building a shop

[yetibone]

Build it on the flattest piece of your property you have. That'll save the cost of grading the site before you build.

Allow for at least a 12+ foot celing so you can pick a car up on a lift with the hood and rear hatch or trunk lid open. If you can, have the roof done without conventional trusses, or a celing for more headroom.

Build in as much bench space, and storage as you can. You can't have too much storage space in your shop. Large workbench or countertop opposite of the doors is ideal. Put the compressor outside in a "doghouse" to free up some space if needed.

[kenfyoozed]

if you install some sound deadening material, your neighbors will like you more.

[jhelgesen]

Do as much as posible yourself to save the most $$.

24x30 is an excellent size.
Build the rafters so you can use them for storage, even and unfinished room.
See if you can get a separate power panel from the house, I got a 200 amp service for only $12 extra a month as a second meter.
Get wire in your slab for the foundation, even if they put the fiberglass in it, and make sure your grading is as close to level as posible to save concrete.
Lots and lots of outlets, all 48" up from the floor, usually in gangs of 4.
Insulate and use luan ply instead of drywall, then paint it white, very durable.
Wire for phone, tv, computers, stereo now, never know what you might want in the future. Even run iron pipe for air.
You can make an inexpesive ceiling with 1" foil coated eps foam board.
A 10 or 15k btu window ac unit will cool it off well.

What else can I think of? Hmmmm.....

[yetibone]

LOL You sound like a man who's done this before...

:bowdown:

[jhelgesen]

Who me? Maybe once or twice....

[super vw]

Well for min work room around the cars... i would have to say 3 feet, i have about 3 feet to work around my project (shelving and benches take up lots of space) and its about the min i would want to work in, its fine if things get picked up and things stay un cluttered.. but once you get things all torn apart and clutter starts the build up, it cam become a little tight and a mess to walk/work around.

I think you should try and build it so you have around 5-6 feet around the car.
For work benches, make some ones that have a crapy(cheap top) and some that are nicer (like a lamanate or somthing) aswell as a 1/4 steel toped area for welding/ banging....ect. the cheap top ones make replacable so when they get all messed up you can easily replace it, this kind of top i like when making things, its great not to have to worry about messing up your counters whne the going gets tough...or whatever.

Cabinets should be large enough to store tall paint cans and other autochemicals and be strurdy and well ancored to the walls. get some beefy hinges to, dont skimp on hinges!
Make it so you have storage under your counter tops, maybe even some that have no shelf and only doors and no bottoms so you can slide a shop vac in witout having to lift it..ect

Dont forget a drill press, bench grinder, and maybe other large tools you use... at least i like to have all that as i like to make stuff, but im not sure what you do so...

MAYBE even make a "pit" under one of the bays if you dot get a lift, this would make under car work easy. i know a friend who did this to his concrete slab floor... it was a good 8 feet long.

Well thats all i can think of now,

Later,
Jonathan

[miller]

me and my dad have been workin on our shop for about a year now. its 20x20 and its basically a green house with a reflective top instead of plexi. The setup cost 700 and the concrete cost 700. its got plenty of room. One important thing about a shop is you gotta have lots of ventalation and lots of light. Their is nothing worse then coming into a shop and having stagnet air with the smell of gear oil and brake clean. Storage space is also a biggie and for me its a nessasary to have a nice sound system so I can blast some tallica while a grind and weld away.