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Hangar / Shop Construction

Posted By:
Keith Doersom
Vintage Aircraft Association Member
20
Posts
3
#1 Posted: 8/25/2010 09:44:09

I have been toying with the idea of building a Hangar / Shop at the house to keep some toys and hopefully a project in in the near future. Looking for advice on what works what doesn't and what you would have done differently if you had to do it again.

 

I am thinking about a pole building, cement floor, not sure about a door yet was thinking about using garage doors side by side. with tracks that swing up and out of the way in the center.

 

Thanks

Keith



Kevin Slezewski
Homebuilder or Craftsman
40
Posts
6
#2 Posted: 8/25/2010 11:02:28

There are alot of hangar options out there.  I have a pole building with cement floor that I built for the very same reason.  I partitioned off a portion and only insulated and heat that part.  I held off on the door due to cost.  I have been trying to scheme with a side by side garage door system, but estimate I'd end up spending up to $3,500 by the time that's all said and done.  That was with 2 doors 18' wide x 10' high...and doing all installation myself.  Then I saw that Hydroswing was selling their door at AirVenture for $4,000 if you signed up at the show, which pretty much made me scrap my garage door system.  As with anything new and exciting like the single leaf hangar doors, the price drops as time goes by.  Obviously the economy is a big factor too!

There is also a do it yourself single leaf kit that ultimatedoor.com offers where you purchase your own materials, and they supply the hardware.  They claim under $3,500 altogether.

Good luck with whatever you decide!  I'll finally be utilizing my shop for an aircraft project starting this winter when I start a Bearhawk project!



Kevin Slezewski aka "SLEZ" www.crispycedars.com
Craig Cantwell
43
Posts
8
#3 Posted: 8/25/2010 11:21:17

Keith: Take some time and make a list of everything you want in the shop. Then play the paperdoll game, (unless you do Autocad type work), with scale drawings of the floorplan and all your tools and the like, and then figure out a workable layout that will do what you want. Don't forget to give yourself some blank floor space too.  Once you have a plan, go lay it out on the dirt full scale and I mean everything....walls, tools benches ect. Massage the plan til it works for you, then start looking at buildings. It's easier to cut down items on the plan, rather than adding once you start building.

 

As to building types...well, I'm going with standard steel I-beam construction since we are planning to have an overhead monorail in the hangar and we need the height for one of our aircraft anyway. Pole barn type construction is fine for shop buildings, but when youi start to get to door openings much over 16' wide, structural requirements and material costs for the framing and supports climb rapidly. High wind or snow load areas compound the design nees too. I would suggest not going with the super deep corrugation Quonset style buildings if at all possitble. They pose some unique foundation requirements unless you go with the very costly attach rails.

 If you are somewhere that has required codes, you will probably have to have stamped drawings, and required inspections, so run all of that down before you settle on a building type. A wrong selection or missed requirement could cost you big dollars here.

Current material costs are all over the place, and shipping costs have to be factored in when you order a building from somewhere outside your local area. I can get a 40'x60'x16' stock buiding local for somewhere between 15 and 19K$. Concrete flat work is about 4$ a square foot.

Look around your local area and see what types of buildings are up and how they've held up to local conditions. Above all. find what will do the job for you, do it efficiently and won't kill your budget. Also, don't forget to factor in your costs for lights, air systems, water and any other systems needs that you can think of.

 

Craig C.



Mikeal Lee
1
Post
0
#4 Posted: 1/25/2011 13:13:37

Style is your choice but remember the value of the toys you are putting in there. On the door issue, you will spend more in the long run using garage doors not to mention the headach of the constant adjustment. I have built many building with all kinds of doors.

 



Jim Clark
Vintage Aircraft Association MemberYoung Eagles Pilot or Volunteer
14
Posts
7
#5 Posted: 5/18/2011 21:01:35

I have 2 hangars, one with a 75' wide hydraulic and the other with a 25 year old 1 piece center lift counter balanced from Port O Port (out of biz hangar builder).  Just spent, and still spending, 4 days of heavy work replacing bearings on the chain drive and trying to keep this old door working.

ONLY INSTALL A HYDRAULIC DOOR!  I have a 40 year old buldozer that the hydraulics still work fine on.  SIMPLE IS GOOD!



Steven Austin
1
Post
0
#6 Posted: 5/22/2011 20:27:47

Keith,

I would recommend that when you decide on the building hieght, figure out the required construction to obtain your desired clearance and then build it at least another foot taller, in case you eventually end up an airplane with a higher tail.

Steve



Steve