# What would be a practical height for shop ceiling?



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I’m drawing up plans for my future shop and just realized that I have the option to go a little higher. I have 6” of concrete above the floor level for my foundation with standard 8ft stud wall on top for 8 1/2ft total. I haven’t figured out the difference in the cost difference between standard studs verses 10 ft studs and only know that there is a $1 difference per stud according to HD. It’s also going to change the wall covering method and cost as well. 

Of course I would really love to have a 12 ft high ceiling, but the cost maybe prohibitive for just a DIY home wood shop. My garage shop now is 8 ½ ft high with closed ceiling and with the roll up garage door. I don’t have any real issues that I can think of at the moment except for having a place for vent fans and dust collection stuff. 

I guess I could leave the trusses open and put vent fans and such in the roof area. I used to have a 2 car garage with open ceiling and it got hot in there plus there seemed to be a lot more dust.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I was going to suggest raising the ceiling joists but you are using trusses. I would go a minimum of 10 feet,. Building anything 8 foot tall and standing it up would not work, also hitting the light fixtures will be easier with a low ceiling. If you could go with 12 foot ceilings, you could use the upper part for storage of lumber and such. JMHO


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I "had" an 8ft ceiling....*

I hated the 8 ft ceiling because I couldn't lift a 4 X 8 panel without bumping it. IU then raised the entire ceiling and floor to 10 ft, and have never had an issue. The higher the better, and don't even think about the cost of the extra length of studs.... it won't matter in the long run. Figure that additional cost over 10 or 15 years and it's a drop in the bucket. Siding will cost some extra, but there again, it will be worth it and resale value will increase. 

Trusses eat up a lot of overhead storage, and I've never used them Put enough pitch on the roof, so you can still stand on it, but it will drain well.

Provide for a center beam for pulling engines or what ever. Avoid a center garage door track. It will always be in the way. Go with the Liftmaster wall mounts. I love mine. Run your electrical in surface mounted EMT for easy access and additions or changes. It looks great also. Get the best concrete guys you can find and have them make a level floor, insist that it be smooth and level. Run separate banks of lights. You don't need them all on at the same time, but when you do you just flip another switch. Use 3 way switches at each door. A gable mounted exhaust fan will help evacuate dust or odors. Use ceiling mounted fans to circulate the air, another reason for a higher ceiling... they won't get whacked when working with a long length of wood.

I like tools on mobile bases when possible. I've moved mine any number of times when I've rearranged the shop. Casters are cheap and if you can weld, make your own.

A separate area for a desk and computer out of the shop dust would be great, even if it's behind a shower curtain type enclosure or sliding door. :smile:


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

10' allows room for hanging shop lights and ceiling fans. 
Higher ceilings seem to help in hot weather too.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Ok well I didn't think off it, but the lifting "4 X 8 panel without bumping it" is a big issue and I certainly have had that problem enough times. :furious: 
Well that does it for sure I will have to go with 10ft ceilings, but I'll have to rethink my roof structure. I don't really like trusses that much anyway and I thought it might make it easier for me to have pre-made and delivered to the top of my walls.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

My shop is going to be 24’ x 30’ enclosed, but I want to also have a 12’x24’ covered carport along the side for working outside. So I’m now thinking about a shed type roof for the shop with windows on the high side above the carport cover.
My concern is that I may have to use a beam and posts to support the 24ft rafter span. I’m searching for some structure plans now.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

My shop is 30x40. It doesn't have any support post in the center, but is built with trusses. I don't have any issues with the 10 foot ceiling.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I've been doing some research and the rafter size for the span is going to going to be too much for me to handle so I think I may go with a Scissors truss design and keep the standard stud walls.

I haven't decided whether I'll try to build them myself or have a truss company do it and deliver to the top plate. It depends on how much it costs me because delivery is pretty far.


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## woodchux (Jul 6, 2014)

All great ideas and designs from previous posts, but also consider the zoning/building city permit allowances in your area. A close friend built an addition to his garage, but some "good" neighbor squealed to city hall about the structure and he had to make the addition conform to zoning requirements, which cost him more $ and a long time neighbors friendship. Be safe.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

woodchux said:


> All great ideas and designs from previous posts, but also consider the zoning/building city permit allowances in your area. A close friend built an addition to his garage, but some "good" neighbor squealed to city hall about the structure and he had to make the addition conform to zoning requirements, which cost him more $ and a long time neighbors friendship. Be safe.


 Thanks, but I do plan on doing it legal just because I don’t want insurance problems or neighbor disputes. 

The place I plan on building only adopted 2009 International Building Code in Dec 2010, before that you could build houses with old garage doors, trailers or whatever. :shifty:


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## Ghidrah (Mar 2, 2010)

My shop ceiling is just under 8' and the girt is 9.5" lower than that, my shop is a measly 11.6'X22.6'. I rarely hit the lights with ply or any other material, I adapted my working habits to conform.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I normally try to avoid 8’ pieces of plywood by having them cut to least to a manageable piece at the store. I only have a 6’ truck bed and I have hard time of moving a 4x8 piece of plywood. In the past I would do it outside on my patio if I had to work with something that large. It would be nice to be able to if needed. 

I do remember one time building a large cabinet during the winter and I had to assemble it in dining room which has 10ft ceilings, but that was a long time ago.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Depends on what you plan on doing. DIY stuff, 8' should be fine. Put the lights in the ceiling. That will protect them as well as keep them out of the way.

If you plan on doing this for real business then go for 12 foot ceilings. Since you will be out there 8+ hours a day you'll want to be comfortable and be able to swing boards around without having to do a helicopter swing. 12' is still low enough for good heating and cooling.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

18' but I didn't plan it that way. 

Al


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Al B Thayer said:


> View attachment 186938
> 
> 
> 18' but I didn't plan it that way.
> ...


Nice, I should be so lucky:smile:


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Well you can rule out hanging any lights. My ladder is only 16'. 

But it does help with the heat in the summer.

Al


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Al B Thayer said:


> View attachment 186938
> 
> 
> 18' but I didn't plan it that way.
> ...


Man, you could drop in another floor in there, if you wanted to, for some great storage.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Just remember that the higher you go with the ceiling the more you need to compensate with your lights. What works for an 8' ceiling will leave you wanting more light if you install the same in a 12' ceiling. If you suspend the lights then that's not as much of an issue.


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## NickB (Sep 24, 2013)

If you're thinking about heating with an infrared tube, I'd go 12'. Otherwise 10'.

I have 8' with a u-tube now and it burns my forehead when I stand under it. Aside from that, I often wish I had just a bit more clearance for hanging lights, air hoses, cord reels, etc. If I were doing it from scratch, I'd buck up for higher ceilings, but anything more than 12' for a woodshop is probably wasteful.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

BigJim said:


> Man, you could drop in another floor in there, if you wanted to, for some great storage.



Don't tempt me. I can be the biggest hoarder.

To the OP. 

Good deal for you your building a new shop. If I were building one a 9 or 10 ft ceiling would be fine. Any taller and the neighbors might wonder what your up to. Truss rafters with the center section made for attic storage. 

Your not going to see much difference in the lighting between 8 and 14' except that the light will spread and even out better if its higher over head. Flo's can be too intense for me and much better if they are high. I'm one of those that get a headache from total light from Flo's. My shop has two of those mercury vapor lights. They only work for my shop because the ceiling is so high. 

Al


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## Da Aardvark (Oct 11, 2012)

Scissors trusses cost more. Likely a 30% increase.
Also any truss is not designed for storage loading unless specifically designed for it.
I would never go 8 ft. 10 ft is a minimum. 

I'm in preparation to build my shop with quonset style metal in a near 1/2 circle. 4 ft concrete and stone walls with a center height of 15 fr and side walls will be low. A 30' x 40' building with 12 ft o'head door.
The cost of the metal building is substantially lower than in wood. Some are actually very appealing in design.


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## michaelpugh (Dec 31, 2013)

My shop already had 8' ceilings when I made it a shop. I really wish they were higher and at some point in the future I will probably raise the ceiling or take it out all together and have foam insulation sprayed in the rafters. I did that in another part of the building and it's been great. But that was a suspended ceiling, much easier to take out...


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## Johne230 (Oct 11, 2013)

Why dont you use the trusses goup the 10' and then build the carport roof in place!


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Johne230 said:


> Why dont you use the trusses goup the 10' and then build the carport roof in place!


 Originally that was what I was thinking, but then I got carried away with trying to save money on the 8ft stud walls not knowing wow much it was going to cost me for the Scissors trusses.

Well I just got back from Nevada where I found a place with two 8ft high garages side by side. As I was looking at the trusses, I realized that I could stand up something up between the trusses as long as it fit in between the trusses @ 2ft o.c.

Anyway the House, Garages and 1.5 acre completely fenced flat land was too much to pass up so I made an offer.


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## Da Aardvark (Oct 11, 2012)

I have raised a garage before and added a block course to the top of the slab, (which was a monolithic poured slab). That gave the garage an added 8". You could do the same and add 2 courses (16").

It takes good jacks and raising all 4 corners at a few inches each time, and then off to the next corner.
What changes is your door head heights which changes the doors. Also if you have electric stubbed in from underground, that needs to be addressed. 
Quite an inexpensive proposition overall.We dropped the headers and re-used all doors so the biggest expense was the block courses and patching the siding.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I’ve been lying in bed thinking about the garage door situation because I will have the door up most of the time. I love working outside except when it gets really hot which is most every day in the desert so I’ll have to limit myself to early mornings for large projects. 

I decided to have a level slab poured outside the garage door with a 10’ high steel carport cover to work under. I have everything on wheels so I can just pull what I need outside and actually with the cover and where the shop is located, I can probably leave everything out except when I go away for a few days. 

That’s something I can’t do where I live now. I don’t feel comfortable even leaving my garage door open during the day because of all the strangers wondering around the neighborhood. My current driveway is too steep to work on anyway so I’m really excited to finally move out of here into a new place.

If my offer is accepted then I’ll be moving in the first week of December otherwise I may be back to building my own garage.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Have you thought about a roll up garage door? That is what I have and really like it, the only down side is insulating it will take a little creativity, although that is what I plan to do to mine this winter.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

BigJim said:


> Have you thought about a roll up garage door? That is what I have and really like it, the only down side is insulating it will take a little creativity, although that is what I plan to do to mine this winter.



My shop has one too. Doesn't get all dusty when in the up position. Easy to open at different heights as needed.

Al


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

BigJim said:


> Have you thought about a roll up garage door? That is what I have and really like it, the only down side is insulating it will take a little creativity, although that is what I plan to do to mine this winter.


It probably is a good Idea. It doesn't rain much here but when it does I have to wipe the door with a towel as it goes up because it will drip water on my TS and other equipment. I usually roil it up a little at a time so I have time to wipe it.

The only thing is that I was thinking of replacing the door so I can have windows, but I guess I could install skylights instead.


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## tom d (Oct 23, 2013)

I'd go 10 foot with scissor trusses, cool and heat with a mini split.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

I'm not building much any more, just wood carving. Finished downstairs room for a shop, 8' ceiling.
I really wish it was 10'. Turning cedar poles around, standing them up to work on lower parts, I'll punch a hole in the ceiling, one of these days.

Over head lighting is a waste. I have fairly high intensity 18W LED lamps with 120 degree focus.
The put all the light where I'm working.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

The main reason I want to stay with 8ft side walls is the cost. It seems that everything is geared around 8ft from the T1-11 Plywood Siding to the R-13 Insulation Batts and Drywall. I know you can buy rolls, but I don’t want to have to cut the stuff unnecessarily even though I think it might be cheaper by the roll.

I haven’t priced out the materials to build the trusses myself, but it really doesn’t look like much difference in materials between scissor and standard truss. 

When I worked in northern Calif the County Building Dept had a book of their approved designs down to the dimensions and as long you chose from one of those, you didn’t have to have a certified engineer’s approval. I don’t know what requirements Nevada has, but I guess I should call a local truss company to get a price if the trusses have to be certified.

I think I mentioned this already, but I don’t want to hire a contractor to do what I can do myself. I don’t have the strength anymore to pour the foundation myself, but I can lay it all out and build the forms myself which might help save me some money if I can get some to spread and finish the concrete mix.


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## k9scooter (Mar 5, 2014)

Mine was 12' and had ceiling fans to move the air around year round. Gets pretty cramped flipping wood with low ceilings.... Go as high as you can!

Yep, get those young guys to do the concrete work......


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## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2012)

*Shop ceiling height.*

Eight and one-half feet should be okay. But nine feet is better for this specific reason: The ease of turning a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood. The diagonal measurement of a sheet of plywood is a little over nine feet.
When I poured the footings and pad for my 30 X 40 shop I used 2 x 10's to form the outside of the pad and footings. THEN I reused the same 2 X 10's on the inside on top of the pad to make what they call a "rat wall". Helps keep water/rain out and gives you that little bit of extra height. I can turn a sheet of plywood, but not exactly vertical.
Similarly, when I put electrical wiring in that concrete pad, I put one 220 outlet near the location for my table saw. AND another for 120 near my assembly table. I placed the table saw 10-1/2 feet from its rear wall to enable me to rip boards up to 10 feet long. Most of us seldom rip a longer board. If so we have to orientate the saw so the infeed side is aimed at a doorway.


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## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2012)

Yes, make your own trusses. My design was to span the 30 feet with NO interior wall or center posts. With a 2-foot overhang and a 5/12 pitch I found I could have 6 feet of clearance in an attic to avoid ducking or bumping my head. 
I chose to have a truss only every 10 feet, like a pole barn, using what they call purlins for support of roof sheathing. I sent my specs to three companies and found out it was like $200 per truss, plus delivery. So I snapped chalk lines on the new concrete floor and went to work. Materials including nails and plywood plates and glue totaled only $95. I could make one in a half-day; quite a savings.
Even managed a way to erect those 200-lb trusses with just me and my adult son. Of course the two trusses on each end could be constructed of 2 X 4's as they were non-load bearing. Put the first one up with two outriggers , then anchor to an outside post via rope. Hang he second one upside town, push it horizontal with a second pole supporting the lower span to avoid cracking. Then pull the peak up vertical with a rope and pulley. Anchor and brace, and move on to the next.
When the building inspector came for approval he noted I had the exact height for the span marked on the midpoint of each truss. He laughed when I informed him all stayed "right-on" except one which dropped a whole quarter-inch.. LOL


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

ngk20000 said:


> Eight and one-half feet should be okay. But nine feet is better for this specific reason: The ease of turning a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood. The diagonal measurement of a sheet of plywood is a little over nine feet.
> When I poured the footings and pad for my 30 X 40 shop I used 2 x 10's to form the outside of the pad and footings. THEN I reused the same 2 X 10's on the inside on top of the pad to make what they call a "rat wall". Helps keep water/rain out and gives you that little bit of extra height. I can turn a sheet of plywood, but not exactly vertical.
> Similarly, when I put electrical wiring in that concrete pad, I put one 220 outlet near the location for my table saw. AND another for 120 near my assembly table. I placed the table saw 10-1/2 feet from its rear wall to enable me to rip boards up to 10 feet long. Most of us seldom rip a longer board. If so we have to orientate the saw so the infeed side is aimed at a doorway.


 I’m glad you brought this up because I haven’t thought about how I’m going to run the electric to the table saw yet. 

I have everything on wheels so I can move things around for longer pieces and wasn’t planning on having the electric in the floor. I don’t have a problem with cords on the floor as long as it doesn’t end up like spaghetti. The one thing that does concern me is the dust collection hose. For some reason I seem to always trip over 4in hose. :shifty: I guess I’m going to have to figure a strategic place for this after all. 

I’m planning on putting the Dust Collector outside up against the wall to save inside space and maybe I can run a 4” drain pipe from the saw location to the outside for the DC since I’ll have to pour the concrete anyway. I can also run a 2” drain alongside it to pull an extension cord for the saw. If I do it right someone could use the 4” pipe to the outside as a drain if they don’t use the place as a woodshop.


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## Edward Norton (Apr 6, 2014)

My old shop was 75' deep x 55' wide x 16' high & all that space come at a cost, literally. Cost as defined by the dictionary is "loss" and this could not be more true. It cost me over $5,400 a year to heat & cool all that space. My current shop is drastically smaller at 36' deep x 24' wide x 7' high. My current heating & cooling costs are $900. The $4,500 savings buys a lot of wood and or tools. I believe that if I were to build another shop I would increase the depth & width but I would retain the 7' height.

Having high ceilings is great for storage shelving but most everything in the middle is wasted space and not worth the heat/cooling costs. But that's just me...


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

The wife and I have been looking for a most of the day for a place with a shop already built since our 1st offer fell through. I found 3 places with shops that would have been perfect, but the wife didn’t like the houses that came with them. There were a couple of others that were foreclosures, but our realtor said we would have to pay cash for them for some reason. 

There was one place that had a huge shop with really a high ceiling and no insulation. The wife even liked the house, but it was a little too remote and too far from most everything. 

Oh well I’m still looking and maybe I’ll get lucky.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*a standard door is 6ft 8in*



Edward Norton said:


> My old shop was 75' deep x 55' wide ..... I believe that if I were to build another shop I would increase the depth & width but I would retain the 7' height.
> 
> 
> > A standard door is 6 ft 8 in or 4" less than 7 ft. You can't even move a prehung door under a 7 ft ceiling without bumping it. You can spin a 8 ft length of lumber in a 7 ft ceiling. It won't work for most woodworking builds, tall cabinets etc. I had 8 ft ceilings and raised them to 10 ft and have never looked back. Lifting a 4ft X 8 ft piece of plywood vertically is easy now, when it was almost impossible before.


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## gear4outdoor (Oct 4, 2015)

Just an obvious suggestion, use LED lighting! Winter before last was especially dim in my garage due to fluorescent lighting not working well in the cold. So, last winter as an experiment I tried some cheap screw in 60W LED household bulbs in Chistmas Spotlight sockets. Voila - great success, instantly on in cold weather, no flickering, bright and only consuming 9W of energy in a shop in need of a power upgrade.

This summer I changed all my lighting to 60W LED's. Great improvement in every respect.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

New T8 and T5 bulbs use electronic ballasts and more or less eliminate the dim output and flickering in the winter with fluorescents.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Last year I changed all my existing fluorescent ballasts to T8 in my shop and I did notice a bit of a change for the better, but I have to say I am really impressed with the new LED lights that I replaced throughout my house. the LEDs really light the place up. :yes:


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## JimInColorado (Mar 15, 2010)

I went with 10 ft. studs. This lets me handle 8 ft. boards and plywood without worrying about breaking the ceiling lighting fixtures.


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## nakk[email protected] (Apr 27, 2012)

*Shop Ceiling Height*

Used 2 X 10's to frame the outside of the concrete pad. Then used the same 2 X 10's as part of a curb or "rat-wall" to give me 9 inches of extra ceiling height. That interior height is enough to "flip" a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood. Just do it in an area where there are no light fixtures. That exterior height prevents water damage from rain splatter, and damage from improper mowing adjacent to shop. I used white "dry-erase" particle board for interior walls and white metal ridged roofing for the ceiling--lots of light and no painting. I made my own heavy-duty roof trusses spaced 8 feet apart using purlins for ceiling support. Bldg is 32 X 40. A 5/12 pitch (with 2-foot overhang) was possible with rafters 20 feet long, giving me over 6 feet of headroom in the "attic" storage. All insulated and soffit vents. Use your head and save money.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

My shop is down stairs. 8' ceiling. If I could make it happen for all the times that I've gouged it , 10' would be pretty nice.

I had incandescent lights that splashed light all over the room with some where I worked. Except for the basic shop light, everything has been replaced with focussed LED lights that put the light where I'm working. Bright, I can see what I'm doing. Very happy.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I guess I missed this thread. My shop has a 12' ceiling and it's great with the hot Texas summers but is more difficult to heat in winter.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I was going back and forth on this back in October, because I was looking at a couple of different properties to buy at the time. One of the properties had large 3 car garage with a 12 x 20 ft extension that I really liked. It was built with standard studs on a “T” foundation bringing the ceiling height to a little over 8’ft. It was open trusses at 2ft O.C. so there was actually a lot of room to pick up full sheets of plywood between the trusses. 

I was making plans to make an offer and was really excited about it when I fell sick on Veterans Day. I went into a coma for 2 weeks with a 17% chance of surviving. I miraculously pulled through and spent almost 2 months in the hospital learning how to walk again. So right now everything is on hold until I recuperate, but the illness has raised questions about making a move so far away of medical help where I would have surly died if I were there.

Anyway I’m still dreaming about a shop and have drawn up some framing plans so I could get an accurate estimate of the cost and to see if all my essential tools will fit.









I have decided to scale down my shop plans due to this past traumatic experience. It was just to close and I don’t want to leave a lot for my wife to deal with. I don’t know how much time I have left, but I know I need a shop even a small one. It’s only to keep me busy and not to making a living in it.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Damn Get better soon. 17%, not that's beating the odds.


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

8' is out of the question for me. 10' is good, 12' is better. 
I do a lot of assembly on top of my table saw outfeed tables. This requires (sometimes) jumping on top of out-feed tables to work on large pieces. Also, I do, or more accurately, 'did' before retiring, was a lot of spraying in the shop. This normally requires a lot more cubic footage - fumes, air movement, etc. If you live in a hot climate like Houston, Tx, higher is better, unless of course, you can afford to air condition the shop.


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