We are in the process of standing up a new shop. The building will be 60x100 with 4 bay doors measuring 14x14 along the 100ft side and one on either end of the building also measuring 14x14. The office area will be built off the front of the 60x100 building so the opposite 100ft long side will have no bay openings. What would be some must haves for the shop based on your experiences? I plan to install 480v 3 phase power to allow for use of larger equipment like presses and welders but what other things could I plan ahead for and get installed in the building? Would running air lines across the beams be the best route to go or should we install conduits and the like in the floor to hit in between bays to stub up with power and air? Any input is welcomed. Thanks.
What will you be working on mostly?
I would be hesitant to put anything into the slab because if you want to change the layout you're stuck. That is, unless you have some specific needs for inslab like exhaust piping. That's more of a dealership thing.
Enclosed wash bay Area for bulk lubricant If you are working on tracked equipment, steel rail or oak ends/ plank area to save the concrete from being chewed up Plenty of lighting and electrical air hook up, and I wouldn't put it in the floor, I'd run it overhead. Electric openers on the overhead doors. If it's in the budget, overhead crane or even just the pedestal style cranes are nice. I don't know if I would put in a drive over pit. Probably not, but for some things it would be super handy I prefer flat floors, vs floors that slope to center drain.
It'll be a mix, but mostly it will be our on road equipment, excavators and dozers that will be in the shop the most.
I had that same thought but wasn't sure if I was missing a detail on what is best to have.
I've been thinking a lot about the concrete floors. I hadn't thought of installing rails in the floor. That will be worth a look. I had been looking at higher psi concrete and or a hardener to toughen the surface of the concrete to better withstand abrasion. I don't think that our ceilings are high enough for a crane, but I had considered a rolling A Frame type crane on one of the bays to provide vertical lift without the need for a forklift etc. to get around a piece of equipment. For the bulk oil I was looking at moving over to the cubes and putting them into pallet racks. Is that what you've typically seen?
I’d consider bigger doors. 16x16. Everything fits if they’re too big but not the other way around. It also gives a little extra grace if somebody doesn’t have a boom low enough or a forklift too high.
I wouldn't put anything in the floors either. It makes a problem if you break it off. Good lighting is well worth it. You can never have to much light in a shop. I liked the thought on bigger doors. They might be a little short unless all you equipment is smaller. A loft is nice, your floor space won't fill up as quick. Just some thoughts.
I'd stay out of the slab. Compressed air and moisture with your low spot under the floor may be asking for trouble. I have a pit in my shop and love it, but I also have a buggered up elbow that wont go straight, so I have to move not the elbow. A small step ladder and you can crawl up into a lot areas. I am envious of the size.
I have a rolling a frame and its a pain in the rear. It really limits the access to the equipment, and then if you get the engine or whatever picked up, you have to roll the whole gantry with it loaded. Of course any a frame is better than no a frame, but it isn't ideal. I really want a overhead bridge, but that won't happen unless I build a new building, and integrate it into the walls. And I'd want a big one, 1-2 ton isn't enough. Now is your chance. If you don't want rails in the floor - they can be in the way sweeping up and when wanting a flat floor building something- I'd just have 2" oak or sacrificial plywood around to lay under the tracks. Higher psi and sealers won't keep the tracks from tearing it up. I've often thought that I'd prefer imbedded 6" wide c- channel, in two "rails" or even 4 rails in parallel in one bay. Rebar tie it all into the slab. It would do double duty as a track for tracked equipment, and you could weld chain hooks or pusher blocks to the c channel when trying to tie a cylinder down or pushing/ pulling on stuff with chain come alongs and porta powers. You could tack stuff to the floor when building things. I've got steel sawhorses and you could tack them down when putting something heavy on them to work on. I've worked in a shop with floor tie downs, and they were never in the place where you needed them. Two rails at "driving" width, and two more at the perimeter of the bay. Maybe one down the middle.
My old shop was originally a crawler shop, it had two railroad rails in floor with pockets for chain tie downs. Good you note the office on outside of shop, along with air comp. Hoist--forklift.
Running water for a power washer or steam cleaner and a toilet and sink.
That's about the size of our shop. We actually bought a used 10 ton overhead crane and built the building to fit. 61 ft wide. We did run oil and water lines under concrete. not to specific workstations, just across to the opposite wall. works great till schedule 40 tape n tite pipe leaks in the first year. . . Lost the better part of a barrel of 15w40 till we caught it.
Mezzanine for the rotary air compressor, dryer and any other dust collector.
Something like this? Stumbled across this photo online when looking for examples.
We will have a washroom for the mechanics with a shower sink toilet etc. accessible from the shop side of the office area. We will have municipal water so we should not have any issues with supply to the hot water pressure washer we have.
Definitely planning gon the air comp being placed outside under a shelter to knock the noise level down in the shop.
I think that were committed to the height at this time unfortunately. The only way I think that we could get more would be to install pedestals for the columns to get them up higher. I would like to have the OH space for a crane for sure but we went with a reengineered building for simplicity and cost on the front end of permitting and city approvals.
I really like this idea of just using some bigger C-Channel for the embeds. I need to think some more on how to make this happen...
I am going to ask the guys that helped us with the building purchase if they can work something on the door size. Even if we just get one of the 4 doors or even a side door to be larger then we could more easily get the larger iron in and out. Our largest pieces of equipment are our 631's and the PC490 we have. They'll fit through the 14ft opening but just barely
My current shop layout is 50x90 20’ sidewalls with two 16x16 doors on each end so we have pull through bays going the long way. We have had a mixture of equipment through the shop from skid steers up to drill rigs etc. So far I haven’t really felt like we could have done bigger doors. Bigger building? Yes, should have gone longer when I built it 15 years ago.
Building a huge shop has one big draw back--mechanics will have a tendency of becoming lethargic. A slightly smaller shop causes thoughts of having to work out in the elements. Seen it.
Whatever you build and plan for, accept the fact that not only can you not get everything you want, after the first year, you will find out, it’s not big enough. I would install some heavy I beams imbedded in the floor, for tracks inline with one door at least for tracks and anchor points, as needed.
Can see the RR rail with pockets for anchor chains in floor of my old shop. Originally a crawler shop, plus there was a large turret hoist adjacent to rails. Building is 55X100 with three doors and one long pull through.. *
Agreed. Not as big an issue here as our weather is suitable 8-9 months a year. We do a lot outside because it’s easier than moving stuff around. Inside tends to be long term stuff. I have a C12 in the process of being built, have another to do after that one. Another bay has a truck that just got back from paint being assembled and yet another has a truck getting 3 drop axles and a fresh used aluminum bed.
Exactly. You just want them far enough apart to catch the width of your ex and dozers. You could use I- beam instead of c channel also, whatever is available. And since you posted this picture, I'll mention another thing to think about. Its really a pain when the over head doors are tight to each other, i.e. just the width of the columns. Its nicer if they are 6'-8' apart, so you have room to get down between equipment, and space for tool boxes, benches, room to roll a transmission out from under one, and not be up against something in the next stall over. (Room for your pedestal crane )
Slightly off topic, but I feel the same about these 'modern' farm shops. They are becoming so large it's basically just a warehouse that you're pushing your toolboxes around in from one end to the other. Huge clearspans, white metal lined, blindingly bright lighting, literal aircraft hanger sized doors and what little 'shop equipment' they have is scattered around the huge footprint. I understand that equipment has grown considerably in the last 30-40yrs, but that's just not an environment I'd like to work it. The ones I've been in have a very cold/sterile feel to them, not an inviting place. I used to enjoy reading about the Top Shop contests in the farming magazines in the 90's, lots of good usable ideas and well thought out layouts. Nowadays they just make me want to barf. They're just a **** measuring competition and an ostentatious display of wealth (or more likely debt.) My 40x48 shop which serves the needs of both my farming operation and construction business is setup with one area for quick/routine service, one large area for fabrication/heavy work (splitting tractors, pulling transmissions/engines/etc) which also has a traveling chainfall overhead, and one area in the back that is for either longer term projects or storage. Along the North wall is metal fabrication and machining tools, West wall is parts, filters/oils storage, parts washer and small shop equipment (engine stands, creepers, floor jacks, etc). Work bench, peg boards, tool boxes and shop press are along the East wall. Air compressor is right next to the main walk door entrance for quick access, as is a frost free hydrant. As to the OP's shop, I'd go with no less than 16' wide doors for any large equipment. Plan for some sort of overhead chain fall. At the very least a swinging jib type crane, better yet a traveling bridge type that covers at least the main heavy work area. I like to have air and water available near the main door(s) that's easy to use indoors or out. As far as the slab goes, the one thing I wish I had installed were some sort of in-floor chain anchors to use when trying to straighten stuff or pull stuff apart.
Floor heat
That is a good one. If you cant afford the heating part of the system, at least put the tubing in. I was the fire chief in the community that I live in and we put infloor heating in our new hall (2011/12) and what a diferance! The trucks come back from a call with snow packed into the wheel wells etc. and in no time it was falling off in clumps. Fire trucks are mostly made of aluminum and a lot of the fittings and tools are cast aluminum of sorts, so corrosion used to be a big factor. Once we got the heated floor it was never an issue. Hose that came back soaking wet was just layd out on the floor and it was dry the next day.
LOL! OP is in Georgia - he needs floor A/C!
Didn't see that anywhere. Figured it was somewhere that has at least some winter, which is much of the US... we've already had -20* weather, currently 15* and snowing.
I've had it in 2 buildings and wouldn't not do it in another. Current shop where I work is 4 gas heaters up ~25ft (~35ft ceiling). Like 250k BTU each. When it's -50* outside it'll be dripping sweat hot as upstairs on the mezzanine and freezing at the floor. Still have a lump on my shin from slipping on ice on the bathroom floor and slamming against the toilet with my pants half undone.
Alaska is floor heat all the way.
So true, tax right off. Big shops are ok if working one area, at the end of the day walking on concrete for 8 plus hours tends to take any fun out of it. Normally stuff is spread out along the walls and at the other end of building. If trying to complete a job and spending allot of time walking here and there, much time is lost. Big equipment requires a ton of space and with it some good walking shoes. But I never liked anyone around or working next to me, stay in their own corner along with the korny country music. After eight hours of listening to tunes of biscuits & gravy sadness get's depressing. I worked in a shop that one guy had his radio turned up with country western. Then one day it suddenly stopped after Greg smashed it with a sledge.
I would think more about lube storage and how used oil will be handled. A dedicated lube bay? Tote storage, rolling drums, drum storage. An AST for engine & hydraulic. Easy access for your supplier deliveries.
A small added shed outside, with access from inside too, not much winter there.
Maybe just a covered containment area with totes and pumps.
A members location is on their profile on the left of the post - No one down here has any sort of heat in their shop floors - no need for it. The cost/benefit analysis doesn't pencil out for the handful of really cold days we do get. Some really high homes may have electric floor heating the bathrooms but that's about the extent of in floor heating. Now if there was a cost effective method of in slab cooling..
All good thoughts. I worked in a few 4 to 8 bay shops. Depending on what your fleet looks like, the shop layout changes. Jib or bridge crane, ya gotta have something. All I can say is that if you have a lathe and a mill, make sure the mill is lined up with the left end of the lathe spindle
Care to expound on that? My lathe and mill are basically set up like that, by accident, but are separated by a set of bolt bins. What capability am I missing out on? (Full disclaimer: I'm just a dumb farmer/contractor with some machine tools, by no means a trained machinist.)
If you ever need to turn a long piece that sticks out to the left of the headstock, you can support it with the mill table.
For used oil I have a tote outside with plumbing running through the wall into the shop . I have a double kitchen sink mounted on the wall up high enough to gravity feed. I flip the pails over on a grate on top of one sink and filters go in the second sink to drain. I can change out the tote easily with the skid steer pallet forks. The pipe in the top of the tote disconnects and comes off until the new tank is in place. Takes 6 months to fill a tote.
It doesn't look anything like that for me. Just has the username and senior member, administrator, etc.
Lube setups definitely will vary vastly on volume. I service some shops that would fill a tote with used oil in a few days and others a couple months. We have 1 shop that goes through about 75-100 gallons of 15w40 a day. Thankfully it's one of the easier setups to fill. A few are a pain, and/or not so easy to fill and not overfill. Ground level filling and easy to see sight glass (tube) is ideal.
Click/ tap on the username. Opens a popup.
This is the method I liked the most out of what I've seen. Dig a footer, wet-set plates into 2'x2' pads, and weld the steel to plates. Gets concrete on 3 sides and it's mostly monolithic.
I have one of those in the floor in my house, never could figure out why but this makes sense. When my house was built it was a greenhouse or something along those lines back in the 30's before the land around it was parceled off, there was a 10' wide section of cinder block that had been replaced with light gray block, which I presume was a garage door, the rest of the block in the house is dark gray and heavy. Half the house is slab on grade the other is sleepers over sloped concrete Not sure of the climate in you area but radiant heat in the floor would be a must have for me, other than the savings vs forced air, it is nice not to lay on a cold concrete floor when crawling around under a truck.
Some thoughts from my shop: Good concrete, which is difficult with the new cement. 8" or 10", depending on subgrade quality. Rebar on sand chairs. 4500 psi minimum, 5,000 better. You may not need it for strength, but you need it for surface durability. 22' eve height. 24' x 18' doors, each end and one side. Each end also has a smaller door. I have a drive over pit. Its amazing how much more you see when you can stand up to look at the bottom of a truck or machine. I have a 4 ton x 20' jib crane. Every new model machine gets bigger and heavier, while I get smaller and weaker. Having a sky hook beats heck out of a forklift or track hoe for lifting. Be aware hook height disappears faster than a politician's promises the day after election. It took a 22' eve to get 16' under the hook. Get a sleeve mount, not a flange mount. Floor is usable right up next to the pillar. Probably have to be set before installing rafters and purlins. No air in the floor. You will never keep it dry. I have a 3/4 black steel ring main near the ceiling with 1/2 drops that come off the top of the main. I have heavy power under the floor. Main panel on one end, both 240 and 480 3 phase sub panels on side walls near other end. There is not much room above a door to run big power. I hate stairs, more so every year. No mezzanine, office is in a lean-to on one side. Only a couple of steel tracks, I lay out old conveyor belting. 6 pull pots, 12" x 12" x 1 1/2" base under 42" of concrete. 24 yard monolithic pour with the sleeve for the jib crane, level with the floor. Williams Form Engineering 1 1/4 bars, rated for 150K each. Flush capped when not in use. 8' steel wainscoating around inside for durability. White plastic above that and under ceiling insulation. Steel interiors are noisy. 30' aprons in front of each door, sometimes not enough. South door has 5 panels of windows. Large fixed windows in upper sidewall of south side. Lots of led lights. 5 light circuits, all through contactors for ease of multiple switches. All are wired 240V for more fixtures per circuit.