Being evicted

[blackthorn]

No matter how big you make it ----it wont be big enough! My shed is 10x12, 2x6 studs, lots of plugs and lights, fully insulated and heated by a small electric/oil filled heater. Its too small!! I also have a 30x40 foot shop, divided in two. Work area is 18x30 with double sliding doors so I can open it up to use the whole shop area if needed. It has 12 foot ceilings, 2x6 studs, fully insulated, gyprocked and painted. Lots of plugs and lights and windows. Wood burning stove and another (bigger) electric/oil filled heater that keeps the work area from freezing up in the einter. When I had it built I didnt put in water and washroom---BIG mistake!! I should have had a guest suite built onto onr end (like a friend di with his) but I didnt and now the cost is likely too much. SO----make it as big as you can afford!!

[Steve]

The builder who helps us build barns and additions told me that it doesn't matter how large a structure you build, a guy will fill it up completely in no time.

[part_timer]

my reloding shop portion fo the garage is 7x5. I'd rather it be 7x7 but you make due with what ever nich you can get.

[Recluse]

I have a 240-sq ft stand-alone shop that is insulated, has three windows, steel door, numerous electrical outlets and a concrete floor. In addition, I have fiber-optic cable for the TV, telephone, intercom, air-conditioning and ceiling fan. Older I get, the more time I spend out there.

But what I've learned in the past eleven/twelve years is that big enough is never big enough when it comes to workshops. When this one was finished, I was wondering what in tarnation I was going to DO with all that room? Now I'm wondering where it all went.

[mike in co]

Doesn't matter how big you make it, it'll be half again too small. Whatever size you make it- wire it right, plan for plenty of light, make sure it's DRY and plan for heat-A/C-humidity control if you can. The TV's, beer coolers, girlie posters, recliners, etc are unimportant. A urinal of some type or at least a handy corner or tree is important. A couple good 5lb fire extinguishers or several 2 lbs are vital.

sorry beer and reloading do not mix.......if a relaoding room, no if a true man cave...your own decision.

i agree on size, electricity, insulation, heat, high ceiling......
ventilation for casting( sealable during non-use in winter). cement floor with work pads, solid benches. high density partical board doubled . glued and screwed are nice.

mike in co

[jawjaboy]

sorry beer and reloading do not mix.......

Nooooooo..........



Nothing wrong with drinking a beer or two while loading....IMHO. YMMV

[Recluse]

Personally, I agree with Mike--Beer and reloading do not mix.

But then again, I'm a reformed drinker and the only thing worse than a reformed drinker is a reformed smoker.

It was drilled into me from the time I could walk and hold a toy cap pistol that booze and bullets never mix. I guess it's been so engrained into me that I'll never argue it or shake it.

Like I said, that's just me. I really don't care what anyone else does so long as they don't do it around me.

[mike in co]

i'm a pretty lite drinker...i do not even have beer in the house. i did have one wiht a steak dinner sat night.

bret......no drinking and driving ....right ???

so no drinking and shooting, no drinking and reloading.


i don't buy "i know my limit"


and i dont claim that one beer is an issue.


just do whats right.

make your own choice........


mie in co

[Bret4207]

As I said in my original post beer fridges are unimportant. IMO beer and guns DO NOT mix, EVER. If I failed to make that clear I apologize. Booze and loading NEVER mix either. Period.

I do not drink much at all. In fact, unless I go somewhere out of town with Dan or something I'll probably never have a drink again as long as I live and that's just fine with me. I swore a long time ago I'd never put my kids through what I went through as the child of alcoholic parents and I haven't broken that oath yet, nor do I intend to.

IMO anyone who can't do without booze, smokes or anything else in that line has a problem that needs addressing.

End of sermon.

[Dale53]

I had a 12x20 utility barn with full loft built. I have a three level bench built in one end with my dedicated casting station. Size can be a quandary. Too small, and you don't have enough room. Too large and you can't afford to heat and cool it.

I had mine insulated and an electric 220 volt wall heater built in. I used a permanent wall mounted air conditioner. I also had the contractor build in a ceiling ventilation system over the casting area.

A couple of things: I had electrical outlets installed every six feet. I had TWO separate circuits installed at my casting station so I can run two lead pots at once without danger of blowing a breaker. I also had 220 volt circuit installed for the heater and a separate circuit so I could use a piece of 220 colt equipment if I desired. I had an electrical outlet outside in a area alongside the building to use power tools. Most of the electrical system can inexpensively be installed while building - later would cost MUCH more.

I also built a large, sturdy, roll around work table with ramp (double doors in front) that enables me to roll the table outside to do wood work and let the sawdust fall on the ground. This has worked extremely well.

With the insulated walls and ceiling, I turn the heat on when I start up the lead pot. Thirty minutes later, the alloy is ready, the building is heated and it is comfortable to work. Same thing with the A/C in the summer. My little shed does everything that I hoped it would. It costs practically nothing to maintain, heat and cool. Long term in these days of continually rising costs this is EXTREMELY important.



I have a fully equipped shop in my basement for reloading and gun work - it is, of course, centrally heated and cooled. That has a bearing on how large I needed my utility barn.

[3rptr]

Pretty interesting how 24 x 30 gets well used in about 5 or 6 years.
Now, the picture shows there's room for everything, and no clutter.
probably best to build another, alongside.


Gosh, a girlie picture... and beer a problem?
Y'all probably think I was tony montana.

[theperfessor]

I have a 24' x 30'-8" cement block garage where I keep all my machine tools (a 15x50 Clausing engine lathe, 10 x 50 knee mill, etc.), lead, smelting and casting equipment, etc. I have a 8' x 12' room in basement for guns, molds, and reloading supplies.

Both are too full! Junk expands to fill space available, always.

I don't drink alcoholic beverages much (two to three beers a year, usually at local german restaurant) and even when I drank more socially I did not drive, reload, or play with guns or shop tools. I'm not a temperance worker or a reformed alky, it just makes it hard to keep blood sugar stable. To each their own. I also do not watch TV when reloading, although I sometimes turn it on to hear cable music or the play-by-play of a football game. It is directly behind me so I can't even glance at it without having to stop what I'm doing.

Build as big as you can afford. Just don't be surprised when it fills up very quickly!

[AZ-Stew]

I designed all of, and built most of my shop. My son-in-law helped with the framing, I contracted the concrete, underground plumbing, roof and AC. I built the rest, including the copper plumbing, all electrical (12 ga wire throughout to reduce resistance losses), insulation and drywall.

My shop is L-shaped. Small end is 11x16 and butts up against the remainder which is 12x48. 2x6 construction. 2" high-density foam insulation on the walls and roof closest to the outside, followed by 3.5" fiberglass between the foam and the drywall. 7/16 OSB on the outside walls, covered by another layer of decorative siding, 1/2" drywall on the inside. This makes the walls about R-30. and the roof just under that. There are no windows, for the sake of the photo darkroom in the 11x16 section of the building and to mitigate heating/cooling losses. The garage door in the end farthest from the bend in the "L" is R-18 insulated. The two walk-through doors are the weakest link in the insulation. Roof shingles are white to reflect summer sun. Lighting is fluorescent throughout for maximum light with minimum current draw and heat radiation, 18x2 4-foot tubes and the walls and ceiling are painted white to maximize reflection and evenness of the lighting. You can walk into the shop mid day in the summer and there is enough light in the building that you aren't blinded from being outside. It's bright inside. Concrete floor, painted with Rustoleum epoxy garage floor paint, light gray, which also helps with the lighting and makes it easy to find samll items that may be dropped on the floor. Electrical switches and outlets are almost all 4' off the floor and there are very few places in the shop that you can stand without being within arms length of an outlet. There is 220V for the compressor, welder, Ham Radio shack and casting pot. I went 220V for casting to reduce current draw and heat loss through the wiring. I have a sink and toilet bathroom (handy) and an electric, tankless, on-demand water heater (no gas in the neighborhood). Not having to pay to keep a tank of water heated, and not having to run the AC to remove the heat that would escape a tank-type water heater, has already saved me the cost of the tankless water heater. The building has a 2-ton heat pump which runs mostly in the summer when I'm in the building, occasionally in the winter and almost never for 6-8 months during the Spring and Fall. The building holds it's temperature very well. When it gets to 90 at mid afternoon, the building will still be about 77 inside, having cooled the night before. In the Winter, the fluorescent lighting and my body heat will raise the temperature a degree or two over a couple of hours. Since we replaced the 20+ year old heat pump on the house to a modern, efficient model, we get to run the shop building for free. No change in the electric bill.

My one mistake was not allowing enough room for storage. Don't underestimate how much room you'll need. Make a list of all the stuff you have associated with your shooting hobby that doesn't currently reside in your safe or on the reloading bench. Figure out how much room it takes and multiply by 3. Add this to your square footage.

Regards,

Stew

[DLCTEX]

I moved a building onto the property a few years ago for a reloading/man cave. It was 14 X44 with A living are, kitchenette, and 1/2 bath. Time constraints kept me from developing it like I wanted. One of my sons recently was laid off in Florida and that building is being remodeled into an apartment for he and his expectant wife. Now the Man cave is an 8X16 building. We insulated it and plan to stucco it this summer. It definately will not hold all our reloading stuff so the garage will get the overflow. Small price to pay for the pleasure of having that coming grandson next door. My other grandchildren are 1,700 miles away and that is too far.

[AZ-Stew]

04/21/09 update...

Tuesday was our first 100 degree day (102 on my thermometer) and when I came home from work the temperature in the shop was 81 degrees - 21 degrees below the outside temperature, without the AC unit running. Insulate your shop well. It pays.

Regards,

Stew

[Just Duke]

SWMBO has decided that I should have a "yard barn" for my reloading and other activities...and vacate the spare bedroom for a sewing room/guest bedroom.

Suggestions on what size I need? I'm thinking 10 by 12 with a similar covered area to cast under in warmer weather. Inside I will have a STAR lubri-sizer, a LYMAN 4500, 2 550B DILLONS and a ROCKCHUCKER set up on one end; plus an exhaust hood over a LEE pot and my LYMAN 20 pounder at the other end. Work bench wrapping most of the room, with storage shelves and possibly peg board.

The tax return looks like enough to cover the project. I'll either buy a manufactured shed to be delivered. Or my favorite step son is between jobs, going to school GI Bill, and various National Guard duties...pay him what the other one would cost and help him a little.

Suggestions and pictures of what you did or want to do requested.

Wood is at a all time low. Lucky for you.

[schutzen]

A couple of quick thoughts. I would install at least a 100 Amp electrical service, preferably a dedicated meter. More and more reloading equipment uses electricity. Things like electronic scales require the correct voltage for proper operation. A 12/2wg snaked from the house to and outbuilding just does not work.

In your area heat and air are almost a necessity. Fedder makes a good combo unit that installs in a window or a cut in the wall. You can set it for a minimum temperature and then adjust it for comfort when you are working. The high rafter ceiling makes it easier to cool in the summer, but harder to heat in the winter. A good ceiling fan will push the heat back down into your occupied zone, but can interfere with reloading (blows powder around). A custom built fume hood for casting can double as a shielded area for scales. An old range hood makes good starting point for a fume hood.

I would also build in a dedicated powder locker and a primer storage cabinet (all recommendations I have seen call for a vented cabinet with 1" thick walls). With the price of these items today, that probably means you need to consider security as you build. I am not that familiar with building for security, so I have no relevant comments.

One final thought is I would consider metal roofing and siding for ease of maintenance. #1 quality painted metal is $70 per square here. Being south of St. Louis, Buckhieght's might be able to beat that price. The thing I like about metal is you clean it with a pressure washer every other year and it looks great for 20-30 years.

Good Luck, I wish I was building a dedicated reloading shed, but for now the garage will have to work.

[bigdog454]

Depends on how old you are and how long you plan on living in your present location! If you are 50yrs + I would think that you could get by with a 1 car garage size (without the car). I have a 24X36 shop area, it's too small;but I started here young. Added another 24X36 for storage, now I would like to build a 36X50 but I think that I'm getting to old to do that and the funds are not there. You start with a small area add you reloading stuff, then you get some wood working tools, maybe for some home project (read stocks), misc nut bolt screw storage areas, add some metal tools, mill lathe etc, more misc. and then your back in the house because there's not enough room in the shop, to reload. This is the voice of experience talking. I have 2 reloading area, one in the shop, most stuff, another in the house for hand gun cals.

[singleshotman]

Just don't store your rifles in your "man cave". My father did, and we lost $5,000 worth of antique rifle one day.Burgler's are MUCH less likety to rob your house than your shop, our shop was broken into about three times till we put in a Burgler alarm system.After that no problems, but it's like locking the barn after the horse has been stolen.

[Cherokee]

As large as you can affored with HVAC, bathroom, insulation, lights, lots of lights, good elec supply, lots of outlets, do not skimp or you will regret it. Intercom not a bad idea.