Picking where to build

[HeliCooper]

Hello all,

I am in the preparatory stages of getting ready to build a RV but I am trying to figure out what people are generally spending to set up their shop. My top choice for build location right now is my attached two car garage. It is uninsulated but already sheet rocked. I am in Iowa so I would assume that insulating and heating the garage would be a must. I think I could live without AC during the summer but wanted to get everyone's opinion.

Do you need an insulated and installed heater garage or can you work with utilizing portable heaters during work times?

Can I get by with just one 20 amp service going to the garage? It is isolated already by itself. I am assuming I will need to install a 220 for an air compressor.

I think lighting will be sufficient. I have 6 4' T5 florescents and all walls are bright white.

What am I not thinking about for having a good place to build?

Thanks,

[Jesse]

You'll get as many different opinions as you get replies, but here's IMHO.

You will need space for probably 2 workbenches, shelving for parts storage, and tools, as well as the parts being built. A 2-car garage seems to be the location of choice. The model being built will weight a great deal into the amount of space needed. The -10 and the -3 are much different in size, but I know many people have built -10's in 2-car garages. Make sure you will have room to get the parts out the door when the time comes. This will be late in the game, and removing landing gear and emp/wings make even the -10 small enough to get our a 1-car garage door, but make sure you plan for that.

I have build in a hangar that is not heated or cooled in FL, so the A/C in the summer would be nice, but not necessary. The main issue you may have with heat is when you are painting/priming, as some paints will ignite if you have certain types of heaters. You'll have to wait to hear from other northern builders on that.

You can get by with 120V on a compressor, but you will want one that can keep up with a good die grinder, so not a little tank or lightweight motor. 240V would be better, but a good sized tank is a big part of the air system, and a big enough motor for the duty is important.

The lights will come into play, but that will just be a matter of adding a few if you can't see well enough with what you have. Lighting is important, but fairly easy to add if necessary.

Proximity to neighbors is important. You will be making a lot of noise when riveting, so keep that in mind as you plan, especially if you are going to be working early mornings or late nights.

For power tools, you will want a bench grinder and band saw as well as the air comressor, at the very least. Oh, and a good shop vac. If you go cheap on any of your tools, you can expect to replace at some point in the process. You don't have to get the best tools, but you will love the good ones you get and curse the cheap ones you get, most likely. Having a good set of tools organized nicely in some kind of toolbox will make you life much easier and more pleasant in the building process.

Also make sure, if you have family, that you won't be kicking somebody important's car out in the cold/heat.

[Vlad]

Jim, aggressive builders don't need no shops. Do you have a kitchen? Is there a table? You can use a closet door as a workbench top.










If you are lucky to have a living room or bedroom use it for storage







The rest is luxury


PS You understand it's a joke but I indeed built my RV-9A empennage in a NYC studio apartment.

[Rupester]

Originally Posted by HeliCooper

1 I think I could live without AC during the summer but wanted to get everyone's opinion.

2 Do you need an insulated and installed heater garage or can you work with utilizing portable heaters during work times?

3 Can I get by with just one 20 amp service going to the garage? It is isolated already by itself. I am assuming I will need to install a 220 for an air compressor.

4 I think lighting will be sufficient. I have 6 4' T5 florescents and all walls are bright white.

1. Yes, you can live w/o A/C in the summer
2. You can use portable heaters, but having installed-heat that just requires you to turn up the thermostat is a handy feature.
3. 20A is likely enough
4. Lighting is probably OK, but you can't have too much light.

In the order of above:

[Kyle Boatright]

Originally Posted by Rupester

1. Yes, you can live w/o A/C in the summer
2. You can use portable heaters, but having installed-heat that just requires you to turn up the thermostat is a handy feature.
3. 20A is likely enough
4. Lighting is probably OK, but you can't have too much light.

In the order of above:

I agree. You're not building a shop, you're building an airplane. A 20A service and no A/C in the summer are things you can work around pretty easily, IMO. I know I did...

[HeliCooper]

Thank you for the replies so far. I feel a lot better about working with what I have. I guess the my biggest concern is the insulation free walls mixed with the Iowa winter. Any upper midwest (cold winter) people want to chime in?

Thanks in advance,

Jim

[k5wiv]

For my garage (2-car) to shop conversion, I added ceiling insulation (cheap and easy) and insulated garage doors (not so cheap, but the 50 yr old ones needed replacing anyway). Two walls, the one with the overhead doors and the one with the walk door and two windows remain uninsulated. The other two were already insulated since they are common with the house. An "on sale" window ac/heater, while not truly necessary, made it much more comfortable.

I've been getting by with the biggest 115 V compressor I could find, but wish I had more. When I was having some other electrical work done, I had the electrician add a 220 V circuit for the AC/heater and one for a new compressor should I ever upgrade.

And now I'm selling the "airplane factory" (with house attached), and it will probably be 2 or 3 years before the new one is ready! -- But since it will be custom built to my plans I can avoid some of the compromises.

[cjhammes]

Jim- I live in IA and have built in both uninsulated and insulated. Do yourself a favor, insulate and add a natural gas heater. A heater w/o insulation is a waste. You will be spending a lot of time in there and it needs to be comfortable or you will avoid going in...prolonging the build.

[ChiefPilot]

Originally Posted by HeliCooper

Thank you for the replies so far. I feel a lot better about working with what I have. I guess the my biggest concern is the insulation free walls mixed with the Iowa winter. Any upper midwest (cold winter) people want to chime in?

Sure! St. Paul MN count?

I did the first 8 years of my -6A project in the third stall of my unheated garage. The walls were already insulated, but I didn't have enough outlets so that was the first task. After that, I installed additional lighting in the form of overhead fluorescent strips then painted the walls and ceiling white. I also made provision for hanging thick plastic sheet between the new workshop and the rest of the garage. Doing so made it easy to keep the space at 50-60? using two kerosene convection heaters all winter long.

I stored the tail feathers in the rafters when they were complete, and crated the wings for storage as well once they were done. The fuselage was the last piece I did at home prior to moving the whole thing to a heated hangar for the finish kit and final assembly.

[java]

Originally Posted by HeliCooper

Thank you for the replies so far. I feel a lot better about working with what I have. I guess the my biggest concern is the insulation free walls mixed with the Iowa winter. Any upper midwest (cold winter) people want to chime in?

Thanks in advance,

Jim

You move around a lot while building. Dress for it, and the cold is not an issue, other than fine finger work (do your wiring in summer). There is an old (I think Swedish?) proverb... There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.

Note I'm in Canada.

Good luck!