Both sizing mistakes cost real money, but they're not symmetric. Too big means paying rent on square footage that just holds air, annoying, survivable. Too small means outgrowing the space mid-lease: a move (with downtime, deposits, and a fit-out you partly abandon) barely a year after the last one. That asymmetry drives the whole method below, and it's also why we designed our parks so partners can expand into the adjacent bay instead of moving out. Plan honestly, then rent with a growth path.
Four steps.
One workable plan.
List everything that touches the floor with its real dimensions: machines, benches, racking, vehicles (a pickup is 20' before you open a door), pallets, the forklift's turning circle if you'll have one. No estimating: tape-measure numbers. This list is 30 minutes and it's the foundation of everything.
Equipment doesn't work wall-to-wall: 36″ minimum on every side a human operates from, 4 to 5' around vehicles, aisle width for whatever moves through (pallet jack: 4'; forklift: 10 to 12'). Clearance, not equipment, is usually most of the floor.
Sketch the three zones on graph paper with the door placement in mind, whatever arrives or leaves daily lives nearest the roll-up. The figure below shows the classic 60/30/10 split as a starting point; your trade will bend it.
Whatever the sketch totals, the business you're building needs more than the business you have. If the honest number lands between two bay sizes, take the bigger one only if the smaller has no expansion path, a smaller bay next to an available one beats a bigger bay in a full building.
02Honest ranges by business type
| Business | Typical range | What moves the number |
|---|---|---|
| Service Contractor Depot | 800 to 1,500 SF | Truck parked inside or out; material stock depth |
| Detailing Studio | 1,200 to 1,800 SF | One vehicle + walkaround ≈ 700 SF alone; two-car flow doubles it |
| Auto Repair | 1,500 to 3,000 SF | Each lift bay ≈ 700 to 900 SF with clearance; parts storage sprawls |
| E-Commerce / Resale | 1,000 to 2,500 SF | SKU count, approved rack layout and usable clear height |
| Fabrication / Welding | 1,500 to 3,000 SF | Material length: 20' steel stock needs 20' of straight run twice |
| Fitness / Training | 2,000 to 4,000 SF | Group size: rig + lifting area per athlete ≈ 60 to 100 SF, plus entry and restrooms |
03The dimension people forget: up
Square footage is only part of the fit. Usable storage capacity depends on clear height, racking design, aisles, floor loading, fire protection and permits. Measure to the lowest obstruction where your equipment will operate, and confirm any rack or mezzanine plan before comparing spaces. A taller building does not automatically provide an extra floor of usable workspace.
Bring your graph-paper sketch to the tour and pace it off in the actual bay, where the door lands, where the panel is, where water enters. Ten minutes of walking your layout catches what no spreadsheet does. Ask the Welcome Team for the bay's dimensions and door size before the tour.
“Rent the cube, not the floor. Then rent the growth path, not the guess.”
Request Shop Manual updates by email. There is no fixed publication schedule. Free, whether you rent from us or not.
Request received.Sized? Then the next two numbers are the all-in monthly cost of the space and the fit-out budget to make it yours. All three guides use the same worksheet trio, together they're a complete pre-lease plan.
