Itching to build a shop

[NCtrueconservative]

Got a few questions for yall, and since I have seen some NICEEEEE shops built on here, I figure there's quite a bit of advice to have.  Currently, my garage just isn't big enough to work on my stuff comfortably, or to pull someone elses vehicle in and work on it (I do some on the side for a little extra $).  What land is available around the house is about a 25 ft X 30ft section of flat land.  I'd really like to build a one bay shop, enough to pull a car in and have good room on either side and in front of it as well. 

Another point is, we just had some trees cut, and calculated the board footage on em and had 1200 board feet of pine.  Don't know how much that is relative to building something though.  If it would be enough, in a perfect world, I'd like to build the shop with that, since it would be cheaper. My dad and I built our barn, his work building below the house and another shed on the property, so we can do it  But, things stand in the way.  First- building codes.  I'm not in the city, and NC's regulations aren't as bad as others, but I don't know what headaches would lie ahead considering it would be a 'shop' or 'garage'.  Idk if a man could say it was a 'barn' and not have to deal with certain things...I just don't know.  Also, my dad actually wired the electrical in his building.  He passed the test and got to wire it. 

Second point- If I were (key word being 'were') to build it with pine boards, is there something out there that would deal with the cracks that would inevitably come between the boards?  I want the thing to be air tight so I can heat it in the winter. 

Third- We built his building out of thick plywood. It's probably 15ft by 12ft.  But it's nice...it has a porch, shingled roof, attic, etc.  Would that be too terribly expensive to do if I had to go that route?

In the end, I might bite the bullet and do one of those metal buildings, but with an uncle that finishes concrete, and this wood laying around, and the skill to build it, I sure could save alot of money if it could be done, and the government allows me to (don't even get me started on that haha).  I know I will eventually want a bigger one or a nicer one.  But right now, I'd like more room/heat/lights.  I got stuff to work on, and could make more money on the side doing car work if I had the facilities to do it better.  Thanks in advance 

[purple1]

If you could get the lumber you have milled into 2x4's cheap then that could cut some of the cost. Always remember if something is worth doing, It's worth doing right. That means you want a proper foundation, insulated walls and roof, windows, doors, sheet-rock, siding, and list goes on.

If you have to deal with building codes and inspectors then cutting corners could end up costing more in both money and time to meet those codes. Plan it first and the right way, then see if you can do it. 

[NCtrueconservative]

Yeah I need to check in down here and see what actually are the codes when it comes to building something like this.  And yeah I could get the lumber milled, my uncle is in the saw mill business.  Just don't know if 1200 board feet would do it? And totally agree about not cutting corners...Im not trying to do that, just trying to at least get a heatable building to begin with, cause money is tight for sure.  I can always add siding , etc later on.  I like the old school look though.  But foundation and building the thing would be done right, no matter what  I go with.

[jimynick]

1200bf of pine would, in my opinion, be best used to clad the building. My garage is 24X30 and we sheathed it in "board and batten" That's simply 1"X 12" pine board, vertically seamed and you use a ripped 2" piece to cover the seam/gap. I don't know if you get much cold weather there, but we built ours out of 2X6 for studs and Roxall to insulate. It's basically what in Canada we call an R2000 constructed building and it's warm in winter and cool in summer. Also, build the biggest building they'll allow and that you can afford- you'll never regret it like you will building a small shop. Good luck with it! 

[NCtrueconservative]

That sounds like a good deal and right up my alley of what I was looking to do.  We do get cool in the winter, but nowhere near what Canada gets.  And yes I wanna go as big as I can! I know they fill up quick haha.  Jimmynick  was that 2 inch piece that covered the gap also 1 inch thick as well? and did you attach that by nails?

[Barracudadan]

1200bf of pine would, in my opinion, be best used to clad the building. My garage is 24X30 and we sheathed it in "board and batten" That's simply 1"X 12" pine board, vertically seamed and you use a ripped 2" piece to cover the seam/gap. I don't know if you get much cold weather there, but we built ours out of 2X6 for studs and Roxall to insulate. It's basically what in Canada we call an R2000 constructed building and it's warm in winter and cool in summer. Also, build the biggest building they'll allow and that you can afford- you'll never regret it like you will building a small shop. Good luck with it! 

If you go this route some metal flashing at the peak would work just as easy. I would put some type of ridge vent in there too to keep air circulation. I`m sure you get a lot of heat/humidity where you are. You will want to give the hot air that accumulates at the peak a way to get out. I like your use what you got attitude! 

What I did for my fake garage or as I call it my "fauxrage".  I took my portable shelter and strapped it with 1" metal high hat and sheathed the roof with aluminum standing seam panels I made. The tent canvas stuff was getting thin and leaking plus heavy snows always had me worried about a collapse. Now I have no leaks and the snow slides off. Eventually I will wrap the sides with T-1 11 exterior plywood and stain it and just make some simple barn doors on the front, it has a plywood floor so it`s not too bad to work in there but I would love to pour a slab for it someday. I`ll post a pic of it when I get a chance.

 Portable shelters don`t require permits in my area. I left the canvas up and just covered over it. So if the man ever gives me a hard time I can show him the inside is still a tent LOL!

[jimynick]

NC, the batten is the same thickness as the outer boards and if you use the 12" width, you can rip 5, 2 1/4" pieces out of each board. The trick is to install nailers between the studs every 2 ft in height and we nailed it all. Make sure you use galvanized nails or they'll bleed rust down the boards, forever. At approximately a 100 foot perimeter, 8 ft high, you'll use 800 bf. That'll leave you approx. 400 left and if you ripped that to 1/2", you'd have enough to pretty well sheath the interior, too. It'd be a lot of nailing, but a nail gun makes the medicine go down better. Good luck! Ian