Upgrade the existing garage vs new wood shed ?

[Alcap]

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.

 

[rabler]

From your introduction it sounds like you’re trying to work within the “wood shed” limits. Can you add on to the existing garage? Build a comfortable work area that can be insulated and climate controlled that has a door through a common wall. That would give you more space without creating separate buildings.

That may be a more complicated permitting issue, but is worth considering.

 

[mmcmdl]

Al , this is exactly what drove me to clear the machinery out of the garage . It's a constant fight between cold , hot , wet , etcetcetc . I'm moving all and anything I have left back down to my small , climate controlled comfortable basement . I've got a wood stove , propane , kerosene and a hotel type heater/ac unit in the garage that will be going to the auction house soon . I had to throw in the towel , enough was enough .

 

[RJSakowski]

Were it my choice, I would opt for the new shed. 400 sq. ft. is a fairly large area for a hobby shop. My basement shop is about 280 sq. ft. and accommodates two lathes, two milling machines, a drill press, grinder, 30" sheet metal shear, and 4x6" h/v band saw along with two work benches.

You can design and build it with climate control in mind. Six inch walls, vapor barriers to control humidity, energy efficient windows and doors. When pouring a foundation, run 2" styrofoam to below the frost line on the perimeter to limit loss through the floor. Consider a mini split heat pump for summer cooling and humidity control as well as efficient heating on chilly spring and fall days. This should keep energy costs to a minimum.

 

[woodchucker]

the problem with a SHEDs wood floors are they are never built for machines. You would need to put in very heavy duty joists. I'm thinking 10 or 12". With pressure treated running the opposite way on the ground under it, on top of 3/4" gravel to make it work.

That's garage looks really useable. To be workable, you would have to insulate the entire building. I would even insulate the ceiling of the 1st floor to keep the heat in. And still insulate the 2nd floor and roof. Your windows need to be replaced, easy enough... new or a contractor that has removed windows in good shape from an upgrade job. Many hold on to these removals for this reason to make some $$$.

Heat, you'll need to do something about your garage doors on that structure. Could you make it work by removing one set of garage doors, closing it off, and leaving the second one up, but building a vestibule off the garage door so it seals from the cold, make it 2 big doors with insulation and door sweeps so you can save on heating.

The heating should be what you can afford, but you'll need to keep it on full time, just not up to regular temp until you are ready to use it.
it will take some time to warm it up, but by running it full time you can avoid a really long ramp up.

 

[tq60]

Suggest 1.125 plytainum from Lowes for flooring.

48 inch span rated, placed on 16 inch joists it does well.

You will need steel plates under feet to change from point contact loads.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[Alcap]

Trying to get a building permit for a garage addition would be a big hassle .The reason for a under 400 sf is the setbacks are different . I would have to do a wood floor . The neighbor at the old house a a prefabricated garage brought in two pieces. 12x24’ each then bolted together on prepped site . 2x8 pt and if I remember 12” on center with two 3/4” layers of fancy pt plywood . I would want to go similar

 

[Alcap]

Tq60 , this is the only size I see at Lowes here https://www.lowes.com/pd/Plytanium-...-and-Groove-Pine-Application-as-4-x-8/3602906

 

[projectnut]

Al , this is exactly what drove me to clear the machinery out of the garage . It's a constant fight between cold , hot , wet , etcetcetc . I'm moving all and anything I have left back down to my small , climate controlled comfortable basement . I've got a wood stove , propane , kerosene and a hotel type heater/ac unit in the garage that will be going to the auction house soon . I had to throw in the towel , enough was enough .

I did the same thing over 20 years ago. In our case the walls in the garage are 6" thick and insulated. The ceiling is insulated, the doors are insulated, and there's electric heat in the garage. The problem was as you describe, warm spring days, cold concrete floors, and heavy iron. Every time the doors were opened in the winter it took the heater an hour to recover. In the spring things sweated so bad water was dripping off the beds and tables. I spent more time trying to keep things dry and rust free than I did using the machines.

Everything is now in about 800 sq ft of the warm dry basement. It's a bear to move things in and out, but once they're there it's warm and comfortable. I'm in the process of cleaning and reassembling one more piece of equipment to squeeze into the shop. I finally got the Baileigh cold saw home from the cottage. It's now laying in about a million pieces in the garage. I still have a number of pieces to clean, then it's down to the shop for reassembly.

Although the saw only weighs around 700 lbs. I've moved the pieces so many times it seems like 7,000 lbs. This was a lot easier 20 years ago.

 

[mmcmdl]

I spent more time trying to keep things dry and rust free than I did using the machines.

Amen to that . I just got to the point where the machines were working me and not the opposite . My move continues .