building a shop

[boygenius]

I never got a good look at your house since it was dark when I got there. But I remember that there is a pretty steep incline to your property. What if you sunk part of the garage into the hill side so only 1.5 stories of the 2 story building would be visible to your neighbors. First level would be say 25' wide by 35' deep so you could open the doors on you car with another car in the garage and have plenty of room in the back for a bathroom, tool box, benches, ect...

The second story would be 25' wide but only 10' deep measuring from the back wall. That way you will have plenty of room to lift a vehicle without hitting the ceiling. You could keep a fridge in the loft along with a mini couch and some VW literature to take a break and get some ideas. You could also place hooks along the walls to hang body panels from to get them out of the way.

[zen]

nice thought, but the back is pretty flat. the front has all of the incline. still doable above ground though. lining up architects this week and talking to HOA. still have to sit back a little and make sure the contract on the house goes through.

[yetibone]

Build it on the flattest piece of your property you have. That'll save the cost of grading the site before you build.

Allow for at least a 12+ foot celing so you can pick a car up on a lift with the hood and rear hatch or trunk lid open. If you can, have the roof done without conventional trusses, or a celing for more headroom.

Build in as much bench space, and storage as you can. You can't have too much storage space in your shop. Large workbench or countertop opposite of the doors is ideal. Put the compressor outside in a "doghouse" to free up some space if needed.

[kenfyoozed]

if you install some sound deadening material, your neighbors will like you more.

[jhelgesen]

Do as much as posible yourself to save the most $$.

24x30 is an excellent size.
Build the rafters so you can use them for storage, even and unfinished room.
See if you can get a separate power panel from the house, I got a 200 amp service for only $12 extra a month as a second meter.
Get wire in your slab for the foundation, even if they put the fiberglass in it, and make sure your grading is as close to level as posible to save concrete.
Lots and lots of outlets, all 48" up from the floor, usually in gangs of 4.
Insulate and use luan ply instead of drywall, then paint it white, very durable.
Wire for phone, tv, computers, stereo now, never know what you might want in the future. Even run iron pipe for air.
You can make an inexpesive ceiling with 1" foil coated eps foam board.
A 10 or 15k btu window ac unit will cool it off well.

What else can I think of? Hmmmm.....

[yetibone]

LOL You sound like a man who's done this before...

:bowdown:

[jhelgesen]

Who me? Maybe once or twice....