a medium size shop build

rick1 · Feb 15, 2015

i may have to build a shop this summer to work in over the winter.i dont have to work the day job anymore in the winter so a nice heated medium sized shop would be nice to deal with cabin fever actually i could get alot of things accomplished over the winter months.i dont need a large one but not real small either what size are your shops you guys work in.
RICK

mattwillson · Feb 15, 2015

My shop is 40 X 60 and it's already way too small. Plan it so you can easily add on later

Joe Styke · Feb 15, 2015

Add 40% to SQ FT you think you will need--that will not be enough--and be SURE you build to correct height to acomodate equipment you will service.

Al Baker(pumpman) · Feb 15, 2015

Your tools, jacks, hardware is what I call (stuff). Stuff is just like a gold fish in a bowl. It will grow to the size of its environment. Bigger the shop you build, the more (stuff) you bring home. I doubled the shop I built from my old one. Soon I had to have a lathe, mill, drill press, shop press, head and block surfacer, flywheel grinder, boring bar,, ect. ect. ect. Now my shop is full of (stuff). Should be twice as big. Build as big as you can afford. You will never say boy this shop is just to big for me. I will guarantee most all of us on this site can say boy I wish I had more room.

rustyfarmall · Feb 15, 2015

Mine is 36x60, but is also a storage building. I need to build another building strictly for parking tractors, lawnmowers, etc. If I could get those items out of what was supposed to be a shop, then I would have my shop back.

charlespretzer · Feb 15, 2015

My shop is 1700 square feet.500 sq. ft. is for woodworking balance is farm shop.Plenty big enough for winter projects.Summer I can work on machinery in machine shed.
The best thing I did was put a bathroom in it. Handy when you get older. Spray foam insulation is a big winner also, both for summer and winter.

rustyfarmall · Feb 15, 2015

If the shop is to be heated in cold weather, include that in your initial plans. Lot easier to insulate the walls and ceiling while it is being built than to try and do it later, after the shop is full of stuff. Some kind of heat in the cement floor would also be nice.

Jeff NWOH · Feb 15, 2015

I have 30 x 40 x 14 sectioned off as a heated shop. 12 x 12 door. Plenty big enough for my stuff if I can keep the things that don't belong out of it.

Friend has a couple cranes and a bucket truck that wont fit inside though. Maybe a 16 ft ceiling with a 14' door would be better?

Alan K · Feb 15, 2015

30 x 40 x 14 with a 12' 6" high door 14' wide.

DENNIS MIN · Feb 15, 2015

Al,

Send pictures of that shop! Sounds down right complete.

D.

VicS · Feb 15, 2015

My shop is 27 X 36 with a 18ft X 13.9ft door. Insulated. building is 36 by 90. Shop is big enough for me. Will hold a Semi. Right now has a 770 Oliver and a D17 Diesel apart. Had a shop that was 36 X 36 Tornado blew it away. Built back smaller to heat and cool it. Besides junk collected on anything wider than the door. Only difference I would make is Blown in hard insulation. And maybe heat in the floor. (can't insulate to good)

Al Baker(pumpman) · Feb 15, 2015

Always wanted to be able to build or fab anything. Now I got the shop but dont have much time to build things for myself. Hope to get the banker out of my life this year so then maybe on to Al's projects! Will send pics as soon as I learn how.

howdy1960 · Feb 15, 2015

My shop encompasses any part of the 15 acres around the house. I just have to get what ever breaks this time fixed fast or the horses start getting noisy and start tearing stuff up. And my shop is heated by solar radiation. If the moon ain't out I can't see very well at night.

Super Steve · Feb 15, 2015

i was told to figure out how much space you think you need, then double it.

State of Jefferson · Feb 15, 2015

My woodworking shop is 24x40. Just about the right size. Only 8'6"ceiling, wish it was a foot taller.
Problems start when I need to work on equipment or a pickup. Hafta re-arrange everything.
I'd like to keep woodshop the same, then build a "T" or "L" off of it that was about the same size, only 14' ceiling for a mechanic'n/ fabrication space. Nice to have the additional wall space for shelves etc, only need to heat one 'room' at a time. Would definitely do floor heat if I had my way.

Ben

flying belgian · Feb 15, 2015

40X50 Door is 14 high by 18 wide. Works for me and my 6-row equip.

David G · Feb 15, 2015

I have a 40x60x16, that leaves enough height for a good sized loft on a side.

I have warm floors, would never do it any other way.

george md · Feb 15, 2015

Al,

Your shop a lot like mine , 6000 feet and full.
6 lathes,5 mills plus a 3 inch horizontal
boring mill, 14 x 48 cylindrical grinder ,5 ft
planer, and a near complete automotive machine
shop. Also have a room to do fuel pumps and a
room to do cast iron welding.

You are right ,never have enough space.

george
shop etc

bison · Feb 16, 2015

My shop is 42 x 70 x 14 high
2 overhead doors 14' and 20' wide, 1 with auto door opener.
Concrete floor with drains.
10 windows + a row of windows in both doors

showcrop · Feb 16, 2015

Mine is 40x50x17. The big thing is that I have an inner room that is 16x22x10. I have a catalytic propane heater that heats the inner room, which I keep at 50 degrees, and bump up when I go in. The outer room has plumbing for the pressure washer and it is kept above freezing most of the time by heat escaping from the inner room. I can open the inner room entry enough to get a big tractor in. This winter I have had to add a fair amount of heat to the outer part with a propane salamander. The propane adds much needed moisture to the air but no where near enough. The inner room enables me to have heat without breaking the bank where I do most of my work.

GeneMO · Feb 17, 2015

Kinda depends on what you want to work on. Too big and it's hard to heat and cool. Too small and you can't get things in you need.

How tall is your tallest item you may want to work on?

My brother intentionally built his body shop with a ceiling low enough that he would't have to work on tractors and other farm equipment.

Mine is 30X40 with 12' ceilings. It is just a hobby shop for old Farmalls and a place to hang a deer.

Gene

a medium size shop build

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