What would you do differently if you built a new shop

[ovrszd]

You forgot to call me biased again.

Didn't have to. Is obvious.

 

[murph1]

Didn't have to. Is obvious.

......

 

[PILOON]

Municipal bylaws limited my shop size so I had to go vertical.
Mezzanines are a great storage option often overlooked, in many areas U only need a limited height (like 7-8ft) leaving all that overhead wasted storage space.

Another consideration is to structurally prepare a portion of the roof line/ceiling to allow installation of a chain-block for lifting heavy items either for repair/maintenance or loading/unloading heavy objects. A section of H beam properly located is one good solution.

 

[brwesi]

I have a 30 x 40 with 12 ' eve height, all metal building. By far and away the most useful thing in my shop is the monorail hoist beam that runs the length of the building at the ridge. I have 3 one ton electric hoists on trolleys and they are in use all the time lifting, loading and turning heavy pieces, trailers, truck rear ends etc. The close second is a rotary 3 phase generator. It allows me to buy industrial 3 phase equipment at auction, cheap, and operate it in my shop. A lot of good older equipment goes cheap because it is 3 phase and is usually built for heavier service.

 

[rbtjr]

Great thread. We have a 40' X 60' metal building. On both 60' sides we have a 20' wide roof extension along the entire 60'. The entire 80' X 60' footprint has a concrete floor. The roof extensions on the sides have been very useful. Under one side roof we store trailers, attachments, etc. We have 14' high side walls with two 12' X 12' garage doors (one on the "front" 40' end and the other on a 60' side), which I definitely recommend (I initially wanted 10' X 10", was advised by a couple of guys to go with the 12' X 12', and am glad we did). And two garage doors create lots of flexibility. We have four personnel doors--two on one 60' side, one on the other 60' side and one on the "front" 40' side. We have a full bathroom with a tub and shower--a definite plus--and a large shop sink nearby. We have pegboard 8' high all around the interior perimeter, which has proven very useful. We have about 25-30 linear feet of shelving about 10-12' high (about 1/3 of which was added after the initial build-out). On the outside we have four yard water hydrants around the building that are very convenient. We insulated the entire building inside with a form of insulation that is about 1/2" thick with a kind of aluminum foil on both sides. That helps regulate the temperature on the inside--cooler inside than outside in the summer, warmer inside than outside in the winter. As others have mentioned, we have many electrical power outlets around the interior, all about 4' high. We also have about four electrical outlets on each 60' exterior wall, as well as electrical outlets on all four exterior corner supports. That's all that comes to mind now. We really like our building. And a plug for the Amish: Our building was constructed by the members of an Amish community about 60 miles away. They did a great job. They have done several projects for us, all extremely well.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

First find a boatload of $$$$$$$$$, then read the thread.

Seriously, some great ideas. I have 10x10 doors, then got an rv I never thought I'd get. I'd put money in going larger before some of the other stuff. Higher also, at least 14 ft, gives more height for side sheds.