Rattle_snake's Speed Metal Garage - 34x40x12 shop build

[rattle_snake]

Disclaimer: It is understood here that it is cool to build a rig in a car port or tent using only a 110v welder and a grinder. But fuck that I'm old now and wanted a shop with a lift and HVAC, so I built one.

Posting this to irritate the disorganized slobs with my overly clean and waste of time OCD shenanigans'. Yes you can build the same rig in a cluster fuck of parts and junk, but that's not me. So onward with incoherent rambling and associated fuckery.

Bought an acre+ on a county island in Chandler in 2014 with asperations, hopes and dreams of building a shop.

Designed my own building, permitted, and got stated. Ripped out the fencing and trees for dirt work.

100 tons fill to build pad above irrigation plane

sub'd concrete, footer for mono slab.

Expensive mud that eventually cracked.

Had a crew frame in one day and finish the next. I would have done a shiity job over 6 months. Kids and job and stuff.

My new playroom

Sub'd lathe and stucco. I hung all the doors

Roof foamed. I painted exterior, built scuppers, drains, vents, ect.
Basic structure done. out of money. Shit load of work to go. Plus a shit load on house, barn/horses, ect.

 

[rattle_snake]

Did basic electrical for permitting purposes. Lighting

220v Exhaust fan on timer/speed control, intake vents to use with all doors closed.

Moved shit in and went to work. built some cabinets, storage. Hot as fuck in summer, but better than no shop.

Year or two later, the bank account bounced back and I started on finishing inside. Ripped out all conduit and rewired to plastic/romex. Blow in insulation and drywalled ceiling. Installed a used lift.

Put in batting on walls and drywalled. Fuck drywall, pain in the ass, piece at a time moving shit back and forth.

Lower 4' get sheet metal, and fab wall geta 8' of 26 ga mild steel. Not SS, no it won't rust here

Steel and drywall behind is removable for wall access, future wiring.

mud, tape, paint. Back to usable shop again.

Air system in blk pipe

Comp outside on pad

3 wall vented shack.

'69 Mach1 hood for awing, '67 F100 tailgate outdoor workbench with air, power, lighting.

 

[rattle_snake]

Material rack. Would not do it this way again.

Shallow cabinets

Bare metal finish doors.

Heavy duty overhead shelving/storage with train tracks on ceiling.

Built a workbench with HF 44s

Installed my own HVAC, Dual 18k mini's

clean side...

Built a welding table. Dirty side...

fab table

Outdoor shop sink. Not like it will freeze

 

[rattle_snake]

Internet wheelers shall assume too clean to be working shop, so
air, 110v, 220v on lift, both sides

No spills haha

Grinding curtain to keep boat from catching on fire.

plasma table

latest audio system additions. 3400 W.

refurbed blast cabinet

Finger break and stand

 

[rattle_snake]

Sterile like I like it.

Where are all the other parts?

paint shop...

 

[rattle_snake]

Slayer! Now a jam room of some sorts. Loud as I want, at any time. No skills, but fun.

 

[arse_sidewards]

man I need a grinding curtain.

How much did the electrical and air set you back not counting the compressor?

 

[rattle_snake]

I don't remember exactly, and since I did it all twice, twice what it could have been.
also 2016 dollars not the ones today worth half as much.

$600-ish in lighting
Maybe another $800 wire/panels/receptacle/boxes/conduit/beer

Compressor I've had since 1998, guessing $1000 today. 100' Blk pipe, fitting/regs/filter/reels/hoses 6-700?

Total cost of phase 1 dried in was about $37 sq/ft. Phase 2 with A/C finished interior, 50/sqft. Then there was some tools.....

 

[gt1guy]

Well done Sir. I hate you in a completely jealous way but, well done.

I had big plans to make my shop really cool. The second the power got turned on, all my awesome plans went right out the window.

 

[PAToyota]

Material rack. Would not do it this way again.

Any reasons why? I've got some of my materials stored that way. Seems to work well for lighter stuff.

Bare metal finish doors.

Tube steel? Or something else?

Installed my own HVAC, Dual 18k mini's

I see those are Daikin. Did you have a hookup to get them? Other than charging the system, it's not like it's rocket surgery, but I'm not quite sold on the DIY models and would prefer name brand equipment. Getting the equipment for a DIY installation has been an issue for me, though.

Everything looks great! Like gt1guy, my issue was starting to fill the shop as soon as it was enclosed and then trying to go back and do things to organize and such got exponentially more difficult.

 

[SomeGuyFromOlympia]

shop isn't big enough

nice build

 

[rattle_snake]

Well done Sir. I hate you in a completely jealous way but, well done.

I had big plans to make my shop really cool. The second the power got turned on, all my awesome plans went right out the window.

Thanks. Same about your blue jeep.
You have the sickness worse than me, so I feel better about myself reading your posts.


I spent 2 years working my ass off non stop and was burned out by the time the basic structure was done. Then I bought my 72 Ford project truck, but had rest of life to catch up on. Looking back I should have just took a loan and done it all at once. Hire out the insulation, drywall. Grind floor, densifier, ect. Perhaps I am a control freak.

but

I have extreme commitment phobia of even the stupidest shit like where to place each receptacle, how many, which branch, exact spacing, even symmetry. I couldn't commit to HVAC, plumbing or electrical during permit phase. After spending a year or so working in the shop I knew what I wanted and where to put it.

I moved all my shit around so many times, sometimes back in and out of the attached garage. Everything ended up on wheels. What a waste of time and effort, but I am good at that.

Any reasons why? I've got some of my materials stored that way. Seems to work well for lighter stuff.


Tube steel? Or something else?


I see those are Daikin. Did you have a hookup to get them? Other than charging the system, it's not like it's rocket surgery, but I'm not quite sold on the DIY models and would prefer name brand equipment. Getting the equipment for a DIY installation has been an issue for me, though.

Everything looks great! Like gt1guy, my issue was starting to fill the shop as soon as it was enclosed and then trying to go back and do things to organize and such got exponentially more difficult.

I used uni-strut and bolt on brackets to support change/additions, should be most-bestest way? No. What I found is that I needed 100 brackets, and they are a pain to make compared to just welding on one piece. Really need a bracket at every stud at every vertical level to support any length of material.

Door frames are 1x3 rec tube, .063 or so.

Yes, I have a hookup. Got everything at cost. I can walk in to any commercial-only HVAC house and buy what I need under their business. My buddy did leak test and final checkout, I worked on his jeep for trade.

Exponentially more difficult, yes. Patience isn't one of my character traits.

shop isn't big enough

nice build

Thanks.
Preaching to the choir. There is no 'big enough' shop. Even if you have two.
then there is reality, money and the CFO.

With many easements, right-of-ways and set-backs I was left with 14' of space. Fail. Drew up plans to make attached addition, not worth the money. Ended up getting easement from county to get +20 ft, for 34' wide. I would choose 40 wide and whatever deep, but this is what I had to work with. Going deeper like 50' didn't seem to add that much value to me. 34' wide is very tight to park 3 across.

An additional dedicated wood working shop would be nice. And another building with 3-4 clean parking spaces. And a shade structure for tractor, boat, campers.

 

[rattle_snake]

Current status. Gave the HF mill some love, paint job. New age cabinets over the bench.

Can get a door open between trucks but tight.

Out of space but can move stuff around as needed when lift not in use.

7 years later landscaping is done. Not a fan of the fake protruding logs, but added to match home.

 

[gt1guy]

Thanks. Same about your blue jeep.
You have the sickness worse than me, so I feel better about myself reading your posts.


I spent 2 years working my ass off non stop and was burned out by the time the basic structure was done. Then I bought my 72 Ford project truck, but had rest of life to catch up on. Looking back I should have just took a loan and done it all at once. Hire out the insulation, drywall. Grind floor, densifier, ect. Perhaps I am a control freak.

but

I have extreme commitment phobia of even the stupidest shit like where to place each receptacle, how many, which branch, exact spacing, even symmetry. I couldn't commit to HVAC, plumbing or electrical during permit phase. After spending a year or so working in the shop I knew what I wanted and where to put it.

I moved all my shit around so many times, sometimes back in and out of the attached garage. Everything ended up on wheels. What a waste of time and effort, but I am good at that.

Simply put.......you care and it shows. All your hard work paid off and you have yourself a bad ass shop.

 

[PAToyota]

I used uni-strut and bolt on brackets to support change/additions, should be most-bestest way? No. What I found is that I needed 100 brackets, and they are a pain to make compared to just welding on one piece. Really need a bracket at every stud at every vertical level to support any length of material.

Ok. I used a system like this and at first glance thought that was what you had: Amazon.com
I did go every stud and it works reasonably well. A lot sturdier than I was expecting.

Door frames are 1x3 rec tube, .063 or so.

That's beefy for doors! I approve!

Yes, I have a hookup. Got everything at cost. I can walk in to any commercial-only HVAC house and buy what I need under their business. My buddy did leak test and final checkout, I worked on his jeep for trade.

I need to find something along those lines. I know one guy, but not quite well enough and I'm not sure of any common ground for trades.

Exponentially more difficult, yes. Patience isn't one of my character traits.

But well worth it in the end. Looks great!

 

[Pt_Ranger_v8]

That is a fine looking shop


How tall is your ceiling, and would you go higher if you could've, now that you've been in there for 7 years?

 

[carslut]

turned out great! really dig the cladding on the wall.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks. Ceiling is 12'. The code here is that an aux building cannot be taller than the home. For the 8k lift, 12' is more than enough. For a 10k lift, it would limit height under lift with trucks/vans. But if you pay to heat/cool, taller is more expensive. I would have gone taller if I could. 16' would support a mezzanine, 12' doors.

 

[Steve300xcw]

The code here is that an aux building cannot be taller than the home.

What kinda BS is that?

 

[rattle_snake]

Bureaucratic.
To get around height restriction make building attached to home, aka 'addition'.

Some cities/areas have sq ft restrictions also, which would really suck. Work around is usually the same as above.

 

[rockota]

40’ wide, 34’ deep?

 

[shortbus4x4]

Very NICE. Only one thing you got wrong, it's not a fab table, it's a dog relaxation station with awning.

 

[rattle_snake]

40’ wide, 34’ deep?

No, but that would be better. 34' wide, 40 deep.

Very NICE. Only one thing you got wrong, it's not a fab table, it's a dog relaxation station with awning.

Thanks. Ya my shop 'assistant' doesn't assist much, just relax.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Thanks. Ya my shop 'assistant' doesn't assist much, just relax.

Well that's because he's the boss. You're the assistant, don't believe me just ask him.

 

[rattle_snake]

Can't argue with that. Yes that is what he believes. Eats for free, shits on my lawn.

 

[rattle_snake]

Added a chassis on wheels and water drain/pump system to plasma table.

Made a dimple die for flush bar sink drains.

Added switched and non switched receptacles for pump and CNC 'puter, and other stuff (blast cab, vac)

Homebrew fluid system. Cheap pump, filter, check valve and one manual valve allow fluid to be drained or pumped back through drain. 15 gallon RV tank to net 13 gallons usable. Fill/drain time is 1.5 min.

 

[ridered3]

Such a cool shop and appreciate you taking the time to share it with us all! Anything new to add?

 

[Hooligan]

I’m officially jealous!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Hopefully your water table stays water tight for longer than mine. After a couple of years the seam between the two halves leaks like a sieve, literally gallons of water per minute pouring on the floor.

Toying with the idea of raising the table rails so I can make a deeper water pan, that has no seam, or converting to an air table with suction to the outside.

 

[rattle_snake]

Such a cool shop and appreciate you taking the time to share it with us all! Anything new to add?

Thanks. No, not much new. Working IN the shop not ON the shop.

I’m officially jealous!

Thanks. Took a long time to get here.

Hopefully your water table stays water tight for longer than mine. After a couple of years the seam between the two halves leaks like a sieve, literally gallons of water per minute pouring on the floor.

Toying with the idea of raising the table rails so I can make a deeper water pan, that has no seam, or converting to an air table with suction to the outside.

Haha, no it is already leaking. Not too bad, I can fill, cut and drain table without it leaking much. Plan is to weld the center seam. Someday.