Re: Man shop Ideas
 

A loft/office might not be a bad idea, if you can't put AC in the entire building you can have some HVAC in that. Also, make sure you read the concrete requirements for your lift. You may find that you will need more that 6" of concrete or something stronger than the normal compressive stength that you may order for your home foundation.

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

I don't think barn style doors would be terrible but I think you will be happier with a roll up style - I really need/want to add a garage door opener to my roll up door - sounds petty but it's a pain in the but having to open and shut it manually when I want to take one of the trucks out - especially when it is pouring outside!

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

Thanks guys! My neighbor is a concrete contractor, luckily enough. I talked to him on the phone about it the other day. We are going to go walk the area sometime this week and get a price worked up. I like the idea of putting the drains in the floor; I will talk to him about that. I also need to check on the lift requirements.

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

i have thought about this in great lengths and here is my opinions
1) floor drains a must hell just run out to the creek bed you spoke of and then just be carefull what goes down them
2) def water just rent a machine and dig a trench throw a couple phone lines and a water line and a cable line in there
3)i have about talked myself into pouring 4' short walls or 4' block walls up then put 10'wall studs on top of the short walls netting out 14'walls if it gets wet or if you wash your vehicle that bottom four foot wont rot
4)i have a very well vented attic (eaves, ridge, and gable vents)
and i have 1 nice attic fan it does very well i think ceiling fans are a must if for no other reason than to keep the flying bugs out of there
5)you will always get your money back from insulation i would do the blow in only for cost reasons it sucks and is messy but it works well
6)i helped put air lines in for a buddy and we used a manifold system made out of this newer poly pipe called "pex" with the crimp fittings buy a big coil make a main manifold at the compressor and have straight runs no fittings between and very easy to run
we pumped it up to 120 psi and left it over night it twas all good he put ball valves on every line off of the manifold so he could shut off or regulate down each line ?? i dont know that that was neccessary
7)i dont know how much i would use a rail hoist system but that sounds way cool
8)i have another buddy that salvaged a central vac system out of a old remodel job and is going to put it out back of his shop and cover it and pipe it in to the shop
big nice vaccum that you dont have to listen to and empty only once every six months
9) tv is the best option i have put in my shop i dont even watch it but listening to the ballgame in the background is sweet

10)for sure do a rollup door or a overhead door sliders suck they dont work good they are hard to seal up

well there is my input for whatever it is worth i really wish i had the money and the time to do a dream shop from scratch wow how sweet it would be

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

Best advice I can give you is to polish the concrete once it cures. Don't opt for a coating system as the coatings tend to peel off. A good polishing job will make the concrete impervious to oils and spills.

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

40 x 80 with 16'-ish celings........2 story on the right side.

You figure average 4x4 truck is 6' to 8' tall ...maybe 9" depending on the tires and a good size lift. Add a 6'2" person under that and you are at 14'-15' at the most......thats 1' to 2 feet left. With the correct type (height) lift and 16" high celings should be fine. A non lifted truck is about 6' at most and with a
7' man under it...thats 13'. My math is bad.....but thats less than 16'.

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

And if you are going to do it......do it before it gets too cold......those sealants dont do well in COLD weather. Also...be prepared for sticker shock on that concrete...at 6" thick like you mentioned......about $6000 for mud alone.

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When my dad built his shop he put in a heated floor. Ran the piping himself then they poured the concrete around or on it however you look at it. This keeps the shop as warm as you want it in the cold winters. Also warms up quick after the doors are opened and closed when it is cold as hell outside. Not much help in the summer but extremely nice in the winter. Also had the spray-in foam put in the walls and roof trusses. Put all needed cables in the wall first because after the foam there is no getting in the walls. He ran pipe from his air compressor to several points which is nice. The bathroom, surround stereo system, tv, chairs, mini fridge keep us out of the house and in the shop most times I'm back home.

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Damn, thats more cozy than my house! I WANT ONE OF THOSE :metal:

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As far as air goes, I just run 3/4 inch pvc. It's easy to fix, and put drops anywhere you want. You can always add lines later. A few ball valves here and there and quick disconnects on the drops.

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Is it built yet?

I agree that the floors should be as slick as you can get them. The concrete guy I used was terrible and my floors are as rough as a corn cob. If money is no object you could do one of those fancy acid washed/stained floors.

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Keep throwing those ideas out there fellers. I'm taking notes for my shop when I retire.

On mine, I'm going to make an upstairs loft/mother-in-law room with a kitchen so I can make my beer out there too. The wifey hates the smell of beer brewing. Of course the beer fridge with taps on it will be there too for those after work adult beverages. I like the power/cable/tv idea's too so I can get help on projects from the brother's and sister's here!

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Wow! Lots of good info! Concrete and floor treatment has come up a bunch so I will mention that I do have a concern. In the past when changing a heavy manual transmission or transfer cases etc, they will fall off the jack and hit the concrete. Many times this will chip the floor. Is there a coating that will help with this? I like the polished idea, but won't that just show more bumps and bruises? Of course I don’t want this to happen in the new shop but sometimes it is unavoidable. Should I do one part of the floor one way and the heavy use area in another?

As far as the drains go, where they drain to is a problem. My neighbor that will probably be poring the concrete is downstream in the creek bed from where the shop will be. :lol: I don’t know how well that would go over, I guess I can talk to him about it.

Also, I like the idea of the blow-in foam insulation, but as white72c10 stated, “after the foam there is no getting in the walls”. I like to add/change/remove things like air and power outlets and I don’t know how well I like that. My dad is an electrical contractor and years ago when I still worked for him I remembered making some changes for a customer who had the foam. It was a ROYAL B!TCH trying to scrape foam away to run new conduit. Anyway, that’s my only turn off to it. THANK AGAIN!

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

:lol: When are you gonna head west and give me a hand?

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You could drywall over the foam with a space to run all the mechanicals. Its just money right?

If you were closer I would help out in a minute. I love the SA and Austin areas. Houston is boing as far as natrual terrain fetures go. Its just flat.

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Traffic sucks there too..

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I ran PVC also......however......you really are not supposed to. Dangerous!!!!

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Make sure you've got plenty of power. Just think for a second, A/C, welder, plasma cutter, power tools, power for the lift, CNC milling machine......the list goes on and on. Get a 200A service at least, like most of these, it's a little pricey on the front end, but well worth it down the road.

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Sorry for the Spelin misteakes, but you get the point.

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I built a 30x56x12 for a friend last year and used the foil back type plastic bubble insulation. He is pleased with that, helps with condensation for the cool nights and warm days you may not have that problem in Tx though. Also the foil on the ceiling help reflecls light. I would also put a grate/drain for a wash area. Dont forget a fridg for the beer. I call mine the spousal avoidance center.

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If he spent as much time working on one as he did thinking and typing about one, it would of been built last month.

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I would surface mount everything, then you have no problems getting to things or changing things.

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I have made up my mind. All money spending and major work on my trucks has been put on hold for the next few months until I can get this thing up and going. :sumo:

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

So you're just gonna leave your blazer in pieces?

Re: Man shop Ideas
 

Mine is still not finished.......I am doing a little at a time, we are now at 7 years under construction. I built mine as a pole barn so I could do it in stages. If you want to go with a normal type structure and you want to be able to pour it, erect it, plumb it, power it, put up the doors, insulate it, move in and start using it......at 40x60x16.........have atleast $35,000 in hand before you start. $25,000 might get it up and partially useable.

Remember to check your local codes on out structures before you build.

I checked on the spray polly type foam for you. $1.25 to $1.75 a square foot in our area. You are probably looking at $7500 to $10,000 to insulate it.