OK, so I had to appease the missus and let her have someplace to park the
van. I don't have a pic of the completed version, but here are a couple of
links to give you an idea.

Google SketchUp file:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/f6f442/

JPG of the whole structure (from SketchUp):
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...21da3ae2b0.jpg

JPG of the shop floor plan (from SketchUp):
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...05a337da52.jpg

Briefly, this is the largest garage that can be constructed in my area. The
entire floor area is 720 SF, of which roughly 470 SF is shop. There is a
separate bay for the missus to park her van. The walls are 10 ft tall and
are 2x6 construction. There is room for a loft above the main space.

I haven't been able to do much with it while I've been waiting for the city
inspectors to give the final signoff. They (mostly) did that today.
Apparently, if your garage subpanel has more than one circuit, you need a
ground rod. The electrician will be doing that tomorrow. In any case, I've
been thinking about how to get this thing up and going. We're in the
Chicago area, so it occasionally gets cold around here. I have an overhead
heater to add the BTUs (once I run the gas line, of course). I'll be
insulating the walls with whatever fits in a 2x6 space. Question 1
is...what to put up on the walls? My two thoughts are either 1/2" drywall
or 1/2" plywood. Offhand, I'm leaning toward the plywood because I believe
I will have more flexibility on where I want to hang stuff on the walls
without having to put in wall anchors. I honestly don't know the cost
difference. As for the ceiling, I plan to put down plywood on the floor of
the loft area. Should I drywall the ceiling to brighten the space up?

Any thoughts on what I should do now in general that will be harder to do
later and I'll wish I did them now?

todd

Run compressed air , and vacuum lines.

Todd,

Congratulations on your new playhouse.

My 22 x 22 shop was completed last week. Not completed
yet, but at least I got the final inspection. I still
have to paint the interior and exterior. (my decision
to paint, a contractor did all the real work.)

I have insulated 2 x 6 framing, on 16-inch centers.
Insulated overhead garage door. No windows on the
South or West sides. A bunch of insulation in the
ceiling, but no access for storage. I am more
concerned about the heat in summer than the cool
weather in winter. I have 9 4-foot two-bulb
fluorescent fixtures mounted on my 8-foot ceiling for
general lighting. I will supplement that with swing
arm lamps for additional task lighting.

To answer Question 1; I elected to go with drywall. It
is quieter. With studs on 16-inch centers I can hang
most anything on them. I would not trust 1/2-inch
plywood or drywall for hanging anything. Except maybe
a coat hook for a shop apron or baseball cap.

Thoughts on things to do now rather than later?

Have plenty of lighting.

Have plenty of electrical outlets. (In addition to 12
120VAC 20 amp duplex outlets, I have 4 240VAC 30 amp
outlets.)

Paint or do whatever is left to do before you move in
any stationary tools or equipment.

John Flatley
(born and raised in Chicago)
Jacksonville, Florida
--


"todd" wrote in message
...
| OK, so I had to appease the missus and let her have
someplace to park the
| van. I don't have a pic of the completed version,
but here are a couple of
| links to give you an idea.
|
| Google SketchUp file:
| http://www.filefactory.com/file/f6f442/
|
| JPG of the whole structure (from SketchUp):
|
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...21da3ae2b0.jpg
|
| JPG of the shop floor plan (from SketchUp):
|
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...05a337da52.jpg
|
| Briefly, this is the largest garage that can be
constructed in my area. The
| entire floor area is 720 SF, of which roughly 470 SF
is shop. There is a
| separate bay for the missus to park her van. The
walls are 10 ft tall and
| are 2x6 construction. There is room for a loft above
the main space.
|
| I haven't been able to do much with it while I've
been waiting for the city
| inspectors to give the final signoff. They (mostly)
did that today.
| Apparently, if your garage subpanel has more than one
circuit, you need a
| ground rod. The electrician will be doing that
tomorrow. In any case, I've
| been thinking about how to get this thing up and
going. We're in the
| Chicago area, so it occasionally gets cold around
here. I have an overhead
| heater to add the BTUs (once I run the gas line, of
course). I'll be
| insulating the walls with whatever fits in a 2x6
space. Question 1
| is...what to put up on the walls? My two thoughts
are either 1/2" drywall
| or 1/2" plywood. Offhand, I'm leaning toward the
plywood because I believe
| I will have more flexibility on where I want to hang
stuff on the walls
| without having to put in wall anchors. I honestly
don't know the cost
| difference. As for the ceiling, I plan to put down
plywood on the floor of
| the loft area. Should I drywall the ceiling to
brighten the space up?
|
| Any thoughts on what I should do now in general that
will be harder to do
| later and I'll wish I did them now?
|
| todd
|
|

Did he mention more lights and power???

I just added a 2nd garage for a car, and the contractor about shat
himself when I told him 4 banks of 4ft double lights, and 4 plug
outlets every 6 feet, chest high around 3 sides. Same as my main
garage/shop. I like the light, and it's very easy to find a plug for
all the power stuff.

If you don't need a plug, it just sits there. When you need one, or
six, they are close and handy. And it's easy to add initially, hard to
add six months down the road.

Hope this helps.....


John Flatley wrote:
Todd,

Congratulations on your new playhouse.

My 22 x 22 shop was completed last week. Not completed
yet, but at least I got the final inspection. I still
have to paint the interior and exterior. (my decision
to paint, a contractor did all the real work.)

I have insulated 2 x 6 framing, on 16-inch centers.
Insulated overhead garage door. No windows on the
South or West sides. A bunch of insulation in the
ceiling, but no access for storage. I am more
concerned about the heat in summer than the cool
weather in winter. I have 9 4-foot two-bulb
fluorescent fixtures mounted on my 8-foot ceiling for
general lighting. I will supplement that with swing
arm lamps for additional task lighting.

To answer Question 1; I elected to go with drywall. It
is quieter. With studs on 16-inch centers I can hang
most anything on them. I would not trust 1/2-inch
plywood or drywall for hanging anything. Except maybe
a coat hook for a shop apron or baseball cap.

Thoughts on things to do now rather than later?

Have plenty of lighting.

Have plenty of electrical outlets. (In addition to 12
120VAC 20 amp duplex outlets, I have 4 240VAC 30 amp
outlets.)

Paint or do whatever is left to do before you move in
any stationary tools or equipment.

John Flatley
(born and raised in Chicago)
Jacksonville, Florida
--


"todd" wrote in message
...
| OK, so I had to appease the missus and let her have
someplace to park the
| van. I don't have a pic of the completed version,
but here are a couple of
| links to give you an idea.
|
| Google SketchUp file:
| http://www.filefactory.com/file/f6f442/
|
| JPG of the whole structure (from SketchUp):
|
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...21da3ae2b0.jpg
|
| JPG of the shop floor plan (from SketchUp):
|
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...05a337da52.jpg
|
| Briefly, this is the largest garage that can be
constructed in my area. The
| entire floor area is 720 SF, of which roughly 470 SF
is shop. There is a
| separate bay for the missus to park her van. The
walls are 10 ft tall and
| are 2x6 construction. There is room for a loft above
the main space.
|
| I haven't been able to do much with it while I've
been waiting for the city
| inspectors to give the final signoff. They (mostly)
did that today.
| Apparently, if your garage subpanel has more than one
circuit, you need a
| ground rod. The electrician will be doing that
tomorrow. In any case, I've
| been thinking about how to get this thing up and
going. We're in the
| Chicago area, so it occasionally gets cold around
here. I have an overhead
| heater to add the BTUs (once I run the gas line, of
course). I'll be
| insulating the walls with whatever fits in a 2x6
space. Question 1
| is...what to put up on the walls? My two thoughts
are either 1/2" drywall
| or 1/2" plywood. Offhand, I'm leaning toward the
plywood because I believe
| I will have more flexibility on where I want to hang
stuff on the walls
| without having to put in wall anchors. I honestly
don't know the cost
| difference. As for the ceiling, I plan to put down
plywood on the floor of
| the loft area. Should I drywall the ceiling to
brighten the space up?
|
| Any thoughts on what I should do now in general that
will be harder to do
| later and I'll wish I did them now?
|
| todd
|
|

todd wrote:
OK, so I had to appease the missus and let her have someplace to park the
van. I don't have a pic of the completed version, but here are a couple of
links to give you an idea.

Google SketchUp file:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/f6f442/

JPG of the whole structure (from SketchUp):
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...21da3ae2b0.jpg

JPG of the shop floor plan (from SketchUp):
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...05a337da52.jpg

snip


I'll be
insulating the walls with whatever fits in a 2x6 space. Question 1
is...what to put up on the walls? My two thoughts are either 1/2" drywall
or 1/2" plywood. Offhand, I'm leaning toward the plywood because I believe
I will have more flexibility on where I want to hang stuff on the walls
without having to put in wall anchors. I honestly don't know the cost
difference.

snip

I lean towards the plywood. If you're going to pay someone to hang and
finish the sheetrock, the cost difference is inconsequential. I lucked
into a deal at HD on some 3/4 plywood and used it in my shop. The
building is super rigid (it's a metal building) with the plywood
interior and I can hang anything on the walls easily without messing
with finding studs. The only drawback is that the interior space is
darker (my plywood is varnished) than a painted sheetrock interior would
be. It needs more artificial light.

Rick

I'd go with the drywall. It will be far more fire resistant than
plywood. If you're going to finish the walls consider blown in
cellulose insulation. It's cheap, environmentally safe, and works
well.

todd wrote:
Question 1
is...what to put up on the walls? My two thoughts are either 1/2" drywall
or 1/2" plywood. Offhand, I'm leaning toward the plywood because I believe
I will have more flexibility on where I want to hang stuff on the walls
without having to put in wall anchors. I honestly don't know the cost
difference. As for the ceiling, I plan to put down plywood on the floor of
the loft area. Should I drywall the ceiling to brighten the space up?

Any thoughts on what I should do now in general that will be harder to do
later and I'll wish I did them now?

todd

"M Berger" wrote in message
I'd go with the drywall. It will be far more fire resistant than
plywood. If you're going to finish the walls consider blown in
cellulose insulation. It's cheap, environmentally safe, and works
well.

Agreed ... is also available with built-in bug protection, built in mold
protection, and, as long as other things are done in that regard, will offer
a decent sound barrier to boot.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 1/06/07

rich wrote:

If you don't need a plug, it just sits there. When you need one, or
six, they are close and handy. And it's easy to add initially, hard to
add six months down the road.

One can also simply install a box, run the wire to it with a 6" loop of
wire stuffed in the box and then go on downstream to the next (live &
functional) box (effectively completely wiring every other box). That
way, when an additional outlet is needed, simply plunge cut your wall
finish (you *did* precisely measure and/or mark the box location on the
wall finish, right?) and install the additional outlet at that time.
If dollars get tight, this is a reasonable and economical way to plan
for the future -- as the only real expense is that empty box (less than
a dollar) - plus (for the nit-pickers) that additional 6" of wire
looped in the box. If you never use it, then you are out, effectively,
nothing. One should plan for this additional load on the circuit (6
outlets, generally, for a 15 amp circuit --- 8 outlets for a 20 amp).
Smart thing would be to wire about 4 or 5 outlets on a 20 amp circuit
-- as, generally, every outlet isn't in use simultaneously, so precise
'rules' are not absolutely required.

-- john.