Building a shop, Whats the good the bad and the ugly? Options

[Wilhelm]

Made a deal with my wife that when the kitchen was done I could put up a shop and get my cars and tools out of the dirtfloored polebarn that I have to share with the (her) horses.

I have a few criteria:

Steel
Concrete floor through out
Adequate size, likely 40' x 50' with enough height for a 2 pole lift.
Seperate heated tool room to stop the endless condensation and relentless tool self destruction brought on by the moisture drifting out the Oregon winter moors.
Everything insulated as from experiance the pole barn is hotter than ambient in the summer and seems colder than ambient in winter.
Hot water, shower, toilet, fridge.
Doors, windows and garages that seal.

As I cruz the net, there is a bewildering array of manufactuerers and resellers all claiming their building is the next better moustrap and the other guys suck. (kinda sounds like the presidential debates lately). What I ask is the collected advise of fellow 914world members who've traveled this task to tell me who has good products, fair prices, who stands behind their product. Ease of erection (buildings, not 914members). Is one type of building better? ie pole, metal beam, truss, or certainly what is complete mickey mouse crap. Disasters you may have encountered, sellers you recommend.

Thanks, Wilhelm

[PRS914-6]

While radiant heating works great for a house, one thing it does not do is raise the temperature quickly and you wouldn't want to leave it on all the time.

I would install a propane or natural gas "Reznor style" heater. They are cheap. I think mine was about $400.00 through Graingers. Calculate the size required and double it. Why? I'm sure nobody spends all day or every day in the shop. If you go out in the middle of winter and want to work for an hour or two you can turn on the heater, go in and make a cup of coffee and come back out to a warm shop. While not in the shop, you can simply turn it off.

The key is to heat it quickly when you want to work. I hate a cold shop and if you are like me will be reluctant to go out and work when it's cold. This solves that problem. I can raise the temperature of my shop 10 degrees in the time it takes to make my coffee.....

Through many different homes I have tried many different ways including portable units, wall units, kerosene, etc. and I like this the best.. Of course if you can't get NG or LPG you are out of luck!