A shop question...

T

Tamper84

Active User
Registered
Hey all. I'm redoing my shop, it will finish up 21x26. Its weird how its setup but it is what I have to work with lol. Anyway I am putting in a taller ceiling ( its 7 feet right now). I can go as high as 12 but to put heat in there I would like to avoid that. I'm thinking either 8 or 10. Which would you go with and why?

How I'm getting to change is that the "shop" is sitting inside of a 36x26 pole building. The po put in the 7 foot ceilings.....

Thanks,
Chris
 
I'd go for the 10ft option for 4 reasons:

1. handling long/large materials more freely.
2. the ability to setup a hoist/I-beam of some sort (if applicable)
3. lighting installed higher up spreads better all over the room and is less susceptible to harsh shadows resulting in better lighting in the shop.
4. a more open-space feel which frees and eases the mind
 
I would go 10 ft as well. 8ft is a little low, and 12 a bit hi. At 10 ft , its a good midway point. Plus, at 10 ft, you can still get the draw bar out of the mill.:biggrin:
 
I'm another 10 footer fan too. If you weld or solder that will give you enough cubic feet in the room to really help the smoke and toxic fumes dissapate. Taller is good, but heating it becomes much more expensive too. I built a pot belly heater out of two worn out semi tractor front drums and added a flue to vent the smoke and it does a pretty good job heating my 20X20X10 shop. I don't have any insulation and it is a converted pole barn idea so it is just metal on framed in walls with an air gap at the bottom and open eaves. Ventilation is great and if it is really smoky I turn on my HF drum fan and blow it away easilly. Don't forget some pics of the before and after too.
Bob
 
I have 9' white painted plasterboard ceiling in my shop. It is surprising how much light you LOSE with that extra foot of height. I have 8' fluorescent fixtures mounted the length of the ceiling,and 4' apart, and I wish I had more light.

To me,9' is high enough.
 
I'd go 10'. You're only going to do it once. Light fixtures can be chain-hung initially and raised should the need arise. A couple of ceiling fans will help with the heating - preventing the heat from collecting up high.

We often hear members mentioning a lack of ceiling height. Easiest to deal with it now.

On the topic of lighting, has anyone used the newer T5 fluorescent lights? They cost more, but they do an amazing job. They do work better, however, with a higher ceiling. With any type of fluorescent, I always recommend at least a 4100K colour temperature, preferably 5000K. (I have some 6500K tubes) These are closer to sunlight, which is what your eyes were made to use. The old Warm White tubes are 2700K.
 
Rbeckett said:
I'm another 10 footer fan too. If you weld or solder that will give you enough cubic feet in the room to really help the smoke and toxic fumes dissapate. Taller is good, but heating it becomes much more expensive too. I built a pot belly heater out of two worn out semi tractor front drums and added a flue to vent the smoke and it does a pretty good job heating my 20X20X10 shop. I don't have any insulation and it is a converted pole barn idea so it is just metal on framed in walls with an air gap at the bottom and open eaves. Ventilation is great and if it is really smoky I turn on my HF drum fan and blow it away easilly. Don't forget some pics of the before and after too.
Bob
Click to expand...
Lets see if I can figure out this picture posting.
photo.jpg This is the out side of it. The side with the slider is my shop side.
980A7007-06E4-4AA2-A7BE-C9A93FC32A98-47769-00000E4FC1FD4F3A.jpg This is the a view of the inside! Plus I am going to go with I joists to clear span it. So I can get rid of the support post that you guys can see in there.

Hawkeye said:
I'd go 10'. You're only going to do it once. Light fixtures can be chain-hung initially and raised should the need arise. A couple of ceiling fans will help with the heating - preventing the heat from collecting up high.

We often hear members mentioning a lack of ceiling height. Easiest to deal with it now.

On the topic of lighting, has anyone used the newer T5 fluorescent lights? They cost more, but they do an amazing job. They do work better, however, with a higher ceiling. With any type of fluorescent, I always recommend at least a 4100K colour temperature, preferably 5000K. (I have some 6500K tubes) These are closer to sunlight, which is what your eyes were made to use. The old Warm White tubes are 2700K.
Click to expand...

Heating is up in the air. I have a pellet stove from my old house that I used to heat it. But insurance says no go in the shop, but I can have it in the house..:nuts: That makes me mad right there. I had planned to use that.

On the lighting, I heard they are doing away with the T-12s. So I was planning on going with T-8s, but that is all I know of electrical. What would you guys go with?

Thanks,
Chris

photo.jpg

980A7007-06E4-4AA2-A7BE-C9A93FC32A98-47769-00000E4FC1FD4F3A.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top