Building a shop made from steel pipe
Building a shop made from steel pipe
(OP)
I have been able to acquire an unlimited supply of cheap 3/8" thick by 3 3/4" dia. steel pipe of various lengths and was interested in hearing some theories into how I could design the structure of this shop. e.g. 40 by 60 ft.






RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
I see no problem of making a building frame from pipes. There are several ways of doing this, assuming you have sufficient quantities of pipe and a certified welder. Think of trusses and or space frames.
Lutfi
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
I do have an over abundance of pipe and a qualified welder to help me, but both of us are unsure what the best design would be. Is it possible to build both the walls and rafters using this pipe. The shop must also have a ceiling because it has to be heated even if there is more thermal bridging because of it being made from steel.
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
Problems as I recall---LOTS of fitting and fabbing and even MORE welding---picture an enormous 'roll cage'---and the difficulty in attaching the sheething. We used corrogated/galvanized sheets attached with the old fashioned "straw nails". Time consuming and labor intensive these pipe buildings---the local failed oil drilling operations provided tons of free pipe, though.
Rod
PS---Built heavy duty fences too, all pipe construction.
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
I can be retained and paid with pipe, so long as you cover delivery :)
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
Back to your reply, I also was stalled about the sheething, I was considering using steel perlins, but I am not certain if that is best.
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
The "straw nails" were used for most of the 20th Century for sheet metal covered buildings and many of these buildings still exist today with the need of repair being ever present. Logically then, the "straw nails" are most likely still available. Google search? Anyway they are long "nails" of galvanized wire (varrying length as needed) with a metal "blob"(technical term) stuck on one end and the other end sharpened. The sheet is placed on the purlin, girt, pipe, whatever and the 'nail' is driven through the sheet by a workman on the outside and wrapped around the 'member' by another workman on the inside. Like I said, labor intensive but requiring no tools save a hammer and a pair of "Kleins"(pliers/side cutters).
Sorry, but I haven't lived in Texas for over 40 years and I doubt it is anything as it was when I was a kid. Besides our ranch was actually in Newman, NM now part of the White Sands/McGregor Missle Test Range.
Rod
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
If you've been building corrals out of pipe, you've already figured out the fun of saddling and fitting pipe. All the welding supply stores around here carry various kinds of templates for marking and saddling pipe. There's even one that's thick enough to just use as a torch guide.
I wish you were closer--I also would do engineering in exchange for pipe or even corral-building.
Good luck.
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
The easiest way to describe them is like 8 roof trusses all joined in the middle like a wheel hub. The easiest way is to make a jig which in the final roof truss can be utilised as your last truss. You make the first one lying down with small u shaped steel plates protruding from the side then it makes it simple to cut and overlay each successive truss on top and to clamp and weld them.
To join all the pieces of pipe you can use a few methods such as crimping the pipe ends rather than notching to suit. Alternatively there are such automotic pipe notchers available on the market rather than oxy & grind however besides being a welders nightmare it is also very time consuming. Easier yet you can have laser cut small steel triangles and on the end of a friction disc cut off saw make a small jig to cut the pipe instead of across ways to cut lengths make it so that the saw blade drops down cutting a slit in the end of the tube. You can make this slit a few inches long according to engineers specs and the width should be that of the steel triangles 1/4" to 3/8ths generally. These are then slid into place and your welds are along the pipe with the point being in the pipes that form the web in the truss with the flat edge alighning up on the top and bottom pipe of the truss. It works like a giant lego set. I then recommend that you use a simple suspended ceiling clip and rail , then you can use tek self drilling screws to screw the ceiling into place. I personally would use a metal ceiling with a reflectice /glass wool composite to keep heat out.
Hope this is of some help. I also remember the army used hangers which with a pipe roller may make your job easier in that large u shapes are rolled and this forms the roof as well as walls in one process and you extend the building just by joining more sections on the end or look at geodisic domes. regards robert
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
RE: Building a shop made from steel pipe
I'm interested in a similar project and I am curious to know of its success.
thanks,
Ken