Learn me, what do I need to know about having a shop built

The preliminaries - we have the land to do it, my neighbour has one, too, so I doubt there are any issues getting planning permission. Either way I'm planning to talk to the building department before doing anything drastic.

The current plan is to build essentially a free-standing three car garage with enough depth to park a full size long bed/extended cab truck in it and enough ceiling height to allow for a proper two-post lift.

I was originally thinking about getting something stick built, but some research around here suggests I'd be looking at $35-$40k minimum. A metal building (which is what my neighbour has) would be considerably cheaper. Obviously a metal building will need a fair amount of insulation as I'd like to be able to use it both in Summer in 90+ heat and Winter with -10F and below.

I know I need to get a concrete slab poured of appropriate thickness using the right kind of concrete, plus I need to get electricity run to the site I was planning to have the garage sit on. Most likely that'll require having a trench dug and the cable buried in a conduit as all the wiring in this neighbourhood is underground.

Never having anything of that sort built, I'd need some pointers when I go look for a vendor and contractor to do the work. I was planning to have a more in-depth chat with my neighbour including the "would you use the same builder again" approach (although it seems most contractors who have done business in this neighbourhood are out of business these days).

Make sure the slab is a modern cable post-tensioned type, especially with amount of weight it's going to support. And, make darn sure that you get the slab contractor to mark the location and orientation of every tensioning cable if you are building a well equipped shop with lift, big air compressor, etc., because you (or the installers) are going to be drilling the slab for concrete anchors. Also, I assume you are already planning on having full plumbing installed with full drain for a sink and toilet? I would have both a big deep "shop" sink and a standard bathroom sink, and a small water heater. The part about having full plumbing w/ hot water/two sinks/toilet are lessons learned from my dad, who is now on his third custom built airplane hanger at the local airport. He learned the hard way, having started with a basic bare hangar, he kept adding more air/electrical/plumbing until on the third try he had all of this installed at the time of construction. A small central HVAC unit, too. If you use this shop for serious work (even if it's just hobby related) year-round, all these things are really necessities, not luxuries. You'll be so glad you did!

Two questions.
1. What are you going to do in it? Parking, woodwork, just car stuff. Welding and fab or more general maintenance?
2. What other storage do you have? Does your yard equipment have to be stored in there? How about Christmas decorations and kids bikes?

Run some hose in the concrete too (not sure if there is a certain type or not) so you can run hot water through it to heat the floor. (quick search came up with this: http://www.pexuniverse.com/content/installing-pex-tubing-concrete-slabs) Get a water heater in the corner and a small pump and you can have a nice heated floor in cold weather.

run 220 and 110, and lots of it. Some people neglect the 220 in a home shop, but it opens up options on compressors and such.

See if you can't come up with a way to noise isolate the air compressor in your floor plan.

Also, consider how you're going to handle waste oil-- an internal dump to an exterior tank is nice, assuming you've got someone who's interested in taking the waste oil off your hands.

Also outlets in the ceiling for shop lights, extension cord reels, etc.

In-floor heat is a high priority for me, but maybe not for you in Nevada. Infrared heat can do a good job.

I wouldn't think heated floors would be that critical if he's going to have a lift. He probably won't be spending much time on his back.

I think some type of drain in the floor is a good idea for snowmelt runoff, or washing cars indoors. This may not work if you need the floor to be perfectly level though.

I also like the idea of plumbing some type of air lines into the walls so that you can connect shorter hoses in different locations when you need them, instead of having one really long hose to trip over/roll up.

As for the construction itself, it kind of goes without saying, but make sure you have the appropriate grading so that water drains where it should and doesn't run back towards the foundation, or the drive, or any other buildings nearby.

I just built what you are looking for in the form of a stick building. I am working on finishing it now.

Your quotes for the building sound reasonable with what I saw here in Virginia. It changes quickly depending upon what you want (gutters, shingles, siding, doors, lights, windows, etc.). I elected to have mine built professionally, and I am doing wiring and finishing work.

You will need to work with the electrical utility to get new service dropped. Do at least 200amps. There is usually a minimum charge just to have the meter. Around here it's $18/month even if you don't use a single kWh.

Don't forget about the driveway. This can be a huge expense depending on what you are doing.

One thing that I forgot to discuss up front was specs on the concrete regarding surface finish, flatness, and level. Not sure if a contractor would deal with you in those terms or not, but I am sad when I watch balls roll across the floor.

Plan your layout in as much detail as possible to make sure you have task lighting and outlets in all of the right spots.

When interviewing contractors I'd suggest you add the following terms up front based on what I am going through right now:

-You pay for the materials and the subcontractors directly.

-Or, final payment is a large enough amount to cover the subs and materials, and you don't pay it to the contractor until the work is done to your satisfaction and the contractor proves to you that all the subs and materials are paid.

Don't be like me; I still owe my contractor $2500 for his work this fall, but there is a 6'x6' hole in my basement where the patio door should go, I just received notice that the contractor bounced the check to the concrete supplier and they are putting a $3800 lien on my house, and the contractor isn't answering my calls.

People like to spend other people's money... A post tensioned slab sounds like overkill, I've never heard of that for a home garage or shop. Just have it built by someone who knows what they're doing with rebar. A bathroom will add a lot of expense, and if the garage is in the back yard it's not that far to walk to the house. A 200 amp service is most likely overkill as well, 100 amps is even more than most people need (and it will depend on what is available from the house panel.)

In reply to mazdeuce:

It's mostly for parking and car/motorcycle stuff. Ideally I'd like to be able to do some welding but apart from the odd engine refresh and the likes it's going to be more general maintenance work and some work on a project car.

Storage-wise we're good as we have a couple of storage sheds on the property already.

Thanks everybody for the input so far. Please keep in mind this is a hobby shop, I'm not trying to start the next crappy Velocity build show in there .

• 220V are definitely planned as I want to be able to run a slightly bigger compressor than what I have now and also a MIG welder. None of these will be a professional monster-sized one that will dim the lights in the neighbourhood when I turn it on.
• I'm not planning on any plumbing right now, our lot isn't so big that I can't run back to the house for a bathroom break. Plus, the added expense would mean waiting another year or so.
• Re waste oil storage tanks, mine come in the form of a couple of 5 quart oil cans that I need to take to the local recycling place every 2-3 months.
• Driveway. At least initially that's just going to be compacted dirt. We don't get that much rain out here and experience on this lot for about 3 years now suggests that it should be fine.
• I'm planning lots of lights in the shop already, I hate shops that aren't well lit.

Just hire a contractor. Agree on a price. He will handle everything else.

At least that is how I had my two car with a loft built.

An Alaskan Slab is what he called the base.

What I did. Maybe find some useful bits

Full footings below the frost-line.

2" foam insulation between the slab and the footings so that I dont have grass growing besides the foundation in January

2X4 construction, plywood sheath and vinyl sidding on the outside and OSB particle on the inside. Caulked every seam with silicone.

Inside painted white with "KILLZ" oil based white paint. Aptly named product. Took a lot of it.

Spray foam insulation. Kills all air infiltration. Great insulation. Keeps noise IN the shop. Very important when you have neighbors right close by. Bit of a problem if the power goes out when you are working at the back because it is pitch dark in there.

24' long Infrared heat tube down the peak lets me go from just above freezing to working temp very quickly. Keeps heat cost low since I don't go out a lot during workdays. In floor heat is best when you want a set temperature maintained.

100 Amp service, data line and natural gas trenched in. Room to pull other conductors in the buried conduit

No drains of any kind since it will invite a lot of questions from the city inspectors. Enviro Nazis see a drain in a garage and they think you are pouring oil down the drain. Was going to put a hidden trap under the pad, but illegal stuff has away of biting you when you go to sell.

No bathrooms since it would add a lot of expense and I had no idea how I was going to get the little woman to come out and clean it. Bit of fresh air is not a bad thing after a good welding session

For zoning purposes this is a "Garage". It was inspected with bare 2x4 walls and one light bulb hanging in the middle of the space. I finished the inside after the city finally signed off. There were a surprising number of clipboards that came around for a simple garage.

I actually asked for a flat floor since I like to build stuff on the floor and can use it as a build surface for most things.

Almost forgot: I had an awesome contractor who walked me through the whole thing, did what he said he would do when he said he would do it. Then came in under his budget by about $800.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Make it bigger than you think you will need! seriously they fill up. A pole building will be cheaper, you can put the building up and always add the slab or insulate later as funds allow.

In reply to WildScotsRacing:

No need to post tension a slab unless its a spanning second story which I don't think they are doing here..... I like a rebar mat over the mesh everyone is using.

CGLockRacer wrote: Run some hose in the concrete too (not sure if there is a certain type or not) so you can run hot water through it to heat the floor. (quick search came up with this: http://www.pexuniverse.com/content/installing-pex-tubing-concrete-slabs) Get a water heater in the corner and a small pump and you can have a nice heated floor in cold weather.

I have this and it is incredible! Absolutely the best way to heat.

Things that Im going to put in my workshop(stick built, but these are pretty generic bullet points - could be used in a metal structure as well)

• Powered gable fan for ventilation
• Heated floors (most likely electric) - heat rises, and will warm the space, negating the need for forced air in the winter
• Built in window unit AC - also negates the need for forced air
• Hard compressed-air lines installed before drywall (keeps things from hitting them)
• 10' door openings
• I-beam over one of the "bays" to allow a chain hoist, possibly a gantry
• Basboard lighting
• Outlets everywhere
• Covered outdoor space with electric and air outlets

My garage/shop has a pretty cool setup. The wood frame part sits on a 3' tall block wall around the perimeter. It gives the garage an extra 3' of height inside and zero problems with moisture creeping up the walls. The wood siding stops at the top of the bricks, so no trail for wood munching bugs to follow up.

WildScotsRacing wrote: Make sure the slab is a modern cable post-tensioned type, especially with amount of weight it's going to support.

I've never heard of post-tensioned slabs being used except in a span condition. I assume the OP isn't talking about a basement. If it's slab-on-grade, there's no need.

If you buy a metal building, they will engineer the structure, but you will need to have somebody engineer the footings where the metal building structure bolts down. Have them tell you what the slab should be. Most likely it will be a 5" or 6" slab on grade with simple wire mesh reinforcing. Honestly, a well-placed 4" slab would be fine, but going thicker allows more margin for error or change. If you know where the lift is going, tell them ahead of time.

Ask the metal building manufacturer what kind of dead load can be hung from the structure. Those buildings are typically engineered down to the last decimal place, with very little margin. So again, of you have any heavy loads you know about (hanging a compressor, water heater, or HVAC unit, for instance) let them know.

Get high output LED lighting rated for cold weather. It will be a little more expensive up front, but it will save in energy and the lifespan beats anything else available. Optics are also usually very well controlled with LED.

For insulation, you will most likely need R-19 insulation PLUS an R-11 liner system. For the walls you will need R-13 continuous insulation outside the framing, PLUS and R-13 liner system.

Price out gas-fired infrared heating instead of forced air. Again, it will be more expensive, but it heats objects, not air. That means it will stay warm even if you open the bay door a couple times, or even leave it open. It will heat the vehicles, the tools, the floor slab - things that have a lot of thermal memory which are also the things you touch.

NOHOME wrote: Spray foam insulation. Kills all air infiltration. Great insulation.

I hope that spray foam was covered by drywall or intumescent thermal-barrier coating. That stuff is incredibly flammable, even when cured, and shouldn't be left exposed in the raw.

Duke wrote: Ask the metal building manufacturer what kind of dead load can be hung from the structure. Those buildings are typically engineered down to the last decimal place, with very little margin. So again, of you have any heavy loads you know about (hanging a compressor, water heater, or HVAC unit, for instance) let them know.

That's very good to know. The shop building would be in the perfect location to put solar on its roof so I'll better ask them about that.

Duke wrote:

NOHOME wrote: Spray foam insulation. Kills all air infiltration. Great insulation.

I hope that spray foam was covered by drywall or intumescent thermal-barrier coating. That stuff is incredibly flammable, even when cured, and shouldn't be left exposed in the raw.

NOHOME said: 2X4 construction, plywood sheath and vinyl sidding on the outside and OSB particle on the inside. Caulked every seam with silicone.

YUP, got it covered.

One of the reasons I waited till the inspectors were done is because spray foam by law has to be covered within a very short time frame. Since I was doing the inside finish, there was no way I was going to have it done on the inspector's timeline.

Awesome, glad to hear it.