Starting a new shop building

[Investigator]

I wouldn't use T1-11 for anything but that's just me probably, 3/4" osb would work though you will want to paint both sides.

I wasn't thinking so much as framing but interior walls for the steel. White steel panels really brighten things up, lots of folks use wood to about 6 or 8 feet then metal from there. From what I understand though steel framing studs are easy to work with and being on the fire department I'm sure you can see the advantage for a shop.

Either way glad to hear your buddy is getting his machine fixed up....

JOhn

Ah, I understand what you meant now, metal in place of wood sort of like sheet rock.

Just a quick look it seems wood and metal studs are very close in price now. But I have to factor in my knowledge and tooling which leans heavily toward wood.

John, this is not directed at you, but this is something I hear often from people, and especially when I talk about building a shop for both woodworking and metal working. I will say this about metal being a safety improvement over wood, or the flammability of wood framing in regards to shop fires. And I say this from the standpoint of having been a Fire Investigator for over 10 years, and a firefighter for an additional 17. Wood framing and wood sheeting are not nearly the fire danger many think it is. yes it will burn, but it is very hard to start burning. The vast majority, and I mean like 90%+ of shop fires the major contributing factor is housekeeping. It's not the wood framing and wall coverings that cause problems, it's the piles of trash and paper and loose materials on the floor. Yes the framing will burn once a fire has started, but starting a fire in a 2x4 wall with plywood covering is very hard to do without some type of 'kindling' such as shop rags or paper or piles of sawdust to ignite first. The vast majority of shop fires could be prevented entirely if good housekeeping were practiced, and that includes fires in all metal shops and those with 'fireproofing' construction and paints and.....you get the idea.

 

[Stonebriar]

I lined my walls with 3/4" plywood (much easier to mount stuff to the wall) and spaced them off the floor with a 3/4" block. There is a perling around the bottom. This keeps any sparks, hot chips away from the siding.

 

[NCjeeper]

I am lining my building with steel panels. At the time I bought them they were 26 bucks each. Heck a sheet of plywood costs that now. Crazy.

 

[matthewsx]

Ah, I understand what you meant now, metal in place of wood sort of like sheet rock.

Just a quick look it seems wood and metal studs are very close in price now. But I have to factor in my knowledge and tooling which leans heavily toward wood.

John, this is not directed at you, but this is something I hear often from people, and especially when I talk about building a shop for both woodworking and metal working. I will say this about metal being a safety improvement over wood, or the flammability of wood framing in regards to shop fires. And I say this from the standpoint of having been a Fire Investigator for over 10 years, and a firefighter for an additional 17. Wood framing and wood sheeting are not nearly the fire danger many think it is. yes it will burn, but it is very hard to start burning. The vast majority, and I mean like 90%+ of shop fires the major contributing factor is housekeeping. It's not the wood framing and wall coverings that cause problems, it's the piles of trash and paper and loose materials on the floor. Yes the framing will burn once a fire has started, but starting a fire in a 2x4 wall with plywood covering is very hard to do without some type of 'kindling' such as shop rags or paper or piles of sawdust to ignite first. The vast majority of shop fires could be prevented entirely if good housekeeping were practiced, and that includes fires in all metal shops and those with 'fireproofing' construction and paints and.....you get the idea.

Thanks for sharing your experience, but more importantly your commitment as a firefighter

Your point on housekeeping is well taken, I have a safety can at my other shop and should get one for here. I've also heard that insurance companies sometimes give a discount for metal buildings over wood and that can make a difference in the long run.

Your building looks great and the project is moving along at an awesome speed from my experience. Those of us who have attached garages/shops wish we had the space, and safety a building like yours provides.

Take good care,

John

 

[Larry$]

Green with envy!
I sold my business two years ago, where I had access to lots of woodworking equipment and a small corner for my metal work. I still own the building but it is quite a distance from my house. I'm retired and just want to walk out the door and into may playpen/shop. I'm in the city where there are lots of code issues. The worst being how tall the out building can be. I've been looking into having a steel building built. I was shocked at the first prices I got. By code the largest building I can have is 924 sq. ft. It will be for both wood & metal. I don't have a problem with dust @ my current shop. I keep my lathe & mill covered when not in use.

I will have some windows @ eve level & one in the door. Double pane with a 3rd pane as a bad weather control. I'm in Nebraska so milder climate than some other places. Only a couple of weeks near 0*F and rarely above 100*F.

I've considered on how much power to run. It will have to be a sub panel from the house. I'll be running a rotary phase converter. All my home shop tools have small motors, nothing over 5hp.

 

[Investigator]

UGH!

Update 10/05 More deep breaths.......

Insulation guy came again. Had problems again. Got some sprayed but having trouble with crystals in the lines. Apparently when the lines were taken apart to fix the blockage, they absorbed some moisture which formed crystals. He's getting new lines. Looking like it will be another week at minimum. Looks like I'm going to be down at least a month from the time I finished framing and sheeting until I can start on the inside.

Happy thoughts........

Some of the guys I work with have asked me in the past why I don't just pay someone to come build a building turn key for me. This is why.

But, I did use the time as suggested to shop some surplus materials sources. I was able to get 3/4" Advantech OSB tounge and groove sub-flooring for $20/sheet. I got enough to do all the exterior walls as well as the divider walls inside and decking for storage. But now I'm running into the issue that I have no place to store materials. I would love to buy all the conduit and electrical boxes/switches/outlets and have them ready to go the minute after the insulation is done, but I have no place for them.

And all has not been lost. With the 'free' time I have since I'm not working on my new shop, I"ve been able to do some projects for the wife like a new front door, new trim under the porch, flower beds and a few minor touch up projects.

I'm gonna be so happy when this is done for so many reasons.

 

[Papa Charlie]

Well got my fingers crossed for you. Always good to keep the wife happy. So time we'll spent while concentrating on your project which, when you are able to work on it you are not paying attention to her. Of course she is understanding and encourages you, but you never know about women.
Good thing is that you found some bargains. As for the conduit and boxes. You could always cover it outside and I am sure it would be fine.

 

[horty]

Hi Investigator, sure is different building a shop in Texas than in ND, we would never be able to have a low pitched roof like yours, every winter
here somebody's roof caves in from the weight of the snow, I have a 6/12 roof pitch and it still collects some snow.

Nice looking shop, one thing that I'm glad I did before cement was poured was put some chain hooks in the floor, they are about 6 ft apart and one in the middle, made them so a PVC cap covers the hole and are barely seen.

Never to late to put them in if needed, after a neighbor seen mine he hired a concrete company to cut 8" hole in his floor, dug down about 3 ft, put in a piece of PVC pipe, wedged some pieces of metal scrap down in the hole, and pounded some rebar in at an angle, put a hook on a chain, dropped it to the bottom of the hole and filled with concrete.

Anyway, you'll have a nice place to work when its done, and it looks nice, just need a few shrubs around the sides and front to really dress it up..

Good Work..

Tim

 

[Investigator]

What we get and call s

Hi Investigator, sure is different building a shop in Texas than in ND, we would never be able to have a low pitched roof like yours, every winter
here somebody's roof caves in from the weight of the snow, I have a 6/12 roof pitch and it still collects some snow.

Nice looking shop, one thing that I'm glad I did before cement was poured was put some chain hooks in the floor, they are about 6 ft apart and one in the middle, made them so a PVC cap covers the hole and are barely seen.

Never to late to put them in if needed, after a neighbor seen mine he hired a concrete company to cut 8" hole in his floor, dug down about 3 ft, put in a piece of PVC pipe, wedged some pieces of metal scrap down in the hole, and pounded some rebar in at an angle, put a hook on a chain, dropped it to the bottom of the hole and filled with concrete.

Anyway, you'll have a nice place to work when its done, and it looks nice, just need a few shrubs around the sides and front to really dress it up..

Good Work..

Tim

What we get and call snow would likely be called frost or dusting in ND. I'm lost on the floor hooks, what is the purpose?

 

[horty]

What we get and call s



What we get and call snow would likely be called frost or dusting in ND. I'm lost on the floor hooks, what is the purpose?

Sorry, sometimes I just babble and don't really explain things..

If you need to like straighten a trailer axle or anything you would need to fasten down and put up pressure, bent farm equipment, or large shafts that wont fit in a hydraulic press, pulling rams out of cylinders if you have a hoist, ect.

Tim