Anybody with a 30 x 50 Garage/Shop???

[CornDogsCharger]

I am getting ready to have a 30 x 50 shop built at my house.  The front of the shop will be on the 30ft wall with one 10x10 door.  Just wondering if anyone here has that size shop and how roomy it actually is... or isn't?  On paper, I can squeeze three cars in the back (backed up to the 30ft wall) and I can comfortably work on 2 cars in the front of the shop.  Pro... Cons... Post your pictures.  Thanks!

Justin
"CornDog"

[69 OUR/TEA]

Hey Corndog,30' wide is fine for parking three cars side by side,with two gives plenty of room to work on both.Plan for 10' + ceiling and do a four post lift,now you can park four in the back side !!!!!!!

[JB400]

I think you should build in increments of 4'.  It costs just as much as your regular dimensions and you'll have less scrap material that will be thrown in a dumpster.  Step up to a 32 x 52, downsize to a 28 x 48, or go one of either way (32 x 48, or 28 x 52)  I'm building a 28 x 28.

[CornDogsCharger]

Thanks for the reply.  Actually, the walls are going to be 11ft and the truss that my builder uses is an open span metal truss.  This will make the ceiling even taller in the center.  This picture is from him his site and will kind of give you an idea of how the shop will look on the inside.  My door is actually going to be a 10x10... not sure what size this door is.  On the back wall (over the three parked cars) I am building a loft to store parts.  So the lift will have to go toward the front.  



Justin
"CornDog"

[CornDogsCharger]

I think you should build in increments of 4'.  It costs just as much as your regular dimensions and you'll have less scrap material that will be thrown in a dumpster.  Step up to a 32 x 52, downsize to a 28 x 48, or go one of either way (32 x 48, or 28 x 52)  I'm building a 28 x 28.

I'll have to ask the builder about that.  Good Point!  I was under the assumption that they were building in 10ft spans.  If that's the case I'll go 32x52.

Justin
"CornDog"

[JB400]

Some builders get paid by what is brought on the job, not for what they use.  I've seen sheetrockers bring in 4 x12 sheets, break them up, and throw them in the dumpster then charge the owner for them.  Sheets with busted corners get treated the same way.

[ACUDANUT]

Thanks for the reply.  Actually, the walls are going to be 11ft and the truss that my builder uses is an open span metal truss.  This will make the ceiling even taller in the center.  This picture is from him his site and will kind of give you an idea of how the shop will look on the inside.  My door is actually going to be a 10x10... not sure what size this door is.  On the back wall (over the three parked cars) I am building a loft to store parts.  So the lift will have to go toward the front.  



Justin
"CornDog"

Get two doors on that garage. Trying to get one out (if they are side by side) will be a bitch.

[J.Bond]

35'x75' Here, shop seemed huge when I built it, between the paint booth , the office and the hoist area, I could use anothe 20' on the 75'.Keep in mind all the shop equipment that eats up floor space, work benches, compressor, welding equipment, torches, parts and supply racks, tool boxes, BEER FRIDGE, etc etc. If you are intending on doing body work as well, you need to wall off an area to grind and prime in or every vehicle in there will be subject to some sort of damage.

[Troy]

The biggest issue I can see is the single door. If you have 3 Chargers in back they'll take up almost 20'. If you pull in another 18'-20' car you won't be able to park it over on the side without a dolly because 30' just isn't enough room for parallel parking! I have a 40'x60' with 2 doors (one centered and one on the side next to it) and I can't easily get a car against the wall on the side without a door. I end up parking the cars in back sideways. If you park "nice" cars in back you have to make sure you can maneuver them through whatever you're working on in front or you'll be blocked in. If you put any lift in it's probably best to put it directly in front of a door. I'd think about putting the main door in the center (like the picture) and adding another on a side wall near the back. Of course, that extra door is just another thing you have to weatherproof.

Also mentioned above... tools, shelves, equipment, sinks, utilities, bathrooms, etc. take up valuable floor space and intrude on perfectly good spaces for parking/maneuvering cars. I have 46'x3' shelves down one wall, a bathroom at the back corner with a furnace next to it, a work bench, compressor, and sandblast cabinet at the far end, electric panel and man door in the other far corner, and a storage shelf and parts washer down the opposite side. I can *park* nine cars if I don't want to work on anything but it's really tight right now with only six. A loft could compensate for my shelving but you'll also need room for stairs or a ladder that sturdy enough to handle heavy parts.

Troy

[speedfreak68]

I've got a 36x60, and it's glorious! I've got an 80 bronco, 89 cummins dually, 07 cummins and the charger. Still have plenty of room to work. Its got a 16'? door and a normal single car door. I don't have to move anything out of the way to get in or out. I'd recommend the two doors! bigger is Better!!!

[Kern Dog]

I think you should build in increments of 4'.  It costs just as much as your regular dimensions and you'll have less scrap material that will be thrown in a dumpster.  Step up to a 32 x 52, downsize to a 28 x 48, or go one of either way (32 x 48, or 28 x 52)  I'm building a 28 x 28.

Spoken like a carpenter!

[duanesterrr]

Sounds like a hell of a garage.  I would want the lift towards the back wall though... the farther forward it creeps the more it will be in the way of manuevering vehicles and what not.

[Tilar]

Mines 34 x 64 with a 13' ceiling. We could have built it twice this size and still not be big enough....   

[CornDogsCharger]

Thanks for all the input guys!  As silly as it may seem, I have actually drawn to scale a floor plan of the 30x50.  I measured my '69 Charger and added a little, just for good measure, and scaled a hand full of them to layout on the drawing.  The three cars in the back are future projects, so I will just push them into a parking spot with just barely enough room to walk around.  The empty spot to the left of the cars is probably where the staircase will go to the loft.  The loft will be roughly 30x15.  This isn't set in stone and could change.  Since the '69 Charger is the longest vehicle I have, I figured it would be best to take the measurements off of it.  

The future projects to park in the back will be a '69 Charger, '69 Bee, and another '69 Bee.  The two spot in the front will be a '66 Charger and my '69 Charger General Lee project. Eventually, I will add a lean-to each side and enclose them. One will be for prepping and painting and the other will be for metal and body work. This will leave the center 30x50 as a clean assembly/display room. I plan on building the body work lean-to fairly soon after the building is complete.  Until then, I'll try to keep the center room as clean as possibly. 

The overhead loft should keep most all of the random parts out of the way and off the floor, but I'm sure that I'll run out of space sooner than I would like.




Justin
"CornDog"

[69rtse4spd]

If you are going to put a lean to outside could you put the stairs to the loft in there ?. If not you could put the stairs on a hinge with counterweight, for up & down when needed. Then again if you leave the stairs as planned the you could put the air compresser there (that's what I did) & other balky items. Then again to save space you could put a jib boom up top & spiral stair case in.  . As stated before, go as big as you can, I have 48x80 with 14 foot ceiling & a 30 x40 in front of that, packed. But have being thinking of thinning the heard a bit. 

[NHCharger]

I have a 30x88. shop/garage. 30 x38 is a 3 bay garage, 30x50 is a heated shop.

[ralley72]

I have a 30 x 50 pole barn with a ceiling height of 12' to the bottom of the truss.  Its not big enough.  I had the 10' x 10' overhead door installed on the 50' side instead of the end. Only 1 overhead and 1 man door. No real problems moving cars around when I need to.  I built a shower/toilet area in one corner and made that solid enough to store parts/junk on top and use a step ladder to access that area. Had the roof insulated and some of the walls.  I park my 71 Charger and 73 Road Runner side by side with room to work around them and I can still drive a car or truck in with plenty of room work.
All the work benches, tool boxes, engines I place around the side, engine hoist is kind of a pain to move around with no real good place to store.

If you are working with a builder, I would check to cost differences between the  standard dimensions pole barns verses the uncommon dimensions barns. I think you will find no cost savings using the 4' increments.

Mike

[NHCharger]

Exterior pic of my shop/garage. Because of the slope of the land and other factors I had to put the overhead door on the front side, which is part of the 50' wall. It would have been better to put in on the gable end but it just didn't work out without spending a lot of extra money. I built this myself over a two year period. Being a contractor I scored a lot of good deals which helped since I built it out of pocket.

I agree with the others on the door, go wider. Mine is 12'x8'. I considered a second door on the front side, and that side faces north. In the winter there are times when it sounds like someone is pounding on the garage door with the northerly wind blasts. I didn't want to have that much heat loss so I decided on just one door (glad I did).

I built a shelf system on the 30' wall, which is currently full of 68 Charger parts, the door next to the shelves goes to the 3 bay garage. I have a 16' work bench along the back. Being a job super for a commercial developer I'm always scoring used kitchen cabinets. I now have a bunch wall cabinets for additional storage.

[NHCharger]

but it's really tight right now with only six.

Troy

LMAO. A true Mopar guy. "Only" six.

And yes, tool boxes, equipment, etc... really cut into your working area. Instead of a full size lift I'm looking into one of those scissor lifts that you can move around the shop.

[A383Wing]

mine is 28 x 40 I think....got a 16' door out front....I got 3 cars side by side, plus one that goes in front of door. I need more room as well

I have 4 cars in there now

Bryan

[Tilar]

The overhead loft should keep most all of the random parts out of the way and off the floor, but I'm sure that I'll run out of space sooner than I would like.

Justin
"CornDog"

Took me less than a year. First thought was "look at all this room" So  I bought a stick welder, then a mig welder, small press, Brought up all my tools from Texas which included engine stands, jack stands cherry picker, transmission jack and two more tool chests. brought in my antique tractors and the mower.... Now I have a path right down the middle that is left open and my 68 is still outside.   

[FC7 V code]

The overhead loft should keep most all of the random parts out of the way and off the floor, but I'm sure that I'll run out of space sooner than I would like.

Justin
"CornDog"

Never seems like you end up with "to much room" . I can remember when we completed our 40x60 back in the early 80's...it looked huge while it was empty and my Dad stood there looking around with his hands on his hips and said "we have really overdone it this time". Fast forward a few years and we were building a 24x36 to store parts in. From my experience you can't have to much space so go as big as you can afford and don't look back. Only thing certain is if you build it you will probably fill it.

[CornDogsCharger]

I agree. If I could afford it, I would build a 100x200 warehouse. But I would still manage to fill it up. Haha. I'll just stick with what I can afford right now and add on as I need more room. I'll be sure to post pictures as it takes shape (if this is still the right place to post).  Can't wait to see it take shape.

Justin
"CornDog"

[69charger2002]

I agree. If I could afford it, I would build a 100x200 warehouse. But I would still manage to fill it up. Haha. I'll just stick with what I can afford right now and add on as I need more room. I'll be sure to post pictures as it takes shape (if this is still the right place to post).  Can't wait to see it take shape.

Justin
"CornDog"

You would fill up a 100x200 warehouse you mopar hoarder! I hope I'm not partially to blame for your disease..  Excited you're getting a shop built and i'm anxious to see what kind of shop you build.. Hurry up already.. i need you to do another car for me!! lol just kidding

Trav

[moparguy01]

if your building a lean to on the outside, and plan on using a large compressor, I always recommend people insulate a small room/lean to off the main building and put the noisy compressors out in there. you'll thank me.