• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

building a new heavy equipment shop?

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,427
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Can still use them on slab, set the anchor bolts at latch lugs, can then also set them Up off grade to keep more dry and taller center section.
 

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
Can still use them on slab, set the anchor bolts at latch lugs, can then also set them Up off grade to keep more dry and taller center section.
If you're going to pour a slab, it's not really cost-effective to use the containers. They make the inside of the shop smaller and the doors are tedious to get in and out of. You get four containers and forget which one a part is stored in and you waste a lot of time.
In many states, portable buildings are not subject to property tax. Stand alone containers are good for storing junk you seldom use. No tax no depreciation. Put them together with a roof and they are subject to tax.
 

bam1968

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Messages
528
Location
IA
Occupation
Excavating Contractor
If you're going to pour a slab, it's not really cost-effective to use the containers.

I agree with that not being cost effective. I don't claim to be an engineer by any means. That being said, a few years ago I tore down a hog confinement building that the concrete floor sat on @ 12" concrete 'pillars' (for lack of a better term). They were spaced @ 8' apart throughout the building. So, basically they dug a bunch of 12" post holes and filled them with concrete then poured a slab over them. I'm guessing they used this method instead of a footing because this particular building didn't have any kind of a footing. Basically I was wondering if a person could get by with basically setting a container on a bunch of those 'pillars' then could just pour a slab with footings between the containers? Like I said I'm no expert by any means........
 

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
I agree with that not being cost effective. I don't claim to be an engineer by any means. That being said, a few years ago I tore down a hog confinement building that the concrete floor sat on @ 12" concrete 'pillars' (for lack of a better term). They were spaced @ 8' apart throughout the building. So, basically they dug a bunch of 12" post holes and filled them with concrete then poured a slab over them. I'm guessing they used this method instead of a footing because this particular building didn't have any kind of a footing. Basically I was wondering if a person could get by with basically setting a container on a bunch of those 'pillars' then could just pour a slab with footings between the containers? Like I said I'm no expert by any means........
I think the purpose of pillars was to build on unstable clay or disturbed ground. The pillars get you down to solid ground below the frost line much cheaper than trying to do the same with a poured footing. Sometimes these pillars are used in conjunction with stem walls in questionable substrates.
Yes, a pillar at every corner would be fine for a container. They stack em on ships several containers high with all the weight on the corners.
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,274
Location
sw missouri
I'm wanting to do the container thing up the hill from my shop.

I would pour sono tube pillars where the corners sit and two in the middle. (6 pillars per conex) I've done it like that on several yards. There's no reason to put concrete under them, but I want to keep them level. Then I'll probably start with just leveled and rolled base rock in the middle, but leave it low enough to add concrete to the bottom of the conex floor height. I want to be able to pull two semi's and a crane in boom dolly or multiple cranes between the conexes. Just to keep my equipment out of the weather, sun and rain.

I really like the white fabric buildings I've been inside, they are like working under a skylight during the day.

The initial outlay is much less- 4 conexes at $3,000 per, plus the pillars. Then the fabric roof and tube trusses. And center filled with rolled base rock. A couple years down the road add the concrete, or even a "bay" at a time.
 

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
I'm wanting to do the container thing up the hill from my shop.

I would pour sono tube pillars where the corners sit and two in the middle. (6 pillars per conex)
They are designed to handle their rated load (60K# or so) with all the weight on just the 4 corners. I have found they are pretty easy to level using a bottle jack (slightly tilted) on the upper flange of the channel iron perimeter.
 

Numbfingers

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
136
Location
Alaska
Occupation
mechanic
Built a shoestring budget shop to work out of last fall, and I'm mobile only. No machines in my shop but an occasional component. 32x40 pole barn with one 8' overhang, compacted gravel floor, 6.5" foam on exterior, R60 in ceiling. Structure materials cost $32K. Dirtwork cost $16K. 12x12 door was given to me by customer, along with a waste oil heater. Just a bare bones shop to keep my truck and tooling out of the weather. Don't have a picture of it dried in. As I get money I just add stuff to it.
 

Attachments

  • 20180924_082235.jpg
    20180924_082235.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 90

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,227
Location
Australia
When we built our shed we allowed for a container to form part of one wall.
With an opening in the side, it’s made a cheap but strong extra room that we store oil and the like in.
Another handy tool for a small shop are these drum trolleys.
Just wheel the drum up to the machine and pump away.
83549E2C-6790-4477-80C2-8A5AD6ECFD12.jpeg 221EACBF-0FF4-457A-9EAE-3B429DD1A236.jpeg E76BD1B1-6230-4509-A648-99F84706B1DA.jpeg
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,274
Location
sw missouri
They are designed to handle their rated load (60K# or so) with all the weight on just the 4 corners.

I was going to put in the center stands, because I plan to cut doorways from the center of the building into the side of the conex. That way you could load things in and out of the conex without having to go from the long end.

The side wall panels are what give the strength to the conex when it only has end support, and I plan to cut some of that out. A center support eliminates that problem. I've just got straight mast forklifts, with a telehandler you could maybe come from the end, but its not handy.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
I've looked at a few of these in the past as part of business personal property appraisals. They work good for operations that expect to be in one place for more than a year but will eventually have to move somewhere else. Most have wood structures for roofing between two cans. The best one I've seen had asphalt for base but they only worked on trucks and components in that property. The cans were usually wired for 220 volt with welders on the inside and compressors landed on the opposite wall outside to decrease the noise. Most had some kind of heat because in this wet climate lots of slimy stuff will grow in there if not kept dry.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,427
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
We had the Office versions of the Conex at the Nuke, paneled inside with 100a electric service and a separate 240 line connect for heat pump. Hot and moist in summer cold and moist in winter.
 

Steve Bowman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
194
Location
Southern Ohio
Occupation
Maintenance
Natural Light supplement and high ceilings. I have 14' ceiling and the top 24" or so of the exterior wall is skylight material. I do not recommend the clear for any wall other than one that faces north. Use opaque.

Bridge crane - I cannot tell you how handy that is. I built it from scratch and traded sawmill work for the main beams, so not a whole lot of $$$ really.

Radiant tube heat and good insulation for northern areas.

Apron. Eaves/overhangs and gutters on the building.
 
Last edited:

terex herder

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
1,778
Location
Kansas
Some more things from my shop.

Floor anchors are 1 3/8 Williams Form Engineering ASTM A 722 bars. Bars are anchored with a 1" plate, 40" under finish grade. Bars are in a pvc tube. Tie downs internal to the thick portion of the floor should be good to 75 tons per anchor. Bars are finished below grade with a coupling nut. Remove cover and screw a spare bar into the nut. There will be a crack around the heavy floor section.

Run electric conduit under the slab. I have subpanels on two walls. No heavy power goes over an overhead door. I have both 240V and 480V panels.

For your climate, lots of insulation. I have 3 1/2" under the wall and roof panels. After the structure was completed, 8" was added in the walls. The girts are fully insulated, with a white plastic on the inside of the insulation. 8' high white building panels line the inside. The roof purlins are also full of insulation. There is white strapping screwed on the bottoms of the purlins. Then white plastic was laid over the strapping, then the bats were laid on that before the roof was installed.

If you put doors on the south wall, get extra light panels. My south door is a 9 panel, the bottom 2 panels and the top panel are solid, the 6 center panels have 11? windows.

If its a cheap building they will omit a girt at 4' off the slab. You need that girt for strength and convenience of hanging stuff.

Put windows at 16' in the south wall. Put the office on the south wall.

Make sure the windows in the office are at residential height. My office windows are side sliders setting on the 4' girt. I don't like them. They should be residential single or double hung windows at more like 38".

If you have a budget problem and have to build smaller than you need, build the width and the height. You can always add length. Tell the builder so the end for expansion will get a full rafter.
 

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,227
Location
Australia
Living where we do, there is no need to have a closed shop to keep the weather out, however we do get the odd uninvited guest...Tawny Frogmouth.
FE8F61AD-980D-4F38-8660-F7397D59B43A.jpeg
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,274
Location
sw missouri
I was in a nice shop setup last weekend. Building sets on a hill, and 40 years ago someone used it to great advantage. Side by side doors, but one is 6' or so higher in elevation. Concrete wall and slab, over to a huge old bridge I-beam laid on its side, supported by beams and concrete pillars.

About a 3' or so opening between the wide beam and the concrete wall. Drive on lift- long enough for probably semi tractor and trailer, but with walk in or even forklift in access from the side. My shop is on a pretty good slope and its got my wheels turning- it was really well built. Old company and you can tell the guys that built it had worked on equipment before.

Nice walkway on each side and great access from underneath. I can see this on one side of my shop- someday....

20190407_085359.jpg 20190407_085404.jpg 20190407_085415.jpg 20190407_085655.jpg
 
Top