Detached Workshop Garage Design

I am limited on floor area, so looking at a double story or extra high mezzanine. I was thinking that I would have a trap door arrangement through the mezzanine with a chain hoist to allow items to go up through the floor if needed as well as to allow engines and the like to be lifted out. Well that is the dream at this point. Since the span is not that great it should be easy enough to accommodate. Might even be able to do it with a jib crane/sky hook type thing. Not sure what load you can get those things up to.
 

Davidmgbv8

Supporter
Add a vent fan preferably with drop down duct so it can pick up weld fumes and for your rattle can paint vapors ect.... My metal shop addition will have 2 along with 3 -4 skylights.
 
I recently built a 38x46 metal building, 12' eve height. On one end, a 12x12 office and 12x12 cubby (corner of the building to the office in the middle) with a mezzanine over both. I have a wall fan in the cubby for dirty work like the CNC plasma table, sand blast cabinet and little powder coat setup.

A 2 ton minisplit keeps it cool in the summer and warm enough in the winter, but I would like to add a waste oil burner, but more for old fuel and oil disposal than heat.

It's all sheetrocked and well insulated.

Here's something I thing I did that was inexpensive and very functional. For the floor, when they were troweling the concrete, they added black pigment powder into the "butter" and just troweled it in. Only cost a few hundered dollars for the material and left a nice mottled darg grey finish. After construction, I scrubbed the floor and used a penetrating sealer. Here's a pic of the finished product before adding the 1x6 deck boards for base. Oil and antifreeze just bead up.

Middle bay has a 2 post lift and a 72" ceiling fan.

Ebay has very inexpensive LED lights. With the rapid inprovement in lighting and falling prices, I decided rather than spend big money on light fixtures, I ran a string of outlets on the ceiling for easy replacement and upgrading of lighting, but I doubt I ever will need to.

I don't see the ones I bought, but I have 3x3x6 lights very similar to these and it's bright as day. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3034994878...R4KN4IfAgf5qKAYzg%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675
 

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The overhead lift point is a good idea. Instead of dealing with the metal building designer, I made a small gantry crane. Wheels on one side are telescopic. With it collapsed, it fits fairly tight to the wall straddling a work bench, so it takes very little room. I successfully lifted my little 1800 lb lathe out of the back of my truck as well as standing up the post on my 2 post lift and putting numerous engines into and out of the bed of my truck.
 

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Thanks for all the great input!!! Please keep the input coming.

Here's some pictures of the intended build site. It's a ridge line with mostly shale rock strikes and one rock strike band that's most likely granite/quartz mix. It's got a slight slope where the highest corner is about 2.5 feet higher than lowest corner. I plan to shave the ridge peak off and use the soil/rock to fill the lowest corner.

Lowest corner looking looking to highest corner prior to brush removal.
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Second lowest corner before brush removal.
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Lowest corner after brush removal.
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Second lowest corner after brush removal.
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Tree removal is next...
 

Bill Kearley

Supporter
Looks like a nice build site. Will this be a slab on grade or a footing and wall foundation. In my area we must go 4 feet into the ground to get below frost.
 
I recently built a 38x46 metal building, 12' eve height. On one end, a 12x12 office and 12x12 cubby (corner of the building to the office in the middle) with a mezzanine over both. I have a wall fan in the cubby for dirty work like the CNC plasma table, sand blast cabinet and little powder coat setup.

A 2 ton minisplit keeps it cool in the summer and warm enough in the winter, but I would like to add a waste oil burner, but more for old fuel and oil disposal than heat.

It's all sheetrocked and well insulated.

Here's something I thing I did that was inexpensive and very functional. For the floor, when they were troweling the concrete, they added black pigment powder into the "butter" and just troweled it in. Only cost a few hundered dollars for the material and left a nice mottled darg grey finish. After construction, I scrubbed the floor and used a penetrating sealer. Here's a pic of the finished product before adding the 1x6 deck boards for base. Oil and antifreeze just bead up.

Middle bay has a 2 post lift and a 72" ceiling fan.

Ebay has very inexpensive LED lights. With the rapid inprovement in lighting and falling prices, I decided rather than spend big money on light fixtures, I ran a string of outlets on the ceiling for easy replacement and upgrading of lighting, but I doubt I ever will need to.

I don't see the ones I bought, but I have 3x3x6 lights very similar to these and it's bright as day. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303499487841?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=1110006&algo=HOMESPLICE.SIM&ao=1&asc=20201210111314&meid=ac92feeb9294483db7d41fd33c1b3b93&pid=101195&rk=5&rkt=12&sd=303504805290&itm=303499487841&pmt=1&noa=0&pg=2047675&algv=SimplAMLv9PairwiseWebMskuAspectsV202110NoVariantSeed&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum:303499487841ac92feeb9294483db7d41fd33c1b3b93|enc:AQAGAAACIOPoZSg7DXbqjBEPwLIqlw58PlclDejmw3ObMu6Z9bgGAE48wkvKQ6g6tM0CNzda8V%2BdLsqgP2BnQgOr3SSLxJk7R2MuxpWS7rR2TGGKBfc1WeoZXjYgjxM7vNhtqP1rupap101W8gzTzPGp7xfYey5c4OUW205ni1tRqUFEvCr%2Btz1Uew1gU4JNoChd0Otx3lHFe4IDoZ4%2FmFZsZb1ybjx4Zdx5LM0lfuC%2B2JFJdHz2pnlxjdb%2FGvXAOX2SW0HJvuvk9sQ3mp1cmGKlhS85JSLcS3ovvk1UwxbcaJPXCUbFl8K63WVhvtXYYuoqMGOYrCBzcgbFAQu0lkT0tWmdLFkzGTj2%2F14ywRLFU7FwDrLcdeaz7HffhAWMWGqATZPCN0mtRrlRvlPZnRTXJtJSNJxQJTHo4m9NYepjOHmTSVEX5jgsjDjvu1vIBXzYvxNpqqQMfD0ugS%2FnHkCalV1kgoNSmrymv%2FSjCHpDpMC5vuVCrM3J3twsVJA%2BejggPzKvIeVK77qmb6qlT3%2F5HkOWnStQxDJCw%2F15c%2FBBsw%2BMn%2Bs7D%2F3Q6%2BXDgonCJVD%2BL09kBNHeGDyOD0f9cnqRRAcHWXQuuynfhCgorT%2BlXk8WiQ6BzKDyFWntuLm5uyLbJrpoHbk733rQDBkA%2BXWlL5ESIopV0TaRuJO0xoyxJqyAMpZhFE%2FONp3nyjj26QKyNXre5RvghWR4KN4IfAgf5qKAYzg%3D|ampid:pL_CLK|clp:2047675

I like how you have the panel door going up the pitch of the roof, rather than straight back
 

Bill Kearley

Supporter
A new shop is exciting, show us your plans for educated input. Your door idea will work, have you looked at a powered roll up door?
 
This is where we (I and the Architect) are currently at, This is the first pass back from Hugh who is the Architect. I have a few things I want to change, but I will throw it over to you lot before I preempt the conversation and steer it in a particular direction.

I'm keen to see what you would do.

Hugh has obviously maximized the amount of space that we can take up in respect to what the town planning regulations will allow. We will be limited by the amount of permeable land area (water run off) allowed for on the block. The design is also limited by overshadowing and what restricts natural light into the rest of the yard as well as the neighbors properties.

Shed001.JPG.a4bb67d67acc50d4d236e6db6d14711b.JPG


Shed002.JPG.ed48a6bde4fe2513020899fa0e28c27e.JPG


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On the plan views below, north is too the top of the page, so hopefully that helps with some of the thinking.
Shed004.JPG.ce3008424165f65dbdb19945725a3847.JPG


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I am located in Melbourne Australia. So no snow. Temperatures between 10°C (50°F) and 35°C (95°F) for most of the year. Might get a few hours that go outside that per year, but not enough to worry about.

There is drive way access to both the front and back of the block
 
Is that a typical yard where that regulation exists? No offense, I just see rocks and brush, we'd call it desert or wasteland. What's the reasoning behind that regulation?

I am located in the middle of suburbia. So the town planning/building regulations are somewhat linked to minimizing disputes between neighbors. It is trying to make sure that a new development on one property does not permanently cast a shadow into the neighbors property removing natural light.
If I had more land between me and next door, it would not be a problem. I could build a higher shed, with a bigger foot print and a simpler construction. As it is, there is some retaining wall functionality needed in the construction which will be more expensive and complicated to build.
 
This is where we (I and the Architect) are currently at, This is the first pass back from Hugh who is the Architect. I have a few things I want to change, but I will throw it over to you lot before I preempt the conversation and steer it in a particular direction.

I'm keen to see what you would do.

Hugh has obviously maximized the amount of space that we can take up in respect to what the town planning regulations will allow. We will be limited by the amount of permeable land area (water run off) allowed for on the block. The design is also limited by overshadowing and what restricts natural light into the rest of the yard as well as the neighbors properties.

Shed001.JPG.a4bb67d67acc50d4d236e6db6d14711b.JPG


Shed002.JPG.ed48a6bde4fe2513020899fa0e28c27e.JPG


Shed003.JPG.ea3e2abcb0390bb4f81e8459b9a0bc2a.JPG


On the plan views below, north is too the top of the page, so hopefully that helps with some of the thinking.
Shed004.JPG.ce3008424165f65dbdb19945725a3847.JPG


Shed005.JPG.ee9cf2c381f68a1f39ef46a45e161c65.JPG


I am located in Melbourne Australia. So no snow. Temperatures between 10°C (50°F) and 35°C (95°F) for most of the year. Might get a few hours that go outside that per year, but not enough to worry about.

There is drive way access to both the front and back of the block
Is that a typical yard where that regulation exists? No offense, I just see rocks and brush, we'd call it desert or wasteland. What's the reasoning behind that regulation?

The post #29 and these plans are not for the garage project that started this thread. So they don't match up with the pictures posted that show Arizona high desert. Likely very confusing for all following the thread.
 
Sorry about that John, hope I have not hijacked your thread too much.
Did you want me to see if I can get them removed/transferred into another thread, i am pushing on regardless.
I hope they have given you some ideas for your build.

For me, extending the mezzanine across the top of the door is going to be an issue as it will limit the door style that can be used. The mezzanine will need to be cantilevered within the structure. Also trying to get the door high enough to drive a decent sized vehicle in is also a concern. If I want to get something high in down the track, a low height roller door is not going to be my friend.
 

Neil

Supporter
Use a roll-up door instead of an old-style single-leaf garage door. All benefits and no downside except the additional cost.
... or a sliding "barn door". No problems taking up overhead space. Here is what those look like:
 

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Joel,

on the door selection thing, consider if you need to worry about bush fires or security.
Some of the door designs will have better sealing around the edges. The ones sold in Australia for bushfire prone areas now have to have ember guards fitted to prevent embers getting blown in around the edges of the doors. These also help with sealing the shed and prevent dirt/dust/hot and cold in and out.
The door on the back of my shed will be out onto the rear right of way, so the outside will be directly accessible by the public. So i am also looking at commercially rated doors that have a bit more strength to them over the residential doors. You can also get these to span a greater distance as well as do a greater height. Something to consider if you have a large caravan or covered trailer or lifted 4WD vehicle that you may want to get into the workshop.
 
I went with 10x10 insulated and gasketed sectional so I don't lose all of my air conditioning through the gaps. A good installer can also spec the springs and turns to follow the roof line.

I considered (but didn't do it) mounting lights to the doors so when they were raised and covered a portion of the lights mounted on the ceiling, the door lights could make up for the loss.
 
So here's the first draft of the garage/workshop floor plan that matches up to the Arizona high desert build site pictures from earlier in the thread. This location is remote, it's on a large property, the nearest neighborhood structures are about 1/2 mile away and there's no restrictions other than county building codes.

tsd8cd1.jpg


The main site considerations are a well head in the vicinity and a natural, hard rock outcropping (about 3' wide, 3' tall and 12' long) that I want to keep for aesthetic reasons. The rock outcrop is located next to the approach road to the garage which is on the short side with the large door. For regular sized cars and trucks, I don't think the rocks will cause issues. I'm worried that it might be an issue for maneuvering a long RV into that garage bay.

My main use for this garage will be workshop for building/fabricating cars like my modern day Miura project. I do metal shaping so I'm trying to have space for storage and access to things like 4' by 10' sheets of aluminum. I am trying to design the garage for a trolley chain hoist positioned at or near the centerline and running end to end down the long way of the structure. The primary use cases for the chain hoist is lifting engines/transaxles in/out of cars and lifting heavy objects up onto the mezzanine for storage.

I'm thinking a 6" concrete slab floor running from the edge of office area to the mezzanine edge and from double doors to structure center line. The rest of the building would be 4" concrete slab. The thicker concrete in those work bays should enable the installation of a 2 post hoist. I'm thinking of putting a 4 post hoist in one of those bays initially but would like the flexibility for a 2 post hoist sometime later on.

While I don't really plan to use this garage for RV storage, I do want to design it such that it could be used for that by future owners/occupants. The current layout should accommodate all but the longest of Class A RVs with straight in parking. Parked diagonally, I think even the longest of RVs will likely fit.

So am I missing anything? Do you see things that aren't optimal and if so, how would you do it different?
 
If you're like me and make half the mess I do, put a big wall mounted exhaust fan under the mezzanine and either a foldable partition or some sort of drapes so you can do nasty work like plasma torch, grinding, sanding, polishing or non tig welding and not make a mess of the rest of the shop.

I wish I had a bigger area cordoned off for such activities and have seriously though of making some sort of extension of the dirty exhausted area. As of now, my CNC plasma table and powder coating set up use it all up. I'm grinding on a bench in the middle.
 
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