New Shop w/office and guest space

[ohanacreek]

Alright I’m finally able to get around to building a shop, running out of space for tools and have no space to work on projects. I know a lot of members have shops/garages maybe even some that have a home office in them (I work from home when I am not meeting with customers). I’ve stolen a good many ideas and designs from the garage journal forum and from a few members.

What would everyone have done differently with your own shops?
What do y’all recommend?
Ideas?
Criticisms?


I have another space cleared large enough to build up to a 100x100 building. I am keeping this one small because I can put it close enough to the house I can tie everything in without extra meters (house has a 400amp service and meter but only use 150 if everything is running full blast) power/propane/well/septic/network/alarm, and I don’t want one big enough I can fill it with too much junk.

There’s a downslope at the right rear I could put a basement or crawl under the conditioned area for extra storage.

The large vehicles are F-150 Crew 6.5’ bed smaller ones are Pioneer 1000/Talon R sized.

Going to plan to have a lift in one bay, LED, sprayfoam, minisplit Heat/Cool. Going to plan to have a shower in it as we have an inordinate amount of overnight guests during the holidays and during the summer on their way to the beach. It’d be nice to let them in and let them leave without waking us up the next morning.

 

[trigger]

That's a nice garage! Just looking at the floor plan, I'd consider a door in that partition wall straight across from the SE entry door.

 

[elkaholic]

I built a garage with climate controlled storage for hunting gear and boomsticks when I bought my place. I had to shorten it a bit due to septic tank location.

What I did right?

Tall ceilings allowing for 10x10 doors.
2 man doors
Plenty of windows
Slightly oversized Mitsubishi Mini Split.
Tons of 220 / 240 V outlets
Hardwired a Cat6 cable into the space from my main office / router area
Porcelain tile floor that looks like wood - classy and easy to maintain
LED lighting
Insulated garage doors (when it’s really hot I can open door from cooled space and within 90 minutes the garage is cool)

What did I do wrong?
Only one Cat 6 port
Did not run any additional wire chases

Pictures of the plans





Pictures of completion







Ignore the nastiness of the place. Tracy has had me working on her flip house every weekend and I am way behind on spring yard work.



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[ohanacreek]

That's a nice garage! Just looking at the floor plan, I'd consider a door in that partition wall straight across from the SE entry door.

Thanks, Its not a partition it was just easier with the app I used to sketch it, to have two separate spaces when I started the drawing and I never cleaned it up.

Edit: I swapped the photos it’s fixed.

I built a garage with climate controlled storage for hunting gear and boomsticks when I bought my place. I had to shorten it a bit due to septic tank location.

What I did right?

Tall ceilings allowing for 10x10 doors.
2 man doors
Plenty of windows
Slightly oversized Mitsubishi Mini Split.
Tons of 220 / 240 V outlets
Hardwired a Cat6 cable into the space from my main office / router area
Porcelain tile floor that looks like wood - classy and easy to maintain
LED lighting
Insulated garage doors (when it’s really hot I can open door from cooled space and within 90 minutes the garage is cool)

What did I do wrong?
Only one Cat 6 port
Did not run any additional wire chases

...

All of that is on the list except windows, probably only be one in the office space.
I'm thinking faux window in the doors to match the house.
Seeing as its going to be all tools and toys, I'd like to keep nosey neighbors and workers from seeing whats in there and tempting anyone.
I sell commercial security so its getting the good stuff.
Several 240v outlets, I had 1 installed in my current garage that was supposed to be a 50a, but I got a 40amp because some helper ran the wrong gauge wire.
Luckily the breaker panel is in the garage so it was easy to add one just below it for my welder.
I'll have several CAT6A drops and a WiFi Access Point in there.
I was considering tile just in the shower and stained concrete in the rest of the finished space, cheaper than tile.
Additional wire chases are def on the list I am a few short already in the house and I wish I had run a couple more, not sure where they would be at the moment. Future tech though is going IP(network based) so I am going to run 2-4 extra cables at each point that i didn't in my house.

Mini-splits...did you go with just one for the finished space or a multi-zone for the whole thing?
I can get fairly good pricing on them via work and it gets hot and humid here, I know first world problem.

More than one man door ....why?

 

[Bradley-Thornton]

I did a build on a few years back maybe it will let you see it. (don't hate on my education lol)

Fill free to ask me any question if you have some.

https://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/47951-building-a-shop-help/

I like pic 2 way better but would move the shop sink by the bathroom for easy plumbing.

Only one thing I would do different I would add drains in my shop to wash cars and stuff. Everyone told me too and I didn't now have wished I had it a few times. Still don't think I would wash a car in the shop but a few times would have been nice to run a hose and know it would just go down the drain.

I added a dehumidifier after I built my shop wish I would have plumbed it from day one. Don't really care to run the ac/heat all the time in the shop just a waste of power. You can go in my shop and it be 85deg and feel fine then I'm opening up the door anyway.

A lift is wide keep that in mind like 135in wide

10ft is tight for a door (if it is aggravating at all you know you will be less likely to park inside and to pull it out to drive) wife catches a mirror one time.

my shop is 35x100 but 35x35 inclosed if I was you I would at least add a slab big enough to park infant of the door if not be covered.

lights lights and more lights, I didn't go LED and still don't regret that. I use my shop a ton and in the 5 years I have had it not one bulb has went out.

With my 35x35 I have a spot for a full bathroom but haven't done it yet just have a sink.

With a car in each bay the shop is full I can put the MG and the mustang in the bay without the lift but no room after that. Just don't see you have room for your plans. I'm not saying it want all fit but it want be a workable shop just a storage building. (I'm not hating just saying) I think you could have 2 12ft bays and a small bay for the SxS and mower. I would go with the lift and a 12ft door on the left maybe the next door 12ft then like an 8ft door on the far right.

Keep in mind you will want rollup doors so you can open the door with a car on the lift. (mine are insulated and electric)

Mine is 12ft high so you can compare on that with the lift it can be done with less but I wanted the kids to be able to play basketball as they got older under the open area.

Also outside has lights power and air now.

The fans in the shop are for when I had a boat I could put the boat in the shop cut them on to air it out have a set outside also.

I have plugs like every 5ft and would have them every 3ft if I could do it again lol. Also have 2 coming down in the middle use them all the time.

I put motion lights all around mine.

Make sure you wire up for
220 compressor
light coming out of the ceiling
plugs coming out of the ceiling on a yoyo
air coming out of the ceiling on a yoyo
50/30amp RV
220 lift out of ceiling
power plugs outside.
wire a radio in you want one maybe even speaker outside (I have some on the outside nice for crawfish boils)

Sorry the pics are just pics I had on my phone I'm out of town. (don't hate we do man Shi/stuff in my shop lol)

 

[L2R]

Shops are personal depending on what you want now but also what you might want in the future.
I guess I would review what projects you might do in the future to understand what room you need for what tools. (and electrical as mentioned above)

Wall space is valuable so consider what counter space you want with storage above and below.
Not sure what all you do with a lift and that begs other questions.


Are you fabbing or just changing oil?
Do you need a vacuum system for grinding dust or ???
air compressor or welder?
Room for tool boxes, small things like grinders, vise, pipe bender etc.

Best of luck-

 

[Bradley-Thornton]

Thanks, Its not a partition it was just easier with the app I used to sketch it, to have two separate spaces when I started the drawing and I never cleaned it up.



All of that is on the list except windows, probably only be one in the office space.
I'm thinking faux window in the doors to match the house.
Seeing as its going to be all tools and toys, I'd like to keep nosey neighbors and workers from seeing whats in there and tempting anyone.
I sell commercial security so its getting the good stuff.
Several 240v outlets, I had 1 installed in my current garage that was supposed to be a 50a, but I got a 40amp because some helper ran the wrong gauge wire.
Luckily the breaker panel is in the garage so it was easy to add one just below it for my welder.
I'll have several CAT6A drops and a WiFi Access Point in there.
I was considering tile just in the shower and stained concrete in the rest of the finished space, cheaper than tile.
Additional wire chases are def on the list I am a few short already in the house and I wish I had run a couple more, not sure where they would be at the moment. Future tech though is going IP(network based) so I am going to run 2-4 extra cables at each point that i didn't in my house.

Mini-splits...did you go with just one for the finished space or a multi-zone for the whole thing?
I can get fairly good pricing on them via work and it gets hot and humid here, I know first world problem.

More than one man door ....why?

Had a friend paint his with that shop paint super nice oil just wipes off

 

[elkaholic]

All of that is on the list except windows, probably only be one in the office space.
I'm thinking faux window in the doors to match the house.
Seeing as its going to be all tools and toys, I'd like to keep nosey neighbors and workers from seeing whats in there and tempting anyone.

Understand the security issue and I am always security conscious. I have neighbors who are either next door or quite close that are also full time residents here at the lake so that helps. Also have the garage on the main house’s security system.

If you look at the floor plan, you can probably figure out which room has the ... ahem ... alleged boomy things in it.

Several 240v outlets, I had 1 installed in my current garage that was supposed to be a 50a, but I got a 40amp because some helper ran the wrong gauge wire.

Mine are all 50A but I’ll never be able to run all 5 at once. To save money the builder was supposed to daisy chain them 3 on one breaker and 2 on the other. They each have their own breaker.

Also have a 30 amp RV outlet outside and a 20A 120V welder outlet on its own breaker.

I was considering tile just in the shower and stained concrete in the rest of the finished space, cheaper than tile.

I was considering the same but got the tile on special from Lowe’s at $0.80 per square foot.

Mini-splits...did you go with just one for the finished space or a multi-zone for the whole thing?
I can get fairly good pricing on them via work and it gets hot and humid here, I know first world problem.

More than one man door ....why?

I went with one with the interior air handler mounted high on the wall between the side storage room and the exercise room. I installed framed vents (20x20) filter holders on the walls to facilitate air movement. 120V Is wired there in case I needed to add thermostatically controlled fans in the vent areas to maintain temp. So far (going on three years) I have not needed to add those.

I live outside of Columbia, SC so I get the same heat / humidity that you do ...

Man doors ... I have one from the outside into the garage and one from the outside into the climate controlled area. There is also one from garage area into climate controlled area. Why more than one? For more than one exit in the case of a fire ...

Also, the exterior man doors open outward and have hinges that the pins cannot be removed on. I did this because wall space on the inside where the doors are located is at a premium. The breezeway really funnels the wind so I added door springs to prevent loosing control of the doors ...



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[ohanacreek]

@Bradley-Thornton....Thanks its good to confirm I am on the right track...leaning toward 1B myself since I can have storage under the finished space and usable access to the shop area. A lot of the guys on the Garage Journal forum have the same build just slightly different than every other build.
I like pic 2 way better but would move the shop sink by the bathroom for easy plumbing.
I was thinking free space instead of ease of install.

Only one thing I would do different I would add drains in my shop to wash cars and stuff. Everyone told me too and I didn't now have wished I had it a few times. Still don't think I would wash a car in the shop but a few times would have been nice to run a hose and know it would just go down the drain.
That has occurred to me ...Worried about humidity.

I added a dehumidifier after I built my shop wish I would have plumbed it from day one. Don't really care to run the ac/heat all the time in the shop just a waste of power. You can go in my shop and it be 85deg and feel fine then I'm opening up the door anyway.
I have 2 in the house I was already planning on moving over, that do nothing they have run once for about a very wet and humid week in 3 years.

A lift is wide keep that in mind like 135in wide.
Little over 11 feet Im trying to decide on putting it in one of the end bays?? or if that would be a nightmare when I am working on the wall side of whatever is on the lift.

10ft is tight for a door (if it is aggravating at all you know you will be less likely to park inside and to pull it out to drive) wife catches a mirror one time.
Absolutely right, Doors are 10 and lift door is 12' wide, this is more for storage of my truck, tools, and toys than daily door use. Have plenty of room in the main garage for two full sized trucks and the Pioneer, its all the tools, mowers, bikes, benchrests, toolboxes, and other crap that fill it up right now.

my shop is 35x100 but 35x35 inclosed if I was you I would at least add a slab big enough to park infant of the door if not be covered.
PREACH Theres a 65x50 slab the doors will face my house garage doors 65' away.

lights lights and more lights, I didn't go LED and still don't regret that. I use my shop a ton and in the 5 years I have had it not one bulb has went out.
High Bay LED or 4' LED??

With my 35x35 I have a spot for a full bathroom but haven't done it yet just have a sink.
Figured I'd go ahead and get it out of the way so on rainy or cold days I won't have to go into the house nasty to take a piss.

With a car in each bay the shop is full I can put the MG and the mustang in the bay without the lift but no room after that. Just don't see you have room for your plans. I'm not saying it want all fit but it want be a workable shop just a storage building. (I'm not hating just saying) I think you could have 2 12ft bays and a small bay for the SxS and mower. I would go with the lift and a 12ft door on the left maybe the next door 12ft then like an 8ft door on the far right.
Yeah thats why I want peoples real world input, I could stretch it to fit 2-12' and a 10' simply by shifting the doors. I'd really like to have the SxS parked at the door and still be able to get the mower out. I have to empty half my garage right now to get the mower out. 2' extra depth might make a big difference too??

Keep in mind you will want rollup doors so you can open the door with a car on the lift. (mine are insulated and electric)
I plan on angled doors that will be near the roof line and jackshaft openers like I have in the house. I don't ever plan on lifting a van and if I do I can just close the door.

Mine is 12ft high so you can compare on that with the lift it can be done with less but I wanted the kids to be able to play basketball as they got older under the open area.
Looks like 12' is MINIMUM for a lift

I have plugs like every 5ft and would have them every 3ft if I could do it again lol. Also have 2 coming down in the middle use them all the time.
would you do doubles or put one every three feet?
yeah gonna move the light, power, and air reels I already have and probably add another set

Make sure you wire up for
50/30amp RV.....several 50amp
220 lift out of ceiling...ceiling or in the slab??

Shops are personal depending on what you want now but also what you might want in the future.

Are you fabbing or just changing oil?
Do you need a vacuum system for grinding dust or ???
air compressor or welder?
Room for tool boxes, small things like grinders, vise, pipe bender etc.

Best of luck-

Little bit of both not serious fab but also carpentry and a bunch of other random crap.
Already have two systems one for metal and one for wood, apparently its a bad idea to mix the two and humidity???
yes room for tools to be out and stay out for a project or two.

Mine are all 50A but I’ll never be able to run all 5 at once.
Also have a 30 amp RV outlet outside and a 20A 120V welder outlet on its own breaker.

Considering several 50amps and having a 30amp adapter or converting the 30amp ends to a 50amp plug.

I went with one with the interior air handler mounted high on the wall between the side storage room and the exercise room. I installed framed vents (20x20) filter holders on the walls to facilitate air movement.

If guests weren't one reason for the finished space, I'd do one unit.

Man doors ... Why more than one? For more than one exit in the case of a fire

good point....

Also like the way you formatted your response but I'd already started the other way so live and learn.

 

[Bradley-Thornton]

I didn't do LEDs. I did these they don't sell them anymore but this is what I was looking for a commercial grade ballast. If you can fork up the money go LED I was on a budget. But key points get 5000k light better for your eyes only get 6500k at a work table if you want it. The 6500k can give you headache with long time exposure. Also I did a regular plug in (gives me and extra plug in the air if I need it and if a light goes out its just unplug and plug the new one in. No wiring.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Linear-Shop-Light-Common-4-ft-Actual-6-85-in-x-48-13-in/4013485

I would also put a light on each side of the cars. can't see under a car with the light above it? Need it on the side.

I don't think the SxS mower thing will be a problem keep in mind you will have room between the car and the SxS just drive it out behind the car at the middle door you should have a ton of room between and behind it.

The door thing will work but I would look both ways. You can see mine rolled up in the pic just takes up less space. But as long as its out of the way thats all that matters.

If you look close you will see I have a fan above the lift right at the hood even with my wife sequoia on the lift it don't hit the hood. The pitch in the roof gives you the extra room. But something I plan on doing and you can do is with 12ft you can put a roof over the guest area and have extra storage thats what I plan to do over my bathroom when I get around to it lol.

I'm more joking about every 3ft but in one spot I did have to add a extra set. Just keep in mind the spot you are going to have your batteries charging, radio, etc you may need a few extra.

220 lift in the air that way you can alway move it or whatever its just the common way its done I guess. I wouldn't have any power in the slab that way you don't have to worry about water as I said thats the one thing I would change. (trust me put one in each bay) I'm sure they make something to keep the humidity out I have a thing on the end of mine to keep the mice out. because I haven't finished the bathroom.

I don't know if have thought about it but I have my slab setup for a 4 post in my other bay. may want to look at that. I plan on adding it so I can park one of my toys/cars on it and just lift it out of the way. I have a 92 GT a 93 cobra and a 79 MG toys My daily 2012 F250 wife 2018 Sequoia

Later I will move the old lift outside and add a bigger 2 post inside. So will have a 2 post inside and outside and a 4 post inside. ONEDAY

Also this is one of my favorites have one in shop and outside and in carport (you can take it off and on) At first it suckes but after a few weeks once the cable molds to it its the best.
Wonder Winder Extension Cord Winding System — Model# WW 2D | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[Bradley-Thornton]

One other cool thing I've always wanted to do is add a solar panel to the roof and have cables coming down to trickle charge my batteries during the winter. Or have a self you put them on with the same setup.

 

[ohanacreek]

One other cool thing I've always wanted to do is add a solar panel to the roof and have cables coming down to trickle charge my batteries during the winter. Or have a self you put them on with the same setup.

I have a battery tender bank charger

Swapped the photo to clear up the dividing wall and changed a few things while I was at it.
Not having a corner sticking out makes roofline cheaper. Dropped some boxes to represent my current tool boxes for scale, and made the doors 10/12/12. @40’ deep I could park 2 trucks nose to tail in one bay.

 

[JTW]

Wide, tall doors and as tall inside as you can get... I love the height in my shop. A wood furnace would be nice.. I have a buck stove but wish it were a furnace. I really like my jack shaft door openers. Floor drain is a good idea. Storage above the office and bath area. Also, I really like that carport area in the pic above.

 

[Bradley-Thornton]

I like the second one still, You can put a garbage can by the sink if wanted. I started with one and have 3 now.

Your Quote:
Little over 11 feet Im trying to decide on putting it in one of the end bays?? or if that would be a nightmare when I am working on the wall side of whatever is on the lift.

I was also a concern of mine but this has never been problem. I can pull tires, axels you name it. With the f150 you would have about 2.5ft anything not as wide would be more. Thats saying the lift was 2in off the wall it would be more like 6in.

 

[L2R]

Looking back, this IS the group to brainstorm ways of spending money.
We have attacked your design in much the same way we go after our SXS's.
I think we have easily added $50 / sq ft. so I would say we have done a fair job.

 

[ohanacreek]

Looking back, this IS the group to brainstorm ways of spending money.
We have attacked your design in much the same way we go after our SXS's.
I think we have easily added $50 / sq ft. so I would say we have done a fair job.

Hahaha probably!!! This group is definitely good at helping you spend your money.

 

[ohanacreek]

Wide, tall doors and as tall inside as you can get... I love the height in my shop. A wood furnace would be nice.. I have a buck stove but wish it were a furnace. I really like my jack shaft door openers. Floor drain is a good idea. Storage above the office and bath area. Also, I really like that carport area in the pic above.

I’m thinking after everyone telling me to put storage over the office I can elevate the office and set the storage under it in the hill and have a concrete floor that will bear way more weight. I’m being told MiniSplits are a cheap and clean option long term. The Jackshaft are great as long as the doors are setup correctly for them. Y’all are winning me over on the floor drain. Guess that means I need to remember to put a hose bib in by the sink. Carport would be nice but it’s out with where I’m putting this one.

 

[Average_Joe]

If your dead set on running Cat6 cable run plenum rated it's fireproof. I'm going WiFi if our internet improves when I build my shop right now my up and down is 2-5mbps downside of living in a rural area. The upside I don't lock my doors.

 

[ohanacreek]

Aight made the changes y’all suggested.
In 12hrs I’ve gotten more useful info I’ve been searching for than in the last 6months of digging on the Internet! Y’all are awesome.

12’ door on lift 10’ on the other two, trying to keep it lined up with the existing garage pad and not pour more slab in front of the lower right side near the septic or propane tank. Can only go to 13’1” Height in app but it’ll be 14’ that’ll let me lift the office 4-5’ and put storage under it set into the side of the hill. That will let me finish the office space later as well if I need to. I’ll have someone actually draw it up before I have a GC start moved the lift away from the wall to give me space to work and clear out the middle of the floor.

If your dead set on running Cat6 cable run plenum rated it's fireproof. I'm going WiFi if our internet improves when I build my shop right now my up and down is 2-5mbps downside of living in a rural area. The upside I don't lock my doors.

ALWAYS plenum, we’re in the country, doesn’t mean I trust people I don’t know or some that I do for that matter. Our internet is 10D/1U, That’s our option.

 

[elkaholic]

Aight made the changes y’all suggested.
In 12hrs I’ve gotten more useful info I’ve been searching for than in the last 6months of digging on the Internet! Y’all are awesome.

12’ door on lift 10’ on the other two, trying to keep it lined up with the existing garage pad and not pour more slab in front of the lower right side near the septic or propane tank. Can only go to 13’1” Height in app but it’ll be 14’ that’ll let me lift the office 4-5’ and put storage under it set into the side of the hill. That will let me finish the office space later as well if I need to. I’ll have someone actually draw it up before I have a GC start moved the lift away from the wall to give me space to work and clear out the middle of the floor.


View attachment 124087



ALWAYS plenum, we’re in the country, doesn’t mean I trust people I don’t know or some that I do for that matter. Our internet is 10D/1U, That’s our option.

Looks good.

I ran 2 runs of CAT6 that was rated for direct soil burial. I have a switch at the jack that runs an additional access point for my WiFi mesh system and then run a hardwired connection to my 6TB raid array that lives in the fireproof residential security container . My internet is 9M down and 0.3M up. When I have to upload something big I use my iPhone as a hotspot. I am looking very hard at Viasat to replace the DSL I have now.


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