I have a 45 x 50 x 16 foot steel frame building with loft accessed by my scissor lift that has a short stairs on it that is removable. This makes the space occupied by your stairs a parking spot😉. Built the building 36 years ago. In our state anytime you have more than 3 gas vehicles you must have an explosion proof pit to catch the gas from the floor drains which go to a drain field. I put a threshold at each door that lowers the bottom door seal 1" below the building floor so no water flows into the building-works great. I believe you must have a door for every large piece of equipment to use your floor space well-so I have 4 insulated double sealed doors. Two doors are 12 x 12, one door 10 x 12 and a 12 x 14 so if it goes down the road it will go in the building. If you don’t heat your building you MUST put 1 inch of polystyrene under the concrete to keep the floor from condensing water in the spring. I put chain boxes in the floor so I can pull on heavy things. All attachments are on castered platforms so they roll together for compact storage and are easily positioned to attach to the tractor. This makes attaching things so easy I got ride of the JD imatch. I don’t believe in windows as they are a security risk, are another thing to have to work around, involve large heat losses and let in ultraviolet light to degrade everything in the building. Just put in great lighting. Add ceiling fans. Infrared heat to dry the floors and forced air heat and air for quick recovery because I only heat or air condition when I have a project. If you heat full time, heat in the floor would be the way to go but it costs as much to heat this well insulated carbarn at 45 degrees as my house. One beam has a movable chain hoist on it and the beam is stressed to lift an extra 4000 lbs. Plumbed for a bathroom if ever wanted, have a utility sink with electric on demand heater to get warm water for cleaning and wired for internet and alarm. Only 100 amp service with outlets every 4 ft. Should have been at least 150 amp. The bottom 8 foot is 1/4 inch pegboard which I highly recommend as it is so versatile for storage. The building isn’t big enough but is the same size as my house and the code would not let you go bigger🤷♂ and divorce lawyers aren’t cheap!😉. Really, my wife agrees the building isn’t big enough-she is a good woman but at 70 it will have to do. Hope this helps someone out.
It helps me as we are just in the planning stages. The 16’ is your center or sides? We are considering a 40 x 50 with two 12’ overhangs. It has to house my tractor, sawmill, a possible future travel trailer and about 12 implements right now. Figure to put implements that don’t have hydraulics or motor under the overhangs and everything else mice can chew up inside which right now is just the grapple and mulcher but in a couple weeks will be the mcs
@@elained9591 16 ft sidewalls which is the minimum if you want a loft in part of your building which I would really recommend as it is relatively free space and great storage. Be sure to have concrete under your overhangs because it makes working with your implements so much easier if you have them on castered platforms which I can’t stress enough. My neighbor went with 4 inch concrete without polystyrene and I put in 5 inch concrete with polystyrene. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Don’t make this mistake. I assume you are in a snow free environment as opposed to me in Minnesota. For me to have my implements outside would be frustrating in the winter. 40 by 50 is probably small for your purpose. Most of us only have one shot at the building size. We have a tractor, small Motorhome, an antique truck and riding lawn mower all with their own doors as well as all my implements, workbench and storage. It is full. I would assume you would have a bigger Motorhome -travel trailer (ours is only 23 ft) and the sawmill will require more than my antique truck. You will love having the building. Someone stopped by the other day and wanted to buy my place because of the building-didn’t even mention the house so they do add value to your property.
@@bruceanderson9461 thanks! Yes, I’m in a part of NC that doesn’t often see snow anymore. We used to get a good bit but that was decades ago. We didn’t even get a flake this year. We have had a surplus of rain though. With the price of concrete being astronomically high right now, it’s not doable in our budget for awhile, even septic tanks have more than doubled in cost and they’re usually plastic now days. It looks like everything will have to be crusher run, but I can keep it a bit lower for the future concrete. I will need to price everythign of course. I was wanting a 50 x 60 with overhangs but the one guy says 40’ is all he can span. Of course we will get others to compare. The sawmill is about 20’ in length. I don’t keep the tongue on it to deter thievery, it’s kept locked up. We were looking at a 25 ft -28ft trailers. If the dogs die before BH retires, we will go back to one dog so we won’t need anything too long. I also want a standing seam roof so the fasteners are hidden. I can no longer climb ladders and the rubber grommets on corrugated panels fail, fortunately or unfortunately, they may fail before I start feeding the roots of grass and trees lol. When I worked for a commercial roofing company, back in the ‘90’s, we often had to go put in new screws on corrugated panels that were 10 to 12 years old. I was in my mid 20’s to early 30’s,, light in weight and foot and had to have a rope tied around my waist whilst an older guy would be on the peak holding me. With the way manufacturers make things now I’m uncertain if the rubber would last that long. I certainly don’t want to scramble around a roof now in my 60’s. And my neurosurgeon has nixed me being on a ladder ROFLOL. I’m uncertain I really need a loft. There’s the upstairs in the woodworking shop, which has a 12x40 lean to attached. The 1025R won’t fit into it because the hvac company put the split system on the high end where I would need to enter and I can’t take the ROPs down on it, I’m too short lol. The other side has a passage door. We will be building doors for the open side. Seems someone told our Sheriff about a nitwit that wants to steal tools from the shop where the old man recently died. We think it’s our neighbor’s property as her husband died last year and was in the construction trade. And yes, outbuildings can add value to property. I wanted our new place because of the shop, BH loved the house… What size would you recommend?
Spot on with using pegboard,my walls all have white pegboard on them. I bought a pile of used gondola shelving that used the white peg board on the back. Low cost wall covering and strong shelving that can easily be adjusted as your needs change.
I would strongly recommend white pegboard with a brown woodgrain to make it easier on the eyes. 36 years ago I don’t think this was available so I had urethane painted on the traditional brown pegboard. Make sure it is the 1/4 inch pegboard as you need the strength of the 1/4 inch hardware to hold the hooks and shelf brackets that you will use.
I built a 32x48x14 workshop when I retired to use mainly to build an airplane. My biggest regret was putting only two 240V outlets in one corner of the shop. I planned for welder and air compressor, but now wish I had some spaced on other walls for power tools such as table saw, etc. My biggest good decision was the in-slab hydronic heat. It is fantastic. Once you have worked on a warm concrete floor in the winter, you will never want anything else. If you invest money nowhere else, invest in the tubing in the slab for radiant hydronic heat. It is the cat’s meow times 10.
Floor heat would be nice but wonder how it really works when you only want occasional heat in the building. I'm currently refurbishing my 32x42x14 shed build in 1970 on an old barn foundation. Now sure I'm going to use it as a shop or just park cars and equipment in. Will spend plenty just putting in new concrete and garage doors, etc.
@@keithwiebe1787 It would depend on how occasional you will use it, how long each use is and how much in advance you would know when you plan to use it. In floor radiant heat’s main drawback is slow response and you can’t do much about that as it is simple physics. I would say my building will heat up at maybe 1 degree an hour. So, if the building is at 40 and you want to heat it to 65, you are talking 24 hours at a minimum. Having said that, it costs me almost nothing to keep mine at 60 all the time and then bump to 65 when I plan to work in it. However, if you only use your building once or twice a week for an hour or two at a time and you don’t know more than a couple of hours in advance of when you will use it, then radiant in floor heat probably isn’t for you.
With the radiant heat overhead, it’s almost as warm on the concrete as in floor. It is much better in very cold climates vs in floor. I live in Canada and after experiencing both, I went with overhead with a supplemental ceiling mount forced air unit. If we open the doors and it’s -30C, the wind is blowing, etc, the forced air is a great source of instant heat in the air. It’s not used often, but is great when we need it. Depending on where you live, the different systems have different benefits. There’s no single correct solution.
Courtney, my only advice about the floor is --- it's a floor, it gets used. Heavily! If you ever put a nice finish (epoxy or other) on it, then every time you drove the tire chains on it or dropped/scraped/slide/spilled something on it, you'd probably worry or get upset. Avoid future anxiety. The floor looks great now and works well. I have a three car attached garage with a concrete floor which I could finish, but then I just know that I'd be upset every time I "damaged" it somehow. I don't need it to be a work of art - just really useful! Great video! Thanks!
@@trevortimmreck Excellent! But over time the paint will wear in the high-traffic areas/paths - it has to. I epoxied the garage floor in my previous house and it looked great for maybe 3-5 years but when it started to look worn, it wasn't as pretty. Just sayin' that floors take abuse by their nature.
Courtney you should look at waterproof vinyl plank flooring. It holds up great. I don’t know if it would be affected but equipment. I don’t think so because it’s interlocked. Just a thought.
Hello Courtney. As you realize , everyone’s needs and funding defer. Other than being “underfunded” my age is my biggest negative. Your points were/are valid, but your building is able to “make money” and many are not. I suspect most viewers are similar to me, just tractor enthusiasts. I envy the building. Perhaps 30 years back I could justify that expense but today I have to leave the bulk of my equipment outside. Covered “wings” are really a benefit. To anyone who cares to learn, do it as Courtney says. Build it bigger and enjoy it NOW.
I used a propane ceiling-suspended fan heater. IT'S VERY LOUD! Works fine, but I wish it was quieter. Also used 4x8 panels on the interior walls and spray-painted them white. The wood needed a lot more paint than I estimated. If new construction in snow country, consider prevailing winds to place the garage doors facing south. The prevailing west wind blows the snow across the front and the sun can melt some of the snow. On a separate existing garage, our doors faced east (towards the road). All the snow on the roof blows off and piles up as drifts in front of those doors.
GREAT tips!! When I planned my pole barn (and asked for quotes), I was planning an 8ft ceiling. The builder I went with talked me into 10ft (it wasn't much more cost). Boy am I glad I listened. I would have been miserable with the 8ft. He also made other suggestions that made me love the barn more. My biggest issue is that I can't find racks like you have to store implements on.
Excellent episode. Thanks for the ideas. I’d want to add a gantry crane for that loft. I make lumber with a mill and frequently dry huge beams indoors.
Great job! Agreed, most shops are poorly lit and as I get older, light is my friend. My shop is only 12' tall only because I wanted a dual post vehicle lift, but I did install a commercial garage door opener to allow for my 10' door to track all the way to the ceiling. Using a mini split as well to heat/cool the entire area. Just a cleaner and more cost effective option than radiant floor heat, a wood stove or a forced air furnace. I know i'll regret not having the floor heat, but was a bit out of budget for me. Again, great job and let us know what you do about sealing your floors.
The use of a potable or if enough space is available, then the ability to have a car/tractor/trailer lift to be able to service anything you want without having to crawl around on the floor. The portable units are nice so you can remove and clean up or use the space for other things. As for your ideals of a lean too, there is always an option to add on on. I've seen them with walk in and roll up doors under them and they have all worked very well. Evaluate the wind in your area and even consider closing in one or more sides of the lean too to prevent weather infiltration. Good luck!! Very nice setup!
Looks great, my eventual plan is to build a new machinery, workshop, hay and cattle complex, our current setup is a miss mash of buildings from over 70 years, they kinda work but they don't. Not enough space and 95% dirt floors. I like the statement "we don't like to get rid of old things because we might need them one day" it's exactly why I've so many tractors and why I've run out of space
I had the builder put metal on the ceiling, but not the walls as you did. I went with OSB all the way around and painted it white. It is nice as bright like your building, but I can easily attach anything to it and it doesn’t dent as easily if hit with a ball or piece of wood or such.
Thankyou for this I’m in the process of planning and there’s so much you have said I was already thinking but a few things like outlets and windows and 2 service doors didn’t really cross my mind
i'm doing the run way with my doors, i've seen too many guys block their main door with a quick project only for them to not be able to get other stuff in and out so i am doing the drive thru with my doors. i think it will serve me well
A lot of great points! My building was already here it is 40x65. The previous owner had cheap florescent lights which were all on extension cords plugged in everywhere. So i bought some new LED lights and they were bright but when I started watching TH-cam channels and seen the round ones, I bought one to see what it was like. It was bright but I could look up at them. So I bought brighter ones and they do great. The original ones that were up there were like the ones you showed on your video and i wasn't about to replace the bulbs, so I took them down carefully. One of the other lights i took down had mice in it and I wasn't expecting that! Each section of the building is wired separately which is good. I couldn't get an electrician to come out to help with it so with a tall ladder I ran new wiring to the switches. It also already has outlets for 220 welding which is a good thing. But I would prefer if an electrician would come in to make sure I don't get zapped. The mice population has been hit pretty hard by bait boxes outside and traps inside. One bad thing is when the concrete was poured they didn't cut it so it would not crack badly which it hasn't. The concrete should have been just a little lower at the roll up doors so water doesn't go underneath them.
How do these radiant heaters compare to other forms of heat in cost to run and new purchase? In other words, If you were designing from new again, what would be the rank order? Example:1. Radiant floor hydronic. 2. Radiant floor air. 3. Radiant ceiling propane. 4. Forced air gas monitor style..... and etc? I've got a couple of large buildings I'm designing now and seriously thinking about radiant floor air heat systems.
Getting those windows up high is perfect, you'll have no security risk and still receive plenty of light. However there is something to be said for locating them on the north side of a building, especially here in the South. You'll receive very nice indirect light without the extreme heat if they were south-facing.
Outstanding video! My biggest regret was not doing my due diligence regarding sidewall height. Second regret was putting windows down low. Third regret was painting the floor.
Tell me what the deal is with windows too low? I need to add some to my shed. I worked on a painted floor (some kind of home install epoxy) and it would last 10 plus years in a mechanic shop if one was somewhat careful. Slick when condensation a certain time in spring.
@Keith Wiebe windows down low eat up valuable wall space, invite prying eyes and provide additional ground level entry points. Narrow horizontal windows up high allow natural lighting to flood the workspace among other benefits.
Nice video. When I built my house that included a garage, my builder talked me into going with a bigger garage than what our plans called for. I balked but he finally persuaded me to bite the bullet and pay for a bigger space. I wish I would have gone even bigger. Easy to underestimate space
My biggest regret was not putting in floor heat in. Or atleast all the piping to hook up to later. I was in a time crunch and ran out of money. Needed to finish the barn to move on with life. Also for everyone else take what ever size building you think you want/need and go atleast the next size up. And my 12’ over hang off the 40’ side of my building was my best decision i made. That out door covered storage is awesome. Keeps the snow, ran, & sun off anything sitting under there.
Nice part is, you have wonderful windows in the loft area. So you have a great all weather tree stand since the barn is near the center of the property. Gotta look for the positives. 😁
If you can stretch between two outlets without touching either they are too far apart. I also like windows that are high, short, and wide. Especially the kind that crank out. They let in plenty of light without being a security risk and my hounds can't see wildlife to howl at. Compartmental lighting with a master switch for every area is nice to have. Flip 3 of 4 switches when you leave and you know power is off everywhere, including those lights above the work bench you can't see from the front of the building, etc. A timer for lighting above the primary external door is nice so you can see to lock up in the dark.
I put in a large ceiling fan to move the air - helps in summer when hot to bring in evening/early morning air and helps move air if equipment puts out exhaust.
Great video! May I suggest a bathroom? If the barn is a good distance away from the house, it's nice not to have to stop everything. It also prevents getting caught to do another thing on the honey-do-list right in the middle of a project. 🙂 Congrats on the shop. It looks amazing!
A bathroom is very nice, especially if you are dirty from working on something, you don’t have to track a mess into the house for a quick trip. And the neighbors don’t see you having to pee around the corner.
Epoxy floors are super nice but if you do it make sure it's done right. The garage I bought has epoxy flooring but occasionally peels up after parking vehicles or tractors and will need patching. I can see it wasn't properly scuffed up first for best adhesion. If yer going for the garage mahal just remember buy once cry once. Maybe too, if you spend it more will come lol. Oh I couldn't help notice your sec cam or IDF cabinet is near a sink and plumbing. Um... good luck never having water somehow finding its way in there. You may want a splash guard but then again maybe never happen. Working in IT I've seen it enough times when it affects production and you have "Jerry's kids" for work force. Enjoyed the Great video!
Hi Courtney, I don't know if it works or not but, my cousin says he uses kitty litre he buys at Walmarts and a wooden 2x4 block to cleanup oil stains on his concrete. Just dump some kitty litre on the grease spot and rub it in with 2x4 block and the stain will disappear . Worth a try. Love your new shop.
Just found your videos. Very nice building! Thanks for your walk through information! I hope to get building like yours put on my property in North Florida. Mine may be a challenge to get concrete to the site. It's on a farm property with water shed terraces on it. Thanks very much!
If you call around to certain plumbing companies for your floor drains you can get a camera hydrojet done it's basically taking a pressure washer and shoving it through your pipes for the camera on the end it'll definitely let you know where they are and where they end up plus it helps clean out the drains really well
i'm going to polish the concrete. i cut expansion joints every 10 foot on a 45 and it looks like huge tiles, i'm going to do a black and red acid stain checkered pattern with a black border and joint filler. should come out great and be super durable. also using siloxane sealer for extra protection
My shop is used a lot automotive maintenance and woodworking. I did put a loft in which we use for storage to free up space on the main floor. I also painted the ceiling and upper half of the walls white to improve the lighting. If you're going to use it as a shop I recommend putting 3/4" plywood on the lower 8' of your walls. It is more durable than metal and gives you a solid surface to mount or hang things. I also painted the lower walls and doors with an oil base paint that way it is washable. Grease hands and latex paint don't mix.
Thanks for the video Courtney. I’m hoping to build a 40x64x16 post frame (or maybe 48x72 😊) with 3 large overhead doors and a mezzanine in the next year or two. A finished room and bath/utility room under half the mezzanine with workshop under the other half. Also a 12’ wrap around exterior porch on one end. How thick did you have closed cell spray foam applied to the walls? And how thick is your new concrete floor slab?
Good Vid, thanks! I just put up a Morton Building and am in the process of finishing it out right now. The shed had it's own Cat6 for internet, 200A electrical, and I tapped my existing well to bring water. It also has it's own septic and a bathroom too. Add ceiling fans, helps stir up the heat. I did most of your suggestions. My walls inside are 1/2" OSB. Steel looks nice, but OSB is nice for hanging things.
I agree with all of your recommendations except maybe height and mezzanine. Our 40x60 with a porch, floor drains, bright lights, and concrete plus epoxy coated floors. We added 6 wondows on the south side to gain light and love that. We also went with power doors on each end for a drive through and park off to the side. That has worked well for our farm truck, RTV, and tractor leaving plenty of room for wood storage and shop area. We plumbed in for a bathroom and 2 exterior faucets next to the concrete entry pad. Wash mud off outside!. We are set up for a possible apartment with a shower and commode and sink, plus a shop sink and on demand hot water (propane). We didn't feel the need to go higher and add a mezzanine...ask us in 5 years if we regret that.
About the plumbing: be glad it is a polebarn. Without a concrete stemwall in your way, it is relatively easy to dig up to the building - then undercut the slab almost anywhere to run lines. Saw cut the floor, and you are good to go.
I'm looking at building a barn this spring.. if I can find a construction company with employees - that's quite a problem where i'm at, none of the good / known builders are taking on new clients (for the past two years now). Good points on the floor drain and lighting, already had that in mind. A gantry crane is a must have for me at least, and for a welding station I always purchase abuse resistant 5/8" drywall to line it for fire ratings. One other note that I typically do in workstation areas, is have 3/4" plywood behind the drywall.. so you can hang anything anywhere. :)
@@elained9591 yeah, I use rockwool for sound dampening too. it's not really needed with the abuse resistant stuff. It's super heavy tho. As for the type X, it's also in the type X category for fire resistance.. but it's great to use in high impact (fabrication) areas.
@@6point5 thank you! I knew about Type X, I didn’t find rock wool all that heavy though it is heavier than fiberglass batts. I think it’s easier to work with and I’m not itching everywhere😂 I want to put in a small welding corner in the tractor shed and can’t figure out if I just want to use metal around it, yes things will stick to it probably or Type X. Any thoughts? I know how to MIG weld but want to learn stick welding.
@@elained9591 oh, I meant the abuse resistant drywall is heavy. really heavy. 4x8 sheet sucks to lift on your own, something like 100lbs each. Type X and rockwool is fine for fire prevention, I just like the abuse resistant so if you hit something into the wall (steel, carts, etc) it doesn't dent.
@@6point5 I’ll have to look into abuse resistant drywall. That’s something I imagine our specialty supply store has a better price on since the box stores no longer give Veteran discounts on building supplies
I was once told when planning on a building to figure out how much room you need then double that figure and if your lucky you'll end up with a building that's just big enough .
In 1995 I built my 36x60 heated shop on full foundation and 2x6 framing like my house. Expensive but it matches the design of the house. Thought about building bigger at the time, but cheaped out. Been kicking myself ever since because I was stupid and located it so that it is very hard/expensive to add on to it. So now I'm working with a contractor to build another building for unheated storage, pole barn this time, and it will be 40x80 . Fortunately, I live on 9 acres and the township allows an additional building. Other towns, one outbuilding and you're done, so no second chance. A friend lives in the next town over and the max size shop he could build was 35x35 with 8 ft ceiling. He wanted to go bigger but couldn't, so do your research before you buy.
You covered most of our regrets on our 30x40 (bigger, taller, more electrical...) One big one for us is we wish we'd done an insulated slab. It gets cold where we are and if I warm the shop up too much when it's really cold outside, the floor will sweat, condensation.
Just put a down payment on a 40x80x16’ high, with 14’ high x 18’wide overhead door. I went with the clear panel 24” under the eave for natural lighting along the entire north wall. I have no intentions of heating so R-Value is not an issue of the clear panels. Added a 10’ x 24’ long porch along south wall.
My dad and I started with a 40x60x14 back in 2006 and added on every year and a half till 2012 when we stop and he died back in 2017 and I added on one last time in 2018 now it 264 feet long with a 16 ft overhang on one side and a 90 ft on the other side with a 30 ft greenhouse and I getting ready to add a other overhang on again and put in my shop where my greenhouse is at so I can get that free heat from the greenhouse in the building in winter if the sun is out
I put two runs of LED strip lights that run the full length of my workshop with no gaps. They work great. Very few shadows and very bright. The only problem is when you walk outside at night to go back to the house, you can’t see a thing for the next 60 seconds. Highly recommended.
Strip lights won’t have the lumen output like a commercial fixture like these. There’s a reason all commercial spaces are built with low or high bay lights and not strip fixtures. With a lower ceiling height they become more of an option.
@@Sparktrician Au contraire. Commercial strip LEDs have plenty of light for a workshop. Most recommendations are 80 - 100 fc for workshop space. My shop is 32x48. Using the 80 - 100 fc range this gives a lumen requirement of 122,880 to 153,600. The commercial LEDs used provide about 12,000 Lumens each and I have 12 of them, two rows of 6. This yields 144,000 lumens which comes out to about 94 fc which has been more than adequate for my needs.
@@LTVoyager we can agree to disagree but this is what I have done for a living for the last 25 years. You won’t find a 30,000 lumen strip fixture. Therefor you need to run more of them like you did to avoid dark areas. Walk thru a Coca Cola, Stryker, Pfizer warehouse and see how many of them run strip fixtures. I work in all of them and can give you a tip. None of them. They may be fine for low ceilings. But Courtney is pushing 80-100 foot candles more than your talking with 24,000 and 30,000 lumen fixture. Strip lights won’t do that. That’s more of a do it yourself vs a pro install. Furthermore the only real way to know your foot candles is with a light meter. Mathematically unless you input the reflection from the walls, ceilings and floors you can’t take the size of a building and number of fixtures and just say you have 94 foot candles. Everything has a different reflectance and that absolutely changes the light level in a space. I bet a light meter reading tells you otherwise. Back to my original point. Strip fixtures won’t put out that kind of light. A 12,000 lumen strip fixture vs a 30,000 lumen low bay are in different leagues. Strips work great up on his mezzanine where the brighter fixtures would be too much.
@@Sparktrician Sure, it is your prerogative to be wrong. My lights were recommended and installed by a commercial builder and work great. I have not measured the light intensity as I have no need to. With a white ceiling and white walls and a white overhead door, my workshop is plenty bright, almost too bright and the light is much more evenly distributed than buildings using essentially point source fixtures. Point sources only work well if you have very tall ceilings. With my 14’ ceiling, point source lights would have been a bad solution and would have created bright spots on the floor and a lot more shadows.
@@LTVoyager LOL, I’m wrong as a Licensed Master Electrician huh. You obviously know more there keyboard warrior. Your also getting lighting tips from a builder who isn’t an electrician but that’s cool. Ignorance is bliss. You stated you had 12,000 lumen fixtures and you had 94 foot candles. I called out your bullshit and you didn’t like it. That’s cool. Move on and let the people qualified to have this discussion have it.
Love the super clean look! So many shops I have worked in were poorly lit and felt like a cave. The mistake I made in my shop due to budget was filling it with stuff intending to add the insulation and electrical later. Now that winter is coming to a close I'll have to pull everything out.
Great job Cortney. We will be moving and the new property will need some kind of shed. My needs are a bit different but the things to consider are spot on. Just starting retirement means pinching pennies is very important. I am making a list the must haves and then start adding the nice to haves. Thanks for all you do. BTW a 1025R is on the list and I have a bunch of stuff on your website grouped with it.
I built a lean-to on one side of my workshop for my camper and utility trailer, but now wish I had even more space as those two alone take jump most of the lean-to leaving little room for things like a snowplow which I now store inside, but which takes up a lot of space.
Take a look at rust bullet concrete. It is very DIY friendly, can had sand added for grip and can be repaired easily if damaged. I’ve used it on two garages and have been happy with it.
with regard to your flooring, i have used airplane hangar paint. if it can handle your gulfstream, it can handle your tractor. i can not remember if i etched it first but i probably did. also, for another project, i used the paint that you can get in home depot. it came with the flakes. that worked out quite well too and probably hides stains well. just remember, once you open the bottle on this, you open the bottle on this....if i was doing something like you, i might look into a stain - perhaps a marbling stain. why? it might hide the stains from machinery and wheel spin, it might look great, and it might be less maintenance in the future. i would not be looking to create a seal, i would be looking for it to breathe. if it breathes, there is no barrier like with anything oil based. so no bubbling or peeling.
Best way to get oil stains out I’ve found is powdered tide. Dump it on the spill, “grind it in” with a boot, let it sit 5-10 min then get it wet and grind it again and wash. Works well for the building we used for wrenching and butchering back and forth
I’d say my biggest regret was running the electrical in the wall. I’ve added machines or moved machines to a different location and adding another circuit just isn’t easy. Next one I’ll do will be all external conduit. It makes it much more serviceable and can be changed and modified easily.
You are absolutely correct build bigger. You never know what else you may acquire in the future. Radiant heat in the floor plumbing lighting and the loft are all points of interest. I also like what you said about drainage especially as it pertains to cleaning your vehicles inside and the slope of the floor to permit rain to drain outside away from the barn. I have also seen videos regarding water collection from the roof which was tide into the water collection system. Also wall areas for working on equipment waist high plus storage. Overall its a good looking place.
I would like to build a barn for a woodworking shop some day. You have very high ceilings. Does the radiant heat reach floor level or does it tend to stay up near the ceiling? Considering exposed electrical conduit so that I can add outlets over time, if necessary. Do you have a toilet in your barn? You are quite a way away from your house.
Re: what to do with the concrete. Look into getting it done with some commercial grade Concrete sealant. That is essentially what they do in places like Home Depot, Costco, etc. Way cheaper than epoxy
Try looking into eagle gloss sealer, 5 gallons was around $150 last time I used it. My local Lowe's keeps it in stock but might be because it's made here in TN.
Looks nice….I did think of the water lines and conduit pipe, but totally forgot the water drain lines. I wired mine up to save money and turned out good but forgot to run some constant hots outside for plugs. For your drain line search, you may try google earth. You can select the date at bottom left and go back in time and may see the trench lines. On the floor I would use the rotary disc on pressure washer (commercial style is faster) and just spray some concrete sealer after it dries. Stains will still be there but that epoxy is a pain. Also make sure to seal that new concrete if haven’t already….that will reduce staining.
To get an electrical box on the outside, consider a location near one on the inside. Then, drill through the interior box and all the way out the wall. This has worked for me on a brick home. However, this may be more problematic for conduit/wire applications.
If you plan on building a shed build it bigger than you plan on needing. 2 years after building mine, I am already out of room and wished I built it 50 percent bigger. Luckily I got it built at beginning of covid before the prices jumped.
Just a good clear concrete sealer should work on the floor. I have cleaned concrete floors with tide powder laundry soap and a push broom to scrub the floor. If you are wanting more natural light there is always skylights with the shiny metal tubes to bring the light down to the ceiling where you could put covers on the tubes.
Great video 👍🏻. No.1 complaint 🤔 you didn't build it big enough... No.2 if your not heating it, install sidelight panels for natural light to come in. Keep up the good work 👍🏻👍🏻
A couple of comments on a great finish. You've done a lot to attain the space and conditions you were needing- congrats! On your two shorts- the kitchen and the poor water control at the roll up door, and I'll bet on other walls with that paving outside; on the kitchen or what ever, plan what you are installing to use OTS cabinets, cut the dry wall, quick patch it for insectr control and cabinet over it. Without a drain line you don't have a bathroom will be difficult but doable, and last, on the rain water- was the slab all poured at one time and then the building erected later? That would explain the threshold problem- and you should look to see if water is affecting the base of other walls. You started with bare bones and have done it well! FR
Hi Frederic, thanks for the comments. Good tip on the kitchen. Plan to add that and a bathroom down the road. Too much money to swallow at this time. I'm unsure of the timeline on the original building and slab. We just moved in less than a year ago, it was existing for some time.
@@GoodWorksTractors All cool- bandos, whether "-miniums" or not, are seldom finished in one go- and it leaves more content down the road! My response was to help you maintain that sense of cost effectiveness and still achieve a great result - absolutely no disappointments there! FR
Mr. Courtney! Thanks so much for this video! As you may recall it was one of my questions to you - size of a tractor shed and your timing is perfect. We have a woodworking shop at the new place. We finished upstairs with a bit of sheet rock and a split duct system. We also put in a split duct system downstairs where my power tools will be. We chose this over the less expensive hvac system because of their efficiency here in the South. We also had an electrician change out all the old 8’ florescent lighting to 4’ LEDs and relocated one I could have never reached due to my height. The 4’ are more manageable for me and the same fixtures could be used so the cost was lower. It’s really bright which is needed as we age. My only issue is there was no water to the shop…who does that? No water meant no sink and more importantly, no toilet. So instead of adding another septic system, I’m looking at a composting toilet😩 which may be something for you to think about. We were able to have a plumber tie on to the well and run water to the shop so I will get a sink at least. We are just going to put in a small point of use instant hot water tank inside and then outside will have a frost proof dual silcock so I can wash the dogs under the lean-to. It would have made life much easier if the original owners had put a half bath in at the least. Hindsight is always 20/20. Although I haven’t tried it as yet on the concrete floor in the shop, I understand sodium percarbonate will remove most stains on concrete as well as a bunch of other stuff. Works best with hot water and you’ll need a stiff brush to keep working it in, keep the area damp or wet until you’re able to get the stains off. I originally purchased it under the trade name “Stain Solver” but it’s just sodium percarbonate at either 99% or 100%, not sure which. I do know it will remove grease and oil in a carport with a little work. I would also suggest for folks who are building to consider where they live before putting a lot of windows on the south side as this will provide solar gain making their interior warmer. In the South where we have longer hot weather periods, they might want to look at sawtooth or north light architecture which will provide a more consistent lighting with relatively no heat gain as compared to south windows.
You could power wash it and just put sealer on it. I just built a new pole barn in december, this is probably what I am going to do this spring when it gets warm out. I was sticker shocked as well at how expensive Polyeurea Coats are.
i'm going to leave my wall open for now, already spent too much on it, but i would like FRP panels across the bottom and then above that would be reclaimed wood but that would be super expensive
I’m pretty sure you can get a concrete sealer that’s not epoxy, and I’m pretty sure you can put wax over that,years ago I used to clean and refinish concrete floors at fairgrounds.
If you check out lumber acres, they just built a new shop in the Apocalypse floor themseemed like it was an affordable option. Maybe something that you can do
![INCREDIBLE BUILD OUT! [EFFICIENT & CLEAN] MULDER SHOP TOUR!](/img/n.gif)
I have a 45 x 50 x 16 foot steel frame building with loft accessed by my scissor lift that has a short stairs on it that is removable. This makes the space occupied by your stairs a parking spot😉. Built the building 36 years ago. In our state anytime you have more than 3 gas vehicles you must have an explosion proof pit to catch the gas from the floor drains which go to a drain field. I put a threshold at each door that lowers the bottom door seal 1" below the building floor so no water flows into the building-works great. I believe you must have a door for every large piece of equipment to use your floor space well-so I have 4 insulated double sealed doors. Two doors are 12 x 12, one door 10 x 12 and a 12 x 14 so if it goes down the road it will go in the building. If you don’t heat your building you MUST put 1 inch of polystyrene under the concrete to keep the floor from condensing water in the spring. I put chain boxes in the floor so I can pull on heavy things. All attachments are on castered platforms so they roll together for compact storage and are easily positioned to attach to the tractor. This makes attaching things so easy I got ride of the JD imatch. I don’t believe in windows as they are a security risk, are another thing to have to work around, involve large heat losses and let in ultraviolet light to degrade everything in the building. Just put in great lighting. Add ceiling fans. Infrared heat to dry the floors and forced air heat and air for quick recovery because I only heat or air condition when I have a project. If you heat full time, heat in the floor would be the way to go but it costs as much to heat this well insulated carbarn at 45 degrees as my house. One beam has a movable chain hoist on it and the beam is stressed to lift an extra 4000 lbs. Plumbed for a bathroom if ever wanted, have a utility sink with electric on demand heater to get warm water for cleaning and wired for internet and alarm. Only 100 amp service with outlets every 4 ft. Should have been at least 150 amp. The bottom 8 foot is 1/4 inch pegboard which I highly recommend as it is so versatile for storage. The building isn’t big enough but is the same size as my house and the code would not let you go bigger🤷♂ and divorce lawyers aren’t cheap!😉. Really, my wife agrees the building isn’t big enough-she is a good woman but at 70 it will have to do. Hope this helps someone out.
It helps me as we are just in the planning stages. The 16’ is your center or sides? We are considering a 40 x 50 with two 12’ overhangs. It has to house my tractor, sawmill, a possible future travel trailer and about 12 implements right now. Figure to put implements that don’t have hydraulics or motor under the overhangs and everything else mice can chew up inside which right now is just the grapple and mulcher but in a couple weeks will be the mcs
@@elained9591 16 ft sidewalls which is the minimum if you want a loft in part of your building which I would really recommend as it is relatively free space and great storage. Be sure to have concrete under your overhangs because it makes working with your implements so much easier if you have them on castered platforms which I can’t stress enough. My neighbor went with 4 inch concrete without polystyrene and I put in 5 inch concrete with polystyrene. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Don’t make this mistake. I assume you are in a snow free environment as opposed to me in Minnesota. For me to have my implements outside would be frustrating in the winter. 40 by 50 is probably small for your purpose. Most of us only have one shot at the building size. We have a tractor, small Motorhome, an antique truck and riding lawn mower all with their own doors as well as all my implements, workbench and storage. It is full. I would assume you would have a bigger Motorhome -travel trailer (ours is only 23 ft) and the sawmill will require more than my antique truck. You will love having the building. Someone stopped by the other day and wanted to buy my place because of the building-didn’t even mention the house so they do add value to your property.
@@bruceanderson9461 thanks! Yes, I’m in a part of NC that doesn’t often see snow anymore. We used to get a good bit but that was decades ago. We didn’t even get a flake this year. We have had a surplus of rain though.
With the price of concrete being astronomically high right now, it’s not doable in our budget for awhile, even septic tanks have more than doubled in cost and they’re usually plastic now days. It looks like everything will have to be crusher run, but I can keep it a bit lower for the future concrete. I will need to price everythign of course.
I was wanting a 50 x 60 with overhangs but the one guy says 40’ is all he can span. Of course we will get others to compare. The sawmill is about 20’ in length. I don’t keep the tongue on it to deter thievery, it’s kept locked up. We were looking at a 25 ft -28ft trailers. If the dogs die before BH retires, we will go back to one dog so we won’t need anything too long.
I also want a standing seam roof so the fasteners are hidden. I can no longer climb ladders and the rubber grommets on corrugated panels fail, fortunately or unfortunately, they may fail before I start feeding the roots of grass and trees lol. When I worked for a commercial roofing company, back in the ‘90’s, we often had to go put in new screws on corrugated panels that were 10 to 12 years old. I was in my mid 20’s to early 30’s,, light in weight and foot and had to have a rope tied around my waist whilst an older guy would be on the peak holding me. With the way manufacturers make things now I’m uncertain if the rubber would last that long. I certainly don’t want to scramble around a roof now in my 60’s. And my neurosurgeon has nixed me being on a ladder ROFLOL.
I’m uncertain I really need a loft. There’s the upstairs in the woodworking shop, which has a 12x40 lean to attached. The 1025R won’t fit into it because the hvac company put the split system on the high end where I would need to enter and I can’t take the ROPs down on it, I’m too short lol. The other side has a passage door. We will be building doors for the open side. Seems someone told our Sheriff about a nitwit that wants to steal tools from the shop where the old man recently died. We think it’s our neighbor’s property as her husband died last year and was in the construction trade.
And yes, outbuildings can add value to property. I wanted our new place because of the shop, BH loved the house…
What size would you recommend?
Spot on with using pegboard,my walls all have white pegboard on them. I bought a pile of used gondola shelving that used the white peg board on the back. Low cost wall covering and strong shelving that can easily be adjusted as your needs change.
I would strongly recommend white pegboard with a brown woodgrain to make it easier on the eyes. 36 years ago I don’t think this was available so I had urethane painted on the traditional brown pegboard. Make sure it is the 1/4 inch pegboard as you need the strength of the 1/4 inch hardware to hold the hooks and shelf brackets that you will use.
I built a 32x48x14 workshop when I retired to use mainly to build an airplane. My biggest regret was putting only two 240V outlets in one corner of the shop. I planned for welder and air compressor, but now wish I had some spaced on other walls for power tools such as table saw, etc. My biggest good decision was the in-slab hydronic heat. It is fantastic. Once you have worked on a warm concrete floor in the winter, you will never want anything else. If you invest money nowhere else, invest in the tubing in the slab for radiant hydronic heat. It is the cat’s meow times 10.
What plane are you building?
@@Veritas1992 RANS S-21
Floor heat would be nice but wonder how it really works when you only want occasional heat in the building. I'm currently refurbishing my 32x42x14 shed build in 1970 on an old barn foundation. Now sure I'm going to use it as a shop or just park cars and equipment in. Will spend plenty just putting in new concrete and garage doors, etc.
@@keithwiebe1787 It would depend on how occasional you will use it, how long each use is and how much in advance you would know when you plan to use it. In floor radiant heat’s main drawback is slow response and you can’t do much about that as it is simple physics. I would say my building will heat up at maybe 1 degree an hour. So, if the building is at 40 and you want to heat it to 65, you are talking 24 hours at a minimum. Having said that, it costs me almost nothing to keep mine at 60 all the time and then bump to 65 when I plan to work in it. However, if you only use your building once or twice a week for an hour or two at a time and you don’t know more than a couple of hours in advance of when you will use it, then radiant in floor heat probably isn’t for you.
With the radiant heat overhead, it’s almost as warm on the concrete as in floor. It is much better in very cold climates vs in floor. I live in Canada and after experiencing both, I went with overhead with a supplemental ceiling mount forced air unit. If we open the doors and it’s -30C, the wind is blowing, etc, the forced air is a great source of instant heat in the air. It’s not used often, but is great when we need it. Depending on where you live, the different systems have different benefits. There’s no single correct solution.
Courtney, my only advice about the floor is --- it's a floor, it gets used. Heavily! If you ever put a nice finish (epoxy or other) on it, then every time you drove the tire chains on it or dropped/scraped/slide/spilled something on it, you'd probably worry or get upset. Avoid future anxiety. The floor looks great now and works well. I have a three car attached garage with a concrete floor which I could finish, but then I just know that I'd be upset every time I "damaged" it somehow. I don't need it to be a work of art - just really useful! Great video! Thanks!
Even with my diy epoxy floor I can slide motors across it without damaging, I'm assuming he'd have pros do it so it would probably hold up even better
@@trevortimmreck Excellent! But over time the paint will wear in the high-traffic areas/paths - it has to. I epoxied the garage floor in my previous house and it looked great for maybe 3-5 years but when it started to look worn, it wasn't as pretty. Just sayin' that floors take abuse by their nature.
I mean, so would the concrete though
Courtney you should look at waterproof vinyl plank flooring. It holds up great. I don’t know if it would be affected but equipment. I don’t think so because it’s interlocked. Just a thought.
@@brooster87 we just put some upstairs in the woodworking shop, the directions say to lay down plywood before dragging stuff across it.
Hello Courtney. As you realize , everyone’s needs and funding defer. Other than being “underfunded” my age is my biggest negative. Your points were/are valid, but your building is able to “make money” and many are not. I suspect most viewers are similar to me, just tractor enthusiasts. I envy the building. Perhaps 30 years back I could justify that expense but today I have to leave the bulk of my equipment outside. Covered “wings” are really a benefit. To anyone who cares to learn, do it as Courtney says. Build it bigger and enjoy it NOW.
You can convert the inactive door to a high lift, the tracks follow the wall, then hug the ceiling. Then use a jackshaft operator.
I used a propane ceiling-suspended fan heater. IT'S VERY LOUD! Works fine, but I wish it was quieter. Also used 4x8 panels on the interior walls and spray-painted them white. The wood needed a lot more paint than I estimated. If new construction in snow country, consider prevailing winds to place the garage doors facing south. The prevailing west wind blows the snow across the front and the sun can melt some of the snow. On a separate existing garage, our doors faced east (towards the road). All the snow on the roof blows off and piles up as drifts in front of those doors.
Turned out great!!! Lighting looks awesome. Love the white metal walls. Nicely done, you should be proud of that.
GREAT tips!! When I planned my pole barn (and asked for quotes), I was planning an 8ft ceiling. The builder I went with talked me into 10ft (it wasn't much more cost). Boy am I glad I listened. I would have been miserable with the 8ft. He also made other suggestions that made me love the barn more. My biggest issue is that I can't find racks like you have to store implements on.
Excellent episode. Thanks for the ideas. I’d want to add a gantry crane for that loft. I make lumber with a mill and frequently dry huge beams indoors.
Great job! Agreed, most shops are poorly lit and as I get older, light is my friend. My shop is only 12' tall only because I wanted a dual post vehicle lift, but I did install a commercial garage door opener to allow for my 10' door to track all the way to the ceiling. Using a mini split as well to heat/cool the entire area. Just a cleaner and more cost effective option than radiant floor heat, a wood stove or a forced air furnace. I know i'll regret not having the floor heat, but was a bit out of budget for me. Again, great job and let us know what you do about sealing your floors.
The use of a potable or if enough space is available, then the ability to have a car/tractor/trailer lift to be able to service anything you want without having to crawl around on the floor. The portable units are nice so you can remove and clean up or use the space for other things. As for your ideals of a lean too, there is always an option to add on on. I've seen them with walk in and roll up doors under them and they have all worked very well. Evaluate the wind in your area and even consider closing in one or more sides of the lean too to prevent weather infiltration. Good luck!! Very nice setup!
Thanks Courtney. With only an attached, unheated, two car garage my concerns are far fewer but many of your points apply.
Looks great, my eventual plan is to build a new machinery, workshop, hay and cattle complex, our current setup is a miss mash of buildings from over 70 years, they kinda work but they don't. Not enough space and 95% dirt floors. I like the statement "we don't like to get rid of old things because we might need them one day" it's exactly why I've so many tractors and why I've run out of space
I had the builder put metal on the ceiling, but not the walls as you did. I went with OSB all the way around and painted it white. It is nice as bright like your building, but I can easily attach anything to it and it doesn’t dent as easily if hit with a ball or piece of wood or such.
Thankyou for this I’m in the process of planning and there’s so much you have said I was already thinking but a few things like outlets and windows and 2 service doors didn’t really cross my mind
i'm doing the run way with my doors, i've seen too many guys block their main door with a quick project only for them to not be able to get other stuff in and out so i am doing the drive thru with my doors. i think it will serve me well
A lot of great points! My building was already here it is 40x65. The previous owner had cheap florescent lights which were all on extension cords plugged in everywhere. So i bought some new LED lights and they were bright but when I started watching TH-cam channels and seen the round ones, I bought one to see what it was like. It was bright but I could look up at them. So I bought brighter ones and they do great. The original ones that were up there were like the ones you showed on your video and i wasn't about to replace the bulbs, so I took them down carefully. One of the other lights i took down had mice in it and I wasn't expecting that! Each section of the building is wired separately which is good. I couldn't get an electrician to come out to help with it so with a tall ladder I ran new wiring to the switches. It also already has outlets for 220 welding which is a good thing. But I would prefer if an electrician would come in to make sure I don't get zapped. The mice population has been hit pretty hard by bait boxes outside and traps inside. One bad thing is when the concrete was poured they didn't cut it so it would not crack badly which it hasn't. The concrete should have been just a little lower at the roll up doors so water doesn't go underneath them.
We have 3 of the same type of heaters and what really helps is to have a couple slow moving ceiling fans to circulate the heat
How do these radiant heaters compare to other forms of heat in cost to run and new purchase? In other words, If you were designing from new again, what would be the rank order? Example:1. Radiant floor hydronic. 2. Radiant floor air. 3. Radiant ceiling propane. 4. Forced air gas monitor style..... and etc? I've got a couple of large buildings I'm designing now and seriously thinking about radiant floor air heat systems.
Getting those windows up high is perfect, you'll have no security risk and still receive plenty of light. However there is something to be said for locating them on the north side of a building, especially here in the South. You'll receive very nice indirect light without the extreme heat if they were south-facing.
Outstanding video! My biggest regret was not doing my due diligence regarding sidewall height. Second regret was putting windows down low. Third regret was painting the floor.
Tell me what the deal is with windows too low? I need to add some to my shed. I worked on a painted floor (some kind of home install epoxy) and it would last 10 plus years in a mechanic shop if one was somewhat careful. Slick when condensation a certain time in spring.
@Keith Wiebe windows down low eat up valuable wall space, invite prying eyes and provide additional ground level entry points. Narrow horizontal windows up high allow natural lighting to flood the workspace among other benefits.
Nice video. When I built my house that included a garage, my builder talked me into going with a bigger garage than what our plans called for. I balked but he finally persuaded me to bite the bullet and pay for a bigger space. I wish I would have gone even bigger. Easy to underestimate space
Great point having the use of lean-to for added covered storage...
My biggest regret was not putting in floor heat in. Or atleast all the piping to hook up to later. I was in a time crunch and ran out of money. Needed to finish the barn to move on with life. Also for everyone else take what ever size building you think you want/need and go atleast the next size up. And my 12’ over hang off the 40’ side of my building was my best decision i made. That out door covered storage is awesome. Keeps the snow, ran, & sun off anything sitting under there.
Such great info! I'm working on my shop space currently, and this will save me a ton! Now I will have more funds for attachments!
Lots of good information in your video! One of the best videos I have seen pertaining to pole barn building info. Nice work
Nice part is, you have wonderful windows in the loft area. So you have a great all weather tree stand since the barn is near the center of the property. Gotta look for the positives.
😁
If you can stretch between two outlets without touching either they are too far apart. I also like windows that are high, short, and wide. Especially the kind that crank out. They let in plenty of light without being a security risk and my hounds can't see wildlife to howl at. Compartmental lighting with a master switch for every area is nice to have. Flip 3 of 4 switches when you leave and you know power is off everywhere, including those lights above the work bench you can't see from the front of the building, etc. A timer for lighting above the primary external door is nice so you can see to lock up in the dark.
I put in a large ceiling fan to move the air - helps in summer when hot to bring in evening/early morning air and helps move air if equipment puts out exhaust.
anyone that is building a shed and keeping it heated a bathroom with a sink and toilet should be on the list. Keeps the mess out of the house.
TSP will clean that floor.
Thanks for pole barn insight!
Great video! May I suggest a bathroom? If the barn is a good distance away from the house, it's nice not to have to stop everything. It also prevents getting caught to do another thing on the honey-do-list right in the middle of a project. 🙂 Congrats on the shop. It looks amazing!
A bathroom is very nice, especially if you are dirty from working on something, you don’t have to track a mess into the house for a quick trip. And the neighbors don’t see you having to pee around the corner.
You may want to consider an exhaust fan if you are running equipment to exhaust any fumes. Also in the cold hot weather it can circulate the air
Epoxy floors are super nice but if you do it make sure it's done right. The garage I bought has epoxy flooring but occasionally peels up after parking vehicles or tractors and will need patching. I can see it wasn't properly scuffed up first for best adhesion. If yer going for the garage mahal just remember buy once cry once. Maybe too, if you spend it more will come lol. Oh I couldn't help notice your sec cam or IDF cabinet is near a sink and plumbing. Um... good luck never having water somehow finding its way in there. You may want a splash guard but then again maybe never happen. Working in IT I've seen it enough times when it affects production and you have "Jerry's kids" for work force. Enjoyed the Great video!
The lighting in your shop is insane bright! Other than the electric bill, that was a bullseye!
Hi Courtney, I don't know if it works or not but, my cousin says he uses kitty litre he buys at Walmarts and a wooden 2x4 block to cleanup oil stains on his concrete. Just dump some kitty litre on the grease spot and rub it in with 2x4 block and the stain will disappear . Worth a try. Love your new shop.
Just found your videos. Very nice building! Thanks for your walk through information! I hope to get building like yours put on my property in North Florida. Mine may be a challenge to get concrete to the site. It's on a farm property with water shed terraces on it. Thanks very much!
If you call around to certain plumbing companies for your floor drains you can get a camera hydrojet done it's basically taking a pressure washer and shoving it through your pipes for the camera on the end it'll definitely let you know where they are and where they end up plus it helps clean out the drains really well
i'm going to polish the concrete. i cut expansion joints every 10 foot on a 45 and it looks like huge tiles, i'm going to do a black and red acid stain checkered pattern with a black border and joint filler. should come out great and be super durable. also using siloxane sealer for extra protection
Trackless garage doors I think are a must to help use the height of the building, especially if you are not going as high.
I'm getting my building put up in May. I'm doing a 50×60×16 with a 10' × 50' lean-2
Thank you for doing this. It gave me a lot of good ideas
My shop is used a lot automotive maintenance and woodworking. I did put a loft in which we use for storage to free up space on the main floor. I also painted the ceiling and upper half of the walls white to improve the lighting. If you're going to use it as a shop I recommend putting 3/4" plywood on the lower 8' of your walls. It is more durable than metal and gives you a solid surface to mount or hang things. I also painted the lower walls and doors with an oil base paint that way it is washable. Grease hands and latex paint don't mix.
Good video. We are working on a budget and trying to decide wood or metal. This video helps us to push to wood.
Thanks for the video Courtney. I’m hoping to build a 40x64x16 post frame (or maybe 48x72 😊) with 3 large overhead doors and a mezzanine in the next year or two. A finished room and bath/utility room under half the mezzanine with workshop under the other half. Also a 12’ wrap around exterior porch on one end.
How thick did you have closed cell spray foam applied to the walls? And how thick is your new concrete floor slab?
If I was u stay at 40 foot wide over 40 ft it get pretty pricey go longer and stay at 40 ft or lower
I have a 30x50. The floors is dirt. Can’t decide what to o do with it. Want to put drains in. I am adding an office with lofts. Any suggestions?
Good Vid, thanks! I just put up a Morton Building and am in the process of finishing it out right now. The shed had it's own Cat6 for internet, 200A electrical, and I tapped my existing well to bring water. It also has it's own septic and a bathroom too. Add ceiling fans, helps stir up the heat. I did most of your suggestions. My walls inside are 1/2" OSB. Steel looks nice, but OSB is nice for hanging things.
I agree with all of your recommendations except maybe height and mezzanine. Our 40x60 with a porch, floor drains, bright lights, and concrete plus epoxy coated floors. We added 6 wondows on the south side to gain light and love that. We also went with power doors on each end for a drive through and park off to the side. That has worked well for our farm truck, RTV, and tractor leaving plenty of room for wood storage and shop area. We plumbed in for a bathroom and 2 exterior faucets next to the concrete entry pad. Wash mud off outside!. We are set up for a possible apartment with a shower and commode and sink, plus a shop sink and on demand hot water (propane). We didn't feel the need to go higher and add a mezzanine...ask us in 5 years if we regret that.
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About the plumbing: be glad it is a polebarn. Without a concrete stemwall in your way, it is relatively easy to dig up to the building - then undercut the slab almost anywhere to run lines. Saw cut the floor, and you are good to go.
We have radiant heat at work, it's the best heat I've ever had in a shop. Even and steady, no hot spots. Air circulation makes it even better!
I'm looking at building a barn this spring.. if I can find a construction company with employees - that's quite a problem where i'm at, none of the good / known builders are taking on new clients (for the past two years now). Good points on the floor drain and lighting, already had that in mind. A gantry crane is a must have for me at least, and for a welding station I always purchase abuse resistant 5/8" drywall to line it for fire ratings. One other note that I typically do in workstation areas, is have 3/4" plywood behind the drywall.. so you can hang anything anywhere. :)
I’ve not heard of abuse resistant drywall, is it Type X? Do you also put rock wool behind it to increase the fire rating?
@@elained9591 yeah, I use rockwool for sound dampening too. it's not really needed with the abuse resistant stuff. It's super heavy tho. As for the type X, it's also in the type X category for fire resistance.. but it's great to use in high impact (fabrication) areas.
@@6point5 thank you! I knew about Type X, I didn’t find rock wool all that heavy though it is heavier than fiberglass batts. I think it’s easier to work with and I’m not itching everywhere😂 I want to put in a small welding corner in the tractor shed and can’t figure out if I just want to use metal around it, yes things will stick to it probably or Type X. Any thoughts? I know how to MIG weld but want to learn stick welding.
@@elained9591 oh, I meant the abuse resistant drywall is heavy. really heavy. 4x8 sheet sucks to lift on your own, something like 100lbs each.
Type X and rockwool is fine for fire prevention, I just like the abuse resistant so if you hit something into the wall (steel, carts, etc) it doesn't dent.
@@6point5 I’ll have to look into abuse resistant drywall. That’s something I imagine our specialty supply store has a better price on since the box stores no longer give Veteran discounts on building supplies
I was once told when planning on a building to figure out how much room you need then double that figure and if your lucky you'll end up with a building that's just big enough .
In 1995 I built my 36x60 heated shop on full foundation and 2x6 framing like my house. Expensive but it matches the design of the house. Thought about building bigger at the time, but cheaped out. Been kicking myself ever since because I was stupid and located it so that it is very hard/expensive to add on to it. So now I'm working with a contractor to build another building for unheated storage, pole barn this time, and it will be 40x80 . Fortunately, I live on 9 acres and the township allows an additional building. Other towns, one outbuilding and you're done, so no second chance. A friend lives in the next town over and the max size shop he could build was 35x35 with 8 ft ceiling. He wanted to go bigger but couldn't, so do your research before you buy.
Dry laundry detergent works great to remove oil stains. Brush in with a little water. Let stand then wash off while brooming it more.
You covered most of our regrets on our 30x40 (bigger, taller, more electrical...) One big one for us is we wish we'd done an insulated slab. It gets cold where we are and if I warm the shop up too much when it's really cold outside, the floor will sweat, condensation.
where are you located?
@@keithwiebe1787 NE Washington state
Just put a down payment on a 40x80x16’ high, with 14’ high x 18’wide overhead door. I went with the clear panel 24” under the eave for natural lighting along the entire north wall. I have no intentions of heating so R-Value is not an issue of the clear panels. Added a 10’ x 24’ long porch along south wall.
My dad and I started with a 40x60x14 back in 2006 and added on every year and a half till 2012 when we stop and he died back in 2017 and I added on one last time in 2018 now it 264 feet long with a 16 ft overhang on one side and a 90 ft on the other side with a 30 ft greenhouse and I getting ready to add a other overhang on again and put in my shop where my greenhouse is at so I can get that free heat from the greenhouse in the building in winter if the sun is out
One of your best videos Courtney.........
Don’t know if you did it or not but I would also run pipe for compressed air and for gas in the walls before finishing them.
I put two runs of LED strip lights that run the full length of my workshop with no gaps. They work great. Very few shadows and very bright. The only problem is when you walk outside at night to go back to the house, you can’t see a thing for the next 60 seconds. Highly recommended.
Strip lights won’t have the lumen output like a commercial fixture like these. There’s a reason all commercial spaces are built with low or high bay lights and not strip fixtures. With a lower ceiling height they become more of an option.
@@Sparktrician Au contraire. Commercial strip LEDs have plenty of light for a workshop. Most recommendations are 80 - 100 fc for workshop space. My shop is 32x48. Using the 80 - 100 fc range this gives a lumen requirement of 122,880 to 153,600. The commercial LEDs used provide about 12,000 Lumens each and I have 12 of them, two rows of 6. This yields 144,000 lumens which comes out to about 94 fc which has been more than adequate for my needs.
@@LTVoyager we can agree to disagree but this is what I have done for a living for the last 25 years. You won’t find a 30,000 lumen strip fixture. Therefor you need to run more of them like you did to avoid dark areas. Walk thru a Coca Cola, Stryker, Pfizer warehouse and see how many of them run strip fixtures. I work in all of them and can give you a tip. None of them. They may be fine for low ceilings. But Courtney is pushing 80-100 foot candles more than your talking with 24,000 and 30,000 lumen fixture. Strip lights won’t do that. That’s more of a do it yourself vs a pro install. Furthermore the only real way to know your foot candles is with a light meter. Mathematically unless you input the reflection from the walls, ceilings and floors you can’t take the size of a building and number of fixtures and just say you have 94 foot candles. Everything has a different reflectance and that absolutely changes the light level in a space. I bet a light meter reading tells you otherwise. Back to my original point. Strip fixtures won’t put out that kind of light. A 12,000 lumen strip fixture vs a 30,000 lumen low bay are in different leagues. Strips work great up on his mezzanine where the brighter fixtures would be too much.
@@Sparktrician Sure, it is your prerogative to be wrong. My lights were recommended and installed by a commercial builder and work great. I have not measured the light intensity as I have no need to. With a white ceiling and white walls and a white overhead door, my workshop is plenty bright, almost too bright and the light is much more evenly distributed than buildings using essentially point source fixtures. Point sources only work well if you have very tall ceilings. With my 14’ ceiling, point source lights would have been a bad solution and would have created bright spots on the floor and a lot more shadows.
@@LTVoyager LOL, I’m wrong as a Licensed Master Electrician huh. You obviously know more there keyboard warrior. Your also getting lighting tips from a builder who isn’t an electrician but that’s cool. Ignorance is bliss. You stated you had 12,000 lumen fixtures and you had 94 foot candles. I called out your bullshit and you didn’t like it. That’s cool. Move on and let the people qualified to have this discussion have it.
Love the super clean look! So many shops I have worked in were poorly lit and felt like a cave. The mistake I made in my shop due to budget was filling it with stuff intending to add the insulation and electrical later. Now that winter is coming to a close I'll have to pull everything out.
Great job Cortney. We will be moving and the new property will need some kind of shed. My needs are a bit different but the things to consider are spot on. Just starting retirement means pinching pennies is very important. I am making a list the must haves and then start adding the nice to haves. Thanks for all you do. BTW a 1025R is on the list and I have a bunch of stuff on your website grouped with it.
I may have missed you saying it, but wondering what is the total dimensions of your barn? Great size, love it.
Great place course you could always add the lean twos to cover up your outdoor equipment
After you clean the concrete, whether it will just seal it with a gloss sealer it will keep the floor clean and help with the lighting
I built a lean-to on one side of my workshop for my camper and utility trailer, but now wish I had even more space as those two alone take jump most of the lean-to leaving little room for things like a snowplow which I now store inside, but which takes up a lot of space.
Take a look at rust bullet concrete. It is very DIY friendly, can had sand added for grip and can be repaired easily if damaged.
I’ve used it on two garages and have been happy with it.
with regard to your flooring, i have used airplane hangar paint. if it can handle your gulfstream, it can handle your tractor. i can not remember if i etched it first but i probably did. also, for another project, i used the paint that you can get in home depot. it came with the flakes. that worked out quite well too and probably hides stains well. just remember, once you open the bottle on this, you open the bottle on this....if i was doing something like you, i might look into a stain - perhaps a marbling stain. why? it might hide the stains from machinery and wheel spin, it might look great, and it might be less maintenance in the future. i would not be looking to create a seal, i would be looking for it to breathe. if it breathes, there is no barrier like with anything oil based. so no bubbling or peeling.
Best way to get oil stains out I’ve found is powdered tide. Dump it on the spill, “grind it in” with a boot, let it sit 5-10 min then get it wet and grind it again and wash. Works well for the building we used for wrenching and butchering back and forth
Its a really nice space to be in as a tinkerer wanna know more type of person.
I’d say my biggest regret was running the electrical in the wall. I’ve added machines or moved machines to a different location and adding another circuit just isn’t easy. Next one I’ll do will be all external conduit. It makes it much more serviceable and can be changed and modified easily.
seal the floor with a concrete hardener then 5 coats of floor wax did that in my hangar easy to redo and makes easy to clean
You are absolutely correct build bigger. You never know what else you may acquire in the future. Radiant heat in the floor plumbing lighting and the loft are all points of interest. I also like what you said about drainage especially as it pertains to cleaning your vehicles inside and the slope of the floor to permit rain to drain outside away from the barn. I have also seen videos regarding water collection from the roof which was tide into the water collection system. Also wall areas for working on equipment waist high plus storage. Overall its a good looking place.
I would like to build a barn for a woodworking shop some day. You have very high ceilings. Does the radiant heat reach floor level or does it tend to stay up near the ceiling? Considering exposed electrical conduit so that I can add outlets over time, if necessary. Do you have a toilet in your barn? You are quite a way away from your house.
You should ad a surge protective device at the electrical panel.
Re: what to do with the concrete. Look into getting it done with some commercial grade Concrete sealant. That is essentially what they do in places like Home Depot, Costco, etc. Way cheaper than epoxy
Great suggestion!
Try looking into eagle gloss sealer, 5 gallons was around $150 last time I used it. My local Lowe's keeps it in stock but might be because it's made here in TN.
You could still add a shed roof on the side for the attachments. I cannot stand leaving mine outside, but it takes a lot of inside space.
Looks nice….I did think of the water lines and conduit pipe, but totally forgot the water drain lines. I wired mine up to save money and turned out good but forgot to run some constant hots outside for plugs.
For your drain line search, you may try google earth. You can select the date at bottom left and go back in time and may see the trench lines. On the floor I would use the rotary disc on pressure washer (commercial style is faster) and just spray some concrete sealer after it dries. Stains will still be there but that epoxy is a pain. Also make sure to seal that new concrete if haven’t already….that will reduce staining.
To get an electrical box on the outside, consider a location near one on the inside. Then, drill through the interior box and all the way out the wall. This has worked for me on a brick home. However, this may be more problematic for conduit/wire applications.
If you plan on building a shed build it bigger than you plan on needing. 2 years after building mine, I am already out of room and wished I built it 50 percent bigger. Luckily I got it built at beginning of covid before the prices jumped.
The drains might just feed into a infiltration pit under the barn which would explain the slow water movement. Just a thought.
Just a good clear concrete sealer should work on the floor. I have cleaned concrete floors with tide powder laundry soap and a push broom to scrub the floor.
If you are wanting more natural light there is always skylights with the shiny metal tubes to bring the light down to the ceiling where you could put covers on the tubes.
Great video 👍🏻.
No.1 complaint 🤔 you didn't build it big enough... No.2 if your not heating it, install sidelight panels for natural light to come in. Keep up the good work 👍🏻👍🏻
J trim on the bottom of that metal would have made a world of difference! Other than that it looks great!
What size barn is that?
A couple of comments on a great finish. You've done a lot to attain the space and conditions you were needing- congrats! On your two shorts- the kitchen and the poor water control at the roll up door, and I'll bet on other walls with that paving outside; on the kitchen or what ever, plan what you are installing to use OTS cabinets, cut the dry wall, quick patch it for insectr control and cabinet over it. Without a drain line you don't have a bathroom will be difficult but doable, and last, on the rain water- was the slab all poured at one time and then the building erected later? That would explain the threshold problem- and you should look to see if water is affecting the base of other walls. You started with bare bones and have done it well! FR
Hi Frederic, thanks for the comments. Good tip on the kitchen. Plan to add that and a bathroom down the road. Too much money to swallow at this time. I'm unsure of the timeline on the original building and slab. We just moved in less than a year ago, it was existing for some time.
@@GoodWorksTractors All cool- bandos, whether "-miniums" or not, are seldom finished in one go- and it leaves more content down the road! My response was to help you maintain that sense of cost effectiveness and still achieve a great result - absolutely no disappointments there! FR
@@GoodWorksTractorswhat is the size and height of your barn?
Mr. Courtney! Thanks so much for this video! As you may recall it was one of my questions to you - size of a tractor shed and your timing is perfect. We have a woodworking shop at the new place. We finished upstairs with a bit of sheet rock and a split duct system. We also put in a split duct system downstairs where my power tools will be. We chose this over the less expensive hvac system because of their efficiency here in the South. We also had an electrician change out all the old 8’ florescent lighting to 4’ LEDs and relocated one I could have never reached due to my height. The 4’ are more manageable for me and the same fixtures could be used so the cost was lower. It’s really bright which is needed as we age.
My only issue is there was no water to the shop…who does that? No water meant no sink and more importantly, no toilet. So instead of adding another septic system, I’m looking at a composting toilet😩 which may be something for you to think about. We were able to have a plumber tie on to the well and run water to the shop so I will get a sink at least. We are just going to put in a small point of use instant hot water tank inside and then outside will have a frost proof dual silcock so I can wash the dogs under the lean-to. It would have made life much easier if the original owners had put a half bath in at the least. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Although I haven’t tried it as yet on the concrete floor in the shop, I understand sodium percarbonate will remove most stains on concrete as well as a bunch of other stuff. Works best with hot water and you’ll need a stiff brush to keep working it in, keep the area damp or wet until you’re able to get the stains off. I originally purchased it under the trade name “Stain Solver” but it’s just sodium percarbonate at either 99% or 100%, not sure which. I do know it will remove grease and oil in a carport with a little work.
I would also suggest for folks who are building to consider where they live before putting a lot of windows on the south side as this will provide solar gain making their interior warmer. In the South where we have longer hot weather periods, they might want to look at sawtooth or north light architecture which will provide a more consistent lighting with relatively no heat gain as compared to south windows.
Exhaust fan, especially in the winter. Big ass ceiling fan in the summer
You could power wash it and just put sealer on it. I just built a new pole barn in december, this is probably what I am going to do this spring when it gets warm out. I was sticker shocked as well at how expensive Polyeurea Coats are.
Place looks amazing, nice work and great suggestions Courtney!
looking good,,, , i have old 30x45,,,, not high 10 high... no windows,, ,,,, thank you,,,,
I want to build a similar workshop and am wondering what your spacing was for your lights. Thanks
Not positive on exact spacing, but 4 rows of 8 lights. Interior barn dimensions are roughly 48' x 96'. Lights held a couple of feet off the walls.
You did it right with the power! More is better. Most 5th wheel RV’s with an AC unit need 17ft to clear.
17 feet to clear what? They're not nearly that tall.
13'6" height limit in Michigan
You can put cool seal on it’s the stuff they seal mobile home roofs
Add some ceiling fans to push that heat to the floor in winter, they run quiet and you can turn them off.
i'm going to leave my wall open for now, already spent too much on it, but i would like FRP panels across the bottom and then above that would be reclaimed wood but that would be super expensive
You should have used acoustical panels inside for less echo and much quieter building.
Really looking forward to the concrete floor amendment possibilities.
I’m pretty sure you can get a concrete sealer that’s not epoxy, and I’m pretty sure you can put wax over that,years ago I used to clean and refinish concrete floors at fairgrounds.
If you check out lumber acres, they just built a new shop in the Apocalypse floor themseemed like it was an affordable option. Maybe something that you can do
Like the lighting in your barn. Would you be kind enough to post the product and manufacturer.
Look into staining the concrete. Two or three different colors really can look great