if you hang a garage door opener, air cleaner, etc. from the ceiling. I also put 18"x6' windows (2 on east/west side for a total of 4) up high so I could get ample light but not lose any wall space. This is also nice because to "peek" into my shop would require a 10' ladder

This came in handy when it was time to deliver my CNC and other heavy tools. Speaking of which, I installed a steal I-beam strap up the walls and across the top with a load capacity of "OMG a lot" where I can hoist super heavy equipment off of pallets and onto casters or out of the bed of my truck to the garage floor. I have a Jet 4TON chain hoist for this task and I-Beam vise.

I fully insulated the walls and ceilings and added a gas heater suspended from the ceiling.

I recommend adding A/B/C circuits so you can plug in multiple 120V tools at the same location without tripping a breaker. Go 20A for them, not 15A if you can. Add a few 240 as well, obviously, but do 30A runs so you're covered by just about anything.

One thing I also did and do NOT regret is I pulled cat-6 from the main house to the shop. This allows me to 1) connect a Wi-Fi access point into my shop for full internet/local network and accessing my data server for CNC files, etc. and 2) I have a security system with 24-7 camera surveillance/recording/monitoring inside and out. All the wireless camera stuff is just crap by comparison.

For the flooring, I went garage floor tiles. Love them. Last garage had epoxy, which was nice, but still stained/chipped and wasn't nearly as easy on the feet as the tiles, or as quiet.

[Jim Becker]

Like Michael, I also pulled a direct burial rated Ethernet cable between the house and the shop for network services. It's in a second, smaller conduit, that my electrician put in the ground at the same time as the electrical service. It travels 150' end to end and services a mesh network node in the shop that provides wired network services for my CNC machine as well as wireless connection for whatever need there is. It's a small thing, but it makes a "yuge" difference.

[Anthony Tony Ennis]

Tell me more about the floor tiles.

[Michael Burnside]

I have some pictures posted in a dedicated thread as well as some updates at the link below. Basically they're just 20x20 tiles that interlock together. They're about 1/8" thick dense tiles. They actually make the shop a bit quieter and nothing sticks to them (glue/oil/etc.). Was about half the cost of my last epoxy floor, took a half-day to install on my 24x30 shop and I like them quite a lot.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....02#post3274702

[Bill Dufour]

Location/ climate? How about a basement with concrete span deck ceiling.
Shed roof at correct angle for solar, weather head and conduit for solar wire to interior box location. Clerestory windows, some that vent, on north end of building under the eaves
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

Speaking of which, I installed a steal I-beam strap up the walls and across the top with a load capacity of "OMG a lot" where I can hoist super heavy equipment off of pallets and onto casters or out of the bed of my truck to the garage floor.

No idea what this means. Bridge crane rails? gantry crane?
BillD

[Charlie Velasquez]

WRT your electrical…
If you do slab-on-grade concrete floor you will most likely need to make all your outlets gfci, including your 240v ones.

If you do piers and 2x joists you can get more insulation, a softer surface to stand on (my previous was concrete, what a difference!), PLUS the NEC gfci does not apply if your floor is above grade level.

I insulated and put in a white suspended ceiling and 12 thin, dimmable, programmable, wafer lights in a smallish 12x16 shop (local code required <200 sq.ft.), no windows. Windows use up wall space. The 12 wafer lights produce more light than I need now, but I will be able to just up the lumen level with the dimmer switch as my eyesight degrades with age. I can program it wrt intensity and color.

[Jack Frederick]

Where are you Tony? Radiant heat is great, but expensive to install and not known for economical operation. I would suggest for an occasional space, which a hobbyists is, you will be batter off going with a mini-split heap pump for that size space and you do get the dehumidification and cooling too. Use the money not spent on radiant for the wood floor you want. I understand not wanting to be in a cave, but be aware that you can have too many windows. You need places for, well, everything that you have, racks, shelving, etc. I would do the jump from 9 to 10’ height.

[Michael Burnside]

Speaking of which, I installed a steal I-beam strap up the walls and across the top with a load capacity of "OMG a lot" where I can hoist super heavy equipment off of pallets and onto casters or out of the bed of my truck to the garage floor.

No idea what this means. Bridge crane rails? gantry crane?
BillD

Basically a static gantry in the middle of the ceiling using 3 welded I-beams. It’s very common to support long spans and that’s that the architect called it.

[glenn bradley]

You may have to start a spreadsheet matrix of all the suggestions as many of us will repeat things others have said. Like Jim and others I recently completed a shop build. I don't know that these appear in any priority but after 15 years in a garage I knew I wanted:
- Better than required electrical service.
- Better than required lighting.
- Better than required dust collection.
- Better than required room to work.

I wanted to list those briefly and will add more later so skip over this expansion of the first four items if you like the headlines more than the articles .

- Better than required electrical service:
Meet or exceed your local code. I made sure I brought in everything I needed plus room to grow. For me that was a 40 space panel and a 24 space panel. I put 120v wall outlets every 8 feet or so at 50" above grade plus a few extra 240v positions on the walls. In addition I put 120v and 240v outlets where required per the machine layout plan. I used GFCI breakers for outlets in the ceiling for lighting, cord reels, and ambient air cleaner positions. It's no fun having to climb a ladder if you blow a GFCI breaker in a hard to reach spot.

- Better than required lighting.
I ran 6500k lighting in the previous shop and enjoyed the near-operating-room light levels. Getting good color matches and finish judgements could be a problem and I had to keep other more "normal" colored lamps available when choosing material and finishing. For the current shop I went with 4500k fixtures but there are some really good options out there right now.

- Better than required dust collection.
I decided on 6" runs end to end in most cases. This is a balance between what the science calls for and what I was willing to spend. I assumed I would upgrade my 2HP cyclone to a 5HP and built the infrastructure for that. I put the 2HP in "for now" and have been pleasantly surprised at how well it does. I did spend an inordinate amount of time minimizing twists and turns in the duct path. This may have something to do with my current good performance. I also have a couple of shop vacs for those tools that benefit from that sort of collector. They also handle floor clean up . There is an ambient cleaner as well plus a spot for a second one not yet present.

- Better than required room to work.
From the git-go I had inserted a block of space as if it were a machine or tool. When planning the layout this "space" was just another object on the plan. Having room for all my tools is great. Having room to actually make stuff is a blessing.

In addition to the short-list I will add:

- Extra (future growth) conduit between the main panel and the shop.
I ran power, water and Ethernet. I ran a spare water path that I have already used, a spare Ethernet conduit that is still available. I also ran ENT pathways from the shop's comm (Ethernet) conduit entrance to various locations in the shop and put in pull strings. I used one right away for a wireless AP. I used one shortly after that for a wired connection point.

- Double door location for bringing material in and getting large projects out.
These doors are normally closed, locked, and barred.

- HVAC . . . enough said.

- Pull down ladder for the attic area.
Stupid handy.

- Sawed slab contraction joints.
Makes rolling heavy items much easier than tooled joints.

There is so much we can talk about. Priorities and special items will vary with what you do, how you do it, things you've always dreamed of (10' ceilings in my case), and your budget.

[Bill Dufour]

Basically a static gantry in the middle of the ceiling using 3 welded I-beams. It’s very common to support long spans and that’s that the architect called it.

Sounds useful. I have thought of a I beam spanning from wall to wall. Not rated for much over 200 pounds but add two removable vertical legs when needed for heavy lifts. Have you thought about the bridge cranes where one side is a gantry. Folks with rolling gantrys park them over a lathe or workbench. When not needed.
Bill D

[Michael Burnside]

Sounds useful. I have thought of a I beam spanning from wall to wall. Not rated for much over 200 pounds but add two removable vertical legs when needed for heavy lifts. Have you thought about the bridge cranes where one side is a gantry. Folks with rolling gantrys park them over a lathe or workbench. When not needed.
Bill D

Yea the roller style are an option for me but I haven't needed one yet. They are quite a bit more money for the load/size I need. It's an option though in the future. I use an i-beam static clamp rated at 4 tons and a chain hoist rated for the same. My I-beam is 12" wide by 12" tall with span of 24 feet. Only about 4" is exposed and the rest is inside the celilng so I could basically set it on the top plate. I think it cost me around $1200 3 years ago and the builder didn't charge me to set it in place as he was already setting rafters. It has been an incredible use thus far. When I bought my cabinet saw, bandsaw and planer Woodcraft would load it onto my truck for free. When I get home, I just back my truck under the hoist, raise, drive the truck away and lower the tool onto its casters

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Enjoy the process! When I built mine I went with 9' ceilings. I covered the walls with 1/2" plywood and to cut cost covered the ceilings with wallboard. I wish I had 10' ceilings and had used plywood to cover it too. I have several dings in the painted wallboard on the ceiling. It only takes a moments distraction to get a ding.