new shop

[billy]

I am planing on building a new shop in the spring. About 30 ft deep 40 feet wide with 13 ft celing. Needs to be vinyl siding to be politicaly correct. what do you all think about block walls or stick frame? Also would like to put radiant heat in the floor but am concerned about putting in a lift (later) and striking water !! Only hapen to me. Any plans or coments would be helpful. Thanks. Billy

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

If you are planning to put a lift in, do some research on how lifts mount, and "blockout" those areas in your slab before you run the tubing for the radiant heat. Not too hard. Also, I would suggest taking detailed pictures of the layout of the tubing w/ tape measures laid out for reference. That way once the concrete is poured you can reference your pictures in case you ever need to anchor something in the future(like a tube bender, or similar).

 

[e9999]

may be a good idea to have several separate buried hot pipe systems each with a valve to isolate them. This way if one ever starts leaking you can just keep using the other ones instead of having to start breaking concrete...

problem with buried pipes is that you will start to heat China as well....

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Eric, that is standard procedure when doing radiant flooring. There is always the risk that a tube will get damaged during the pour, so they always install multiple loops. They all go to a sort of distribution block which then connects to the hot water supply/return. It should be fairly easy to block off one tube.

BTW, that's something I didn't think of. When you take your pictures, you might want to note which loops go to which pipes where you stub them out of the slab, that way you know which ones are which in the future.

Ary

 

[FJ40Jim]

Heated slab doesn't also heat china, IF it is done correctly. The slab should be floated on foam insulation board to prevent heat soaking into the dirt. There should also be a moisture barrier under the slab, so when the ground is saturated w/ water, it doesn't sweat up through the floor (happens to my shop when it rains for days).

I've worked in shops w/ forced hot air (not that great), radiant overhead tubes (pretty nice, but still cold when underneath a vehicle) and heated slab (I loved that floor, fell asleep on the creepr manytimes...).

As someone mentioned, plan ahead for the floor lift(s) and make the appropriate reinforcements & footers. Even if you never need them, at least they are there.

I vote for a 5 foot high cinderblock kneewall w/ standard 8' stick construction on top of that. It's economical and familiar construction techniques for any builder. By keeping the wood bits well off the ground, moisture and termite problems are eliminated.

 

[alf]

Don't forget about a good lighting design. There are some really slick highbay compact flourescent fixtures out that will light up the world and not use a bunch of KW. They also go instant on.

Let me know if you need some help with the lighting.


kls

 

[awp_cruiser]

I'll suggest you consider not running the tubing in the concrete Slab-On-Grade but rather in a topping slab. And you could do the radiant floors later if you want to save money up front for your must have new compressor! If you do ever have a problem, it is also much easier to pop up bits of the topping slab rather than cut up a structural SOG.

I would absolutely select a lift or two and plan for those accordingly in ADVANCE. Including a couple conduit runs for electrical needs into the middle of the garage. I haven't looked, but I bet there is a reasonable "standard" size that one could plan for and accomodate several types.

If I was building my own garage, I'd also look into adding a some framing for a future "I-beam" and an overhead hoist. Who likes cherry pickers anyways?

Be sure to add lots of outlets.

Painted metal is also pretty PC. It 100% recycles too. As an architectural snob, I am not a fan of vinyl. It performs okay and the maintenance is fine, but that stuff is pretty sloppy looking. Rounded corners, and funny little trim bits as well as the creaking from expanding and contracting bug me. It does look a little more "residential" than some of the metal options.

And lastly, check your hardware store for the always classic "funnel and hose urinal" so you can take a piss in style.

Good luck with your project. Post some pics when you move in.

awp