posted
If you were planning to build a new shop, what height would you want the ceiling to be?
The 30'x40'shop would be used primarily for woodworking, spraypainting large redwood/HDU signs. We desperately need some room.
Thanks for the help
------------------ "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Albert Einstein
Failure to advertise is a lot like blinking in the dark. Nobody, but you, knows what you're doing.
posted
The ceilings in our store are about 14 feet and that seems to work pretty well. You can move a 4x8 around without bumping into things, and you can build nice workrooms with out of the way storage on top. You can also build hang down storage in areas where head height is not critical.
I got a real chuckle out of Si's post. You wouldn't believe how many times I've looked at that ceiling and wished I could double deck the whole place! Vic G
posted
if i was to build a shop...for the work area i would have min 10 ft ceiling....i rented a shop here and it used ta p.o me so bad why some ome would build a building with 7 ft ceilings.. couldnt even stand a 4x8 on end in the place..
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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The garage attached to my house is 30'x42' with 14' high ceilings, which is the average size garage in this part of the US with all the RV's and large boats around.
It's really nice having all that room to move around. I built a work booth that's 12'x15' inside the garage to keep dust down, and although that's a good size booth for cutting, sawing, grinding and a little paint, it only consumes 1/4th the space PLUS it offers storage up on top of it.
------------------ Mike Pipes Digital Illusion Custom Graphics Lake Havasu City, AZ http://www.stickerpimp.com
Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
My wife and I are currently building a shop in our garge much like Mr. Pipes did. It is 18x18 with 10' ceilings. We also incorperated one of the garage doors, this will be nice getting materials in and out. Our garage is 24x36 - but we had to save room for storage. Our only regret is we really don't have room to pull a vehicle inside anymore. Too much JUNK!!!!
------------------ Brian & Kathleen Keence K&B Signs 2220 Lake Tekawitha Rd Pacific, MO. 63069 (636) 257-5588 brian@kbsigns.com kathleen@kbsigns.com ******************** It's clear as mud now!
posted
Clearance for most big rigs is 13.6" if ya ever want to letter a transfer truck.It may not be your mainstay of business but there is always that occaisional job that comes in out of the blue why not be prepared on the front end & have the room.Otherwise ya can always put a loft in for storage,etc.I would go for at least 16' height, that way ya can put in a 14' door.
------------------ fly low...timi/NC is,.....Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC http://artistsfriend.com/signs
posted
We went with 16 foot ceilings for several reasons. Fistly, trucks have a 13'6" height limit, so a 14' door was needed and you need 16' to accommodate a 14' door. Not only for trucks we letter, but the delivery from the lumber yard can pull right inside and we can unload into the wood shop. Secondly, in the wood shop we like to be able to turn boards end for end and find the higher ceiling makes that easier. It provides more space so the dust congestion is reduced. Another suggestion is to configure equipment so you can run 16'-20' boards through your saw. We have our saw at an angle so it alighns with a front and back door to give us the 41' needed, where our wood shop is only 20'x20'.
------------------ The SignShop Mendocino, California "Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"
Posts: 6718 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Thanks for all the replies. I am debating on whether to go with 10 or 12 ft. The 12 ft. would be nice but would cost more to build as well as to heat. Like Cam said, the 10 ft. wallboard is a consideration as well as the cost. Victor's idea about the overhead storage is a big plus too because there will be lots of junk to store besides woodworking machinery. We will need racks to store HDU, redwood, aluminum sheets, etc. If the cost is not prohibitive, I might just go with the 12 ft. Mike's idea about the storage over the booth sounds appealing. That might work for a paint booth. Joe, man I feel for ya....7' ceilings....that could drive a guy to claustrophobia. Brian, I can relate to the junk problem.
And Si, I don't need THAT much height!
Thanks for all the good ideas.
------------------ "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Albert Einstein
Failure to advertise is a lot like blinking in the dark. Nobody, but you, knows what you're doing.
------------------ HotLines Joey Madden,47 years in the Classic Art of Pinstriping Grants Pass, Oregon Learn something...... http://members.tripod.com/Inflite
posted
Thanks Timi and Rick. I had thought about tractor height but I don't do enough of them right now to justify the expense. When I do tractors or panel trucks, it usually isn't a problem to just letter them outside because the weather isn't normally that bad here. The only things to contend with is wind, rain and humidity. I have vinyl lettered a couple of trucks in the rain and that was no fun. Perhaps after my business grows more, I will be able to afford a bigger building or at least a shed. Those are some very good ideas though.
Joey.....could you elaborate?
------------------ "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Albert Einstein
Failure to advertise is a lot like blinking in the dark. Nobody, but you, knows what you're doing.
posted
Wayne, what I meant was don't cut yourself short by not taking to opportunity to heighten the ceiling and the garage door. Somewhere down the road a project is waiting for your expertise and when that time comes, you won't have the height needed to do it if you don't plan ahead.
I totally understand the monies part, heating and insulation as well. 2 infra red propane heaters at at 60,000 btu's can and will heat any substrate whether or not the door is open or closed or if the shop is insulated or not.
Don't cut yourself short now to save a couple bucks where you will kick yourself later when that project comes in.
------------------ HotLines Joey Madden,47 years in the Classic Art of Pinstriping Grants Pass, Oregon Learn something...... http://members.tripod.com/Inflite
I see what you mean. I appreciate the insight from all of you. Aside from big rigs, do you think a 12' ceiling would be adequate for cutting 10' panels, some overhead storage and working with fairly large redwood signs?
I'm still pretty much of a newbie and so I wonder what jobs, besides semi tractors, do you foresee that would require much higher.
I guess I've been working out of cramped spaces for so long now that anything over eight feet seems gargantuan .
------------------ "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Albert Einstein
Failure to advertise is a lot like blinking in the dark. Nobody, but you, knows what you're doing.
Do you have many customers with big lifted 4x4 trucks?
BIG 4x4's are all the rage here, and I have had a few that wouldnt fit through the 12' door on my garage... they were HUGE!.. it's an extreme case but you never know when those will pop up.
------------------ Mike Pipes Digital Illusion Custom Graphics Lake Havasu City, AZ http://www.stickerpimp.com
Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
It's cheaper to build taller now, than to have to build another building later when you need the height. I do mostly trucks, and that 14' door is a necessity. My shop is 36' wide by 40' long. Ceilings are 17' at the peak (cathedral style trusses). I have a fan at the peak to move the air around. I heat with a wood/coal stove, because nothing else except electricity is available here, and electric heat is not affordable. Funny how one little wood/coal stove can keep that shop comfortable, (about 65 degrees). I take basic precautions about fire safety... 16 years so far without mishap. Anyway... that's how I do it. LE
------------------ LazyEdna in RL known as Sara Straw from southern Utah 5 National Parks within 3 hours drive Red Rock Heaven
Posts: 776 | From: Aurora, Utah, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I am taking these factors into consideration. Sara, I have one of those wood heater kits that uses a 55 gal. drum. You can also buy an accessory kit that lets you put another drum on top of it and thus keeping the heated air inside the room longer. It heats really well as long as you keep chunking the wood to it. That might be pretty convenient because I have a large woodlot by the shop.
Interesting note though: One of my previous employers had his whole manufacturing facility to burn down a couple of years ago because of one. But then, they never have been too big on safety. While I worked there, the paint shop was incinerated as well. Several barrels of laquerbased stain, sanding sealer, and laquer topcoat as well as mountains of dried overspray, not to mention several jobs in progress, and it went up like an H bomb.
But then it's all in how careful you are, and they aren't. Thanks
------------------ "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Albert Einstein
Failure to advertise is a lot like blinking in the dark. Nobody, but you, knows what you're doing.
posted
Here's something I meant to mention before - skylights. My shop has three in the front (painting/finishing) room. Not only is natural light great for working, it saves energy costs in lighting and heat.
------------------ "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)
Cam Finest Kind Signs 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988"
Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
we also did these shafts from the ceiling to skylights, and ceiling fans and wood heat. Good working combo. The skylights were placed so they permitted light without glare to the lettering bench. Fans circulate heat quickly, so the heat is down where we work, rather than hanging around the ceilings.
------------------ The SignShop Mendocino, California "Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"
Posts: 6718 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Thanks Rick and Cam, Those are some great ideas. I was thinking about going with about four of the skylight panels but now I'm convinced that they would be essential. I'm also seriously considering the white vinyl backed insulation. Not only will it help with heating but the white color should increase light reflection.
Thanks
------------------ "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Albert Einstein
Failure to advertise is a lot like blinking in the dark. Nobody, but you, knows what you're doing.
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