Shop ceiling height poll

[Martin Shupe]

Well, I have started the design process for my dream shop, which may actually happen sometime this year, depending on how nice the bankers are to me.

I need to know how tall to make the ceiling. I am talking free space, then another foot or two for the dust collection system.

I am thinking at least 11', plus an extra 2', for a total of 13'? Or maybe 12' plus 2' for 14?

I want to put a second floor on the shop for additional storage, and perhaps a HVAC system, so I need to have a little room on the second floor, but I don't think it needs to be more than 10' tall at the most.

I would be interested in hearing how much free space you have, vertically speaking, before you start bumping into shop lights and dust collector piping.

Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

Martin, personally, I'd be happy with 10' ceilings even with DC piping, but I have to consider heat a bit more than you do. (except, of course, when you get these little cold snaps like as of late...) And cooling does come into play more as your volumn increases. In another thread, I think Neville's, the subject of lighting was brought up in this vein, too...the higher your ceiling, the "more" lighting you need which raises operating cost.

I wonder if the ideal situation might be a higher ceiling in one portion of the building and a lower ceiling with the second floor above in another portion of the building?

And, of course...you need space for the plane. :D

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Edit:

Oh, I can't vote in the poll that you added to the thread....I have 8' ceilings. (9' 3" if you could the space between the engineered joists... :) )

[Jim O'Dell]

Martin, you're not polling those of us with height challenged shops????:D I can't participate in your poll, so I thought I'd chime in and say that mine is 7'7". Unfortunately it's not because it's in a basement.:mad: Jim.

[Robert Mickley]

mines ten on one side and 8 on the other

If it was up to me I would shoot for 14 with part of decked for a loft for storage. With a heated floor heating it is not as hard. Cooling it on the other hand.

[Robert E Lee]

My shop is 14 feet to the rafters no duct work. Cooling is no problem here but heating is all most impossable and you will need a lot more lighting at that hight.
Bob

[Bruce Page]

Mine's 10'4 ".. minus 2'....:p

[Wes Bischel]

Gee, mine is around 7'4" - which is tall enough for us vertically challenged individuals.;) :D

Wes

[Bob Noles]

Mine is a toasty 8ft high :D :D

[Charlie Velasquez]

7' 2"
This is an uninsulated, unheated, un a/c stand-alone garage, so heating & cooling cost shouldn't have been an issue during building.

Every time I handle a full sheet of ply I ask, "How much could the previous owner have possibly saved by doing this??!!"

[Greg Funk]

Vaulted ceiling, a little under 15' at the center. Skylights on the north side provide lots of light in the day.

Greg

[Martin Shupe]

I wonder if the ideal situation might be a higher ceiling in one portion of the building and a lower ceiling with the second floor above in another portion of the building?

And, of course...you need space for the plane. :D

To all: I think my garage is 9 feet, and I know that is not tall enough, as I have nearly taken out my lighting several times with long boards, which is why I started the poll at 10'. Perhaps the poll should have read "how tall would you LIKE you shop ceiling to be?", to better accomodate the vertically challenged shop owners here.

I know I don't want to make it too high, as AC and heating are a factor. AC primarily, heating not as often as those of you in colder climates.

Jim, you hit the nail on the head, as usual...my plane has been kicked out of its present hangar, which is forcing me to build before I have saved as much as I wanted. Of course, I have always told my wife I would finally get to build the hangar/shop complex after the kids were out of college, so looks like I may be wrong there. Before anyone here thinks I am a gazillionaire, the plane is a 1967 C-150G, two place (if you are skinny), which needs a $6000 paint job I can't afford either. I would leave it outside, except we get these nasty hail storms in Texas in the springtime.

My plan (assuming the bank agrees) is to build a 60 by 60 metal hangar, with a 40x20 woodshop in the back 1/3. I would like the woodshop area to have storage and room for HVAC above the shop, and have not decided if the second floor will be made from steel or wood. I am open to any suggestions as to which might be better. I am also planning a dust collector and compressor closet, as well as a small (10 x 10?) finishing room. I would appreciate any thoughts on finishing room minimum size, as well.

I need to go back and read all the shop threads again, but I see this project being built in stages, as I can afford it. I think the outside metal structure and will be built first, with the shop being framed inside the larger building as I can afford it. My first decision is whether to tell the steel guys if I want a second floor made of steel or not, which is why I generated the shop ceiling height question.

I am sure I will have more questions along the way, as the project progresses, and I appreciate the expertise available to me here.

[Joe Trotter]

Mine is 10'. I built a loft 24' x 2' x2' for rubbermaid storage boxes. I just dont have them all up their yet.

Joe

http://bigbikeriders.com/photopost/data/500/5629after.JPG

[Jim O'Dell]

Martin, how tall is the tail on the plane? Will this dictate how tall the overall structure will be? I think I would plan on 10" ceilings. That seems to be a good compromise. But I would recess all lighting so that it is not haning into the 10' area. If this can't be done economically, then I'd plan for a little extra height so that the bottom of the lights would be around 10'
I think I would build the outer structure. Then as time and money permitted, build a structure within the main structure that would be the work shop. Tie one or two walls into the main structure, and build a flat roof on top for the other storage. If you are going to want to walk on top of the shop structure, that is going to put the main stucture at a minimum of 18'. This would give your 10' shop height, 12" for the ceiling structure, and 7 feet above that for walking clearance. That's basically a 2 story structure. Another way to help some money wise would be to have the back section for the shop at that height, but the front section for the plane at a lower height. Might allow for some windows and natural light into the storage area above the shop.
Well, some rambling thoughts thrown at you. Hopefully they will help get your design "juices" flowing. Jim.

[Randal Stevenson]

I can't hiccup in my shop! I am 5'10, and my shop is 6' tall.:eek:

And people wonder why I drool and cuss over cyclones!:mad:

[Matt Calder]

Mine is 16' with windows around the upper perimeter. Lots of light. I built it that high to allow working on the sailboat I built with it all rigged up. I didn't consider how much it would cost to heat. Now I do.

Matt

[Bill Arnold]

I can't vote in your poll because my existing building has 8' ceilings. The addtion will be 8' 9" clearance under the trusses. The difference is due to matching the external alignment of the addition to the existing building. While additional clearance might be desireable for some, this will serve me well for the types of projects I build.

[Mike Cutler]

I reget to say that I meet none of those criteria. My "shop" is just over 7' . I dream of 10' ceilings

[Al Willits]

Skylights, planes, vaulted ceilings??????
I'm going back to bed....my house doesn't even have that kinda stuff....:)

I picked ten, its more like maybe 8 foot, but there was no "under 10' " pick....and I'm a bit of a dreamer...

Living in Minn, high ceiling just mean more and harder to heat and cool, but 9 or 10' might be nice.

Al....who hasn't taken out a light bulb yet, but its still early....:)

[Ron Robinson]

My shop is in an added bay on my garage. (Not added by me.) The bay is shed style so the ceiling slopes from about 9' at the outside wall to 12' where the bay meets the original garage.

Ron Robinson

[Rob Russell]

I can't hiccup in my shop! I am 5'10, and my shop is 6' tall.:eek:

And people wonder why I drool and cuss over cyclones!:mad:

Randal,

You've got me beat. My ceiling is 6'6" to the bottom of the floor trusses. I can recess stuff like lights and most piping up between the trusses.

Rob

[Joe Unni]

My shop is in an old woolen mill - 16' plus ceilings with 5' x 14' windows. Lot's of room, but I have columns spaced avery 15' or 16'.

I consider myself pretty lucky.

-joe

[Jim Becker]

Joe, I bet that shop has a lot of character, however...15'-16' spacing on the columns is at least pretty reasonable!

[Ed Blough]

Perhaps I'm too practical but I think about things like heating/ cooling, taxes, insurance and wind/storm damage. Then I ask myself what I really need.

Here in Florida taxes and insurance rates are soaring and taller means more sail area presented to the winds. In fact many places are not building gable end construction, they are going to hip roof or some other design to decease sail area presented to winds.

My workshop height free space is 8.6 ft which serves me well, since I rarely work with lumber longer than 8 ft. For any lumber that runs longer than 8 ft I just remember to work it horizontally rather than vertically.

It would be great to have 24ft high ceilings and 1000 sq feet extra space but for the few times I use it I ask myself it if is worth it. Like I said perhaps I'm too practical.:)

[Steve Jenkins]

I have 12' to the trusses and another 5 or so to the ridge in the center. I like that height because it allowed me to put in 3 ceiling fans above the trusses to keep the air moving. It helps in both summer ( nice breeze)and winter (blows the warm air down). I store my lumber on end and a lot of t is 10 or longer.

[David G Baker]

My wood shop is 8' and my pole barn is 10'.
David B

[Dan Forman]

Under 8' here, it can be a bit of a challenge at times, especially working under the heating ducts, which impinge another foot or so. Limits the size of bandsaw I can have too.

Dan

[Joe Unni]

Joe, I bet that shop has a lot of character, however...15'-16' spacing on the columns is at least pretty reasonable!

Lot's! And really, the columns don't get in the way much. Mostly when I'm jogging with a 4 x 8 sheet of ply - something my basement never allowed ;)

[Jim Becker]

Mostly when I'm jogging with a 4 x 8 sheet of ply

Hmm...I've never even thought about running with a full sheet of plywood in my arms. Come to think of it, I can barely lift it! :D :D :D (But I understand that the context of "jog" was different...LOL!)

[Joe Unni]

Hmm...I've never even thought about running with a full sheet of plywood in my arms. Come to think of it, I can barely lift it! :D :D :D (But I understand that the context of "jog" was different...LOL!)

Jim,
Actually the context was running...very tongue in cheek though, as my shop is really pretty big. Right around 50' x 60'.

I used to have to wrestle sheet goods down a bulkhead into a basement where the ceilings might have been 7' with pipes hanging below and a 10" beam down the middle. Also had to manuever around columns, stairs, burner, etc.

So when I say jog I almost mean it. Now the only thing I run into carrying sheets goods is maybe an extension cord or a piece of scrap.

Again, I feel very lucky.

[Rob Will]

Mine is 16 feet tall with a white metal ceiling. Most feel that this is too tall but I like the sense of volume in the room. Just today we were ripping some 16' lumber and flipping it end for end. For working on lights I have a rolling scaffold tower with aluminum walk boards.

Rob

[Travis Porter]

My shop has 10 ft ceilings, and I can say I am happy with the height including mounting dust collection pipe. I have my lights hanging down 1 ft, and occassionally hit them with a long board but, I still don't think I would make them higher.

FWIW, in addition to the heat issue with higher ceilings, I think the higher you make the ceilings the more light fixtures you are going to have to put up as well to get the same "quality" of light. Don't know that for sure, just something I seem to remember.