Work Shop

[Firefighter]

I have always wanted a building that I could call a work shop. I have thought about building one in my back yard in the next year or two. I would love to have a shop with all my tools, a place where I could do bike, car or boat maintenance, a place to keep the bikes etc. I have a good size yard but not the best access. Would like a 30x30 building but might settle smaller.
Do you guys have any ideals, or dreaming like me. Is a metal building a good way to go, or built up from wood. I know I want concrete for the foundation. Was also thinking of two overhead doors, would like to store bikes and the boat that I don't have yet. Retire in a year and may need a new place for my bikes by then, the single car garage is too small. Thanks  Firefighter

[bscrive]

I built a 26x30 garage onto my existing 16x24 garage that is attached to my house.  I did it with 2x6's and insulated it as well as heated it.  This way I can work on stuff during our long cold winters.  I put two doors in the front and one in the back of the garage so that I can access the back yard through the garage.  You never go wrong with going bigger.  Usually, you want it bigger after you build it.  If I were to do it again I would probably go 30x40, but then again that costs more.
I know a few people who have built the metal ones and it was not for me.  Too hard to insulate, if you want to do that, and they seem to leak around the base where the water pools on the outside.

[MAD6Gun]

 I  built a 30x24 garage in my backyard. I have a 80 foot driveway going from the house drive around the house to it. I could have built bigger but they said I would have had to pore a bigger footer on the foundation at a higher cost. I wish it was bigger but with my 70 Pontiac,another car for parts and my Valk there is no room for anything else...lol....It cost me about 15 grand  to have built. Plus a few hundred more to power,insulate and finish the walls. 

[cookiedough]

I want to put a pre-fab metal shed with wooden frame structure trucked in in my backyard about 12x20' storage building is all just put on my grass in backyard for around 3-4 grand tops.  I want to store my 2 ATV's and fishing boat inside and then be able to pull fishing boat around my house with my ATV to use it.  Wife says no though would look stupid in a city lot to have such a huge structure taking up 1/3 of my city lot backyard.  I say LESS mowing for me though come summer.    

Back in 1993 when built house age 23, I only needed my std. 2 car garage since 2 cars is all.  Now, with 3 cars, 3 fishing boats (one big one needing a trailer), 2 ATV's, scooter, and the Valk,  I really need a 4+ car garage the past 10 years or so.  There was in town a foreclosure newer 2 story colonial house (not what I prefer) with ugly purple siding, but the price was tolerable tad over 200K in price but had land on outskirts of town plus a HUGE storage building and another smaller storage building able to fit all my toys/vehicles inside.  Gone now, didn't act fast enough, sold already. 

For your needs, I would suspect go all wooden structure with concrete to make it more like a workshop that can be heated/electrical/insulated as well.   Go bigger is the key than what you think you need, you can always find stuff to fill up the space. 

Back in 1993,  I had room and could have built a 3 car garage as builder wanted me to, but with already limited funds, I was dumb and didn't do what they suggested.   

[Firefighter]

Yea, I built a 12 by 16 barn with a loft about 10 years ago. Every screw by myself, lots of work and time, but was fun. I have found that I have to paint the heck out of it to keep the wood from ruining.

I have a carport only, and keep my Valk next door which used to be my parents house, single small garage. May be renting or selling that house, so will loose my parking spot.

Metal looks fast, but some point out insulating troubles and I would probably build walls inside anyway. Was considering wood frame with metal covering,,, don't know? 

Thanks for all input.

[Crackerborn]

In your climate, I would actually be concerned with the summer heat in a metal building. While metal will be the cheapest and least maintenance, stud walls and gable roof with manufactured trusses won't break the bank. Make sure you can build such a structure on your property per local building codes especially if you want power and/or water on the building. In TX, I am guessing a monolithic slab that size might be 50% of your total cost.

[Firefighter]

We have a lot of metal roofs here now, but your right about the heat, would probably be difficult to insulate. This is why I am asking. I did check with the city, and with out any plans to show them the city thought I would be able to build.  Thanks

[Atl-Jerry]

I just completed my planning for a 12 x 30 shed on an existing slab in south Ga.  I always thought a metal bldg was a low cost alternative to stick built, but that did not prove out.  There are several steel bldg manufacturers nearby and I checked with 3 of them for prices.  A 12 x 30 kit, 8’ side walls, 1 window and one double walk door was $4300, picked up at their plant.  The same size in a stick built priced out at $2800, but that included 4 windows, 1 walk door and two 8’ roll-up overhead doors.  Sure shocked me.  And my wife will be happier since the stick built will match the house with architectural shingles and board on batten using hardi panel siding.  As someone else mentioned, the frame shed will stay cooler in the Ga heat.  Granted, the stick built will be a little more labor intensive, but I’ll just buy another case of beer and keep my buddies occupied a little longer.   Another factor is that south Ga is ground zero for the pine timber industry.  I built a dock on the pond last year and lumber prices were about 18% cheaper than in Atlanta, 250 miles away.  The guys at the metal plants said the price of steel has gone up dramatically in recent years due to demands from China.  I will start my project in April…..I hope. 

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I had a new shop built several years ago. It's a pole barn. The floor was poured after the roof was on but before the walls were enclosed. Metal inside and outside walls. 6" of insulation throughout. I couldn't be any happe with it.

[ptgb]

Two years ago, I had a 24x32 built. It is a "hybrid" pole barn construction, with the a pole barn foundation with a sill placed on top of the poles and then stick built up from there.

I found out that while this type of build is very common around here (NE Ohio) it is very uncommon in other areas of the country. I don't even know if other States/County/Municipal building codes allow this type of build. It does combine the best of both worlds as the foundation costs are inexpensive and you don't have to worry about building walls inside a metal-clad pole barn to insulate, etc.

Instead of going into major specifics in this post, here are my other posts about the build that I posted on the VRCC during the time of construction.

Had 10K in the build and 5K in concrete.


http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,48033.msg458083.html#msg458083

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,50638.msg483631.html#msg483631

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,52228.msg499472.html#msg499472

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,52898.msg506372.html#msg506372

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,53556.msg513348.html#msg513348

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,53983.msg517443.html#msg517443

[Crackerborn]

Steel prices are going to continue to go up since almost no steel is still produced here in the USA. Most steel buildings are post and beam construction meaning #1 SYP (southern yellow pine) for the framing. Only the siding and roofs are steel. If you plan on doing most of the work on your own and not contracting the work out, I would recommend NOT doing steel. It requires specialty tools, is not light nor easy to work unlike, say, vinyl double 4 siding. Many times a garage has relaxed structural codes that allow for wider truss spacing, up to 4 feet, no substrate sheeting on vertical surfaces, and similar shortcuts. As the owner, you will have to decide if those relaxed conditions (if legal in your area) are worth the cost savings that they can make possible. And what is legal and safe in one part of the country may not be either in another part. I doubt TX has a snow load requirement as part of the live load on a roof, but a hurricane wind sheer code could require extra strong-backs at all corners.

[Master Blaster]

I would look into Pole Barns,  some years ago I had one built, 40X60 with 16 ft walls.  Has sliding doors each end.  Poured a slab after it was put up, worked out well, and at the time was reasonable.  I wired it myself, and also plumbed it with PVC for air distribution.  Used 6 high press sodium yard lights for ceiling lights, and it worked out well.  Not insulated, but with doors open and using an attic fan turned on its side and made to roll around, its not bad even on hottest days.  Winter isn't much of a problem here in S/W Louisiana.  Were I to do it again, I would have plumbed it for water and sewer to install a bathroom just for convinence.

[fudgie]

It requires specialty tools, is not light nor easy to work unlike, say, vinyl double 4 siding. 

Not sure what special tools are need. A cordless impact driver, level, cutters, and a pr of vice grips. Me and my boss did a 40x64 garage a few yrs ago with just him and I. Roof metal was 24' long as was the tallest side pc.

[Misfit]

Ride over to the GOTF in mid April. hotglue built a shop on his place a couple of years ago and could give you some good insight about what works in the TX heat. You will also get a chance to sample some of the best BBQ that you've ever tasted. 

[Gavin_Sons]

It requires specialty tools, is not light nor easy to work unlike, say, vinyl double 4 siding. 

Not sure what special tools are need. A cordless impact driver, level, cutters, and a pr of vice grips. Me and my boss did a 40x64 garage a few yrs ago with just him and I. Roof metal was 24' long as was the tallest side pc.

   yep, I have worked on several metal buildings with my dad and brother. If you have the tools to put a wood building together you have the tools to do metal. I find it easier to work with metal roofing and siding than I do with shingles or vinyl.

[dpcarson]

I did a basic pole barn.  Buried my 6 6x6's, then framed around them with 2x6's.  Delivered some gravel to keep middle around 4" deep.  Had concrete truck come drop the crete.  Broom finished it for decent traction.  I put a shed drop roof on it but am thinking of changing that to trusses in the next year or two for some overhead storage and to give me enough room for a lift.  Bought pre-cut metal siding for the sides and had it delivered and pulled out the drill and sided it up.  No insulation, but all it takes is a fan to keep it cool in the summer.  Fairly easy and when finished I think I had less than 3k in it.  16x20.  Built barn doors on front.  Only other thing I wish I had done different is to make it about 24x24.

[Flint]

I have built several pole barns and have currently a 36x72x12 and a 24x70x18 on my property, the big one is vinyl sided with an asphalt roof  and last year I resided the small one with steel siding and put a 24x24 steel roof on it also. Costs me about $1800 to do the whole thing and it was easy to do.
Bought a pair of electric snips from harbor freight .They worked great, don't use anything like a saw to cut the metal it will burn the paint and cause the edge to rust.
  I also built a pole barn 2 years ago for my father 24x32x9 with all metal siding and roof. Cost me about $6000 with a 16x8 garage door and a 36" entry door with just a stone floor . Not sure on the building codes there but you could do a floating slab there and build a wood frame above that like they build there houses there or a pole barn with a slab.
  I would also look at what height you want to build it, most car lifts need 12ft. Flint

[bvergeer]

Saw this idea the other day. Thought it could be a reasonably cheap, yet still good looking way to build a small shop.
 
http://www.mulligansrun.com/ourbarn.php

I'm in the process of building a 30x30 2 story shop.  Turns out it's a 200ish sq/ft larger that the house.

[Mn. Norseman]

Go as big as you can. You won't regret it. Like Flint said high is good, wish I had 12ft walls. Have a Morton building (pole barn) Steel walls steel roof,(shingles won't go bad). Inside finished osb walls, steel ceiling 6" insulation all around. Furnace, fluoresent lights, lots of outlets. Keeps me sane in the winter.

[cookiedough]

I find it interesting that most of us are middle aged and just like me,  when in our 20's we didn't need the extra storage, but as we get older,  we need 20x20' and even bigger storage buildings to store all our stuff we purchased over the years.  I'm guilty of this for sure.   

If I could go back 20+ years,  I would have taken my builders advice and been one of the first ones back in the 90's having a 3 car garage.  It might have been empty that extra 1 space in the garage for the first 10 years, but now needing a 4 car garage for sure.  I guess that is what covers/tarps are for?  But they only last 3-5 years at best in the summer heat and winter cold.   

Just to keep my stuff covered from the rain, sun, high winds, and winter snow would be good enough for my needs. 

[old2soon]

Spend the money the FIRST time and NOT only build bigger than you "think" you need but build it "RIGHT" the first time. Put in the toilet and the sink and maybe a shower. Coulda/woulda/shoulda WILL come back and take a big wet juicy bite outa yer ass!  RIDE SAFE.

[Gavin_Sons]

If you want a 20x20 build a 40x40. Im working on plans now for a 40x80x20.

[cajunito]

I was gonna tell you about Hotglue's man cave, but Damian beat me to it.. If you're going to GOTF, check it out.

[BF]

You might want to check out this forum....

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php

[Hooter]

Build bigger than you figure if you can and build in even one foot increments. Never build smaller than you think you can build you will regret it. the common statement when building a garage or pole barn is: "I wish I woulda". Put at least 1 12' door / ceiling in if possible? Inside  that 12' door put in a hoist. You will thank yourself later. I don't like steel roofs they tend to sweat and some leak in time. For snow area's they are the best though.... but even where I live I still prefer shingles.
 Live in a questionable neighborhood, no windows. Just put additional lighting inside. Insulate if you are going to heat / cool, and if not sobeit. My 2 cents.