CK5
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Building a K5 Shop

On the lights. A cool thing I've seen is to flush mount lights under the lift area so that way when the vehicle is up you have lights shiny up.
 
A refrigerator.....Gots to keep the beer cold.:D

All the the things mentioned above + The biggest bench you fit. As much shelves you can fit. Hard mounted air lines with lots of outlets. Parts washer. Blast cabinet.

You made a good move researching on Garage Journal...Everything you need to know.

As for the one or two door....I think it would depend on how much are you planning on using the space....If your doing a lot of long term project, then a one door will be fine. Now if your moving projects in and out all the time and short term parking, then two would make more sence.

One more thing to remember......You will all ways wished you had built it bigger.:D
 
When I built my 30 by 60 building I thought that would be plenty big,,,, wrong,I am actually considering doing another building just for storage now:doah:
 
I am building this 2060 sf building. I am going to ad a 12x12 shed outside for sand blasting large parts.

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Wow! Great information from everyone. I really appreciate all of it.

Believe me, if I had my way I would build a 20,000 sq ft shop with 20' ceilings and a 500 sq ft attached house. 1500 sq ft is about as big as I can go, mainly because of San Diego county rules governing such things. For the size of my house (2900) and lot (3 acres), I can build a total of 2000 sq ft - period. Not to mention - $$$$. This is California, things are very expensive. I have land in Texas and could build a house AND same shop there for less than just this shop is going to cost. Also, once the shop is done, a new round of saving will start to build a Saloon (I live in a horse community/daughter has a horse/etc) so a Saloon will fit. Besides, one of my neighbors/guys I hang with for races and football games has a Saloon at his pad and....well.......I want one! So, I gotta save some reserve space!

The good thing is that the house has a 900 sq ft attached 'civilian garage', and I have a decent size storage shed for yard stuff. So with all of that, this shop will be MINE. Every single square inch will be items related to wrenching. I don't do woodwork (no talent), so no need for any of those types of tools/machines.

I spent hours and hours debating doors with a lot of my contractor buddies, Garagejournal research, friends who build hot rods, etc. At the end of the day, one roll-up makes the most sense for me. I will always have a project going (which will be measured in years), and the '88 which I drive. Hell, right now the '88 occupies the 'civilian garage' (well, shares it with the Harley and the weight racks, rower, etc). Wife parks her car outside so the K5 can be inside! That's love right there.........she loves that thing as much as I do.

I might go with 20' over 18', I'll see what the builder says (I get some serious wind and it will hit that door with full frontal force).

Toilet and deep sink (two separate plumbing fixtures) are in the plans already. I am still researching how to do the compressor/air lines. I am putting a 4' wide walkway on the 3 'back' sides of the building, with a 6' walkway along the front. I don't know if I want to use part of that walkway for a compressor enclosure, or build an enclosure over the bathroom.......still researching pros/cons. Hell, since I only have a little 'fill up tires' pancake compressor at the moment, I have time.

I really appreciate all of the great input, keep it coming. I'm still sifting through all of it, kicking it around, etc.
 
I'd add go taller on the building and doors.

Mainly for Truck campers, RVs, and Toyhaulers.

Lifted truck on a lift can be pretty tall so you can never get to tall going 14 or 16' walls.

Plus for many of us have RVs Toy Hauler, truck campers etc... that are about 12'6'' high, many are just under 13.5'. So for resale a RV friendly shop door is really important...and who knows maybe you'll get an RV trailer or something some day.

just my 2 cents...
 
Another plus to going taller is the fact you can have a loft ,or "upstairs" second floor,where you can put a compressor,and store all the usual things that always accumulate and clutter up a garage,like spare engines,heads,diffs,etc,or it can be used as the "man cave" and keep the shop area for shop related stuff only..

I regretted having my quonset "cut down" to 13 feet high at the peak instead of leaving it its original height of 20 feet...

I could have made an "apartment" upstairs,or stored much of the crap cluttering up the main work area there..but having a building higher than your house doesn't look too cool in a residential area like I'm in..

I also would have gone bigger,but was prevented from doing so due to the location of the septic tank,leach field,and the required setback from property lines...

I kind of wish I had made an anchor pot in my slab at the rear of the garage,so I could use a winch to drag in a "dead" vehicle,rather than have to push it or use another vehicle,which sucks royally when your alone..also wished I had a steel "truss" in my quonset in the middle,to support a chain falls ,and it would also offer protection from it being squashed by heavy snow loads...it would keep the arches from sagging in the middle..

I've only had to scrape snow off it twice since 1992,but both times doing so nearly put me in the hospital...if your in an earthquake zone or have high snow loads I'd take that into consideration as far as the anchoring and sizes of the rafters,roof pitch,etc..
 
I've never seriously researched it, but is now the time to put in the proper forms of ventilation so you can paint inside?
 
use Rapid Air for air lines they make custom kits I am sure. I have normal kit for Northern Tools and love it as it will not rust and affordable.
 
I used pex water line for my air in the last shop. Held the 150 psi with no issues.

X2...A whole lot cheaper than Rapid Air line. I put in at least 350' with 12 outlets , drains and shutoffs for the same price of their 100' kit with 2 or 3 outlets.
 
What side (long or short side) of the building are you putting the main door on? If it's going on the long side than that leaves a lot of the building with limited access and means the possibility of having to jockey a lot of stuff around to get things in and out.

Regardless of what you do with the main door I would suggest adding a second door to the back and/or side walls towards the back. Not only for ventilation but simply to have access to the garage from the back without worrying about moving everything up front.
 
Windows! Even though I only have two they help out a lot in the summer!
We are in California. :doah:

Be careful with windows, it gives thieves an opportunity to see what's inside and an easy way to break in.
 
We are in California. :doah:

Be careful with windows, it gives thieves an opportunity to see what's inside and an easy way to break in.

Ah yes, get windows that are approved for sale in the state of California. Yea windows can attract theives but I'm guessing it's gonna be by his house, and I'm sure his house has windows. Unless windows are known to the state of California to cause cancer and are now illegal.
 
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