Henry Frye asks for for ideas on designing a shop:
I'm in the same boat with a 25' x 25' double garage. Our '63 XKE is parked
(sans rear suspension while it is being restored since 1986) between our
commuter vehicles. So we built a 48' x 24' barn to store the MG's but it
is half occupied by agricultural vehicules and gear. So we are nearing
completion of a two storey 36' x 18' barn to accomodate the farm stuff and
leave more room for the cars. Having last week got frostbitten fingers
removing the rear axle from our MG PA, plans are now under way for
extending the garage with a heated shop. As Henry says "in the interest of
bandwidth", I tell the history to make some points:
Siting the shop is dependent on your site. Is it urban, suburban or rural?
don't make it too far from the house or casual visits for tinkering or
answering questions are inhibited. Ideal is to have a covered and lighted
path to it. It's more ideal if it's connected to your current garage 'cos
then you only need one set of tools. Believe me the tool you need is
always in the other shop. A Garden Way cart is my mobile tool cart - not
ideal.
It depends on where you live. I'm sitting at home "working" during the
Blizzard of '96 in New England and you should plan for snow and cold if you
want to work all year round. That means air tightness and insulation up
here.
If snowy (or rainy), put your access doors in the gable end, not under the
eaves. You should see my first barn today - 8-foot piles in front of the
doors. That won't go naturally till May. My second barn corrects that
design and it's great.
The gable over the entrance allows you to put in doors to load the loft up
with spares. Allocate space in the design for storage - it's inevitable.
Make the roof structure open. i.e. use post and beam approach rather than
trusses. Put a floor in the loft, Hanging stuff on joists won't do.
Choose a full pitch 1/1 or gambrel roof for maximum usable loft space. Put
stairs in, a ladder is not satisfactory. You could make stairs swing out
of the way, but they should be strong enough so you can come down with both
hands carrying a valuable part.
If you've got sloping ground, plan for a two-storey so you can drive in
above and below. That could give you an easy virtual pit, with an access
through the floor via a simple movable stage/platform. Plus you've got
twice the accomodation on a given area.
I've got concrete, 2" wood, crushed stone and dirt floors. A friend of
mine prepares his vintage racing cars on a dirt floor - don't!! Wood is
great for storage of vehicles because you don't get the cold storage
properties of concrete with the attendant condensation when it warms up
with high humidity (again locality driven). Wood is also nice to lay on
when working on the cars, but a creeper doesn't roll as easily. Nice
smooth, sealed concrete is best for quality working conditions.
Put in windows. Although it's nice to have lots of shelf storage, sunlight
can make it more enjoyable at the workbench. If possible have the doors in
the south side for sunlight.
Up here it needs to be tight, not only to keep the cold out but to keep the
bugs out. Mosquitos can find the smallest crack to get to you and you know
that buzzing sound when you've got a tool in both hands inside the
crankcase. Plus they love to get in paint just before it sets.
Do you need heat? I've got a wood stove in the garage, but it takes too
long to warm up and it's dirty. Look for an old/used hot air oil furnace.
In my next project, I will put it in a separate shed alongside the new shop
and duct the air in. I don't like flames in a shop with precious vehicles
even if they are supposed to be contained in a furnace. Plus with mine
outside, I havn't got a chimney to worry about in the shop.
Ventilation? will you be spraying with the doors shut? I'll ask a
question here - what's the best way to build a dust free, ventilated area
in a shop?
Resources? Put in a good 220v electric service with capacity to suit your
tools. I feed my garage and barns from the house, but I am on the margin
for length of #10 gauge wire the distance I am going. I keep my compressor
in the house and feed air to the garage in a 3/4" galvanized pipe about
100' away and it just works. Again, the compressor could go in the
adjacent utility building along with the furnace to help keep it clean and
spare the shop space for tools and cars that need access. Needless to say,
use plenty of those $10 fluorescent shop lights. Water? Of marginal
utility inside, but it should be handy. If you have it inside, you have to
worry about a sink and then drainage. Music - of course.
Tools/machinery? Too long a topic since I've rambled on with my ideas on
the basics.
Peter Ross
MG PA, TC, MGB
Bolton, Mass
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