West Frankfort has a lot of houses built before two-car garages were standard, and a lot of people who actually work on things. That combination is why the most common call we get out of Franklin County is not for a garden shed. It is for a shop.
How wide the door has to be
This is the number people get wrong. A standard car is about 6 feet wide at the mirrors. A full-size pickup is closer to 6 feet 8 inches, and a dually is wider than that. An 8 foot roll-up door is tight for a truck. A 9 foot door is comfortable. A 10 foot door means you never think about it again. If the building is going to hold a side-by-side, a boat, or a car on jack stands with room to walk around it, spend the money on the wider door and the wider building.
Sizes that work as a real shop
A 12×20 holds one vehicle with a narrow bench along the back. A 14×24 holds a vehicle plus a working bench along a full side wall, which is the smallest layout where you can actually do a brake job without shuffling everything. A 14×32 or 16×40 becomes a two-bay shop or a shop with a lean storage end. We build up to 16×60, so if you want the whole run of the back property line, we can do it.
Insulation and finish-out
An uninsulated metal-roofed building in southern Illinois is a sweatbox in July and useless in January. We offer spray foam insulation, and we offer finish-out packages that include electrical, flooring and wall coverings. That means you can order a building that arrives ready to plug in a compressor and turn on the lights instead of spending your next three weekends running romex.
The one thing we do not do in house is plumbing. If you need a utility sink or a bathroom, we will point you to a contractor who does that work right.
The base under it
For a shed you can get away with level gravel. For a shop that is going to hold a vehicle, concrete is worth it. The weight is concentrated, you will be rolling jacks and toolboxes across the floor, and a flat slab makes everything easier. If concrete is not in the budget this year, a well built, well drained gravel pad set a foot larger than the building on every side will hold a shop building fine.
What holds up here
Our buildings use LP SmartSide with a 50 year warranty and AdvanTech flooring with a lifetime warranty, and we handle warranty claims for you instead of handing you the manufacturer number. On top of that every Cardinal building carries our own 10 year guarantee covering storm damage, settling and craftsmanship. In a county that gets ice storms and straight-line wind in the same year, that matters more than the color of the trim.
Paying for a shop
Rent-to-own is available on shop-size buildings the same as on sheds: 24 to 60 month terms, no credit check, first two months as the deposit, no early payoff fee. Financing with no money down is available with approved credit, and cash custom orders take 20% down.
Get Started on Your West Frankfort Building
You do not have to drive to a lot to get moving. Use our 3D Shed Builder to pick your size, siding, colors, doors, windows and add-ons and see the building take shape on screen. When it looks right, send it to us and we will confirm pricing and a delivery date for West Frankfort.
Prefer to talk it through? Call our main office at 618-518-5578. We will walk you through building styles, custom options and rent-to-own and financing, and answer anything on our FAQ page. You can also see what we serve nearby on our location page.
Close to home: our main shop, office and display lot are in Harrisburg — see hours, directions and local sales contact on our Harrisburg, IL location page, or call Whitney directly at 618-499-1161.
