Building a new shop Yeah!

Tom Baugues

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Lafayette, Indiana
I have decided to build a shed/shop. It will be a dual purpose building. I'm looking at a 12 x 28 ft. building. The front end will house our pop up camper to keep it out of the weather and household storage with the back end (approx 12 x 10) of the building being MY SHOP! I know that 12 x 10 is not real big but it is 12 x 10 ft bigger than I have now. Plus it will only be for woodworking and should not have to store any "household stuff". I do not have the time to build it myself so I'm currently taking bids from local contractors to stick build it on site and I'm also checking pricing on having a "pre-built" brought in and set on site. Either way...I will have it built to my specs and for my specific needs.
The front end will have double doors that open very wide to allow me to back the pop up into the building. The side of the building will have two 36" service doors. One near the front and the other at the shop end for entry there. I will build any workbenches at a later time.
I do have questions on how wide do floor joists need to be to allow me to store a 3000 lb camper in it without damage to the floor. Also what type of floor material (treated plywood)? I'm also thinking about ventilation. I'm thinking about end gable vents...one at each end. Not sure if I need a roof vent?
Well, I'll ask more questions as I go along. I hope to get something started in about 6-8 weeks.
 
Whoo hooo this is just what we need for the summer the birth of another shop.:thumb::thumb: Best of luck Tom.

Dont forget if you can swing it and have the roof structured and strengthened properly over your shop area then there is valuable storage space up there.

I guess you gonna be looking into Stus dungeon to get a load of ideas with this size space.;)
 
Depending on what part of Indiana you're in, consider contacting the Amish. Around here, if you provide the transportation, they'll build some very nice barns, sheds, etc. for very reasonable prices. They have their own plans, but you can make all sorts of 'personal' modifications to them, too.
 
It will have wood floors because the building will be considered a "portable" building. Here in my town if an out building has a concrete floor it is considered "permanent" and therefore will be "taxed" as such on my property tax. 12 x 28 is a large building but as long as it sits on "runners" (4x4 or even 6x6 or 8x8) then it is a portable building.
My father has had treated plywood as a floor in his shop for the past 20 years without much problem.

I have contacted a company in a nearby town that is Amish owned and they "pre-build" barns/sheds. They have very good pricing as well. They are suppose to send a guy out next week to see if they can squeeze one in between my house and a nearby tree. If so I may go with them. I have a neighbor that has one by them and it looks very nice.
 
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Tom, I was thinking for the camper, what about the roof without walls on the end with gravel, the camper could back in be out of the weather, the tires high and dry and then the camper won't become an assembly bench all winter! The best part, in the summer, you would have a picnic shelter area for construction projects, cookouts, etc.. :dunno:
 
Tom, I was thinking for the camper, what about the roof without walls on the end with gravel, the camper could back in be out of the weather, the tires high and dry and then the camper won't become an assembly bench all winter! The best part, in the summer, you would have a picnic shelter area for construction projects, cookouts, etc.. :dunno:

Well the other part of this is the fact that I have had my camper parked in my yard and although no neibors have said anything YET...this will get it out of site and the neighbor hood association will not come down on me for having "any item with wheels" as stated in rules.... parked in the yard.
Now, if I lived out in the country like some of you folks do then YOU can make your own rules but when your in town like me...we all have to try to get along and we have to have rules or else it does get out of hand and property values do decline.
 
Well the other part of this is the fact that I have had my camper parked in my yard and although no neibors have said anything YET...this will get it out of site and the neighbor hood association will not come down on me for having "any item with wheels" as stated in rules.... parked in the yard.
Now, if I lived out in the country like some of you folks do then YOU can make your own rules but when your in town like me...we all have to try to get along and we have to have rules or else it does get out of hand and property values do decline.

No problem Tom, just was kicking some ideas around. Thought that was what you were looking for. Sorry.
 
Why are you sorry Jonathan? You threw out a good idea based on the information you had. He replied, explaining why. No reason for anyone to be sorry.

I really can get off on this subject, so bear with me and I will see if I can explain. Let's say I put down a throw rug and six months later I trip on it. My, almost perfect, wife will say she is sorry. Why is she sorry? She didn't lay down the rug and she didn't cause me to trip. I keep hoping that she will outgrow this trait.

I'm sure I have a lot of traits that she wishes that I would outgrow.

We have been married over 65 years. As far as I can tell this is her major fault...well that and the fact she was dumb enough to marry and stay married to me.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
I don't have any wood strength property tables, just deal in metal at work, so this is a bit of a guess. All the calculators I've seen online are for evenly distributed loads, nothing for point loads like this. I think the decking is probably more of a problem than the floor joists on this load. If you're going 2x12 floor joists, they're fairly strong, probalby be fine for a 12' span. If you go with smaller floor joists, I'd definitely get someone to calculate the maximum span with the camper on it, and add some posts in the area it rolls and rests to decrease the span as needed. You don't want a floor that sags 3/4" with the camper in it.

I made a sketch of what I was thinking, should let you stay with a single layer of decking. 16" spacing for the regular floor joists, with an extra in the location the tires roll over. Adding some support posts where the tires normall sit is probably money well spent. This will reduce the spacing between joists where the tires roll to 6" of open decking.

As an alternative, you could add 2x between the joists where the tires roll, or use 2 layers of decking and run all the studs across the 12' span of the building.

Just my thoughts, dont' have the wood material properties to do any deflection calculations. Looking forward to seeing the build though :)
 

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Hmmm, how tall is the pop-up? How tall will the building be?

I'm envisioning a platform over the pop-up, giving you storage at the least, and a loft at the most, if the ceiling is high enough...:huh:
 
It will have wood floors because the building will be considered a "portable" building. Here in my town if an out building has a concrete floor it is considered "permanent" and therefore will be "taxed" as such on my property tax. 12 x 28 is a large building but as long as it sits on "runners" (4x4 or even 6x6 or 8x8) then it is a portable building.

Soooo, Gravel pad, then 8x8 treated beams, then floor joists on top of them? :dunno: I'm just trying to get this in my head. If so, it seems to me you could easily add another beam or two in the front section, if you need more support for the trailer. And you'll need a ramp in front, I guess?
 
4x6 runners with 2x8 on 16" centers with 3/4 t&g and 2 strip running down the building where the wheel will set will get it. That's how they make the portable buildings here that are used to park cars in.

Keep in mind folks you are only going to have a 4 to 6' span on the floor joist.
 
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