Reloading Room buildout

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hightide610

hightide610

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Hello everyone! I've stalked the forum for many months searching for ideas and spending A LOT of time reading, so first time officially posting.

I am relatively new to the reloading world so I am quite novice in years but I am an avid researcher (comes from the technical background). 2 years ago we bought 10 acres in the country and I planned out what our forever home/homestead would be. In that plan was my dream shop (I've spent the better part of 40 years rolling ideas in my head about it) and always had the intention of having a dedicated gun building/smithing and reloading room as well as a three sided 12+ foot tall berm and in my property search of a minimum of 10 acres I need one side to be over 600' long with nothing on the backside for long guns (another 20' wide 12+ foot tall berm.

Shop is done and plans are in motion for the shooting areas now, but I need to get work on construction of the reload room. So I am looking for some help answering questions.

We are located in North/Central Florida, this is a particularly mild winter (so far) but today January 10th, 2022 it is 65 degrees outside and 82% humidity, August 10th of 2022 will be a VERY different story.

The shop is a metal frame and sided building 30'x30' with an eave height of 13', there are two 12' wide lean-to's on either side, one open for parking the horse trailer and one fully enclosed where I park my tractor.

The area that I am peeling off for my "hobby room" is the back side of that enclosed lean-to, which I am starting construction on at the end of this month. The room will be a fully insulated 8'x12' room and only accessible thru the shop area for security purposes.

Sooo... here are my questions:

  1. Dealing with humidity, I am putting a small 6,000 BTU A/C unit in the room, but, with the room only actually being roughly 96 sq ft, that is likely not going to have time to adequately pull the humidity down before it cools the room leading to several challenges. So I am planning on also adding a dehumidifier to it. My thought is trying to maintain 45-50% humidity, but I am not real sure how much is to much for storage of primers and powder, and are there other suggestions or things to look at to control humidity to keep powder from absorbing or steel parts from rusting?
  2. I have also considered a 300cfm commercial exhaust fan (like that would go in a bathroom only much larger and designed for continuous use), I actually have a brand new one in a box, but have had mixed responses to my thought of adding it.
  3. Because I am limited on counter space I want to put T-track in the counter and pick up a couple of inline fabrication ultramounts for presses, vices and other various items, but the only track I can find is 3/8"x3/4" aluminum which I fear will not have the rigidity to keep presses from flexing over time, what has anyone had experience with?
  4. Floor coatings, I'm kicking around garage epoxy, but also think anti-static mat would be a better option there. So any feedback there would be appreciated.
  5. This one seems crazy for me to even ask, but bench height? In the shop my benches are all 46", but I kind of feel like that may be to high especially since I am going to be using ultramounts. Right now I have a Lee Classic Turret, but down the road a nice progressive press with bullet feed and case feed options for handgun loads is a plan, some of those I've been looking at it would take a step ladder to check on which I don't want to do.

Here is the rough draft of the plan:


Reloading Room.jpg

Feel free to critique and suggest...

And for reference, here is the shop layout and why I chose it there:

Shop Diagram.jpg
 
Looks like a great plan and I am envious of your place. I can't answer on the environmental control issues but I will comment on a couple of things.

Regarding bench height, I do all my reloading and working on guns standing up, so I like a tall bench height.

With respect to floor coverings, I would consider indoor/outdoor carpet or similar. If you drop bullets or gun parts on the floor, it helps to cushion the fall.

I personally just bolt my presses to a chunk of 2X6 and C clamp to the bench. It allows me flexibility to move stuff around as needed.
 
tominboise said:
Looks like a great plan and I am envious of your place. I can't answer on the environmental control issues but I will comment on a couple of things.

Regarding bench height, I do all my reloading and working on guns standing up, so I like a tall bench height.

With respect to floor coverings, I would consider indoor/outdoor carpet or similar. If you drop bullets or gun parts on the floor, it helps to cushion the fall.

I personally just bolt my presses to a chunk of 2X6 and C clamp to the bench. It allows me flexibility to move stuff around as needed.
Click to expand...

Thanks... its been a test of patience for sure.... but its coming along, just not as fast as I want . I actually do like to stand, however, between HS sports and 8 years active duty, my knees and hip aren't going to fair as well as I would like, my gut is leading me to a 40" tall bench and the 4" mounts, and I can always get the taller mount down the road to stand. I also thought about doing something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Best-Step-...or-Foam-Tile-Multipurpose-Flooring/1003137934
 
CQB45ACP said:
Welcome

This is amazing planning…I started reloading first and worked backwards from there. @GeoDudeFlorida can commiserate with you on many things including your climate.
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Yea, I have seen a couple of his posts on the topic... its a red metal building and even thought the roof is white, in august, its HOT as HELL in there, I put 2 24" exhaust fans in the shop and with no insulation in there yet it definitely helps, but its still Florida..
 
I like the planning. I tend to cut and scribe and build to fit LOL. You can do as you wish for shelving/storage, but there really is only one way to build a bench. SOLID. If you are questioning the rigidity of your mounting system, it is likely not solid enough.

I have 2 benches. Both are constructed of solid 2x dimensional lumber (1.5" actual thickness). One is a portable bench, used for prep and light work. It holds an inexpensive Lee press, case blocks and prep tools, various misc tools and other odds and ends. This bench is "portable," although I haven't moved it in quite some time. It does incorporate a 2x4 cantilever and can be temporarily mounted to several locations in my gun room with matching cantilevers lagged to the wall studs. This bench has a 3/4" hardwood cap over stud "joists" for a surface, allowing good purchase for bolts, screws, other fasteners. The 3/4 lumber is scrap maple flooring, finished with Boiled Linseed providing a smooth and relatively impervious working surface. This bench is roughly 36X24X40"high, and usually used in free standing mode.

My primary bench is cantilevered and attached to the wall studs. It hasn't moved in some 12 years, but could be moved if a design change is needed. It is also heavy 2x dimensional construction, with Glue-Lam 2x joists for a cap. I like the rough and porous surface here for holding things in place I do not wish to screw/bolt down. The glue lam is reinforced by 2x4 joists. It sits on 4x4 front legs matched to the cantilever height. Aprox dimension is 2.5'x4' x43" high to working surface. This thing is a tank, taking all sorts of abuse from repeated leverage (press) to hammering, drilling, sawing, etc. It is my primary loading surface. My press is bolted through the glue-lam and incorporates a fabricated steel gusset plate top and bottom to absorb and distribute the repeated leverage stress from the press.

In the case of both benches, they are resting by gravity on a solid floor surface, and are or can be fastened to the primary structure for rigidity.
 
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Just to emphasize, you want a solid bench, with zero flex. Sizing a rifle casing puts a lot of torque on the press, which is mounted at the edge of your work surface. The twisting/bending force is significant, and you're going to do this thousands of times.

As regards work height, I've found that taller is better. I reload sitting down, and I made a portable work surface that clamps to a very solid desk that I already owned. I figured it was temporary so I didn't worry that it was "too high". It's a platform that's 4 1/4" on top of a standard desk which I believe is 30". Turns out, that is perfect for me.
 
Random 8 said:
I like the planning. I tend to cut and scribe and build to fit LOL. You can do as you wish for shelving/storage, but there really is only one way to build a bench. SOLID. If you are questioning the rigidity of your mounting system, it is likely not solid enough.
Click to expand...

Thanks... that's the engineering side of me, the military side says "what is going to go wrong and how do I prep/fix it before it happens", still workin' on the later...

This is my shop bench, big fan of 4x4's for framing and 3/4' plywood... it took 4 people to move it into place when it was done.. so I guess you could consider it "portable" but... I can put a big block chevy motor on that thing and it ain't movin... that is FOR SURE!!

IMG_9893.jpg
 
hightide610 said:
We are located in North/Central Florida, this is a particularly mild winter (so far) but today January 10th, 2022 it is 65 degrees outside and 82% humidity, August 10th of 2022 will be a VERY different story.
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Welcome to Florida and THR!
The humidity's not so bad as you might think - for your gear. :cool: Yes, there's year-round high humidity and it is very heavy in salts since we're a peninsula and surrounded by salt water, but since you're in the middle of the state, most of the salts won't be a problem and moisture by itself isn't so bad. Keep things well greased and covered with a thin coat of light oil and keep hygroscopic grunge off your stuff and it's not an issue at all. The big thing is, keep the temperature swings under control. If you're loading in 70F @ 50% then walk outside where it's 99F @ 85% everything made of metal will condense moisture from the air and start "sweating." More than you! As another poster pointed out in the past, Massachusetts/New England is just as or more humid than Florida but not everything up there rusts just because it's got black powder residue or corrosive priming compound on it. You have to layer and treat the metal proper with oil, and then it's not a problem. At least, not if you do what they do. Never seems to have worked out that way for me and I have seen milling machines coated in decades of sulfur oil rust from just sitting in the Florida air before. YMMV but taking precautions can't hurt.

Basically, I load outside even in the summer under the shade trees and don't have problems with humidity because I'm not taking things from a colder, less humid environment into a warmer, more humid environment. That's where people get in trouble. Air circulation matters a lot more than temperature and just giving the moisture somewhere to go (dehumidifier) is the biggest mitigation factor. A ceiling fan, a wall banger with reverse cycle set at 75F year round and/or an air-purifier/HEPPA filter dehumidifier running 24/7 in a corner where the moving air can reach all corners (with a drain!) and you're golden. :)

Now, that don't mean YOU won't sweat and be miserable but your powders, primers, brass, and gear will be fine. That's what matters. :D
CQB45ACP said:
I started reloading first and worked backwards from there.
Click to expand...
Who didn't? ;)
 
My bench is made of 2bys and even the top is 2x6's with half of it covered in a 1/4" steel plate. My smithin and reloading room is 14x12, with a lathe in it. Its not big enough...

50x100 metal building with r30 insulation in the walls and 18" of blow in on the ceiling. Heated, no AC in Kansas. KS is very similar to FL in that we see high temps and high humidity. Building stays at about 80 when its 100 outside.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Welcome to Florida and THR!
The humidity's not so bad as you might think - for your gear. :cool: Yes, there's year-round high humidity and it is very heavy in salts since we're a peninsula and surrounded by salt water, but since you're in the middle of the state, most of the salts won't be a problem and moisture by itself isn't so bad. Keep things well greased and covered with a thin coat of light oil and keep hygroscopic grunge off your stuff and it's not an issue at all. The big thing is, keep the temperature swings under control. If you're loading in 70F @ 50% then walk outside where it's 99F @ 85% everything made of metal will condense moisture from the air and start "sweating." More than you! As another poster pointed out in the past, Massachusetts/New England is just as or more humid than Florida but not everything up there rusts just because it's got black powder residue or corrosive priming compound on it. You have to layer and treat the metal proper with oil, and then it's not a problem. At least, not if you do what they do. Never seems to have worked out that way for me and I have seen milling machines coated in decades of sulfur oil rust from just sitting in the Florida air before. YMMV but taking precautions can't hurt.

Basically, I load outside even in the summer under the shade trees and don't have problems with humidity because I'm not taking things from a colder, less humid environment into a warmer, more humid environment. That's where people get in trouble. Air circulation matters a lot more than temperature and just giving the moisture somewhere to go (dehumidifier) is the biggest mitigation factor. A ceiling fan, a wall banger with reverse cycle set at 75F year round and/or an air-purifier/HEPPA filter dehumidifier running 24/7 in a corner where the moving air can reach all corners (with a drain!) and you're golden. :)

Now, that don't mean YOU won't sweat and be miserable but your powders, primers, brass, and gear will be fine. That's what matters. :D

Who didn't? ;)
Click to expand...

LOL.. Well.. I've been here for over 30 years, originally from the midwest so I will attest, the humidity even in Iowa was brutal but I am pretty familiar with Florida humidity, but still trying to wrap my head around storage of supplies for this.

The goal is to have a pretty consistent 78 degrees in the room, but also having a dehumidifier with a drain running all the time! I would love to be able to load outside, but for me its about timing, when I want to spend time reloading is likely going to be when its raining outside, which happens frequently!
 
Nice looking layout.

I would insulate well and have someone spray foam it in. For the floor I have been around some placed in buildings and initial prep is the key. The normal acid etch and epoxy will not stand up. A mechanical etch is much better.

I prefer different bench heights for cleaning I like lower, normal reloading with turret and ss 36" works well and an area with a bench to stand. Either way try before you build with your press. What is most comfortable.
 
1. I'd figure how much room I need and then build it twice that.

2. I'd build the walls from re-enforced poured concrete walls with rebar every 6 inches. Including the ceiling. Use basement "waterproofing" paint on the inside walls to lower the humidity inside.

5. Below 50% humidity will be fine. Below 40% to be safe. You can buy a "whole house, portable dehumidifier" that will handle that easily for about $300 pretty easy. I've bought a few the last 6 months. I get 'em at Loews. If you plan out for a drain, just set your dehumidifier over it and let it drain to that.

6 I've never wished I made a bench lower but I've wish I made MOST of them higher.

7. Get a safe with a GOOD DOOR, Mechanical combination lock. Safe needs to be big enough for you to open, duck your head may be and step through. Cut the back out of it and make the safe door your door to the room. Recess it in to the concrete so a crow bar can not be used to pry it open and the concrete on each side will stop them from prying the sides over the door lugs.

8. That 2x4 3x4 or more plywood is exactly what you want to use for your reloading benches so you can drill a hole where you want a hole, screw a screw where you want something to stay, and clamp something on where you want to take it on and off. If you are happy with that one, then I would make the reloading bench the same height. Ya got a roll around adjustable shop chair to work from.
 
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Awesome plan and layout.

I ran a calibration lab in Houston, 100% humidity. Federal standard for humidity is 25%-45%. 6000 BTU A/C will get your there, but takes some time. Maintaining should not be a problem a long as room is sealed well and door stays shut. 8000 BTU would be better and initial cost is not much more.
An extra added dehumidifier is recommended.

Are your plans to leave A/C on continuously, to maintain humidity and summer temps? The extreme swings between humidity and temps will be a problem. As much for equipment as it is for components.

A digital thermometer / humitity gauge would be handy, but not a must have.
 
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hightide610 said:
LOL.. Well.. I've been here for over 30 years, originally from the midwest so I will attest, the humidity even in Iowa was brutal but I am pretty familiar with Florida humidity, but still trying to wrap my head around storage of supplies for this.

The goal is to have a pretty consistent 78 degrees in the room, but also having a dehumidifier with a drain running all the time! I would love to be able to load outside, but for me its about timing, when I want to spend time reloading is likely going to be when its raining outside, which happens frequently!
Click to expand...
30 years? Well, shoot cuz' you're a native by now. ;)

Yeah, the drain's a big deal. I ran a wall banger dehumidifier for a while and ended up with a mold problem. The drain filled up with scum and mold, flooded and the sensor kicked off a breaker stopping the unit before the water backed up into the room. Took a wet-vac to the drain pipe and sucked out all the effluviant. Yukky stuff. Stank like mange, too. I run vinegar down the tube every few weeks since then and it hasn't clogged since.

I think your build looks great. Just keep the air moving and you're good.:thumbup:
 
Welcome to THR and to our wonderful hobby of reloading that is a passion for some of us.

Shop plans look great.

hightide610 said:
Florida ... fully insulated 8'x12' room ... eave height of 13' ... 6,000 BTU A/C unit in the room
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Some suggestions.

When my BIL asked me to build him an insulated 12'x24' room inside his 10,000 sq. ft. metal shop with plan to use 10,000 BTU window AC where shop got to 100F+ in the summer, I chose to use 2" foil backed polystyrene sheets against the west facing wall joined with foil tape and further insulated with R30 fiberglass insulation covered with sheet rock. Ceiling was lowered to 8' and R30 fiberglass insulation was used without any polystyrene sheets with sheet rock. Inside walls were insulated with R30 fiberglass insulation with 1/2" polystyrene sheets under the sheet rock. Exterior insulated metal door was used for R value and security.

Even though I framed an opening for a window AC unit, room remained in the 60s to 70s most of the year and upper 70s when shop temperature reached 100F. BIL said hottest room ever got was low 80s when shop temperature hit 110F+ and never needed to install the window AC.

So consider dropping the ceiling to 8' and increasing insulation to better maintain ambient temperature and lighten the workload for AC/dehumidifier.

hightide610 said:
[AC] is likely not going to have time to adequately pull the humidity down before it cools the room ... planning on also adding a dehumidifier ... to maintain 45-50% humidity ... not real sure how much is to much for storage of primers and powder ... steel parts from rusting
Click to expand...
I live at the coast where it is 100% humidity during winter rainy season and I reload indoors. Everything rusts here, even stainless steel gun parts and I found WD-40 Specialist Long-Term (Rated/tested up to a year in salt water condition) to be most effective in rust prevention. So now, all of my gun parts and tools get sprayed with WD-40 Specialist (Make sure it is "Long-Term" rated for 1 year against rusting as there are more than one version) then lubed with oil/grease and I have not experienced rusting issues. Over 45 lubricants were tested in this comparison for rusting under salt water conditions and WD-40 Specialist came out on top - https://dayattherange.com/?page_id=3667

As to powder/primer storage, I store both indoors and return powder back to container as soon as I am done reloading. Primers are stored inside plastic bags that are taped. Just with these practices, I have not experienced any issues with humidity in regards to powder/primer.

hightide610 said:
also considered a 300cfm commercial exhaust fan (like that would go in a bathroom only much larger and designed for continuous use), I actually have a brand new one in a box, but have had mixed responses to my thought of adding it.
Click to expand...
To reduce lead intake from reloading activities, I sort/dry tumble brass outdoors and deprime where spent primers are captured through a plastic tube into a drinking water bottle - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/reloading-safety-exposure.896104/#post-12080442

hightide610 said:
bench height? ... between HS sports and 8 years active duty, my knees and hip aren't going to fair as well
Click to expand...
Have you considered keeping bench height for standing but building a rolling bench for sit down reloading?

While I started reloading with standing height bench in the garage, I built 2'x3' portable bench with casters from Harbor Freight furniture dolly to roll anywhere in and around the house. 11 layer plywood was used reinforced with 2x4s for "no flex" bench top and with presses mounted at the ends, I could resize thicker military .308 brass even with bench empty on hardwood floor. If you load a lot, having a sit down option will be welcomed by your tired back/feet.

index.php

index.php
 
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I went through something similar 5-6 yrs ago. I enclosed a section of my pole building for my climate control work shop, reloading, lathe, end mill. I had the walls and ceiling sprayed with the foam insulation. This seals up any air flow that may come through the walls. The humidity where I live at runs high enough to rust any hand tools left out in the main shop. When I insulated the ac did not run long enough to de-humidify, so I added a dehumidifier. The AC kicks on to remove the heat generated by the dehumidifier. One thing you need to address is how the air will move around the room, so it does not effect your scales. I have mine right over my bench, but the unit is set high 1' from the ceiling. So all the air goes over, not effecting anything on my bench. You will need the exhaust fan when you start getting oil from taking heavy cuts. I set mine high in the corner near my lathe.
 
ericuda said:
Nice looking layout.

I would insulate well and have someone spray foam it in. For the floor I have been around some placed in buildings and initial prep is the key. The normal acid etch and epoxy will not stand up. A mechanical etch is much better.

I prefer different bench heights for cleaning I like lower, normal reloading with turret and ss 36" works well and an area with a bench to stand. Either way try before you build with your press. What is most comfortable.
Click to expand...

That was 100% my first choice, but I can't get a spray foam contractor to talk to me on an 8x12 room only in the middle of BFE where I live.. OR... they say sure, we can do it, in November of 2028... :eek: The trades in Florida are ABSOLUTELY killin' it right now... I talked to a buddy that does concrete work a few weeks ago and he claims that cement contractors could triple in number of business and they would still be running 3-4 months behind, and FORGET framing guys... (thankfully I know how to build).

I have relegated to this approach, only two sides of the room are actually on exterior walls of the shop, so I am putting these 2" radiant barrier 4x8 sheets in those walls, then each of the walls will be built and then moved into place so I can use house wrap/plastic sheeting on the outside of the 2x4 wall and set it in place and then tapcon them into the concrete (with sill plate insulation), then run all my electrical, air, drain for dehumidfier and a few other things in the wall and then stuff everything with R-13 and drywall it.

As to the floor, the concrete is a little over a year old and literally nothing has sat on it, so its super clean (little dusty maybe) but no oil or anything chemical has been on it, the 1 car garage epoxy will be just enough to cover that 96 sq feet and then that modular anti-fatigue flooring I posted earlier seems like it would foot the bill, enough padding to stand but still roll a chair around on if I wanted to and the light color will make it easy to find those damn safety or pivot pin detents when they go flying across the room at "mach Jesus" (I'm saying that like I hope to find one the day that happens again (for the 18,967 time)).

On the countertop because of my design I need the same height all the way around, inline fabrication offers 3 different heights for mounts so I think I can adjust working height based off the mount I would use, my shop workbench is 42" and I stand and work at that quite a bit but a tall shop stool still allows me to see "semi comfortable" but if I build it over I would probably drop an inch or two off simply because the shop chair is adjustable and when I work on my guns on that bench I am bent over a bit when I stand, but this room and these benches are different so I figured I would just ask and kind of take a pole for reasons.
 
Jack Ryan said:
1. I'd figure how much room I need and then build it twice that.

2. I'd build the walls from re-enforced poured concrete walls with rebar every 6 inches. Including the ceiling. Use basement "waterproofing" paint on the inside walls to lower the humidity inside.

5. Below 50% humidity will be fine. Below 40% to be safe. You can buy a "whole house, portable dehumidifier" that will handle that easily for about $300 pretty easy. I've bought a few the last 6 months. I get 'em at Loews. If you plan out for a drain, just set your dehumidifier over it and let it drain to that.

6 I've never wished I made a bench lower but I've wish I made MOST of them higher.

7. Get a safe with a GOOD DOOR, Mechanical combination lock. Safe needs to be big enough for you to open, duck your head may be and step through. Cut the back out of it and make the safe door your door to the room. Recess it in to the concrete so a crow bar can not be used to pry it open and the concrete on each side will stop them from prying the sides over the door lugs.

8. That 2x4 3x4 or more plywood is exactly what you want to use for your reloading benches so you can drill a hole where you want a hole, screw a screw where you want something to stay, and clamp something on where you want to take it on and off. If you are happy with that one, then I would make the reloading bench the same height. Ya got a roll around adjustable shop chair to work from.
Click to expand...


LOL.. JEESH... OK.. THAT would be a SICK room, unfortunately my building is already up and I can't pour concrete walls in there ;)
 
You can RENT the spray foam applicator and DIY.

Easy to do and seals great. Check with Home Depot and equipment rental places.
 
Seedy Character said:
Awesome plan and layout.

I ran a calibration lab in Houston, 100% humidity. Federal standard for humidity is 25%-45%. 6000 BTU A/C will get your there, but takes some time. Maintaining should not be a problem a long as room is sealed well and door stays shut. 8000 BTU would be better and initial cost is not much more.
An extra added dehumidifier is recommended.

Are your plans to leave A/C on continuously, to maintain humidity and summer temps? The extreme swings between humidity and temps will be a problem. As much for equipment as it is for components.

A digital thermometer / humitity gauge would be handy, but not a must have.
Click to expand...

I guess I follow the bigger is better ideology, but I've already got two 6k units that maybe have a month of use on them, so the plan was to repurpose those, hopefully I will have to room sealed well enough and the dehumidifier seems to be an overwhelming recommendation which I had planned in the future, so I'll kick that off sooner than later. Construction starts the end of this month and it won't be needed until maybe late April.

Yes, the plan is to run the A/C 24x7x365 with the temp set to 78. I already had on my list a WiFi monitoring solution on the list of priority 1 items so I can be alerted if it does get to a place I don't want.
 
hightide610 said:
LOL.. JEESH... OK.. THAT would be a SICK room, unfortunately my building is already up and I can't pour concrete walls in there ;)
Click to expand...
Ya sure can easier now than you can later.

On the plus side, doing it NOW, none of the neighbors or tax assessor needs to know what you are doing. I'm assuming the walls are the only problem to it. It is metal sides like I'm seeing there behind your tool boxes. Is that correct. That comes on and off pretty easy and just one panel when the cement truck gets there, but didn't you say it has a drive in big door as well? That would be plenty for the truck to come fill all the forms and you don't have to worry or hurry worrying about rain.

If you build it, you'll NEVER think you made a mistake. IF you don't, you'll always wish you had a bigger safe.
 
Seedy Character said:
You can RENT the spray foam applicator and DIY.

Easy to do and seals great. Check with Home Depot and equipment rental places.
Click to expand...

No one around me rents them, unless they just started in the last few months, I have a 12x20 shed I bought to work out of when we started construction in July of 2020 so I didn't have to drive 90 minutes one way every day to make sure subs were doing their job and looked into it and no one had them to rent, I looked at the DIY kits, and for a closed cell foam kit to do 4" thick area 320 sq ft was going to be over $1400, unfortunately, that's just out of my budget. I can do a vapor barrier, 2" radiant foam boards and R-13 for less than $475.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
30 years? Well, shoot cuz' you're a native by now. ;)

Yeah, the drain's a big deal. I ran a wall banger dehumidifier for a while and ended up with a mold problem. The drain filled up with scum and mold, flooded and the sensor kicked off a breaker stopping the unit before the water backed up into the room. Took a wet-vac to the drain pipe and sucked out all the effluviant. Yukky stuff. Stank like mange, too. I run vinegar down the tube every few weeks since then and it hasn't clogged since.

I think your build looks great. Just keep the air moving and you're good.:thumbup:
Click to expand...
Ya got to pour some bleach down those drains once or twice a year. The drain pan on the bottom of your evaporator on you house AC unit needs the same or it will stop up and run over.
 
@hightide610, just wanted to say welcome to THR! Is the tide that bad in central FL?
You’ve gotten a lot of good advice on the benches and it seems you’ll build whatever strong enough. I just wanted to say in addition to the bench space, I plan to have my scales on a separate but close bench to minimize vibration.
I also added 4’ LED shop lights, and they are great - don’t skimp on light, especially if windows are at a minimum.
Finally, my space started small, but in addition to bench space, I ended up with 3 wire racks, the HD 650#/shelf, 5 shelf, 6’ high, 4’ wide and 18” deep adjustable to hold tools and reloading gear, components, and finished product. Even then I was tripping over stuff on the floor like boxes of brass, so, I hear you say 8x12 and that’s all you got, but you’ll fill it quick. Plans are great, but I think numbers are paper are a good place to start but you may want to lay out with mockups, cardboard or something, and see if it really works. Good luck!
 
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733
Charlie1022
C
J
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Where is your reloading room located?
2
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32
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2K
coloradokevin
coloradokevin
B
  • Locked
designing reloading room would like advice
2
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45
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4K
amlevin
A
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