Decided to build a garage. Now the fun begins.

[Orpedcrow]

While we’re on the subject, any thoughts on a minimum width between doors? I’m thinking 2’ from the left hand building corner, and 18” between the doors, resulting in the maximum amount of wall space between the right hand door and the building corner where the workbench will be.

18” between doors is hella cramped, that’s how my dads 3 car metal building is. Your almost always obligated to move the car that’s in the next bay to work on something. Jack handles leave nasty door dings.

Exterior wall corner -3’-
Then the 10x10 door (with lift)
Then another -3’-
Then the remaining doors spaced however they fit.
Note: 2’ spacing would work but I recommend 3’. (You can’t have “too much” room)

That’ll give you roughly 16’ width of work space that should be ready to use at any time.

Rotary’s website states their 12k lift has an overall width of 11’ 5-5/8”

 

[South VA]

AND, you don't really need a 200A service either. Depending on distance and supply breaker size, you can save on conduit and wire sizes. This the same reason she said you don't need a new service. We call it "Power Factoring". You can take a percentage of your full load rating and a factor of 40 to 60% (or less) to come up with your load. Think of it this way, how many people are going to be inside your shop using high load equipment at the same time? My welder is rated 50A and my air compressor is ~35A running (using an Amp Clamp). I almost neve run my welder at full setting unless I wanna "Spray Arc" something. All my other equipment is 120V/20A tops. I run my table saw with my dust control vac so, they are on separate circuits. Each side of my shop has 3 different 120V circuits (6 total) so, no 2 outlets (10 ft apart) are next to the same curuit. Lights are on their own and electric doors are on their own circuit too. I have a 200A panel in my shop but am feeding it with a 90A breaker so, I ran an 1-1/4" pipe with #4 copper wires. If you match the wire to the supply breaker size, you're legal.

Thanks - that’s helpful.

It sounds like a nice setup you have! Having all those circuits makes a lot of sense.

Yes, she explained it pretty much as you did. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but it seems reasonable that most people wouldn’t use multiple tools at once, or at least more than a couple.

I can’t think of needing more than three major power draws:

1. A substantial air compressor; something on the order of 30 gallons or more.

2. A two post lift, which typically requires 220v. Not sure how many amps it would draw.

3. A welder, at some point. I don’t know how to weld, but the idea of learning how is appealing. It probably wouldn’t see frequent use.

Like yours, the rest will be handled with 20A circuits.

I can see the compressor kicking on while one of the other two majors is on. But all three? Not likely. Realistically I will be the only one doing the majority of garage things in this space. So it’s sounding like I don’t need a 200A service after all.

Guess I need to talk with the electrician and get his thoughts, and see how best to tie into the house service.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I have a 100 amp panel in my shop, and my wife's shop has a 100 amp panel. It's on a separate 200 amp service from the house.

 

[South VA]

18” between doors is hella cramped, that’s how my dads 3 car metal building is. Your almost always obligated to move the car that’s in the next bay to work on something. Jack handles leave nasty door dings.

I imagine, but don’t know, that the bay with the lift would be where most of the work takes place. But I could see wanting to be able to work in the other bays.

Exterior wall corner -3’-
Then the 10x10 door (with lift)
Then another -3’-
Then the remaining doors spaced however they fit.
Note: 2’ spacing would work but I recommend 3’. (You can’t have “too much” room)

That’ll give you roughly 16’ width of work space that should be ready to use at any time.

I keep wanting to leave more room to the right of the 10 x 10 door, like 5’ if possible, for the shop. But now you have me rethinking my approach.

At the rear of the garage, there's a minimum of 6' between the Suburban and the back wall. With smaller vehicles, there's even more room. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the workbench and tools along the back wall, and not try to shoehorn the doors and workbench from side to side? I believe it would.

So here's a revised plan:

You must be registered for see images attach

The bay doors are now spaced per your suggestion, and the middle door is changed to a 10 x 10. The workbench and tool box are more centrally located, which seems like a more functional setup. There would still be room to pull a mower into the space at the left rear of the building, where there is a 6 x 6 rollup door, and the entry door.

In 3D it would look something like this:

You must be registered for see images attach

I believe this is a significant improvement.

Thanks!

 

[BuiltToWork]

I imagine, but don’t know, that the bay with the lift would be where most of the work takes place. But I could see wanting to be able to work in the other bays.



I keep wanting to leave more room to the right of the 10 x 10 door, like 5’ if possible, for the shop. But now you have me rethinking my approach.

At the rear of the garage, there's a minimum of 6' between the Suburban and the back wall. With smaller vehicles, there's even more room. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the workbench and tools along the back wall, and not try to shoehorn the doors and workbench from side to side? I believe it would.

So here's a revised plan:

You must be registered for see images attach

The bay doors are now spaced per your suggestion, and the middle door is changed to a 10 x 10. The workbench and tool box are more centrally located, which seems like a more functional setup. There would still be room to pull a mower into the space at the left rear of the building, where there is a 6 x 6 rollup door, and the entry door.

In 3D it would look something like this:

You must be registered for see images attach

I believe this is a significant improvement.

Thanks!

I like it!

Here is an overlay of my Garage for comparison: 20x20. My K3500 JUST fits with bumper to the rear wall and 8" to the rolling door.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[South VA]

I like it!

Here is an overlay of my Garage for comparison: 20x20. My K3500 JUST fits with bumper to the rear wall and 8" to the rolling door.

You must be registered for see images attach

Thanks - 20 x 20 is about the size of the garage I used to have. Overlaying really puts it into perspective.

This just might be it.

 

[South VA]

Thanks for reading the thread and taking the time to comment.
I hardly know where to begin...

Thats awesome! Many years ago we were on a jobsite trying to remove a bunch of abadoned steel and huge concrete vaults that were just buried in blackberry bushes next to a retaining pond.
That material had been there for at least twenty years.
The landscrapping company bid 6 guys and one months to clear it.
A buddy of mine told me about "Rent a Goat"
They bring a temp fence and about thirty goats and a goatherd and let them loose.
Those goats chewed that right down to the dirt in 4 days.
It was amazing to watch. They would be asleep, and kinda roll their heads over and chew up a blackberry stalk as big around as my wrist, thorns and all. And go back to sleep.
This was on a casino property.
And one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed in my life was the survielance footage of

Ok, you really left us hanging by cutting off that last part. What was it?!?

Make sure that you retain 10 percent of your money as retainage that they do not get untill they have finished all of the "punch list" issues.
Do not sign a contract unless it includes "progress pay" provisions.
Make absolutly sure that the dirt guy and the concrete have an actual engineered plan about short term and long term drainiage.

The dirt guy and the concrete guy are one in the same, which simplifies things. Not only is he going to do the grading for the pad, he'll also remove the stumps from the two 90+' tall pines that were taken out. That is a potentially big deal, as the roots are large and deep. The holes will have to be filled with gravel.

Especially if you are that close to somebody elses septic field.

The septic field is on the same property as the garage. Fortunately, all of the surrounding properties are under the same ownership.

Buy a whole whack of project duration short term insurance.
Include insuring yourself and your house and the people who are working on your property.
Call your insurance agent and tell him your plans before you let any contractor onto your property.
The guy building your shop is hopefully insured but that insurance covers him.
Not you.
And he is probably bonded for about 30 grand.
Depends on the state but 30 is fairly normal.

The insurance guy is in the loop. It appears that we are covered adequately.

And who is responsible for permitting and inspections and who is responsible for failure of inspections?
When material gets delivered to your property, who is in debt for that product and who owes the money to that supplier?
Is it you because that material was delivered to your property but he ordered it?
Does he have a contract that allows him to purchase materials and establish a lien on your property even if he fails all of to perform on all of his other contractual duties?
And, just a little seperat rant for folks who are thinking about hiring through lowes or home depot or whatever.
An entity that delivers product to your jobsite can not file a lien on your property.

It's a metal building, and the price includes delivery and installation. We paid a deposit, and the balance is due upon the building being completed on site.

Because it is considered a farm structure, there is no building permit required. I submitted the application yesterday, which provides the location, size, and setbacks of the building so that the County can assess it and tax it.

If you hire a knucklehead from Lowes or Home Depot or any other of those places and you hire them to deliver and install anything then they can file a lien on your property.
What usually happens, becuase the entry bar in residential is set so low.
The insurance the chumy little bond
And the whole metal building business is a franchise operation set up like a big hot dog cart operation.
Read that contract. over and over again.

You're right, the contract bears repeated reading. We read and revised ours a couple of times.

Do not sign anything untill you have talked it over with your insurance agent.

The insurance agent is in the loop, so I think we're good there.

Contractors are in the business of mowing you over and not giving a **** about what you want done.
If they leave with all of your money nobody in the government or the banking world will give a **** and they wont even try to help you.

I've been fortunate in finding good contractors. The main player here is the concrete guy, who is slow to provide a bid, but I've seen that he does very good work. He works on site with his crew, rather than getting them started in the morning and then taking off to look at other jobs. I'm pretty confident that he'll do a good job here.

Houses, garages, NFL stadiums, Airports, Missile launch pads, condos, sewage treatment plants, ******* Walmarts...
I manage projects for people
Im the guy who gets hired when everbody needs to listen to a story and take a nap.
Becuase Im tired and I want to take a nap.
And how in the **** did that happen?
What are my companies future plans to lesson the radiated heat from pavement and concrete?
******* nothing stupe.
Im the steel guy at your dumbass conference.

Sounds like you have a boatload of experience on projects that dwarf this little building. You speak from experience, and your points are taken and appreciated.

Its made out of metal. That nasty nose ring is not made from concrete.
Which, just as a little personall aside.
Dont get bugger pierced.
Its not a new thing its been around since the 1980s and ******* shocking as hell watching somebody try to peel the crusted up boogers out of nose doesnt make a second date likely.
I have a kind of old man approach about it all.
I will buy new clothes the day before and make myself as clean and presentable as I can be.
I will ask my friends to come over and give there opinion and they will help and give me a bit of a touch up and some encouragement and off I go.
I will have the whole deal planned out two weeks before I set it in motion.
But if I show up and you have a christmiss wreath of crusty unpicked dried out buggers looking like saltwater piling mussels at low tide?
Im out.
Im not going to spend my life with some woman who went out of her way to make it harder to breath.
And how ******* mental do you have to be to pay someone to make it harder to pick your nose?
Why in the flying ******* world would you make it harder to not be able to blast a good clearing snot out of your head in the shower?
I dont care if you are tatted head to toe.
But I cant deal with that crusted up dried out bugger nose piercing.
And you need to wash your feet too.
That would help.

I sense that you feel strongly about the subject of piercing...

 

[Orpedcrow]

So here's a revised plan:

That looks great. I think that’s plenty of usable area. You’ll be happy with that 30’ depth

 

[Keeper]

I would swing that entry door to the outside, not in... and make sure it is a 36

 

[South VA]

I would swing that entry door to the outside, not in... and make sure it is a 36

Thanks. Not a a bad idea to switch the swing.

It is a 36.

I just tweaked the layout of that side a bit. The 6’ roll up door is now 3’ from the inside of the back wall; 2’ between it and the entry door; then 4’ to the window.