If you were to build a new shop...

[GNP]

Attached to the house, so I wouldn't have to go outside.

[blanning]

Aside from the obvious things and what others have mentioned, running water would be very high on my list. My shop is in an attached garage with a slop sink and I'm spoiled to have full HVAC and running water. My dream shop would be climate controlled, with a sink and a terlet.

I have water easily available, but not septic.  I was thinking of trying out one of those composting toilets.  It wouldn't get much use but might be handy.  

A sink would be useful also.  I could just drop the drain for that on the ground outside somewhere.

[Tapper]

Lots of great ideas already mentioned. I would be concerned about any building that large with 2x6 floor joists, even on 12" centers. Depending on the lengths of the joists they could become "springy", something to be avoided IMO. Larger and more beefy floor joists will increase your cost, but as "they" say, you only pay for it once. I also like lots of natural light in a shop (fortunately mine has it) which means windows placed strategically. LED lights help also. My shop walls are drywall and painted white, another light enhancer.

My shop (daylight basement) has a laminate floor over concrete. I found a closeout sale on laminate (wood grain pattern) at the local Home Depot several years ago, bought it and over a winter installed it myself - sits on foam padding; what a difference!

Sink and access to a bathroom are a must also. Plenty of electrical power is vital in a shop. I would buy the largest Homeline 100 amp panel I could find; you'll thank yourself later when you begin adding machines and circuits for convenience.

Congrats on the new shop and keep us updated - lots of pics!

Doug

[rwe2156]

I would add to the above hot water tank, a utility sink and a bathroom with a sink. In my neck of the woods a shower isn't a bad thing. Here we are allowed to use lift stations to pump to the septic tank for the house.

I would do a metal building with spray foam insulation. I would build stud walls inside the metal walls and put in a suspended ceiling so I could add circuits or drop downs if needed.

No question, climate control. AC more important than heat where I'm at.

A separate closet outside the shop for dust collector or blower as well as one for the compressor.

Personally I would not do underfloor ducts or electricity mainly b/c it locks in the location of machines. In a new shop the machine layout could very easily change. 10' ceilings with ductwork is no big deal, and you can add/alter the duct layout if needed.

I have a separate bench room within my shop now that has AC & plenty of windows. I keep all my hand tools in there so they don't rust.

I would have a slab and lean to roof off one side of the shop. Probably a couple roll up doors.

Definitely a dedicated electricity supply. Definitely WIFI and cable TV.

[blanning]

Attached to the house, so I wouldn't  have to go outside.

Unfortunately that won't work.  There's no space near the main house.  I could probably live in the shop though.  lol

[Willyou]

16x60 is a very unusual shape for a shop and, IMO, verry inefficient. If you have an option, cut he length in half and double the width.
I would not go to the bother or expense of "finer" flooring. Leave it plywood. The only added effort I would make is to make sure any voids are filled.

[blanning]

Lots of great ideas already mentioned. I would be concerned about any building that large with 2x6 floor joists, even on 12" centers. Depending on the lengths of the joists they could become "springy", something to be avoided IMO. Larger and more beefy floor joists will increase your cost, but as "they" say, you only pay for it once. I also like lots of natural light in a shop (fortunately mine has it) which means windows placed strategically. LED lights help also. My shop walls are drywall and painted white, another light enhancer.

My shop (daylight basement) has a laminate floor over concrete. I found a closeout sale on laminate (wood grain pattern) at the local Home Depot several years ago, bought it and over a winter installed it myself - sits on foam padding; what a difference!

Sink and access to a bathroom are a must also. Plenty of electrical power is vital in a shop. I would buy the largest Homeline 100 amp panel I could find; you'll thank yourself later when you begin adding machines and circuits for convenience.

Congrats on the new shop and keep us updated - lots of pics!

Doug

Thanks.  All good stuff.

This is going to be a shed that shows up on a truck.  The standard is 16" OC joists.  12" is an upgrade I always order.  They'd probably go 10" or even 6" if I paid for it.

We've done a lot of laminate and nailed down hardwoods.  So I could go with either if I find a good price somewhere.

[blanning]

16x60 is a very unusual shape for a shop and, IMO, verry inefficient. If you have an option, cut he length in half and double the width.
I would not go to the bother or expense of "finer" flooring. Leave it plywood. The only added effort I would make is to make sure any voids are filled.

It's a building delivered on a truck.  16' is the widest they can go and still get a permit to drive it on oklahoma roads.

We built our house in the exact same building.  And it's been totally fine.  The main problem is the ceiling height.  It's fine for a house but maybe too low for a shop.

I thought about just stick building my own building.  But my time and energy is limited.  It would probably take me close to a year to build it.

[lift mechanic]

16 foot wide? how about 2- 16 foot wide sandwiched together like they do to modulator homes. A beam down the middle so only a couple of posts to work around. For flooring 2 x 8 minimum 16" on center with no more than 10 span with center span blocking. I used 1 1/8" plywood for the floor and painted it. Problem with plywood is the voids in the plywood crushing when moving machines around. Next time I would use 1 1/8" Advantage T&G underlayment. 4'+ crawl space. Outlets 4 feet off the floor. 4-foot LED lights, I used 18 lights in a 32 x 48 shop and seems to be enough light. A covered slab just outside the shop for vehicle maintenance and welding. Air hose run all around the shop with several drops and 1 for outside. A barn door for moving larger project out of the shop. A SINK IS A MUST even if it drains outside. Machines I would NOT buy if I were to start over, shaper, I rarely use it. Hollow chisel mortice.

[blanning]

16 foot wide? how about 2- 16 foot wide sandwiched together like they do to modulator homes. A beam down the middle so only a couple of posts to work around. For flooring 2 x 8 minimum 16" on center with no more than 10 span with center span blocking. I used 1 1/8" plywood for the floor and painted it. Problem with plywood is the voids in the plywood crushing when moving machines around. Next time I would use 1 1/8" Advantage T&G underlayment. 4'+ crawl space. Outlets 4 feet off the floor. 4-foot LED lights, I used 18 lights in a 32 x 48 shop and seems to be enough light. A covered slab just outside the shop for vehicle maintenance and welding. Air hose run all around the shop with several drops and 1 for outside. A barn door for moving larger project out of the shop. A SINK IS A MUST even if it drains outside. Machines I would NOT buy if I were to start over, shaper, I rarely use it. Hollow chisel mortice.

That's actually the plan, get two of them and join them together.  I was going to leave a 12' gap between the building and just build out between them.  I was only planning a 10' wide opening between them though.

The buildings have four 4x6 runners going the length of the building, with blocking going under those.

One of them will be the shop plus maybe some larger tool storage.  The 12' wide long "room" will be lined with shelving.  It's storage for all of us.  There are four families living here now so we need a lot of space.

The other building is going to be a homeschool classroom/library/playroom for all the kids.  But at least half, maybe 2/3 will be something else.  Not sure what yet.  I could easily expand into that.

We're planning carports everywhere also.  I don't have a slab to do car repairs at the moment.  And we need something to keep the cars out of the sun and hail.

I kind of want a larger shop because there are five of us who want to use it.