Upgrade the existing garage vs new wood shed ?

That you are asking for opinions is a good move. On the otherhand, opinions are like ********, everyone has one and most of them smell pretty bad. I am facing a similar situation where I bouht the adjoining house to use as a shop. Good intentions usually go south when the unforseen comes to town. In my case, the last stroke putting me in a wheelchair.

You have a very nice barn, I would give my left foot for a place like that. I would say to build onto the front, 3 walls, to house motor vehicles, cars, bikes, tractor, et al. Then insulate the Hell out of the barn to use as a shop. Building stud walls, 4 inch furring, inside a block wall is no big deal. Same for the ceiling. And as already noted, insulating the upper level as well. The wide doors reused for the front and filled in to a 4 foot or so wide vestibule into the shop.

Because of the chair, I am (loosely) considering an attached garage. A basement is not off the list but is way down in priority. Chair lifts are easily doable but a pain to use. I have an external barn(?) that is now primarily storage. The many tools, gasses, and fuels in there are now inaccessable to me without serious finagling. The external house is frame construction and cannor bear heavy machinery. I have a solid shop, but smaller (read lighter) machines.

A wooden structure has some good points, especially when upgrading a little at a time. But a wooden floor is pretty much off the table unless it was built with some serious (as in rarely available) timbers. Construction and engineered lumber doesn't cut it for machine loads. 4x8 joists and 2x6 flooring as an absolute minimum. Then closely spaced piers. The weight has to be carried to the ground somehow. A preexisting concrete floor as a good starting point, and concrete (block) walls to boot, would be hard to pass up. Insulation is cheap when compared to load carrying.

I am not trying to hijack your thread, although it sounds like it. By describing my arrangement, I present some of the possible future scenarios that you might face. Conceeded, I don't mess around much with city codes and restrictions, building what I want where I want. But I do use some descretion in that building and make sure things look better than the neighborhood in general. Which isn't saying much, but. . .

.
 
rabler , here’s what kind of whats making seriously thinking about what to do . A friend called me last night and in his sister’s neighborhood the gas company made a deal , if enough hooked up to gas they would install it . She has a 10 year old oil fired hot water boiler and I’m sure there’s going to be oil hot air furnaces that I could get either free or cheap . One thought was to section an area , insulate the walls put 1” foam board on the floor , Pex tubing spacers between then covered in 3/4” plywood . The shed would be used how we originally thought , motorcycles and Kubota . On the plus side to that is it might be cheaper then trying to make a shed into a workshop . The ceilings are 9’ in the existing garage so loosing about 2” wouldn’t be too much .
 
Alcap said:
rabler , here’s what kind of whats making seriously thinking about what to do . A friend called me last night and in his sister’s neighborhood the gas company made a deal , if enough hooked up to gas they would install it . She has a 10 year old oil fired hot water boiler and I’m sure there’s going to be oil hot air furnaces that I could get either free or cheap . One thought was to section an area , insulate the walls put 1” foam board on the floor , Pex tubing spacers between then covered in 3/4” plywood . The shed would be used how we originally thought , motorcycles and Kubota . On the plus side to that is it might be cheaper then trying to make a shed into a workshop . The ceilings are 9’ in the existing garage so loosing about 2” wouldn’t be too much .
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You can get foam board in 50psi rating, which is commonly used for under a concrete slab. For a small floor area with machines on plywood it would be well worth your money vs. typical 10 or 15 psi.
 
Alcap said:
I’m trying to decide on what direction to go . In our township we can put up under 400 sf wood sheds . We’re planning on a 14 x 28 to store the motorcycles and small Kubota BX 23 . The existing garage where I’ve set up my shop is uninsulated wall bock 30x40 large single pane windows . Right now there’s no heat other then a portable 240volt , round propane heater , heat pad to stand on and a small 110 heater . When it’s very cold I can get it sort of warm but never what comfortable. At that I spent $120 on electric one month for the little time I was in there . Because it’s not heated all the time there’s big temperature swings causing everything to sweat and of course rust . My wife thinks I would be better to use the shed as a machine shop and leave the garage for vehicles and repairs, welding etc . If I went that route I could change the size to better suit machines , build it with the idea of climate controlled from the start . Having a wood floor will be easier for me , my feet are always cold . Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks Al. View attachment 404530
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"My wife thinks I"

Got your answer there....

John
 
Hello Al. Been reviewing all posts.
A 14 x 28 shed / building I assume this is tax free?? wood floor and no foundation? No permits or Simple permit.
As already sed. Not good for machinery.
That said. I would agree with some previous post to Insulate your existing building Or a section of it. Area of machines This will require extensive planing. Examples of this, some already mentioned. 2" foam insulation directly on interior of block walls. Full stud walls in front of foam with Fire stops etc. W/R Drywall. Walls and ceiling. Insulated or separated garage doors. New windows. Electrical etc.
Also building permits are another possibility. Yes they require planing. Your construction official, if one is available should be able to guide you on any planing. or a local builder or architect
In addition. I would also look into building a shed roof off the side of your existing barn for your bikes and Kubota.
Another possibility is a metal sea box. They make very nice storage for Kubota a bikes., Look clean. and can be painted. 20' long and 40' long are usually available.
Just more ideas to help confuse. Al.
 
Regarding sea containers , that would be my choice of living quarters up in the mountains if I could get the better half to agree to it . :encourage: I've seen some finished off beautifully on Youtube with very little effort needed .

Regarding the Kubota , worth its weight in gold , protect it like it IS . :)
 
Yes , all sheds need permits but over 400 sf requires more site plans, inspections etc. Even then an under 400 sf shed can be as close as 3’ rear & 15’ to sides of the property lines BUT any more then the first shed requires more set backs . Since many are suggestion a concrete floor I‘ll have to inquire about that. But something tells me its a different because then they consider it a permanent structor and then the dreaded TAX increase !
 
Yep. You have to weigh out your personal situation which takes a lot of factors into account. Some examples of which I can think of are.
Budget -- Necessity -- Spouse -- Your Age -- Health -- And I am sure many others. Al
 
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