Design help, access door to move equipment

[Investigator]

The good and the bad........

the good is that I have a plan/permission/funding for a 'remodel' of my shop. What I have is a 30 x 24 open space shop. What I mean is I have 4 walls and wood working and metal working tools inside it. I am planning on dividing within that space so that I have a separate area for my soon to be picked up lathes (a 12" Logan and a 16" Southbend). The plan is to keep the metalworking machines in an enclosed area within the overall shop in order to keep them away from the wood dust.

So I will be building walls soon. My problem is that I want to build a 'door' big enough to bring in the lathes in one piece, I'm thinking 8' wide. I hope to add a mill to the shop at some point and will need access to move it in.

The bad is that I have no idea how to design such a door. Let me clarify...I built my house (a barndominium). What I mean is I designed the metal trusses, welded them together, welded the frame of the building, built the wooden walls, drove the nails, hung the joists, wired it, plumbed it....I built it. building is not an issue, I have the tools and the ability.

So, I have a 20' wall that I need to put in an 8' door/opening and be able to seal it enough to heat or cool the space. I will have to make the door. Anybody have any good ideas on how? anybody seen anything like that?

 

[jim18655]

How about an insulated roll-up garage door? How important is the 8' width? You could use double 36" doors and get close to the 8' you want.

 

[rrjohnso2000]

You could look at steel doors. Think schools, they have a middle section that is usually fixed. That can be made to come out on occasion. This could be done with any doors really. Best of luck

 

[f350ca]

I made two 5 foot wide swinging doors to fill the 10x10 opening in my shop. I don't bring vehicles in often so a conventional garage door wasn't needed. I used stress skin panels meant to frame walls, they're basically two layers of chip board glued to a solid foam core 3 1/2 thick. Being hinged its easy to gasket the edges and between them, There is virtually no air leaks and the panels show the same surface temperature as the 8 inch thickness fibreglass filled walls.

Greg

 

[jim18655]

It's a removable mullion. You can also hinge the doors and use flush bolts to secure the inactive door without the mullion.

 

[pineyfolks]

You could hang the door on barn door track and make it any width you like.

 

[DaveInMi]

In my last shop, I made a 3' and 5' doors (sheet goods sandwiched over rigid insulation). I used barrel latches at ceiling and floor to hold the 5' in place and the 3' sealed against it. I have sliding patio doors in the partition in my current shop. I built the shop right after a remodel job on the house that left the sliders needing a new home.

 

[Uglydog]

If I had her to do overagain....
Wide enough to back my trailer in with a mill loaded.
Vertical clearance tall enough for machines and projects.
Wide enough to clear fenders.
Back in under a suitable gantry and onload onto pipes or machine dollies.
Like the electrical panel, my interest, learning, and abilities have exceed my infrastructure.

Daryl
MN

 

[Groundhog]

Just for comparison, I had a set of new double exterior doors (2 x 3ft.) installed in my (already built) shop. A contractor friend did it so I got a good deal but it still cost just a little over $1,000. Wish I had the time and talent to do it myself, but a carpenter I am not.

 

[Cobra]

If you are not likely to be needing the large door on a regular time frame, I would build a removable section of the wall.
Wall can be completly finished as any other with openings in the drywall to access the attachment bolts.
If it is the correct place the man door could be in that wall section.