building a new shop, tips or ideas?

[BigDaveZJ]

Going to build a 24'x24' detached shop in the backyard this spring, maybe a little bigger if I can swing it.

Plans so far:

-painted floor
-LOTS of electricity and lights
-add a 220v compressor at some point
-lots of workspace and storage
-kegerator

This will be in addition to our 2 car attached garage, so it will be just for toys and tools. What things have you guys done with your shops that you liked or didn't like?

I plan on having someone pour the pad, build the structure, run a new electric box, and maybe paint the floor. After that I'm going to handle all of the wiring and finishing myself so I can make it just like I want it.

[FortCollinsZJ]

A pit. Do it now and don't look back. A buddy of mine has a pit in his floor, and it is ALWAYS getting used by me. Saves so much trouble being able to stand up under the jeep. That is, if you cant swing a vehicle lift.

[blackjack12982]

A pit. Do it now and don't look back. A buddy of mine has a pit in his floor, and it is ALWAYS getting used by me. Saves so much trouble being able to stand up under the jeep. That is, if you cant swing a vehicle lift.

This would be super nice! I've got a 24x24 shop, and it's about the only thing I'm missing. I can't swing a lift in my shop. You seem to have it covered with lights and electricity, you can never have too much of either one.

[BigDaveZJ]

A pit would be nice, but I'm not sure how practical it would be. I've thought about a lift, and a full lift doesn't really do much for me. At 6'5" I still can't stand up straight under a full lift, so I was thinking one of the shorter "portable" lifts that can be stashed away when I'm not using it, and would get the vehicle up at least high enough where I could get under it on a rolling chair. Also, with the pit, I'm limited a bit on layout. There will be times when my ZJ and F250 are in the shop just for storage, and times where one or two vehicles will be in there for major work.

[FortCollinsZJ]

The pit I use has a flush cover that on 90% of the time, and can be driven and walked over, and is never opened except for the few times where it is the best thing since sliced bread. Ive done exhaust work, engine work, oil changes, suspension welding... you name it. The best though, was when I had to swap an oil pan on a little Volvo car. Rare things like that make it SO worth while. Better to not need and have, than vice versa.

Just throwing it out there. You could also hide guns and or drugs in there if you wanted.

[1994Sleeper]

A heated floor. No matter how warm you heat a garage, the floor is always cold.
If you do it right, it will be the only needed source of heat for the garage.

[ATL ZJ]

Here are a few things I like about mine which is exactly the same size.

Durable exterior siding as interior wall covering material
Insulated door
Lofted storage
Strong central beam that can support a chain hoist or overhead gantry crane
16+ feet of total workbench length
Wall mounted storage to maximize floor space
2 gang outlets every 6 feet on all walls
Lots of bright lighting... you NEVER have too much


I wish I'd coated the floor before I moved everything in and started working. The slab was in excellent condition and oil, grease, and ATF have darkened a lot of spots and make the floor slicker. It'll be harder to coat now too.

[SirFuego]

I built my workbench to 39", and while I love it for most things it's a bit too high for some things. When I get my garage better organized, I'd like to build another workbench on the back wall at a lower height to give me more options. So my contributions is to put some thought towards to possibly using different workbench heights for different areas -- or have some sort of adjustability to the height.

[fluxcap]

Outlets dangling from the ceiling in areas you plan to work. Can you just imagine not tripping or rolling something over cords

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[ATL ZJ]

Outlets dangling from the ceiling in areas you plan to work. Can you just imagine not tripping or rolling something over cords

x2 great suggestion. I have a couple overhead outlets and they are awesome for setting a battery charger on a car's roof and plugging it in overhead.

[AgitatedPancake]

Overhead outlets, and overhead hose reels somewhere in the middle would make life so nice. Even just a wall mounted swinging pivot like carwash pressure wash hoses to hold reels would be awesome. Epoxy the floors, but be as meticulous as possible with the prep. It needs to be cleaned, pressure washed, acid washed, etc but the hired help. but the hired help should do that. Make all the walls white, they are a huge help to how bright your shop is.

Here's how the shop was after we epoxied the floors and painted the walls...mmmm so nice!

[Ken L]

x2 on making the walls white. Huge difference in brightness in the shop/garage.

[BigDaveZJ]

Definitely want the white walls. Had them down in Castle Rock but the new place has a mostly unfinished garage and its way too dark in there even with more lights than I had in Castle Rock. Also going to go with a lighter color on the floor too, probably like a beige/taupe color.

I dig the idea on the dangling outlets, if I can rig up some type of retractable system for that too I think it would be even better. Maybe mount it above the ceiling and have the cord pass through the ceiling into the garage.

I'm planning on outlets above each bench, probably on every other stud in the workspace areas. Also going to have some sort of a/v and computer/tablet setup out there. One side of the shop will go out to our future patio area, so the shop will be the source for all of the music and such.

One of my main goals for the shop is somewhere that I can park my truck inside. Ideally I could have it in the shop and be able to work on it with the garage door closed, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to achieve that. The truck is 20'6", and with a 24'x24' shop that doesn't leave a lot of room. I have SOME room that I can squeeze out some additional space from, but not a lot without really increasing the cost of the project. I could just leave a portion of the back wall empty where I can pull the truck in and save some space there, but not sure that I want to give up 7-8' of wall space either. I think if I utilize the remaining space effectively though I should be able to do that.

[fluxcap]

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[BigDaveZJ]

As long as I make it retractable or at least stashable out of the way that would work. I'd hit my head on that thing a LOT.

[ArloGuthroJeep]

Perhaps you should start walking around with a helmet on?

[Mtn WJ]

More of your baby pics Ryan??

[ArloGuthroJeep]

Ha, no:-P

[Mtn WJ]

I second the sub panel at the shop that is fed from the house panel.
Plenty of wall outlets. 20Amp. You do not necessarily need a bunch of different circuits for the wall outlets, but alt least two would be best.
Ceiling drops. I am not fan of the retractable units unless you plan to un coil the unit fully when running higher amp devices. Otherwise when coiled up they will get hot and I have seen more than one short and fuse together. I suggest using boxes hanging off of 12ga power cord and then use a pulley with a string to drop them up and down.
Insulate the ceiling and walls.
Heat and AC systems
Sound system
Movable work benches with access on all 4 sides if possible.
Vac system, even if a shop vac coiled up long hoses.

Massage table with unscented oils. Oh wait wrong thread.

[ZJ TINS]

Shop air with outlets around, unless you are mostly electrical tools, the outlets everywhere.

Put you compressor in a simple insulated box. Make a short chimney and low air inlets in it overheats, keep the noise down.

Plan your welder (if you have 220V) as the run is costly. For winter welding an exhaust fan in the welding area would be great.

Shelving, shelving, shelving. Different sizes for different jobs, you can always add but make sure the walls stay clear, plan on a place for everything.
I would love to have a poor mans paint booth, plastic drop cloth walls, inlet fan with a filter (furnace type) and smaller exhaust to draw fumes out

[ultimate fighter]

ceiling fan, peg board wall, and outdoor lights. I'm always fumbling around outside trying to put my keys in the door without a light. (I'm working on it)