The county is paving the road we live on so they have to move my driveway. My new driveway will go where my 3 old garages were so that means a new shop for me. :) My question is what would be the best configuration for a 1000-1300 sq. ft. shop? I want one tall overhead door for tractors and large trucks and a smaller garage size door for the cars. Other then that I am open to ideas.............

Simply as big as you can afford to make it.

No matter how big it is, it'll be too small in a year or two!:yes:

Trust me on this.


Randy

This is one case where bigger is definitely better! Go as big as you can and leave room for expansion. My garage has grown to over 1600 sq. ft. and it's not big enough anymore. I also have a 20x24 shed out back for all the other junk!

I've got 2,800 sq/ft and its full! Allow for some drains, makes it easier to clean, and run plenty of electric. Also consider hard line with air hose drops if you can.

I have 2000 sq ft and it is not enough

Bigger is better just like women and their diamond rings

I need a shop now with taller ceilings <<< dreaming of a lift >>> someday when I hit the lottery

Simply as big as you can afford to make it.

No matter how big it is, it'll be too small in a year or two!:yes:

Trust me on this.


Randy

1000-1300 sq. ft. is 1000-1300 sq. ft. :confused:

One thing about my shop I wish I could have done different is the depth, it's 24 X 60 and with a work bench in front of a vehicle, 24' doesn't leave much working room if I'm working on a van or big car.

I built mine 30 x 50 with 3 bay doors....the added depth allows for the chevelles as well as finished chassis along back wall..still have room to walk around, but never seems to be enough room...got to stay away from swap meets i guess:yes:

12' min wall height, this gives for more room in the middle as well with the peak of the roof.

My 3-car garage is only 750sq ft, so 1000 sq ft isn't but one added bay, if you have the option for that extra 300 sq ft. One thing I did was dedicate one bay to a tool room/shop area c/w walls and doorway. Getting a dedicated / partitioned 250-300 sq ft tool room really helps keep the clutter down in the rest of the garage.

make it 2000-2600 :)

Rick THE DEEJAY COULD YOU POST PICTURES OF THE OUTSIDE OF YOUR SHOP .IT SOUNDS LIKE WHAT I NEED TO BUILD ALTHOUGH MINE WILL PROBABLY START OUT AS A LARGE POLE BARN DUE TO LESS COUNTY HASSLES .THANKS .

:yes:

Pole barn and begin to surround it with walls a bit at a time, then add 'tricity etc. Thats sort of what I did, but I started with a "parking structure" fooled those county people.

No matter what you do it will never be big enough!:)

Rick THE DEEJAY COULD YOU POST PICTURES OF THE OUTSIDE OF YOUR SHOP .IT SOUNDS LIKE WHAT I NEED TO BUILD ALTHOUGH MINE WILL PROBABLY START OUT AS A LARGE POLE BARN DUE TO LESS COUNTY HASSLES .THANKS .


John...i have pixs of inside and outside of garage, but so far too dumb to figure how to send them...will get my brother to help tommorow and send them. I started to do a pole barn, but finally decide to do block.. Pole barn was limited to 5 on 12 roof pitch...our house next door was 10 0n 12 and would have looked weird, anyway will send pixs soon. Also will send inside pixs...tried to think of useful ideas to save time .... overhead air reel, perimeter air lines inside as well as outside, roll around heavy duty workbenches etc...

Randy (ToyZRMe) is 100% correct.

Beg, Steal, Borrow, Panhandle, whatever you gotta do to build it BIG.

I built my 30x50 about 3 yrs ago and when I first got it up, I thought "Cool, this thing is huge!".
Ya it looked huge and nice when I pulled my Chevelle and Datsun in there, and within a couple of weeks it was started to get cluttered.

One bit of advice, make it 40' deep. I wish I had gone 40x50 or 40x60.
I paid cash for mine after a stint in Iraq and elected to go with insulation and 30x50 instead of non-insulated and 40x60. However, I wish I had financed the rest and build a 40x60 minimum with insulation.

40' allows you to stack most cars two deep into a bay, bad weather, or whatever the situation, sometimes it is nice to be able to cram cars in the shop.

In the beginning,
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d8/jakeshoe/General%20Car%20Pics/shopangle.jpg
There was space and it was good, and Jake saw that it was good :D

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d8/jakeshoe/General%20Car%20Pics/shopfrt.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d8/jakeshoe/General%20Car%20Pics/100_2815.jpg

Now you can see I'm about to build a build room around the '55...
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d8/jakeshoe/DSCN0402.jpg

I've built a loft on one end to free up floor space, I've added shelves, I'm looking for some 40' shipping containers to move my transmission cores, engine parts, lawn equipment, kids dirt bikes, etc out of my shop...

Loft in this pic right after I put it up:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d8/jakeshoe/55%20Chevy/100_3286.jpg

deep enough for two full size cars an room to walk around both ......

also IF possible make one bay a drive through ....that way you'll be able to bring in trailers an such :) without the hassle of backing them in :thumbsup:

Simply as big as you can afford to make it.

No matter how big it is, it'll be too small in a year or two!:yes:

Trust me on this.


Randy


Yeppers........Never Fails:yes:

How far away do you put your shop from your house? I have a leach field for my septic right where I want to build mine. I am debating on either moving the field or puting the building farher back.

I had a garage/shop built a couple years ago. I went with a 40' x 40', 1600 sq ft. with 1 double garage door and 1 single. I also went with a 14' ceiling on one half (for the 2 post lift) and 9' on the other half. I really only needed 12' for the lift but I went 14' so that if I sell the place later on, someone could use it for RV parking. Around here, there are a ton of retirees with RV's, so I figured it might make resale easier. Right now, I am still happy with the size. I have 2 bays for the hot rod and 1 bay for my daily driver, plus the 40' depth also give you plenty of room to work in front of the cars and for storage. While planning it, I drew the floor layout to scale on graph paper, then cut out some to-scale benches and cars on posterboard. That way I could move them around and see how it was all going to fit and give me a better idea as to how much space I would have. If you want a GREAT place to do some research and get ideas, check out http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php?.

I have a leach field for my septic right where I want to build mine. I am debating on either moving the field or puting the building farher back.


I did also. I had my septic system moved. Ya, that added about 10k to the cost of the build!

I have pics of my shop on my Picturetrail album linked below....

I'd go at least 30 deep, and as wide as you can afford (and leave room to add on)

Thanks for the replies. It looks like 30 ft deep min. is the general feeling and minimum 12-14 high for a lift. I have plenty of room (farm) to make adjustments. I am only limited by budget (of course) and needing to have the doors on the east side away from the winds from the north and west in the winter. :) I am getting some money for the land I am losing to the road as well as some for the fact they are wiping out the 3 small garages/shop I have now. Keep the ideas coming............

GO AS BIG AS YOU CAN!!! Heed this advice, you won't be sorry!

When I bought my house 10 years ago it had a detached garage with about 18' x 22' of floor space. I was excited because I'd never owned a garage before. I'd always used my mother's or shared spaces with friends. Regardless, I outgrew it in about 5 minutes. It has a huge loft and lots of shelving, but you can only just squeeze 2 Chevelles in with zero room to work. Great for storing for the winter or for working on one at a time, but not much else. Plus, the ceiling under the lofted part is only about 7.5' high.

Last year I started building a new shop for storing/working on the Chevelles. I'm just putting the finishing touches on it now. Due to space limitations I could only build a 780sqft building, 26' x 30.' It has a 6" slab. It has 12.5' ceilings. It is well lit, well insulated, and has plenty of outlets, 110 and 220. It has wood and electric heat and lots of windows.

I'm thrilled to have it and know how lucky I am, because a lot of guys here have no roof over their Chevelles. Still, I can tell it will get outgrown before too long. Right now it is good for two cars, air compressor, blasting cabinet, roll away tool chest, work benches, cherry picker, etc. with space to get around, but there isn't an abundance of left over room to just store junk. Take out all the junk and you could keep 3 cars in it. It has a 26' x 10' attic with a 6' ceiling too, but I'm going to leave it empty for as long as possible.

The old garage now holds the Trailblazer, the Yamaha, and all of the lawn/yard stuff with some room to spare, so everything seems to be covered for now.....

My current shop is 24 x 48 with a 55 x 45 Morton pole building tacked on the end of it that some day will become my new shop and the smaller building will become storage.

Definitely go as big as you can. I have a two+ attached garage and a barn on top of my shop and pole building and I still don't have enough room for all my stuff!

building a 30x100 usmetal buildings paid 27k out the door gotta get money for my slab and grading now ugh.

building a 30x100 usmetal buildings paid 27k out the door gotta get money for my slab and grading now ugh.

30x100'...

100' two ways is a long walk...

Dang it, I gotta go ALL the way to the other end to get that 9/16" wrench :D

My shop is 30 x 40 with 12' ceilings. It's already too small. Probably should have went with 30 x 50, but it's all we could do at the time.
Here is the inside with 4 cars in it....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/BlueSS454/Garage/P1010016.jpg

I plan on putting a lift in this winter which will allow me to stack 2 cars in one bay and bring in a 5th.

Tom
is your shop a pole barn type? and may i ask how much with the concrete
Is it insulated
i thinking of doing the same type/ size

My friend built a nice shop
I don’t remember the size but it will hold a lot of cars.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s228/deancall/CHEVELLES/shop_6.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s228/deancall/CHEVELLES/shop_9.jpg

Tom
is your shop a pole barn type? and may i ask how much with the concrete
Is it insulated
i thinking of doing the same type/ size

Yeah, it's a pole barn. Total cost was a bit over $12,000 including the electric I put in. My dad and I built it so we saved some $$ on that aspect of it. It has a plywood roof with shingles also. The ceiling is sheetrocked...had to do that because of building codes. No insulation in it...yet. I might do that later down the road once I figure out how to.

30x100'...

100' two ways is a long walk...

Dang it, I gotta go ALL the way to the other end to get that 9/16" wrench :D

hahaha thats what a roll away chest is for so it can follow me. This is more of a storage unit as well for our tractor, dozer. I was planning it out and I wont have much room so as soon as my dad and I can afford one I want a 100x100.

You might check to see if you can get a copy of the floor plan for the Boeing plant in Everett, WA. It's a pretty good size, but as mentioned, whatever you have, it will NEVER be big enough!!! :(
When we had our new house built several years ago, I told the builder (my cousin) I wanted it built with an ATTACHED 6-car garage (I can squeeze in 7). So, he did, and did a fine job just as I requested (lots of lights, LOTS of electrical outlets, heat & air and plumbing). A 35ft long workbench with cabinets below (I now only have about 3ft of useable workbench surface!!!). Two 220v outlets for a compressor and a welder and 3 16ft wide doors (2 front, one in back with a 20x30 concrete slab behind the rear door.
When we moved in, I began to wonder if I had made a mistake for having so much garage space that I could NEVER use. WRONG!!!! Now, I need to double that space!!!!

Mine is 75'W X 42'D X 14' Ceiling. It's a pole building with 4 bays and one man door. Insulated, heated with white corrugated sheet metal inside and a shingled roof. Six 12' High X 12' wide doors - 4 in front and 2 in back. The center 2 bays are set up as drive-throughs for the car trailer and front and rear access for cars. One bay is devoted to farm equipment, 1 bay is the car trailer, 1 bay has a 4 post lift for the Chevelles and a utlity dump trailer and 1 bay is the 2 post lift for mechanical work. There's steel shelving I picked up on ebay from an old electric supply warehouse at the front and sides of the two bays (ends) that are not drive-through. There's a steel workbench, slop sink and rolling tool chest in the 2 post bay. There's an upright air compressor in the farm equipment bay with 4 outlets throughout the building for tires and air tools.

There's separate electric service, with its own meter, set-up for the pole building so if the air compressor kicks on, or there's welding or other electrical demands going on it has zero effect on the house service (no diming lights, breakers tripping, etc.). Keeps the other half happy! ;)

There are 4 - 6' twin tube flourescent fixtures in each bay. Still has some dark spots, though. I wish I would have beefed up the lighting in the mechanical bay. I also should have added alot more 110 electrical outlets in that bay. I did have a 50 amp 220 outlet installed for welding. I only have a quad box above the workbench and one duplex for the radio and parts cleaner. Now that the walls are finshed and the electrical box recessed into the wall, it's much harder to add.

We are 900' from the main road and closest neighbors. The 4 -12' doors across the front of the building have windows. The 2 at the back are solid for security. There are dusk to dawn high pressure sodium lights outside - 3 across the front, 1 in back and 1 at the man door for security. I have the house security system wired to the pole building, too.

Ran the TV cable underground from the house to the pole building (about 50') and then to to the workbench, next to undercounter height fridge with beverages of choice. :beers:

I tried to think of everthing I could before building it. You've got the right idea!! Good luck with it!!

ps - As previously mentioned, it's never big enough! Mine's full after two years!

36 x 28 minimum

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/album.php?albumid=33&pictureid=189
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/album.php?albumid=33&pictureid=191

hahaha thats what a roll away chest is for so it can follow me.

And that would be just great------------------if I had room to roll the roll away through the obstacle course!!!!:D

Mine is 75'W X 42'D X 14' Ceiling. It's a pole building with 4 bays and one man door. Insulated, heated with white corrugated sheet metal inside and a shingled roof. Six 12' High X 12' wide doors - 4 in front and 2 in back. The center 2 bays are set up as drive-throughs for the car trailer and front and rear access for cars. One bay is devoted to farm equipment, 1 bay is the car trailer, 1 bay has a 4 post lift for the Chevelles and a utlity dump trailer and 1 bay is the 2 post lift for mechanical work. There's steel shelving I picked up on ebay from an old electric supply warehouse at the front and sides of the two bays (ends) that are not drive-through. There's a steel workbench, slop sink and rolling tool chest in the 2 post bay. There's an upright air compressor in the farm equipment bay with 4 outlets throughout the building for tires and air tools.

There's separate electric service, with its own meter, set-up for the pole building so if the air compressor kicks on, or there's welding or other electrical demands going on it has zero effect on the house service (no diming lights, breakers tripping, etc.). Keeps the other half happy! ;)

There are 4 - 6' twin tube flourescent fixtures in each bay. Still has some dark spots, though. I wish I would have beefed up the lighting in the mechanical bay. I also should have added alot more 110 electrical outlets in that bay. I did have a 50 amp 220 outlet installed for welding. I only have a quad box above the workbench and one duplex for the radio and parts cleaner. Now that the walls are finshed and the electrical box recessed into the wall, it's much harder to add.

We are 900' from the main road and closest neighbors. The 4 -12' doors across the front of the building have windows. The 2 at the back are solid for security. There are dusk to dawn high pressure sodium lights outside - 3 across the front, 1 in back and 1 at the man door for security. I have the house security system wired to the pole building, too.

Ran the TV cable underground from the house to the pole building (about 50') and then to to the workbench, next to undercounter height fridge with beverages of choice. :beers:

I tried to think of everthing I could before building it. You've got the right idea!! Good luck with it!!

ps - As previously mentioned, it's never big enough! Mine's full after two years!


geeze Andy, I thought farmers were poor.

geeze Andy, I thought farmers were poor.

I'm not a farmer. Trust me. That would be an insult to those that know how to farm, believe me!! Any farming is done by the honest to goodness farmer we bought the land from in '05. I have equipment to bush hog (14 acres) and mow grass (7 acres), plus a snow plow for the pick-up, etc. to tend to the chores around here.

36 x 28 minimum

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/albu...&pictureid=189
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/albu...&pictureid=191

John
Thats a nice set up!! can you give me a cost?
walls? 12 or 14 36 wide x 28 deep ill assume

And that would be just great------------------if I had room to roll the roll away through the obstacle course!!!!:D

Yep,
and inevitably you'll have 10 projects going on at once. I'd rather walk the 100' than roll a cart behind me every step.

My rollaway toolbox is probably well over 2000 lbs with tools in it. I'm not dragging it around very often.

Yep,
and inevitably you'll have 10 projects going on at once. I'd rather walk the 100' than roll a cart behind me every step.

My rollaway toolbox is probably well over 2000 lbs with tools in it. I'm not dragging it around very often.


If you have that much $, then you should have multiple boxes... one on neach end and one in the middle.. problem solved! :)

hahaha or one for each project!!!

Put up two garages, with the overhead doors facing each other, with about 50' in between the two and concrete, then you can roll a car body on a rotisserie from one garage to the other. http://www.1969supersport.com/robsgarage.html

I only heat and ac the one, but with two garages your work area is not cluttered.

Rob

thats pretty smart Rob, but what about the wife? I dont have that problem yet but when I do Im gonna be screwed!! lol.

thats pretty smart Rob, but what about the wife? I dont have that problem yet but when I do Im gonna be screwed!! lol.

you lost me:confused::D

better make sure she doesnt take 1 and call it halfsies on you

I'm on the same page now.:D

Put up two garages, with the overhead doors facing each other, with about 50' in between the two and concrete, then you can roll a car body on a rotisserie from one garage to the other. http://www.1969supersport.com/robsgarage.html

I only heat and ac the one, but with two garages your work area is not cluttered.

Rob

Rob, is that window unit in the pic the only thing that keeps it cool inside or do you have more then one air conditioner?

Rob, is that window unit in the pic the only thing that keeps it cool inside or do you have more then one air conditioner?

Yes Chris, its a 220, I cut a hole in the wall to put it in. The garage is insulated really good and low ceilings in the back part, I can cool it off really nice.

It might look like a small unit but it isn't.