I am considering building a 40 X 60 metal building for use as a woodworking shop. I have retired now so this is just for my amusement. I am looking for ways to dress it up a little because it will be located in an area that is mixed residential and small business (coded C5) that will not break the bank. I chose metal because I can get a clear span with plenty of head room.
Any ideas you might have on how to design one of these to be more woodworking friendly would be appreciated. Thanks
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Weatherwise, where are you?
Forrest
Northeastern Oklahoma.
Indoor plumbing.
your options are pretty limitless... I saw one that you'd have thought was from 1890... old brick fasade looked just like a downtown court square store front...
depends alot on how many sides of the building you can see... you could dress up the front or whatever side is most viewed and do plantings to hide the rest... tall fast growing plants will save you a ton of energy also on your heating cooling... even hardie lap siding on the front with some detail wouldn't break the bank and would look alot better than the metal sidings... square up the front parapit walls so you don't see the actual shape of the building... add a porch... think... cracker barrel rest
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Corner lot with two exposed sides. I considered brick or split block but both are pretty pricey. To use hardy or similar siding, would you have to frame out or can you attach directly to the metal siding or strap supporting it?
Any ideas you might have on how to design one of these to be more woodworking friendly would be appreciated.
I have framed 30x42 building with steel siding and roof. I chose framing over structural steel because it is easier to finish inside and cheaper in the long run when you factor in the lower cost of the ectrical work. The insulation of an all steel building is also much less than you can pack into a wood framed building.
I have 6 large windows, a service door and an overhead door. Ceilings are 10' with lots of lighting and all electrical outlets are above work bench height. Among things I wish I had done was insulate under and at the edges of the slab. Another was add more 240v/20 and 30 amp outlets. I can add more but it means running conduit on the drywall.
I live in an area with lots of pole barns, so the steel siding is not out of character. What dresses mine up over many of the others are the windows and 2' overhang of the roof. I also chose different colors for the siding and the roof, then did all the trim for the siding in the roof color.
If you want to save a little on the siding, change your size by a multiple of 3'. 40' is a nice size, but 39' or 42' is a multpile of 3. Ripping a piece of siding is noisey and a PITA if you are doing it yourself.
The guys over at Knots can absolutely inundate you with great suggestions for a woodworking shop.
Dave
Not familar with Knots. Google turns up ropes etc. Got a web address?
Knots is the brother forum to Breaktime. It is the Fine Woodworking Forum.At the very top of the screen you will see OTHER DISCUSSIONS: It may know knots, if not click on the more and it will take you there.
I am considering a slightly smaller building for a dedicated wood shop - after I get my steel framed metal working shop constructed. One thing I thought about in the wood shop is to have a wood floor for comfort that is elevated enough over the dirt/slab/whatever that electrical and dust control ducts could be run under it. It is nice to have the saw in the middle of the floor without any electrical electrical connections to it getting in the way.
I am still in the conceptual stage, but I am considering having the air compressor and dust collection aparatus in either a sealed off space or even in a slightly detached separate building.
mine is 24 x 30, the problem is insulation, How? and the eaves are only ten feet, I should of gotta the eaves at 12 feet.
>>the problem is insulation, How?
Come BB, how many heating degree days do you have that far south? That roll insulation that comes with steel building kits is a joke. After it is compressed by the roof and siding panels at every purlin, a steel building has an IR image of a zebra.
After seeing a thermograph of one of our warehouses, I opted to wood frame my shop. 2x6 walls sheathed with 1/2 plywood and Tuff-R, Tyvek wrap, R-19 f/g(unfaced), carefull air sealing, and 5/8 dwsure saved me a bundle on propane cost last year. I used 60 gal. of propane all winter.
10" ceilings are adequate for most wood working shops, but you are right for your usage. 12' would have given you more head room for a lift system. Bet your back gets sore from duck walking and working under vehicles without that extra two feet.
Dave
4 heating day. 361 cooling days
BB,Is that a 60 gallon tank on your compressor ?How long does it take to get that up to 150 pounds from empty ?
Get over it....... The angry going eat you up. ~Brownbagg '06
I can tell you more about the inside layout. I ran all electrical in conduit--surface mounted obviously. Every six feet or so is a box. Have 220 (ok 230 or 240) for the compressor and welder also. The conduit is about 4 feet off the floor. Parallel to the conduit is black pipe with "T's" about every 10 feet. Quick disconnects on each.
Some times running both air and electricity overhead keeps clutter off the floor. Saw a pretty neat setup at Samsonite. They used something like Unistrut overhead with hangers attached to little trolleys. Cord (flat in their case) was hung from the trolleys. Need overhead power? just roll out the trolley cord and plug in.
The cord loops were pretty long but their ceiling was high.
Finally, I would put in some floor drains. You may never track in snow there but I knew a guy that had a shop floor you could eat off of because he used a pressure washer and squeegees to move the crud to a floor drain. My shop has natural gas piped to an overhead heater--but that's CO. You may want water to a swamp cooler. Tyr
Depending on the size you can do lots with it.
A separate finishing room
A wood storage room
An office
Depending on how cold your winters get, you might want a furnace or a wood burning stove to take the chill off.
Figure out how many of what breakers you need and then double it.
A bathroom would be a good idea, with a shop sink for cleaning brushes and rinsing off.
A small, attached room to house the dust collector ( double sill plate separation to reduce noise )
Skylights.
Wood floor would be easier on the feet and can be use to run electrial and can also be sealed for use in dust collection.
Lots more likely, Try posting over in Knots - you will likely get a lot more suggestions
" There'll be no living with her now" - Captain Jack Sparrow
So, any help or just confusion?
" There'll be no living with her now" - Captain Jack Sparrow
I appreciate all the thoughts. It still seems like a blank sheet of paper to me just now. I am leaning toward the steel columns and roof but framing in the sides to improve the insulation, make it more usable on the inside and allow me to dress it up some on the outside. Don't know how much this change will cost. I don't like the idea of a concrete floor but for now it may be the option that gets me in the dry.