Designing a new workshop...Input requested

[yellofins]

Hey Folks,
I'm getting ready to design and build a new workshop next to my existing house.
I have limitations due to living in a HOA controlled area.

I find myself limited to a 14.5'x25' building.
I am planning on bulding it with a front garage door and side entry single door.
It will be on a slab (garage style construction).
Will the 14' width be enough to work comfortably?
The shop will be insulated and wired 110/220 throughout.
There will be a loft for wood storage and wood drying.

What have any of you overlooked building a shop and said I wish I would have ..........

I'm still trying to decide whether it's worth all of the expense or if I should buy new tools and stay in the garage I share with the LOML's car.

Any input would be appreciated.
Ron

[Bas]

Can't you put LOML's car in the new structure, and claim all the space in the garage? 14x25 feet is a little small, but not bad though. With a garage door, you can always roll the tools outside when working on large material.

I think the main thing is getting the utilities in place. Good lighting, plenty of 110/ 220 circuits and outlets, dust collection pipes, maybe even compressed air pipes and a sink. Running these things afterwards is so much more involved. If you have storage for less-frequently used tools in the loft, that'd be great too.

Bas.

[michaelgarner]

you dog you!!! If the LOYL is giving you a north to south (shaking her head yes) take the extra shop. You will adjust to the size and layout, take your time and lay out your tools, maybe use one of the online planning programs. Make a small exterior for your dust collection and compressor so that you can take those out of the main shop. Put lots of windows if you can swing it and make it your "ManCave"

[JimmyC]

Ron,

I had an 18'x28' space and it worked wonderfully.

If you can DC piping in the slab, do it, if not run it in the loft area and have drops.

You can't possibly have too much power available, and you never have enough outlets, even run some overhead.

Invest in a large main breaker box, you won't be sorry.

When bringing in power, use a large enough conduit for future additions, and dont forget to bring in a cable and telephone line also.

Keep your lighting circuit separate, in case you trip a breaker while working you can still see.

I agree with Mike about an entrance over hang, it's priceless when the weather is good and the door is open.

Instead of a garage door, think about a slider or barn doors and save some wall space without using the extra ebtrance door.

If possible bring in natural light, small windows high on the wall work well and save wall space.

Insulate right from the beginning, so you don't have to work around everything later.

If it is allowable, add a small slab behind the building to house a DC, A/C, or even a heating/cooling unit.

As Forrest Gump said " and that's all I have to say about that".

Good Luck.

Jimmy

[yellofins]

Thanks for the ideas .
As far as getting the nod from the LOML...it's her idea. She's tired of having a dust coated car . The workshop will have to be in the outbuilding because:
a) my daughter's bedroom os above the garage limiting my night work and
b) i need access to the storage for wood that will come with the new garage.
c) Direct access to house from the garageRon.

I'd like to have an awning and a door other than a garage door bu my HOA says the garage has to match the exterior of the existing house and no awnings are allowed. (which means I have to brick the front.....)

My 14.5x25 is the max I can go with concrete (new Fuquay/Wake County premitting rules...combined with 10' offset from the property lines) so I will use it all for the shop. I will have compressor and dust collection in an enlosed space in the shop.

Ron

[Douglas Robinson]

Ron:

Jimmy said a lot of what I was going to say. In addition:

Put your outlet more than 4 feet off the floor.

Run some outlets on the ceiling for drop down power.

If I could I would replace my roll up garage door with two swing out doors. That way they would not block the light fixtures when the door is open

Consider installing a wooden floor, it is easier on the feet. (Also it is easier to run the dust collection underneath.)

Put your wood storage near the garage door so you don't have to drag it through the shop until you are working with it.

Finally, make the power, dust collectin and lighting as adaptable as possible. You are bound to rearrange your shop multiple times throughout it lifetime.

Goodluck and Congrats!

Doug

[froglips]

Could you put in a 2 story out building?

Jim

[michaelgarner]

Originally Posted by froglips

Could you put in a 2 story out building?

Jim

I was thinking the same thing!!

[jtdums]

I agree with a lot of what has been said. One change to my 24'x24' outbuilding would have been a power conduit to the center of the floor running 220v for the table saw. Table saws tend to take up the most space and usually end up close to the middle. Putting the extra conduit in before the floor pour would have been cheap and easy.
Also, because of HOA rules my building had to match including a roll up garage door. I put in a two car door and regret losing too much wall space to the door. Doing it over again I would but in a single, insulated door and saved on wall space.
I agree with you on the entry door. It is a must in my opinion. Who wants to roll up the door every time for access?
Good Luck. and have fun.

[scsmith42]

My thoughts...

200A main service minimum. If you have cable TV, consider running a phone line and cable TV line out to the garage (a TV is a nice thing to have out there).

Leave enough room around the power box for a second 3-phase load center and phase converter in case you ever pick up any 3-phase equipment.

Compressor and DC outside would be ideal, but if you gotta put it inside your idea about a sound-insulated enclosure is solid.

Can you put a shed overhang on one side outside? Would be handy for many things.

Lots of windows. Consider some skylights too.

Lots of good lighting (I prefer high output 8' flourescents myself).

Water. I don't think that I'd go to the point of putting in a bathroom (takes up too much space), but a sink (such as a laundry sink) is a definite must-have. You can pick up an on-demand electric water heater to put underneath is so you have hot and cold water. If nothing else, dig a cistern hole outside and fill it with gravel, and run the drain to that.

Plan a space for a small desk/filing cabinet area, bookshelves, and shop fridge. Us the attic area for as much storage as possible, which means thinking in terms of maximizing space up there. I would stay away from pre-fab trusses and instead put up a knee wall and 2 x 10 minimum ceiling joists. Put in one of those drop-down attic ladders so that you can easily get material up and down.

Insulate, and finish out the inside (walls and ceiling). Paint it in a light color for light reflection.

Put in an external vent fan high up on one wall. Consider a "spray booth" area with exhaust vented outside for finishing work. If you can't use something dedicated, plan it around an external window so that you can stick a cheap box fan in the window to suck out fumes.

Put in a window AC unit in one wall. This is not only for comfort, but to reduce the humidity in the shop to a level similar to a house. Don't over-size the unit - you want it to run almost continuously in order to remove humidity during the humid months.

Radiant heating in the slab sure is nice. Rather than using the on-demand water heater recommended above, you can put in a very small tank type water heater and use it for the radiant heating as well as the hot water for the sink. You will not believe how nice this is in the winter.

A 10' ceiling would be much nicer than an 8' one.

I concur with the comments re the doors. Overhead garage doors leave a lot to be desired, and you lose the benefit of storage, lights, etc above them.

The wood floor idea is a great one. You can glue down boards directly to a cement slab and have both support as well as comfort (and looks!).

Watch your drainage. It's nice to have a very gentle slope coming into the garage (so that water runs away) yet not too steep for bringing in equipment, material, etc.

Dedicate the shop to being a shop. Try to keep from storing lawn and garden stuff in there - it's a real pain to work around.

Scott

[ScottM]

At the last TWA meeting the speaker (on tool repair and upkeep) stressed most power tool issues are due to voltage drops. His recommendation is no wiring less then 12/2 and no curcuits on less then 20 amp breakers. He stressed planning. Figure what tools will be used on what circuits and determine the total amps required. Made a lot of sense.

From a personal perspective make sure there is plenty of insulation, air flow and with heat and A/C. There is no point having a nice shop but you can't use it because it is too hot or cold.

		Send pictures....

[toolferone]

So, how many times can we all agree to not use a garage door on the front. A pair of French doors are great for letting light in and plenty big enough for any tools or projects. It is also easier to get in and out just using one side. It does away for the need for a side door to get in , so it saves on precious wall space. The workshop in the old Raleigh Woodcraft was 14' wide and it worked out pretty well. We kept the tablesaw over to the right instead of the middle.

[childe]

I've got a 15x36 metal pole building that I would love to make into my shop. Right now I'm in the basement, because I have no heat or ac out there. Plus I need to invest in some big wire to service it with some real power. Right now, it's only got 110 coming to it on 12/2 wire. The ceiling in this building is 14' and it has a loft. Maybe one day my wife will get tired of my dust in the basement ,and force me into fixing up the garage.

Chris

[Alan in Little Washington]

There is a lot of great advice here so I may be repeating things-

Your shop will be much bigger than my first shop, but much smaller than my current shop, which I wish was still bigger. Make your shop as big as possible by code. Since you are limited put everything that doesn't need to be in the shop outside- DC, compressor, lumber, etc., etc.

I'm not sure DC ducting in a slab is a good idea. If I had a slab, I's put in radiant heating. Plan on flexibility for placement of tools (keep them on mobile bases) and DC ducting. You will be rearranging things, guaranteed.

Run 6" DC mains and drops. Reduce at the machine if needed. Plan for minimal flex hose.

Run 1/2" or 3/4" compressed air lines with multiple drops & regulators. A hose reel on the ceiling over your bench,assembly table, or paint booth/area is nice.

Plan for good lighting, include windows for natural lighting.

As was said, plan for good power. 20A 120v outlets/circuits and 220V circuits/outlets everywhere. If you have any big machines like a dual drum sander, you may need at least one 30A 220v circuit. I found 100A service was more than adequate for my needs.

[Shamrock]

Ron,
I'm really close to your footprint at 16x26 for my shop. The cieling height issue is pretty big so try for as much over eight feet as you can get. If you can, put your dust collection equip. outside and come in through the wall. Other than that, it does get tight at times but that's what mobile bases are for! Also, the idea of french doors is a good one, all of my equip. and wood fits through a set of french doors no problem, get them to swing out! They let in a ton of light. On the floor,consider cheap laminate with foam underlayment. I was able to put this in my shop for around $400 bucks (cheaper than lanolium) and it really makes it feel more like a family room than a workshop, things roll really smooth as well. Good luck and enjoy the process! ---Mike

clamps, clamps, why do I never have enough clamps!