Guys:
This is probably a dumb question, and maybe not the right thread/Forum, but here goes:
My wife of 23 years finally "approved" me to build a free standing shop. I've been working in the two car garage (she calls it a "one car garage" because there's always been a disassembled vehicle up on stands there this past year) which is part of the house (there's living space adjacent to and above it). She has such a good nose that I get called to the carpet everytime I think about painting something, etc. So she says "Why don't you just build yourself a shop out at the Farm?". We are fortunate enough to have a couple (actually 5) acres about 4 miles away, but we don't live there. I also restore old houses and this had the original 1904 farmhouse that I have taken a shine to..
Never one to let an opportunity to pass me by, I have defrayed all summer projects (read "work on X-frame cars) to focus on building this shop. First I had to meet the "City Fathers" to get approval to build it (I asked for and got a variance in the building lot lines). Now I am working up plans for construction. My plans are that it will be a pole barn (since it's out of pocket, I am forced to go with less expensive construction techniques, and to put a limit on the short term costs). It will have a gravel floor in its first year. Every year I plan to add something (concrete, electricity, lighting, plumbing, beer tap refrigerator, the important stuff). I will rough in the various utilities under the gravel, but will not connect them in Year One (to costly, plus there's those damn inspectors who won't let you wire or plumb your own place). This will be simple pole construction with cheapo metal siding and roof, no internal posts, no insulation. But first I have to decide on the dimension.
Being on unplatted raw acreage the city says I can make this any size I want (and it's within City Limits!). What limits me is $$$ for the initial outlay. My first notion was to go with a 30 by 24. My buddies talked me out of that, and next it grew to 30 by 40.
Then I looked at local pole barn kits and kinda settled on a 30 by 50 design. Then I drew sketches of the internal layout and wondered if that 30 foot depth might be a limit. Our cars need at least 18 feet and it would be nice to be able to stack them 2 deep.
The space will need to accomodate three finished cars, soemday four, each a driver with a separate garage door. I want those doors to be at least nine foot across. There will be one side door, probably a slider framed wth wood and skinned with the same metal siding, that opens to 14-15 feet (for trailers and towing if needed). Through that door I will roll/tow my parts and donor cars (about 5 all total, but that seems to be growing). I am targeting about 13 by 20 for a vehicle, especially the drivers. I will pack the parts cars tighter. When I do the math, I exceed 1500 square feet...
The lot can easily take a 40 by 50 building, but since I am on a budget, I am reticent to put that much $$$ into it up front. I am figuring roughly $5 per square foot to get the building up over a gravel floor (I call that Year One). At 40x50 that comes to $10K, a bit over my budget ( I have mentally allocated $7500, and still have to figure out where that's actually coming from. I bet I spend $20K on it over the next 5 years... but that includes concrete, plumbing, electrics, a lift, overhead lighting, compressors and other necessities).
I have enough experience to realize that you always need more space than you thought, and that once it's up, it's hard to make it bigger. I am also aware that there will be things I am not thinking about that will cost more money than I ever imagined. But I am dealing with a limited amount of resources in Year One. Plus Barb thinks this will cost like $1500 dollars, because she is thinking "two car garage", I am thinking "Big Shop". I will never tell her the real situation. She NEVER goes out there
Personal stuff aside (I plan on staying married to her), would you go for the big foot print in Year One, or settle for a smaller more affordable size and deal with it in a healthy matter? I think I can guess what CPG would do, build an airplane hanger! But this shop will generate no revenue, just support the hobby. And it has to be able to be built by me, and I am not a carpenter (but I am handy and have an attention to detail, and two strong teenagers who will eventually inherit all this stuff). A hobby built shop should be able to be constructed over time, you should be able to walk away for a week to do other stuff while it's going up, it has to be simple, and cost needs to be contained.
All suggestions are welcome. Talk me out of a pole barn if you feel so inclined. Convince me it should be stick built (more expensive, right?) Tell me the per square foot estimates are way off. Give me some opinions on garage door widths and ceiling heights (side walls). I have absolutely no experience in this, but have checking out other people's shops for some time now. I know 30 by 40 ain't gonna cut it.
Not having any experience in this, and this being a Big Deal to me, I don't want to mess up on the planning, be shortsighted, cut on quality, and in general wish I had done more planning. I've looked at Chevy Talk and a few other places, and that's how I got as far as I have. Everybody says "bigger is better", but the limit is cash available. Thanks in advance for your comments and considerations. And wish me luck.
When it's all over (at least when the shell is up) I plan to have a big party and you are all invited. Maybe by then I will have the 1/8 mile concrete ribbon in place (on that same property) and we can run some grudge matches... (That's my dream!).
Cheers,
Tom K in Columbia, MO
This is probably a dumb question, and maybe not the right thread/Forum, but here goes:
My wife of 23 years finally "approved" me to build a free standing shop. I've been working in the two car garage (she calls it a "one car garage" because there's always been a disassembled vehicle up on stands there this past year) which is part of the house (there's living space adjacent to and above it). She has such a good nose that I get called to the carpet everytime I think about painting something, etc. So she says "Why don't you just build yourself a shop out at the Farm?". We are fortunate enough to have a couple (actually 5) acres about 4 miles away, but we don't live there. I also restore old houses and this had the original 1904 farmhouse that I have taken a shine to..
Never one to let an opportunity to pass me by, I have defrayed all summer projects (read "work on X-frame cars) to focus on building this shop. First I had to meet the "City Fathers" to get approval to build it (I asked for and got a variance in the building lot lines). Now I am working up plans for construction. My plans are that it will be a pole barn (since it's out of pocket, I am forced to go with less expensive construction techniques, and to put a limit on the short term costs). It will have a gravel floor in its first year. Every year I plan to add something (concrete, electricity, lighting, plumbing, beer tap refrigerator, the important stuff). I will rough in the various utilities under the gravel, but will not connect them in Year One (to costly, plus there's those damn inspectors who won't let you wire or plumb your own place). This will be simple pole construction with cheapo metal siding and roof, no internal posts, no insulation. But first I have to decide on the dimension.
Being on unplatted raw acreage the city says I can make this any size I want (and it's within City Limits!). What limits me is $$$ for the initial outlay. My first notion was to go with a 30 by 24. My buddies talked me out of that, and next it grew to 30 by 40.
Then I looked at local pole barn kits and kinda settled on a 30 by 50 design. Then I drew sketches of the internal layout and wondered if that 30 foot depth might be a limit. Our cars need at least 18 feet and it would be nice to be able to stack them 2 deep.
The space will need to accomodate three finished cars, soemday four, each a driver with a separate garage door. I want those doors to be at least nine foot across. There will be one side door, probably a slider framed wth wood and skinned with the same metal siding, that opens to 14-15 feet (for trailers and towing if needed). Through that door I will roll/tow my parts and donor cars (about 5 all total, but that seems to be growing). I am targeting about 13 by 20 for a vehicle, especially the drivers. I will pack the parts cars tighter. When I do the math, I exceed 1500 square feet...
The lot can easily take a 40 by 50 building, but since I am on a budget, I am reticent to put that much $$$ into it up front. I am figuring roughly $5 per square foot to get the building up over a gravel floor (I call that Year One). At 40x50 that comes to $10K, a bit over my budget ( I have mentally allocated $7500, and still have to figure out where that's actually coming from. I bet I spend $20K on it over the next 5 years... but that includes concrete, plumbing, electrics, a lift, overhead lighting, compressors and other necessities).
I have enough experience to realize that you always need more space than you thought, and that once it's up, it's hard to make it bigger. I am also aware that there will be things I am not thinking about that will cost more money than I ever imagined. But I am dealing with a limited amount of resources in Year One. Plus Barb thinks this will cost like $1500 dollars, because she is thinking "two car garage", I am thinking "Big Shop". I will never tell her the real situation. She NEVER goes out there
Personal stuff aside (I plan on staying married to her), would you go for the big foot print in Year One, or settle for a smaller more affordable size and deal with it in a healthy matter? I think I can guess what CPG would do, build an airplane hanger! But this shop will generate no revenue, just support the hobby. And it has to be able to be built by me, and I am not a carpenter (but I am handy and have an attention to detail, and two strong teenagers who will eventually inherit all this stuff). A hobby built shop should be able to be constructed over time, you should be able to walk away for a week to do other stuff while it's going up, it has to be simple, and cost needs to be contained.
All suggestions are welcome. Talk me out of a pole barn if you feel so inclined. Convince me it should be stick built (more expensive, right?) Tell me the per square foot estimates are way off. Give me some opinions on garage door widths and ceiling heights (side walls). I have absolutely no experience in this, but have checking out other people's shops for some time now. I know 30 by 40 ain't gonna cut it.
Not having any experience in this, and this being a Big Deal to me, I don't want to mess up on the planning, be shortsighted, cut on quality, and in general wish I had done more planning. I've looked at Chevy Talk and a few other places, and that's how I got as far as I have. Everybody says "bigger is better", but the limit is cash available. Thanks in advance for your comments and considerations. And wish me luck.
When it's all over (at least when the shell is up) I plan to have a big party and you are all invited. Maybe by then I will have the 1/8 mile concrete ribbon in place (on that same property) and we can run some grudge matches... (That's my dream!).
Cheers,
Tom K in Columbia, MO
Roy
Roy
