what size is your shop?

jon f mn

Well-known Member
I'm going to try to get a new shop up this summer and I'm wondering what you have? I have a budget of about $40,000.00 and want at least part of it to be insulated and heated. Talked to a pole building builder a few weeks back and came up with a couple ideas. I can get 30'x70' with 14' side walls with a 30x30' insulated and heated shop with a 16x12 roll up door and a man door and a couple windows. The remainder would be just dirt floor and uninsulated with a 16' sliding door. The reason for the 30' width is it's cheaper to go narrow and long than short and fat. So 36 or 40' width would get me less square footage for the same money. I can also go 24x96 with a 24x40 shop for about the same money, but don't think I would like that as my old shop was 24' wide.
 
Mine is 30 by 60. Don't go less than 30. I built mine that size as I built up one end about 6 feet with soil I took from enlarging my pond. That is how much room I had to build. If and when I clean the ends of mine out, I will have more room than I can ever use.
Richard in NW SC
 
Mine is 40X60 with 16 foot sides. 40X40 is insulated. I wouldn't want it any smaller with all the junk that I have in it.
 
I have a 30 x 30 insulated and heated shop, 10' 6" ceiling with a 9 wide 8 high door. It's nice to work in, but you have to be diligent with space usage and the door is way to small for what I work on. Currently exploring putting another 30 on with a 15' ceiling and a door appropriate for the ceiling height. It would give me enough room to work on some taller stuff and have a few more machine shop type tools to do fabricating.

My dad has a 54' x 105' Morton that has a 40' x 60' slab poured in it. 15' plus to the truss. Not heated, horrible to work in the winter. Plus he can't keep from putting stuff on the concrete that should be somewhere else. Don't need 3 lathes and 3 drill presses.
 
Hi Jon, I too am thinking on building this summer. 40x60 is in my head,like your idea,I too thought that 30' of shop and 30' of storage would be nice. Old builder told me one time , "ends cost the same if the building is 40' long or 100'"
I can't choose on pole style or stick frame on poured pad. Stick frame is easier to finish off inside. Like this topic,lets here more views.
 
I have a 15 x 30 metal working shop (soon to be heated and separate from the wood working shop) which is attached to my 50 x 60 hangar (unheated).
 
I've got a 40x60 and a 40x50 at the home place, both with 8inch concrete throughout. There isn't any heated space although the smaller one does have an enclosed lean to on the south side that has a heated and air conditioned office and a room enclosed for the 19kw generator and air compressor. It also has a lean to on the west side to back in implements like rotary mowers and manure spreaders.

I like the smaller one because it is my machine shop and has a lot of rack storage on three walls. It is where I keep spare parts, the chore pickup, do my welding and repairs, etc.

The bigger one is handy because it is long. I have a lot backed in - smaller stock trailer, grain truck, mixer grinder and chore tractors, etc. I also have feed wagons in it because the barn blew down many years ago.

Over at the grain bins I've got a 60x120 for the dualed tractors, combine, seed wagons and grain carts, and semis. It has only a dirt floor. I should have put down chat or something as the dirt floor is just like power and when the air valves pop off on the big trucks you can hardly breathe in there.

I would go longer rather than shorter and wider. That just what I like in a shed. It depends on how you will use it.
 
Well, the shop will be for my projects and maybe some type welding businesss if I can find something I can make money from where I live. I'm kinda in the boonies for that tho so I'm not sure. The rest is just to get some of my stuff out of the weather. I have 2 combines, 2 balers, a corn chopper, and 3 tractors and a few other misc pieces that should be covered.
 
Jon, go with a concrete slab and a stick built building.
First you will not be happy with a dirt or gravel floor
Second, no treatment has been found that will not let the poles rot off below ground.
Third, a stick built building will be more square and plumb and much easier to insulate than the best built pole building.

Check around your area for builders and let them know you have a budget that you can not exceed and you should find them bidding for your business. Forty thousand dollars will buy a pretty nice building here where I live.
 
32x56x14 don't forget the headroom with 16 ft doors with benches on each side a 6row head or planter doesn't leave much room to walk around things
 
60 by 100 Not including the two 14 foot leant tos that run the entire length of the building it has 3 12 foot garage doors in the front and an 18 foot sliding door in the back. It is completely insulated and it did cost a bit more than 40k but was well worth it...it also has 14 foot ceilings so my lift has plenty of room... Don't forget that If you plan on putting in a lift. Go as big as you can...
 
My barn is 30x40 fully concreted,insulated, 20' slider doors on the sw corner and ne corner as well as 1 grade door. Not enough room. Don't like the slider doors.Winter ground swells and door sticks. Definitely would go longer instead of wider. Think about parking tools inside. If its wide and short you have to double park everything then juggle to get it out. Longer gives more space to park against wall without something in front of it. My $.02. Good luck.
 
I have a 30'x45' shop concrete floor--full,30'x20' two story add-on--full, 16'x45' shed add on--full. Built a 48'x28' shed for tractors-- full. WHERE DOES IT STOP? :shock: Doesn't seem to matter what you build, it's never enough! Thinking about adding on to my tractor shed come spring.
 
Here's what I did. A 72 X 24 pole barn (7- 12 foot bays). Partition off 24 X 12 with a 6" concrete slab, insulated and heated with a wood stove. Home made doors built of recycled wood over 3/4" plywood.

Doesn't give a lot of shop room but enough for one project at a time. Lined with benches and lots of shelves. Putting in a lift this summer...slim
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You might want to go 40' long in case you want to get a truck in there on a cold winter day. You never know.
 
If you mean a car type lift, I won't need that. Did check on the posiblity of a crane tho, that got the ax right quick! Lol. I'll build a nice gantry and put a jib crane on a post outside tho.
 
That open side won't work too good for me since it would need to bevopen on either the north or west side and our prevailing wind is from the nortwest. I acually did consider this tho, but the lay of my land just doesn't suit it well.
 
The theory is, no matter how big you make it, it'll get filled up with stuff. With that in mind, I made mine no larger than I need and try to stay focused on "tidy"...slim
 
Strange you put it that way. My builder says the closer you get to square the less the dollar per sq ft will be. You mentioned ends well the same is true for sides. A 40 ft by 40 ft has a lot more square feet than a 20 ft wide by 40 ft long.
We have three and all are build on a concrete curb footing with 2X6 walls. Lot of pole barns built but I like stick built.
 
Measure your semi truck with a 53 ft. trailer attached bumper to bumper than add 12 more at least and that will be your minimum length. My Pete & grain trailer measure's 64 ft. bumper to bumper. My shop is 50 ft. by 64 ft. Pete with trl. don't fit!

Build your shed/shop at least 1 ft. above grade for good drainage.

I would build with 16 ft. sidewalls so leantos can be added later.

Armand
 
Give SteelMaster metal buildings a call. I got one from them back in the late nineties. Fourty feet wide and fifty some feet long with a twenty foot wide sliding door. Seems like it was around seventeen feet at the center of the ceiling. I got it tall enough that I could raise the bed on a 1047 balewagon in it. At that time it was about eight thousand dollars. Shipped out of Ontario, Canada. At least I think it was made by SteelMaster.
 
My shop is 40x80x15 high, ceiling has 18 inches blown insulation, sidewalls have one inch thermax instead of 1/2 inch. LP gas backup heat if the used oil furnace shuts down. Keep it about 62 degrees, dad says too warm, but I hate using cold tools. Have a 9000 LB post lift also. One overhead 12x12 door, one 20 foot sliding door at east end, two walk in doors, no windows. And yes, should have made it 50x100!! LOL
 
40x70, 16 ft sidewalls, scissor truss pushes me to about 19' headroom in the center. 20 ft sliders on west end. Man door. 12 ft slider on south side. Small 10x12 slider on east end for out loading hay and such in those years when I have extra to sell. Some is storage and some is shop. Have not decided what to do with the floor yet but I won't need much heat. I work too many hours in the winter to spend time in the shop.
 
My brother wants to build a shop thus spring, I think he said 36x40 with a car lift at some point. If he does start it this spring I will post pics.
 
According to the builder I talked to, and I've heard this before as well, it's the truss cost that makes the difference. The rest is close enough to not matter, but in my area where snow loads are an issue trusses get expensive fast as you go wide.
 
We always use the fact that wood is cheaper 35 ft and down but in width anything over 35 ft steel free span comes in cheaper. Build a lot of 40 by 81 which is really a 40 ft wide times three 27 ft long bays. That is a common metal building size. Wood frame buildings are easier to divide up or build shelves ect. in. Only have a photo of one corner of mine but you can look right at the floor and see the concrete curb or wall we build on. Makes it nice using the cutting torch inside , sparks hit the concrete not go in under a wall , also keeps moisture up off the wood. Will try and attach the photo. Check the 4 ft of peg board also really works.
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Hey Jon.

My shop is 40x60 with 18' clearance.

I like the high overhead for welding as you can weld for quite a while before the fumes get anywhere near head height.

Not a big deal in the summer but when it is subzero outside I would rather not open the doors until necessary.

It is an arch building, all steel with a 14x14 truck door.

Brad
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Thanks for that pic, it looks nice. Mine will definatly be steel lined for welding. I would be too afraid of fire with wood even tho it might save some money and be easier to work with.
 
Mine is 40x56 with 16' sidewalls, and a 24'x16' door. It seems to be a decent compromise between size and affordability of keeping it heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer. Sometimes it'll get tight when I get the bigger machines in, but if I manage my space, and don't just let projects set, I get along pretty well. Some pics.

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My office with computer/fridge/coffee maker/ high speed internet and wifi. In fact, this is where I'm posting from.

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Bathroom is real handy

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Make sure to get an old recliner and television for break time.

David
 
How does that door work and do you like it? I'm also considering building my own either bifold or even thought of one like that. I just had the idea today, but had never seen one. Thought it might extend the working area some in most weather. But it would interfere with the jib hoist I have planned for next to the door too
 
That old wavey tin roofing looks good and I have seen folks take a 8 ft piece cut it and only line the lower 4 ft with the tin then osb /paneling or what ever upwards. I had a lot of rough cut Poplar and used some on the inside of the last one I built. I used one inch sty foam with the hard silver lining on each side overhead. We stripped it on 2 ft centers and then blowed in 10 inches of insulation. So far no sagging or problems. Really helped the lighting but think next time I will use the tin like we are talking about.
 
32'x60' with a 20' door. Enclosed 16' wide lean-to on the west side and a 16' open one on the east side. 14' ceilings,really well insulated stays above 0C without additional heat. It's a pole building, with 8" concrete floor. Should have the car lift installed this summer
 
I really like like that door. It wasn't cheap, but it is nice. It's really a simple principle, hinged at the top, and two hydraulic cylinders to push it open, and pull it closed. Powered by an electric/hydraulic pump. There is some engineering involved, in order to get the right sized cylinders and the pivot points in the correct place to get it to pull and lock the door closed. The nice thing is it closes so much more tightly than any other type door I've been around, and it only takes up 3" of headroom. I do like just opening it, and working under it. I think I'll like it more, if I ever get around to pouring an apron out front. Maybe this summer...

David
 
Mine is 30' x 40' 14' sidewall. It almost seems in a lot of cases, if a person finishes all of the interior, take your cost of the building and add a little more to it. Insulation, sheets of steel, lumber, electrical, concrete, etc. All of the "little" things pop up that a person doesn't figure on. Extra dirt to build a pad adds up as well. The size I have isn't a large shop and could be bigger but a person has to compare it to what you had before, which in my case was only a 16' x 32' with a 8' sidewall.
 
mine is 40x50x17. I have an inner room in one corner that is 16x22x10.I keep the inner room at 50 and bump it up when I go in. The main part is kept at about 40 degrees mainly by heat escaping from the inner part. I can also AC the inner room or a portion of the big part. The whole building is insulated.
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I am glad for the high pitch with the snow this winter
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The second picture is looking towards the inner room. I have stuff in the outer part that could just as well go elsewhere. But they are additional things that I will want to get to after the current project.
 
My "machine shed" where I store the tractors (and old cars) is 60 x 120 with 12 foot side walls. Too big to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. My workshop is inside a 30 x 54 foot gambrel roof barn and is 30 x 25 area with 10 foot side walls. It's insulated and I heat with wood in the winter (wood stove is in the unheated portion of the barn and just pipes in warm air to the work area)here in Wisconsin and cool with wall mounted A/C in the summer. Smaller work space is easier to heat and easier to keep uncluttered. I usually only work on one tractor or car at a time anyway.
 
I have more than one shop. More than one garage. So why have one giant shop? The bigger and the taller the harder to heat. I have one shop 28x44x16ft stick built, impossible to heat. I have a extremely well 24x24x10 insulated attached garage that I keep at 50 using a 1500w baseboard heater. My latest is a 30x40x10 pole barn, no insulation, 1 ft vented eves, 35 year shingles. I have no plans to heat or insulate. I park my snow covered truck in barn, snow melts, water on floor and a few days later water on floor is gone. Because the barn had no metal on roof, I have no condensation, no rusty tools, no moisture related issues like I have in another 24x24x8 block garage that I to store my jubilee in. Snow on the tires is a problem.

I put down a 6 inch floor in pole barn, total cost came in at $15k including a power vent and wiring. The upside, it has gray/blue metal siding which acts like a solar collector when the sun is out, the inside temp of barn is always 10-15 degrees warmer than outside. I don't spend a dime on heat, don't plan to either. I'm just glad to work inside out of the wind, a +10-15 degree warmer is a free bonus. The 6 inch floor acts like a heat sink too. It's below freezing outside and rarely does the water on the floor freeze. Rarely does the water on floor stay around for more than a few days.

Pole barns are cheap to build, cheap on taxes, but almost impossible to make air tight to heat. I wouldn't want to make them air tight either and trap moisture. I know a man who had scrap siding and materials. He put up a stick built shed over an existing concrete slap. He is crying about paying more taxes on shed than on his house. He used vinyl siding so assessor treats it like a house that someone could live in, ouch.
 
Mine is 40x60 foot with over head doors on one end and a 20 foot double sliding doors on back side. I can get tractors within 3 feet of walls on this model. Building can be had with a straight side wall before it starts into the arch.
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Mine is 30X100 (including the 30X50X10 addition on one end)!!! The shop area 30X50 X14 is well insulated with 12X16 overhead one walk in door on one end with walk thru door between both halves!!! The addition has a 9X9X9 sliding door and is used for tractor storage!!! I have an 8X30 loft in the shop and wouldn't be without it as it is great for storage without loosing any work area!! Shop area is lined with particle board and heat it with hanging propane heater (only when I'm working in the shop)!! Have a 6X8 restroom that I heat with electric space heater! Dosent cost a lot to heat and wrks for me as the old shop was 24x32!!!
 
I have some big shelves for storage. Projects covering at least 1/3 of the floor. Getting rid of some projects that I know I will never get to. One is a boiler and steam engine. I do have an electric cook stove and a big old kitchen sink for canning and a fridge for keeping seed and "liquids" in. A 5 foot tall turn table for bolts and junk. And a 12 by 12 sewing room off the back of the shop for my wife. I am in the shop every day and my wife is usually there every evening. We would go nuts without the shop.
Richard in NW SC
 
Just keep this in mind, you have to heat it if you want to use it!

A fried of ours built a HUGE shop, and then couldn't afford to heat it!!

We have a 40 x 60, and that doesn't even have doors on it, just keeps stuff out of the weather. THEN we have a 24 wide by 36 long shop, all insulated with 1 "2 car" door and a man door. can easily get 2 cars or 3 tractors in there. Plus it is easy to heat.

Might not be big enough for you though if you need to work on your truck!

Bryce
 
I have a 30 X 30 X10ft garage uninsulated,but thinking about foam insulation. I see that there are two different types of this insulation.

What have you guys used and do you like it?
 
Back a few years ago, seemed 60 foot wide was the magic number here in mN, over that and the trusses got very spendy, up to that and it was pretty good.

I put up a 48x81, not heated or insulated, put a concrete floor in 1/3 of it. I end up working on the gravel most of the time, my knees prefer it over the concrete..... Nice to have the concrete for the bench and storage.

Paul
 
This winter I have been working on the interior of new shop that the city put up for me. It is 50x80x18 and Im already wishing I would have tried convince them to go 60x100x18. I haven't parked any equipment in there other than the utility tractor for moving supplies around and it feels small even coming from a 35x40x14 open span building.



At home I have a 24x24 garage in my back yard. My pickup goes in one stall and the other stall is for winter tractor projects. It's ok size for that but gets a little cramped and I refuse to do any welding/grinding in there or have a parts washer for the fear of a fire. I save that for the shop at work or if its warm enough outside Ill go to the in laws and use his non-heated shop.
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24x40 and 30x48 built 16 years apart. Both heated with radiant tube heaters(great if you have natural gas). Small barn insulated, big barn not. After I added heat in 2002, I keep the small barn at 50* and turn up when I'm in there. I heat the other barn when needed. The first year, my annual gas bill went up $300. Last weekend, the outside temp in SE MI was -10 and the big barn was up to 50* in about 3 hrs.
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My shop is 24x40x8+, justabout right for just my woodworking, could actually be a little smaller, but I'd like it closer to square. Maybe 28x32., and 10+ ceilings
Problem is clearing stuff out when I need to work on a pickup or a piece of farm equipment.
So I'd like a separate space maybe 32x50x16 for farm/metal/mechanical storage shop.
Only need to keep one heated at a time, easier to keep the grease off the woodworking stuff, and the wood dust off the mechanical stuff!!

Ben
 
ours is 72x28, a shop is never big enough but I wish ours was closer to 72x40 or so. Id like to be able to pull a pair of loaded hay wagons or gravity boxes through and leave them hooked together.

Ours is also only 11 at the door so not much newer equipment will fit in. I had to cut the exhaust pipe down and take the beacon off the roof to get the new tractor with the cab inside and the combine, well no chance of that fitting.

Also make sure the door is atleast 16' wide. ours is only 14 so now the seed drill wont fit in, the hay mower wont fit in, the corn planter will fit if you pull the markers in and hold your tongue the right way.

And like other saids, id go 16' tall. That leaves you room for 2 things, adding a second floor for storage or an office/man cave, and also makes it easier to add a lean to off the sides.
 

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