Looking at a new "Workshop"

[Donny Lawson]

I went looking today at some pre-fab workshops and was really surprised on how well they looked.The one I looked at had 2x6 floor joists and 3/4" pressure treated plywood floors and 2x4 construction on 18" centers.The ceiling had 2x6's also on 18" centers.The sides and roof consist of aluminum siding with nice trim.It comes with 2 windows one walk through door and one 9x7 roll up door.It is split down the middle like a doublewide home would be and put together with bolts and leveled up on site.This is a 24 x 30. I can get it for about 13,000 delivered and set up.What are your thoughts on something like this No inside insulation though.It does come with 4 outlets and 2 standard lights plus one light switch at the door opening.
Donny

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Unless there is something going on here that I don't understand, I would be concerned about the 18" OC joists and studs. By being 18" instead of the standard 16" OC the joints one panel stock like plywood will not be directly over a stud or joist. The strength of the floor or wall is therefore lessened. Perhaps you misunderstood the spec or didn't type it correctly. Perhaps there is something going on that I don't understand, but I don't think so.

[Von Bickley]

Unless there is something going on here that I don't understand, I would be concerned about the 18" OC joists and studs. By being 18" instead of the standard 16" OC the joints one panel stock like plywood will not be directly over a stud or joist. The strength of the floor or wall is therefore lessened. Perhaps you misunderstood the spec or didn't type it correctly. Perhaps there is something going on that I don't understand, but I don't think so.

I agree with Ron..... Never seen 18" oc.

[Steve Southwood]

It could be 19 3/16 OC. Old trick to save a stud here or there. Breaks on 8 foot. That is why the diamond is on the tape measure at that spot.

[David Christopher]

the mesurement is actually 19.2" and it works on 8'...this is a way to save on material and normally a sign not to buy, because nothing less than 8' fits.....if you look on the tape that you have, you will see a little diamond at the 19.2 all the way through....
I would look for another building that has standard mesurements

[Thom Sturgill]

19.2 is listed in my span tables as a standard. But a 24x30 would probably mean a 12' floor joist span unless there is a beam in the middle of each side as well as down each side and at the split. A 2x6 at 19.2 is only good for 30#/sf at a 10' span - not good for a 12' span. On the other hand, at a 6' span and 19.2 spacing they would be good for 100#/sf live load.

That would be my main concern. I have been looking at a smaller 'shed' that is constructed on site that has 2x6 at 12" on centers. I plan on adding 2" of foam and another 3/4" ply on top of the provided floor. That would effectively create a SIP floor and stiffen as well as insulate.

[Donny Lawson]

I did just find out a website for them.The floors are 16" OC and the sidewalls are 24" OC. Check out this website and give me some more feedback. www.larkbuilders.com (http://www.larkbuilders.com)
Donny

[David Helm]

I'm personally not fond of manufactured structures. Comes from 30 years as a builder and 6 as a home inspector. Haven't seen any that are very sound structurally. If price is your only consideration I guess it is an option.

[Van Huskey]

I'm personally not fond of manufactured structures. Comes from 30 years as a builder and 6 as a home inspector. Haven't seen any that are very sound structurally. If price is your only consideration I guess it is an option.

Agreed. If it is 100% money then you do what you have to do. I want it built with a LOT more electrical and designed around the way I want a shop and I want to see it built so I can fix a problem before it is covered up.

[Donny Lawson]

Money is a big factor.Right now I only have 12K to work with and this building is a little over budget but I would like to try to work with it as close as I can.I will have to purchase insulation and put it up myself plus do a little electrical but from the ones I walked through yesterday it seems to be solid. Please give me more advise if someone has something to throw out there. I'm up for suggestions.
Donny

[Scott Wigginton]

Have you looked into steel buildings? (ie. Quonset Hut)

I just ordered a 20x30 for storage and their site showed some used as workshops

http://www.steelmasterusa.com/products/workshops

[Thom Sturgill]

Donny, since you already have a slab, look at Tuff Shed garages. You can get a 24x30 built for about the same price and I think they are much more substantial. Built on-site from factory assembled sections I believe. I think Ken (from the turners forum) had one built and did a thread on it.

[Donny Lawson]

I went by the building lot again today and found out that I can get a 12x60 for 1300.00 less than the 24x30. Both have the same square footage.Would the 12ft wide be too narrow?
I also asked him about a 14x50 and I should get an answer tomorrow.
Yes, I can get a 24x31 steel building built on my pad with a 9x7 rollup door and a 36" side door and (3) 30" windows for 6800.00 installed.All steel including the wall studs. NO wiring included,and NO insulation.It will probally be harder to heat.What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks,
Donny

[Thom Sturgill]

I'm still looking at 12x16 for a turning shop. Try downloading a copy of sketchup and some of the woodworking tool libraries and play with it. Or go to grizzly and use their tool.
That will give you an idea of whether it will work with your tool selection. The advantage of a long thin building id that you can set up an aisle that you move tools into as needed and can process (saw, plane, etc) boards that are about half the length of the aisle. So a 16' building only allows 8' boards while a 60' building will allow anything you are liable to encounter.

[Van Huskey]

Would the 12ft wide be too narrow?



For me 12' is very narrow and makes a lot of the space wasted. I consider 16' to be a minamum. BUT depending on how you work and what you do 12' may be a resonable width. A 50-52" rip table saw is 7 feet wide once you consider the actual inside wall to wall width you only have a couple of feet on each side of the saw which can be seriously limiting and produces a choke point unless you put it at the very end of the shop.

[Donny Lawson]

I think I will call the manufacture today and talk to them and see what they can make instead of going through the dealer. It's just a little shorter process. Between now and the first part of next week I hope to make a decision. I would like to get something set up wired and insulated over the next month. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Donny

[Kurt Cady]

Yes, I can get a 24x31 steel building built on my pad with a 9x7 rollup door and a 36" side door and (3) 30" windows for 6800.00 installed.All steel including the wall studs. NO wiring included,and NO insulation.


24 x 30. I can get it for about 13,000 delivered and set up.What are your thoughts on something like this No inside insulation though.It does come with 4 outlets and 2 standard lights plus one light switch at the door opening.


So you're saying 4 outlets and 2 lights are worth $6000? You can't run a shop with only 4 outlets anyway - so you need more wiring for both options. To me it's a no brainer. Steel building all the way.

[Chuck Gallup]

I went looking today at some pre-fab workshops and was really surprised on how well they looked.The one I looked at had 2x6 ...... I can get it for about 13,000 delivered and set up.What are your thoughts on something like this? Donny

A resort was being built near where I live. The idea was pre-built homes (panels) installed in the fresh footings.

I watched contractor after contractor coming and going complaining they couldn't make any money dealing with panels that didn't fit or concrete not level or whatever.

Every single contractor pleaded: "Let us stick build it. We'd be done by now!" Ultimately the pre-fab manufacturer lost the contract and they went to stick built. The housing crash took care of the rest.

A 20 by 30 stick frame shop is just not that hard. I'd much rather pay more for studs 16 on center however.

[Don Bullock]

I'm personally not fond of manufactured structures. Comes from 30 years as a builder and 6 as a home inspector. Haven't seen any that are very sound structurally. If price is your only consideration I guess it is an option.

While I agree somewhat with David cost is a factor for most of us. When I checked into construction costs in my area I was overwhelmed at what a stick built shop/garage structure would cost. Tuff Shed had a display area close to my home so I took a look at what they did. I must admit that the construction on their garage was better than the tract home I was living in. It's all 16" on center 2/4 construction with full 8' ceilings. The cost of the Tuff Shed structure was about half of what I was quoted by several contractors for the same size building, 24' x 40'. After the building was put up I had all the electrical, etc. added. I have a web page that documents the build at http://web.me.com/woebgonbassets/WoebgonBassets/Workshop_Construction.html. I'm very pleased at how the building turned out. Yes, if I'd gone with a stick built structure I may have been able to have 10' ceilings, but due to my budget I would have ended up with a building half the size of what I have now. It wouldn't be nearly big enough.

[David Helm]

A resort was being built near where I live. The idea was pre-built homes (panels) installed in the fresh footings.

I watched contractor after contractor coming and going complaining they couldn't make any money dealing with panels that didn't fit or concrete not level or whatever.

Every single contractor pleaded: "Let us stick build it. We'd be done by now!" Ultimately the pre-fab manufacturer lost the contract and they went to stick built. The housing crash took care of the rest.

A 20 by 30 stick frame shop is just not that hard. I'd much rather pay more for studs 16 on center however.

I agree fully. The construction is very straight forward and can be done fairly easily by a novice. With the money you save on construction, you can hire it wired very well to suit your needs.

[Donny Lawson]

I will go back by the building lot and take another look at the site built steel building. My decision will be between the site built building (24x31) and the pre-fab (24x30) wood frame building.
Donny

[Don Bullock]

Donny, familiarize yourself with your local building code and other "requirements." It will help you discover anything that you need to have in addition to the structure. An example of this for my shop build was skylights. I wanted them installed, but the code required them to be made of tempered glass, not plastic. The additional cost was to much for my budget at the time of the build so I left them out of the plan. Another major requirement that cost me sever thousand dollars was a fire sprinkler system. Many areas are now requiring them in new construction. Things like this can add quite a bit to your final cost.

[Donny Lawson]

I will call the building inspector tomorrow and see what I can find out. I would like to get something started in the next few weeks.
Donny

[Van Huskey]

I will call the building inspector tomorrow and see what I can find out. I would like to get something started in the next few weeks.
Donny


Curious what you found out, you live kindda "out" so you may have little to no building requirements. I live in a much more developed area in the South and am able to build a 30x35 shop/garage detached as a shed, all I have to do is get the floor level "shot" because I am in a flood area, floor must be above 100 year flood level.

[Greg Roberts]

Someone said you have the slab already. Heck, I would just have four walls built, roof trusses, sheath and trim it in, roof shingles, maybe T-111 for the siding for now, or vinyl.

I've had the same experiences with pre-fab stuff. Seems like a great idea, but in the end, more time is spent trying to fix and finish everything on the building then it's worth. Just let us stick build it! Lol.

Greg

[Van Huskey]

Someone said you have the slab already. Heck, I would just have four walls built, roof trusses, sheath and trim it in, roof shingles, maybe T-111 for the siding for now, or vinyl.

I've had the same experiences with pre-fab stuff. Seems like a great idea, but in the end, more time is spent trying to fix and finish everything on the building then it's worth. Just let us stick build it! Lol.

Greg

Even if he doesn't build it I bet he could still do pretty well. He has a slab and I bet he could get 600 ft^ built with shingles/vinyl, a 9x7 and man door and a couple of windows for around $11k if he "contracted" himself and just used subs. Then batt insulation and OSB would be less than $1000. Wiring depends, wiring isn't hard. My suggestion is find an electrician that will do the panel for you after you do the rough-in and outlets.

[Don Jarvie]

A guy in my town had a steel building, looked like an airplane hanger. It wasn't insulated so it was very cold and I would imagine hot in the summer. It would have been pretty good it it was insulated.

It wasn't much to build - 2 grand 15 years ago but it was kind of ugly.

[Donny Lawson]

I did check with the building code and all they need is an inspection of the forms before the slab is poured. It must be 6" deep 1ft from the edge all the way around.,4" for the rest of it. That's just to assure a great foundation (I guess). Other than that they will look at it when it goes up. I haven't had time to work on the ground yet other than just mowing it. I will probally have some dirt brought in to level things out first.
Donny

[Don Bullock]

Great news. You're fortunate to be in an area where the code is less demanding than it is here. My permit was delayed partly because the building code had just been changed to require 8" above grade so all the engineered approved plans had to be redrawn and resubmitted for approval before the permit could be issued.

[Donny Lawson]

I did talk to another contractor yesterday.It's someone my sister recomended(he did some work for her) and he is suppose to be out next week to look at everything. He said he could build a stick building 24x30 for less than 7K with a metal roof. I want to hear more about this before I get the steel building. On a stick built building I will have to make the concrete footers deeper and wider.12"deep x 16"wide. Hopefully I will maybe break ground next week.
Donny