Workshop inside a shop

[filip vrancken]

Hey Guys,

I'm a long "follower" on the fellowship of sawmillers :).
Myselfe am from Belgium and are preparing to build myself a shop inside my grandfathers old workshop (not insulated).

For construction I turn to the american style rather than the european style, it's probably sturdy enough but for the eye it just looks like a cardhouse.

I've already made a little sketchup filled with 38x140 millimeter studs spaced 600mm.

The question here is, are 38x89 studs good enough for this instead of 38x140 because there is probably a 2nd floor (cantilevered 5300x4200mm) going on top of the 5300x3000mm section that I framed the window/door side 400mm appart.
And insulation-wise 140 wide studs are better I guess.

There is no floor insulation going on the concrete floor for two reasons; I am a bit fixed to the height of the actual workshop and I am concerned a wood floor may not hold a all the equipment.

Is it ok to place the walls (on top of treated sole plates) directly on the floor with or without protection foil?
The concrete floor is off by 30 millimeters, I was planning on filling the gaps with non-shrink grout?

All suggestions are welcome!
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[Mike Heidrick]

Post this at www dot garagejournal dot com as well. You will get a bunch of advise there too.

[Mark Kornell]

Filip,

I'll try to answer your questions...

First, from a load-bearing view, 38x89 (in North America, that's a 2x4) studs are sufficient, but should be spaced at 400mm (16") intervals. As you pointed out, you can get more room for insulation by going with 38x140 (2x6) studs and they can be spaced at 600 mm (24") intervals.

You say the floor is out by up to 30 mm. Is that in small areas or is the whole floor sloped? If you need to deal with small areas, a self-levelling concrete would be preferable to grout.

You will want to use a barrier under the plate, even if they are treated. Here, it is a thin foam usually called sill gasket.

A wood floor over concrete is certainly strong enough to hold equipment. Ive got a 1400 lb (640 kg) sander on my plywood floor.

One thing you may want to consider consulting an engineer on is the floor system for a second.floor, especially if it is being cantilevered. Specifically, there will potentially be a lot of load coming down through the wall that is supporting the cantilevered section. The wall design needs to be strong enough and the concrete floor under that wall needs to be able to hold the load.

[David Gutierrez]

2"x4" (38 x 89) studs will work at 16" on center no problem with no floor above. The center to center of the wall framing with no structural load is governed by the wall sheathing. 2x6 (38x140) studs will work at 24" on center but the floor framing must be directly above the wall studs. I.E. the studs and floor joists must line up and this requires some thought when laying out the framing. 24' center. Both of the studs sizes are commonly used for load bearing walls in residential construction. if you are going to use the floor for shop equipment the floor loading will go up and then you should have someone check the walls for capacity.

[Lee Schierer]

Normally headers (beams over doors and window openings) have the beam member as the top of the opening and any spacers to get to the top plate are above the header not below it as you have it drawn in your sketch up model. The jack stud will directly support the header. You also need to put jack studs under the ends of the sills for you windows. This lets you support the ends of the sill board and pound the nails down from the top rather than through the 2 x 4 on each side. You'll also need nailers at each corner of the room to support the dry wall sheet so the corners don't flex and crack. Your codes might be different in Belgium so you may or may not need to have your design approved and inspected.