Getting first shop built, lessons learned?

[BLAKE]

Lots of good info in here. Thanks for that. I'm either buying a house with a shop, or building one in the next year. I'll post up a thread when that happens. Gonna be cool.

[bubbaearl]

if we sell the farm my next shop will be 1/2 the size of mine now and built wood framed and sheetrocked . yes on the bathroom .

[32vfromhell]

im curious on how much $ is sunk into some of these shops.

[HarrisonTX]

A meter that loops back

Loops back to what exactly? Do you have enough understanding of the system to explain it and you're being intentionally vague?

The name suggests a bit of redundancy.

[mustang_revival]

Loops back to what exactly? Do you have enough understanding of the system to explain it and you're being intentionally vague?

The name suggests a bit of redundancy.

Loops back to the main power source.. Also called Sub Meter..

I get my verbiage from the commercial electric company i work with..

I have enough of an understanding to communicate with an electric company and run 7 of these. One main power source, 7 different meters to tell power consumption and be billed separately is the setup.

Something like this :

Do you have any further insights or have a project where you are doing this and have learned differently?

[Frank]

HUGE THANKS guys! Tons of great info. Lots of good advice I intend to take.

I like the idea of that oil burner heater as well, but do they burn clean?

[GrayStangGT]

Loops back to the main power source.. Also called Sub Meter..

I get my verbiage from the commercial electric company i work with..

I have enough of an understanding to communicate with an electric company and run 7 of these. One main power source, 7 different meters to tell power consumption and be billed separately is the setup.


Do you have any further insights or have a project where you are doing this and have learned differently?

All of my experience is in the oilfield dealing with Oncor and some other COOPS, but I'm not sure a subtract meter is necessary in this situation. At least out here Oncor will do a second drop with a completely separate meter for the shop on the same property as your house. If they will do that I would bet that is the cheapest and easiest way.

[Rick Modena]

If you decide to go forward as a DYI on the electrical, please video this...

[bubbaearl]

im curious on how much $ is sunk into some of these shops.

25 sqft not including doors /windows /electric /plumbing . just the shell / slab .

hard part is finding a builder. every good builder around here is 6 months out . small buildings make it worse . some will not build any smaller the 30x40 .

[Labora]

25 sqft not including doors /windows /electric /plumbing . just the shell / slab .

hard part is finding a builder. every good builder around here is 6 months out . small buildings make it worse . some will not build any smaller the 30x40 .

I'm at around 60k for the 26x26 I added on my house which included a new driveway and some other work, and I have no electrical, plumbing, or drywall yet.

I am probably around 70$ a square foot and had hell finding a contractor. Was done around this time last year and I could not get most of them to call me back let alone come look at the complete plans and city permit I had already got. I easily contacted 25+ contractors most of them are so busy they do not give a single fuck about call backs. I would have even been ok if they just called back and said no we aren't looking to do any jobs like that but even that never happened.

Stand alone building I think would be easier to find a builder for, Mueller is pretty big and seems to be what I would give a try if I was in the market for steel building. Should be cheaper than a addition too, they had to redo my roofline and attic somewhat and I was already due for new roof so I rolled several projects into one..

My suggestions would be go bigger than you think you will need, you will never complain about having extra space but the same won't be said for running out of space.

Get as much as possible in writing with contractor beforehand, that way any "changes" or things you actually already told them 10x don't become a issue as the project goes along. Mine tried to say I was changing things as we went along but really it was stuff they forgot that we discussed on day one.

For a steel building I would go at least 16 ft ceilings and plan for a nice size loft for storage.

[Broncojohnny]

If you hire a contractor, make sure and keep 10% retainage on them until the bitter fucking end. No matter how much they beg, and they will beg, don't give it up until the job is done.

[txstangnut]

im curious on how much $ is sunk into some of these shops.

I am currently at 75k and that number will go up.

I don't have electric yet and did not do plumbing.

I did not plan for a loft but think I am going to add one.

I will need extra concrete so I expect to be pushing 100k before it is all said and done.

I will say it was very hard to get a contractor out and hired and as above most will not mess with a small building 30x40 is the minimum.

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