From this thead before Christmas..


We are moving forward with putting in a 25' x 30' x 10' Shop/storage building in the next month or so. ...which pales by comparison to the great Barndo Build thread...but there has been some great info and advice in that tread, so I'm starting one for my build.

We are in Wise County, so no building code, permits, or inspections to worry about. We do have an HOA, and the ACC request, along with drawing, was submitted to them two weeks ago. There are similar building in the subdivision, so hopefully there will not be a problem with the approval.

This is probably a 2-year project. Building w electrical this year. Interior will be next year.
I have a history of going significantly overboard\overbuilding with previous projects. The required spousal approval for the project was secured based upon assurances that I will keep the budget under control, and that she will maintain oversight on the scope.

We've reached out to a number of places for quotes, based on the following:
25' x 30' Red Iron structure,
10' side walls, 4/12 pitched gable roof.
One 8'x12' overhead door with foam insulated panels, one 4'x7' walk door, and four 3' x 3' double pained windows.
No insulation
Slab - #3500 psi concrete and rebar on 18" centers.

The vehicle door will go on the 30' side, 2' off the wall. The personnel door goes on the 25' gabled wall, opposite of the vehicle door. No window on the wall facing the back of our lot.

So far, the best looking quote is from JNC Metal Works, and they can potentially do the work in mid Feb. I got one cheaper quote, but it was July - Aug.

I want to make sure I am covering the bases before we start work.

The building for 1] storage, to get stuff out of the garage. (Zero Turn mower and other lawn\gardening stuff, shelves and shelves of storage totes. Big power tools) 2] At least some of the storage space must be climate controlled (per spousal unit). 3] Workshop area, with a permanent reloading bench. 4] Room to work on a vehicle, without having to move other stuff out or block access to the stuff already in the building.

Save the suggestions that I build something big enough to store an RV. The location of this shop would not be conducive to getting an RV in\out.


Slab
2" PVC conduit to bring in underground elect.
While I do not 'plan' on putting in water and septic, I'll get them to rough in a toilet flange and a water line into the back corner.
3' ramp leading into the 8'x'12' door
Anything else that needs to go into the slab, that would be a pita later, if I do not do it now?

Building
No insulation by the builder. No ridge vents
2'x'2' frame for potential gable vents on both ends, but the opening will not be cut out.

Originally, I was going to finish out and AC a 10 X 16 space for a work area and reloading bench. But after the wife insisted she wanted additional climate controlled space for storing some of her stuff, we've arrived at just foaming the entire building, and building a dedicated reloading bench, plus a general purpose work bench, along one 25' wall. We will not enclose the area, instead we will just heat\cool the entire building.

The current plan is to do 2" of closed cell foam on the walls and ceiling (after the electrical is done}. and put in a 1 ton Mini Split ( maybe this year, but probably next year)
Any thoughts on 1 ton being enough? In addition to the insulation, the building will be well shaded in the summer. It does not have to stay 72 year round. Since the plan is to pretty much run it year round, the AC does not need to be able to cool the shop down rapidly.

The entire shop will get 8' plywood or OSB attached to the sidewall grits. (Likely a next year project). I'm saying we are only going 8' to save money. I am hoping the wife will want to go the full wall height once she sees it
I'd love 3/4" plywood, but not at todays prices. I will probably end up with 1/2. That is sufficient or hanging light stuff from the walls. Big [censored] will just have to be free standing.

Will probably paint the exposed foam, but I will let my wife bring that up also.

How much lighting for something this size. There are some 72 watt 8' LED strip on Amazon that might work.

I am trying not to go overboard with the electrical.
One 50 amp 120/240 near the vehicle door for the welder and anything else crazy that might be needed. Wresting with code on this. That technically needs a GFCI, but EVERY time I have seen a GFCI on a welder or 50 amp RV plug, they have been a constant PITA de to nuisance trips.
Two 20 amp circuits for GFCI protected plugs around the entire building.
A 20 amp circuit for the lights, door opener, and AC
A 20 amp circuit for a couple of outside outlets.
A 20 amp spare.
This lets me stay within the 6-throw rule, so I do not need a panel with a main breaker.
I plan on going with a 6 space, 70 amp, main lug panel, fed from a 70 breaker in the house.


OK Hive Mind, Tell me what I am doing right and wrong...

Sounds pretty good all around. The non-standard 4'x7' personnel door is a waste of money. A standard 3'0" x 6'8" is plenty big, way cheaper, and you have a roll up door for anything bigger!

The pad for the slab was leveled and compacted last week. Concrete guys are supposed to be here in the next couple of days.

Other than the incoming power and a pair of tie-down points, nothing else is going in the slab. Decided not to rough in for a restroom.

I started picking up the material for the electrical and found a lot of that stuff is in short supply.

Looks like the building will be done by the end of the month, but I'm still waiting to find out when the overhead door will arrive...seems that is the longest lead time item.

Sounds like it will be nice. How much per foot is concrete going to run?

All I have is a turnkey price for the entire job, I did not ask him to break it out. One of the other quotes I got was just for the slab. It was about $10.50. sqft. That was 4" with rebar and an 8" footer around the perimeter, and did not include building up the pad.

I paid $9 a foot for a 30x50 5 or 6 inches thick (I don’t remember) and 4000psi with rebar and 12x24 beams around the perimeter and crisscross the center. $1500 of that was a damn concrete pump. That was concrete only, sort work was already done.

By today’s prices, $10.50 probably isn’t bad

I made a typo in my last post. It's 4" min thickness with 18" beams (not 8").

I think the guy I went with verbally said he using charging $8/ft, but it was not broken out in the contract.

The $10.50/ft guy was an "I already have more than enough work" price, and he did not want to fool with smaller jobs.

After rain delayed us a couple of times, the slab was poured Wednesday. The forms came off yesterday and the building crew should be here on either Monday or Tuesday. One day for the iron and one day for the sheeting. It's looking like the overhead door may be another week getting here.



Started picking up stuff for the electrical and was not surprised to find there are some things in short supply. Had to make three stops just to pick up some of the basics. Ended up with a GE load center because there were no 100 amp QO load centers to be found.
.

Welders are here today. They have a crew of 6 guys, so they should make short work of the frame.

The 12' overhead door has not shown up yet, so one of the guys went to measure the frame up dimensions from another job that has the same brand of door.

Nice

So the building is done, except for the 12' insulated door. That is rumored to be here in the next couple of days. They guy is motived, because he does not get the rest of his money until its installed.

My goal is to get the electrical completed this weekend, so I can schedule the spray foam insulation guy next week. It's going to be wired better than my house, and almost airtight.




I'm putting 8' of T&G Plywood or OSB board on the walls. Above 8 will probably remain uncovered, but may get painted.

The side walls are 10', with about 13' clearance in the center. That gives me enough height for a floor mounted lift...if I win the lottery.

This kind of shop has been a wish list thing for a long time. I'm thankful to be able to afford to do it.... it does not hurt that my wife wants to reclaim the spare bedroom that I have taken over for reloading.

I think my Brittany is trying to claim it as an oversized doghouse. He has already moved in several of his toys and a collection of sticks.

I highly recommend painting any foam that is exposed. Even if the sun doesn’t make direct contact, simply reflecting onto the foam will turn it an ugly orange color and make it deteriorate

X2…happened to my brother in law’s shop….looks like hell

Great to know!

Paint is cheap.

Yes it is. I spent $600 plus whatever the man lift cost for a day. About 8 hours work. My FIL didn’t listen to me, he now wants to paint his after it started discoloring, but it’s full of stuff. Don’t be my FIL, lol

How do you figure how much paint to buy? Google failed me on how to estimate it.

Looks great sir

Electrical inside is complete. Still need to trench back to the house, put in conduit, and pull the wire back to the main load center

Insulation gay will be here in the next week or two. Then I’ll put 8’ osb or plywood on the walls

Spray Foam guys are here today...the end is near.




Now I need to find a deal on 3/4" T&G plywood. $47/sheet is the cheapest I have found it.

They are done. We've got 25 mph winds gusting to 35 today. It's amazing how much the foam deadens the sound

Looks great man

My shop is almost the same size(26x30). It’s osb on the inside and I would have preferred the T&G plywood. Closed cell insulation, but I’m running a 3 ton mini-split and it stays on set on 70 in auto mode. Refrigerator, compressor, and lights always on. It has its own meter so I know exactly what the bill is for that. $70-120 a month depending on weather. This is very upsetting to the wife. I explained that I could turn it off and bring all my reloading equipment back in the house. She doesn’t care for that either.

Good looking shop, you will enjoy it.

I’m also looking to upgrade my lighting.

Is your building in full sun, or does it get any shade? This will be in full shade from 11:00 till almost sunset. I'm only planning on a 1 1/2 Ton mini split. 74 or so is fine for me and I OK with the concept it may not keep up on the hottest days.

I probably have more sun exposure than that. Someone smarter than me can tell you for sure but I think a slightly oversized unit is more efficient than a slightly undersized one. Not to say that you’re undersized or that I’m not way over. We also have large gatherings in the shop So that was a factor when I bought a new unit last august. I want to be able to put 25 people in there in July with the door constantly opening and still keep it cool.

You will of course be limited to whatever electricity you have available, I was fortunate that whoever built mine went overboard, so running a 220 heat pump unit plus a 220 welder at the same time is not an issue.

If I think about I’ll measure the interior height later today. I may be cooling a few more feet than you will be as well. The ceiling height is a big factor when figuring needed btu. They have online calculators for that that even include R factor on insulation.