# How much did you spend building your shop?



## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

Well we are getting close to moving and I will have a blank slate to build a new shop. When I built my current shop I spent about $12K on it. The shop is 16X18. A good chunk of the cost (about $2500) was for the southern yellow pine clapboarding I had to use for the siding. I live in a historic zone and was required to use it. The next shop will have plywood siding with trim. I am thinking of 24X24 or 18X24. Just wondering for those of you who have built a shop how much it set you back, of course if you don't mind sharing that info. I would like to have a better idea than what I have come up with pricing it out on my own. I will be doing all of the work myself.


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

I think when all was said and done I think we spent somewhere around $20k plus or minus a few thousand on ours, 270 square feet, 19'x16' external, but it has climate control, serious insulation and sound control, excessive electrical service, and a living roof (which added a heck of a lot to the cost).

And our walls are at least 2 hour fire walls: staggered studs, 5/8" gypsum panel on both sides, and HardiPlank siding.


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## CalgaryGeoff (Aug 10, 2011)

Shop size is like clamps, can never have enough. I'd go with 24×24 if you can. Considerations are the size and number of tools you have, projects you make (size) and lumber storage. Power, heat and security also come to mind.


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

I would like to get the following in to my shop without tripping over the equipment

Large tool chest
lubber rack
Unisaw with 52" rails
Jet 16-32 drum sander
Bandsaw
40 gallon compressor
Dust Collector
CMS on bench

I currently have all above in my shop with the exception of the bandsaw (I don't own one yet). It can be a bit challanging moving things around but not too bad which is why I think I can get away with 16X24. I would love 24X24 but from a permit and inspector point of view it may add more cost by requring a different foundation and 2X10 instead of 2X6 joists.

From what I am seeing from local "shed" companys I can get a 16X24 shed for about 7K installed. I think the best I could do building 24X24 is about 12K. Both of these do not include electric, drywall and insulation.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Asking how much someone spent building their shop is a personal question…..Some may tell you, others may not…..I will tell you this…..I spent a lot to get the shop I wanted, but it has everything I needed in a building….Go to my woodshop and read my blog on it…....


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## UpstateNYdude (Dec 20, 2012)

How much are building trusses down there, there used to be a cheap outfit near me that you could get nice delivered and installed and it only cost me around 2-3k if I remember and my garage is 32×24 and they did a small patio roof for me also.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I guess I have close to $40,000.00 in my shop with the tools.
The shop itself is probably between $30 and 35,000.00.
The shop is 24'x30' fully insulted whit heater and AC.
http://lumberjocks.com/b2rtch/workshop


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I am going to be building as soon as I sell the farm and get moved. For some reason a 23×23 is about $3000 less than a 24×24. I have been quoted $14000 for a 23×23.

I suppose one reason is the roof and decking. 24 sheets of decking gives me the 9/12 pitch I want with 6" eave overhang all the way around with no waste. I'm doing trusses with a stand up attic storage room down the middle.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I have about 35,000 in my garage. I still need to put something on the walls and get a heater. It is 33X30 with a loft.


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## BArnold (May 20, 2013)

When we bought the property we're on now, it had a 16×24 building with a gambrel roof that had been used as a shop/garage/whatever. We added 20' to the width to make it 36×24. I kept every receipt for everything I purchased to build the addition, but never built the spreadsheet I intended to track the cost. I'm guessing it was about $10,000 to $12,000 in materials. I did at least 90% of the labor myself with a neighbor helping with some heavy stuff. The only thing I contracted out was the roof decking, felt and shingles.

I stick built it with the exception of the roof trusses. When I contacted a local truss company, they gave me a price for engineered trusses for a hip roof that cost no more than if I had bought the material and tried to build them myself.

Before I started the addition, I contracted an electrician to run 100A service from the distribution panel on the side of the house. It was about 180' underground in PVC and cost $2,100. The previous owner had never run electric service out there. I did all of the internal electrical work that probably included another $1,200.

I already had most of my tools, but spent around $1,000 on materials to build benches surrounding my table saw.

It was gratifying to do most of the work myself. I sure didn't have to butt heads with a contractor about where I wanted electrical outlets, wall covering, etc.!!!


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I don't have any thoughts on expense except for these…

Insulate to the max.
Incorporate heating and A/C
Plan for plenty of outlets

I am working in my shop (actually a one car garage) year round now. When it is 100 outside, it is 77 in the shop!


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## OldBoatMan (Sep 29, 2011)

I think you should concentrate on doing it frugally and doing as much of the work, yourself, as possible. I would suggest you look into garage "kits" at your local lumberyard. They come with plans that will pass most local building codes. Contact the inspectors, file a copy of the plans, and get any required approval on the plans. If you couldn't build a darn good shop for $10,000 you are not doing enough of the work yourself


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Mine is attached to the home, well lit, fully insulated, lots of elec., ceiling fans, plenty of lighting, has separate toilet room and utility sink, cvt floor on slab. Roughly 20' x 20' which is adequate for my needs.
Computer wired, but not equipped w/ HVAC. I did not want to bother with trying to control dust in an AC system, and with all the insulation, it is not an issue. Fans and oil filled radiators do a great job of keeping the shop very pleasant even with the Mississippi weather.
I can't separate the cost, but with the home total coming in at about $110.00/sq. ft., I feel that that is a good estimate.
I did all the trim, shelving, etc. myself.
Bill


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

How much depends on several factors. If you build it yourself, will you will have access to free labor? Will you be building on a concrete slab, or a raised platform? Will you be doing your own electrical? I built my 24×48 shop myself with the help of my son and a friend. It is on a concrete slab; has 200 amp service; fully insulated, A/C cooled and heated. I probably spent around $10000 or $8.35 a sq ft. Thats a pretty good price. The A/C and heat was salvaged from my house when I upgraded it. We did all except for the concrete and site preparation. That was over 10 years ago. The siding is T-111 plywood. I have a 10' high ceiling and 2 sliding doors. I later added a 12×16 wood deck so I can work outdoors. I may add a patio cover if I get around to it.

I would go with a metal roof.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

I ain't telling (my wife might see the answer). Let's just say 56×30 steel clad 2×6 ladder framed (40×30 heated with radiant infloor and finished with bright white steel on the walls and ceiling) was much less than the price of the house she wanted (and worth every penny of it on both ends). Since we built them at the same time, I never separated the plumbing/electrical/materials bills that closely but I'd guess without tools it was probably around 40,000 or so with me doing most of the electrical work, laying the infloor tubing and building the interior wall between hot and cold. No regrets.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

I didn't keep track - it probably would have been too depressing. But I started with a 24×26 "kit" from Sutherlands. I don't know where you are, but a local farm/hardware store might sell such a kit - I know Menards does. It was a few grand for all the lumber and connectors, shingles, doors, windows. I paid someone else to lay a foundation, bought the kit, raised the walls myself and called for help on the roof trusses. Once the roof trusses were up I finished enclosing it myself. It's quite doable and I saved a ton on labor. Once it was dry I was able to take my time with the wiring and drywall. I'm sure the total cost was under 10K.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I am blessed that our place had the former owner's cabinet shop when we bought it or I would never have had the wonderful shop I have. I didn't post this to gloat but rather to make a suggestion: DON"T PUT YOUR DUST COLLECTOR AND COMPRESSOR IN THE SHOP! Sorry for the shouting but this is the best thing I ever did (put the DC and compressor in the garage adjacent to the shop). The advantages are huge: you don't have to listen to either of those loud monsters and any superfine dust that escapes the DC won't be in your shop.


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## usmcshooter (Jul 27, 2013)

How do I start a new topic


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

menards 22 x 24 insulate the heck out of it, and run plenty of 220. also I sized a few of my 110 recepts with 10-3 just incase I needed more 220. Now I have a 3 phz RPC and I wish I had a couple outlets so I didn't have to string out the cord every time I need 3 phz.


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

What I am starting to go back and forth on is building the ship on a deck type structure or having a slab pored. I have the deck type structure right now and its not bad. From what I am seeing the slab costs about 50% more than the deck. Any thoughts on this?


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## BArnold (May 20, 2013)

Agallant: Slab is the way to go. The weight of the machines might do a number on a deck type structure.


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

How do you secure the walls to the slab? Can you just build them on top of the slab or should they be anchored to the slab?


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

red heads

Don't bother having the concrete guy embed j-bolts. I set my walls and then went around and drilled red heads into the slab to anchor them. My concrete guy didn't put control joints in my slab (16×24) until the next day. He came back with a concrete saw and cut them in so instead of the wide grooves you see on sidewalks, I have these really thin slits and they're about 2 inches deep. Skunks and ************************* can't get under my floor.

Pressure treated sill plates on the walls and a sill sealer between slab and plate. Done deal.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

I started with a carport that was next to our enclosed garage with the roof and loft extending over the carport. I did all the work myself except for the electrical/lighting installation. That included building a short foundation wall around it, pouring a cement floor, insulating the walls and floor and adding studs and wall panels and a wooden chipboard tongue and groove impregnated floor which I painted. The floor is insulated with 2" polystyrene. The electrical/lighting installation cost $1,000 with a total shop cost of $3,300. The drawing shows the whole layout, while the last picture is just the longest part seen from the entrance. A total of 220sq.ft. the work was done 12 years ago, so the bill would probably be about $6,800 today.


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

OK so just to make sure I understand the process if I do go with a slab, build the walls then secure them to the slab with a remset or by drilling and installing red heads. Does that sound right?


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Yes. I'm not sure what a remset is. I used steal bands cemented into the hollow blocks I used. These were wrapped around the bottom 2 X 4 of the wall and nailed. I used some rolled steel pins driven through the bottom board and into predrilled holes in the concrete floor of my garden shed walls and they worked well too (maybe those are what you call red heads). I'm in Norway, so not sure about American building terminology even though I am an American.


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## reedwood (Jan 27, 2011)

Ramset nails are good for basement walls, the red head bolts are a better choice for outside walls, if not J bolts….what's wrong with J bolts?

While cost is important to consider in the end, it's the size that matters most. That and building it for future upgrades and resale value so the next owner can use it as a garage with a concrete slab and doors.

ripping 16 ft. material on a table saw in a regular 20 ft. deep garage is tough without opening the door. 
28×30 always seemed like the min. best size, if you can afford it. You could also build it in two phases.

I also have a slab'd 12×12 shed off the back for dust free storage and the compressor - great idea gfadfm.


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

I am leaning twards doing the slab. I have about 12K to spend on a new shop it will be tight but I think I can build it for that. Some things may have to wait but if I can get the structure up for that I can add the electric insulation and what not after.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I figured on 2" foam under the slab. 
If you want to heat the slab you can lay the tubing in the concrete and hook it up to a small pump and water heater later.


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

Admittedly my shop is a little out-of-the-ordinary, but the seismic engineering required seismic anchors embedded 18" into the thickened edges (really grade beams) of my slab. So, yeah, if you have the option of embedding J-bolts, do that. It's way easier than drilling in Redheads later, especially since if you have to deal with any lifting forces for your seismic calculations, you don't also need to epoxy those anchors in at great additional expense.

On the slab vs floor: I'm on a slab, but I cut stringers out of ¾'" treated ply, and then laid down a ¾" plywood floor over that. For two reasons:


Dropping chisels (or planes, or power tools) on to plywood is way way better for the tool than dropping chisels on to concrete slab.
The slight give from the stringers on 2' centers is way easier to stand for hours on than concrete.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

I put about $16,000 16'x24' that included wiring, insulation, sheetrock and a pellet stove. It took another $4,000 to finish the loft and put in a dust collection system that I wasn't planning on but got the DC at such a price I couldn't not do it. 16X24 was a size that while I still needed a building permit and had to deal with the setbacks. I did not have to go through design approvals and the other hoops that a larger building would have required.See my blog. 
http://lumberjocks.com/johnstoneb/blog/36171

I would agree with gfadvm and put the DC outside the shop if possible. It frees up some room and does get that noise outside the shop. Mine is not that loud but you have a continuous hum that gets annoying.

12K will probably get the slab and structure up and possibly the electrical.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

I wouldn't use a ramset. You stand a chance of blowing out the side of the slab if you get too close to the edge. J-bolts or Redheads are best. Whatever size you decide on, it would be a prudent move to make the slab larger by 8 to 12 ft in one direction. This will serve as an outdoor area to work in good weather and allow for future shop expansion. If you do extend the slab, make sure you provide at least 1/4" per foot slope for runoff. I didn't do that and ended up adding a wood deck.


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