Building a new shop
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It really doesn't matter if you live in the colder or hotter part of the country, insulation will benefit either way. Keeping out the heat from a Texas sun or keeping in the heat during a Canadian winter, insulation will do its part in your construction of your building. Insulation will also deaden the noise that you produce in your shop. Remember the last time you used an air chisel to remove that rusted body panel at 11:30 pm? Or the sound of the last thunderstorm that pasted over your steel roofed shed! Try using as much insulation as you can afford. It will pay you back double or triple over the original cost you invested. Don't forget the vapor barrier, at least 6 mil plastic. Seal the electrical outlet boxes on the outside wall to prevent moisture infiltration into the insulation and wall section. | It really doesn't matter if you live in the colder or hotter part of the country, insulation will benefit either way. Keeping out the heat from a Texas sun or keeping in the heat during a Canadian winter, insulation will do its part in your construction of your building. Insulation will also deaden the noise that you produce in your shop. Remember the last time you used an air chisel to remove that rusted body panel at 11:30 pm? Or the sound of the last thunderstorm that pasted over your steel roofed shed! Try using as much insulation as you can afford. It will pay you back double or triple over the original cost you invested. Don't forget the vapor barrier, at least 6 mil plastic. Seal the electrical outlet boxes on the outside wall to prevent moisture infiltration into the insulation and wall section. | ||
| − | Doors and | + | ==Doors and windows== |
| + | Window are supposed to provide you with light and ventilation. There are many styles of windows to choose from; find something that compliments the style of your home and climatic conditions. Triple pane windows with low E glass act just like insulation and will pay a return over the years. Roof skylights and ridge vents are excellent in larger shops for bringing in light to the center of the building. | ||
| − | + | For every opening you make in a building, you are losing a bit of security. One option is to use 7/16" OSB to clad my inside walls. You can cover the whole wall first, and then cut out the window openings. You can use the cutouts as inner shutters to cover over the windows that you want to make more secure, and hold them on with stud screws and wing nuts. Steel sheeting can be used much the same way if you are lining your building with it. Window bars and grilles are an option. | |
| − | + | Man doors should be placed so as to allow you the best access to where you need to go. Door frames should be rugged enough to hold a solid core door of either wood or commercial steel. Residential doors just don't cut it when it comes to security and protecting thousands of dollars of equipment, tools and projects that you have in your building. Outward swing doors offer more security and provide better emergency access if you should ever have to use it for that purpose. | |
| − | + | Overhead doors give you an infinite setting on the opening height of your door to allow your project access. It makes no difference if it is a chain roll up or power assisted. You can set the height of the door opening. The door tucks up overhead and is out of the way. Don't forget to get the insulated type. Sliding doors are heavy to move, always in the way and must have a clear path to close properly. Two doors are better than one, you'll never know when you're going to use it and you'll always wish that you put it in. (At least, frame a future door or window in at construction.) | |
| − | + | Door location is paramount in the setting up of your garage or shop. It doesn't matter if it is the decision between using a single door or two doors on a small garage, or if you should put the door in the middle of the end walls of a large shop. Take out the graph paper and draw your garage or shop area out to scale. Use scale sized piece of paper or wood blocks of 10 X 20 foot dimension to "drive" into your garage and park your vehicles to simulate what is practical for your building size. Sometimes, offsetting an end wall door and parking diagonally will give you better access and utilization of your space. Try going double deep with the garage on a deep lot property, install a OHD on either end, use the back end to move cars under construction into rear yard for sandblasting and painting, while the front end is used for everyday use of the family vehicles. This keeps the neighborhood from getting down on your case. | |
| − | + | ==Electrical and plumbing== | |
| + | Most electrical and plumbing decisions come down to personal preference and needs. You need at least a 100 amp service. Sit down with a clean sheet of paper and divide it in two, put the electrical tools that you own now on one side and then put the tools that you want on the other side. Write down the amps or max draw of each of the tools. Yes, a welder (mig or arc) is a tool! Add up and total your needs and multiply by TWO (because we know you're going to get more), and that's what service you'll need. Allow at five outlets per 15 amp circuit. A compressor or 220V mig will eat up 30 - 40 amps. "Brown outs", lack of correct power will fry a motor over time. If that shop of yours is getting a regular workout, maybe you should go with a new 'drop' instead of drawing off the house circuit. | ||
| − | + | Here's on example for a preference for an electrical work station: | |
| − | + | Take a 10 gauge or better three wire, run it off two legs in the panel to a central point of a given work area. Then, wire a 220V receptacle for a welder or compressor, divide those two feeds into two 110 feeds which run to two double outlet boxes for convenience plugs spaced X feet apart. If you put this on a 30 amp breaker at the panel and cut the bar on the breaker toggle, you have a DTDP (double throw, double pole breaker) 15 amp breaker that runs 220V power. | |
| − | + | Plumbing is a welcome addition to any shop. No more running to the house for a pail of water to fill the radiator or wash of body filler dust. Getting water to the shop is easy -- getting sewage and gunk away is the problem. Limiting factors effecting effluent disposal are climatic conditions, topography, municipal concerns, and about twenty other things. | |
| − | + | It's nice to have a shower in the shop, especially after sanding fiberglass filler (this also prevents complaints from your spouse about the oil slick you leave in the bathroom after showering. If your budget warrants it and you have the room, a 800 to 1200 gallon holding tank is a great investment to hold the sewage and grunge that comes out of a garage. | |
| − | + | ==Heat, ventilation, and air conditioning== | |
| + | Garages have always been a social place, but it seems that we are seeking more and more creature comforts coming into the garage each day. If it's cold out, heat it. If its hot, cool it. It's that simple! No one wants to be working with sweat dripping from their crotch, so why would you want to do that in your garage. If you're welding, spraying paint or have grinding dust, you need ventilation. A wall type ventilator fan with exterior shutters is excellent, even a squirrel cage furnace fan stuck up in the gable end wall in the attic area will take away a majority of the noxious fumes and dust particles. A fresh air source is mandatory if you're using any kind of fossil fuel for heating. A CO2 monitor is also a good idea in a garage. | ||
| − | + | Yes, you should have air conditioning. If you're comfortable, you'll stay in the garage longer and out of your spouse's hair. It keeps the bugs out of your beer, and you deserve it. | |
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| − | Yes, you should have air conditioning. If | + | |
If you did the insulating correctly, you heat the shop in the winter with the heat from the trouble light, and a 8000 - 12,000 BTU window A/C should keep things cool and dry in the summer. | If you did the insulating correctly, you heat the shop in the winter with the heat from the trouble light, and a 8000 - 12,000 BTU window A/C should keep things cool and dry in the summer. | ||
| − | Accessories | + | ==Accessories== |
| − | + | After you have four walls, a roof and a floor, pretty much everything else is just window dressing.These are all the 'I WANTS'! Got $30,000 worth of tools and parts in your garage or shop? Put in a lockable tool crib to house them, or be prepared to lose them over time. | |
| − | After you have four walls, a roof and a floor, pretty much everything else is just window dressing.These are all the 'I WANTS'! Got $30,000 worth of tools and parts in your garage or shop | + | |
Plan out shop layout and place equipment in proper areas. Use graph paper and cut outs of proper proportions of equipment to see if it fits and works in the plan. Locate compressors and lines the same way. | Plan out shop layout and place equipment in proper areas. Use graph paper and cut outs of proper proportions of equipment to see if it fits and works in the plan. Locate compressors and lines the same way. | ||
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Plan stripping areas to house power washers and sandblasting equipment. Design a clean area for assembly and painting. Its all in the planning! | Plan stripping areas to house power washers and sandblasting equipment. Design a clean area for assembly and painting. Its all in the planning! | ||
| − | Shelving | + | ===Shelving=== |
| − | + | Install dependable steel shelves and cabinetry with proper labeling to identify the tools' place. Make sure that shelves are capable of handling the weight that you will place on them. One option is to use wire adjustable shelving -- it comes in varying widths and lengths, the dirt and dust falls right through, and you never have to climb up to see what's on the top shelf. Add colored bins and boxes, and it starts to look like a well organized shop. One option for independent shelving units are the "Gorilla" shelf units, available at Costco. The "Gorilla" shelves have a powder-coated angle iron frame with high density wood shelves, and are diagonally braced to prevent shifting. If you're worried about shelf units tipping, just add a turnbuckle, or a hook and eye from the wall to the unit for extra stability. | |
| − | Install dependable steel shelves and cabinetry with proper labeling to identify the tools place | + | |
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| + | ==Cabinets== | ||
I've been fortunate over the years to have found steel cabinets that I've adapted to my shop layout. I took a stackable ledger card bins with pull out drawers and found a cardboard boxes that fits snuggly in to the drawer for different bolts, nuts and washers sizes. A double door locking paper cabinet with adjustable shelves houses my paint guns and precision tools. Stackable computer cabinets with a large opening door and two interior shelves house my paint supplies. I took a plastic Euro style desk unit and modified it into a rolling work bench. The possibilities are endless, if you put your mind to it. Check out the local auction houses and flea markets in your area. | I've been fortunate over the years to have found steel cabinets that I've adapted to my shop layout. I took a stackable ledger card bins with pull out drawers and found a cardboard boxes that fits snuggly in to the drawer for different bolts, nuts and washers sizes. A double door locking paper cabinet with adjustable shelves houses my paint guns and precision tools. Stackable computer cabinets with a large opening door and two interior shelves house my paint supplies. I took a plastic Euro style desk unit and modified it into a rolling work bench. The possibilities are endless, if you put your mind to it. Check out the local auction houses and flea markets in your area. | ||
The ignition cabinets with the fancy labeling tend to run in the $100 - 250 range, I never spent that much for ALL of mine. | The ignition cabinets with the fancy labeling tend to run in the $100 - 250 range, I never spent that much for ALL of mine. | ||
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