TopThumbs

Ditti the ceiling outlets with retractable extension cords. This is how I plug in my table saw in the center of the room. I can unplug when not in use and dont have to mess with floor outlets.

I always thought a black and white checkered floor would be cool in my shop but shelves and counters are already finished.

Bill

skylarkmk1

CR,

Hard to put this one in the "Lets see your shop" when it is still in the design/planning stage. TW is looking for suggestions, when he gets it done, maybe then he will show it off.

Mastertech

My Feedback: (31)

This is a ongoing process, I suspect it'll take 6 months to a year to finish the planning and start construction. The last shop I built was 16x20 and I found it to be too small once everything was in place. The wife and I are at odds over the placement of this shop. I want it right at the end of the driveway but she doesn't. She wants me to add onto the existing garage which is seperate from the house and connected by a breezeway. She flat refuses to give up the garage to me for a shop and I'm ok with that. When we built this house I made the mistake of not building a model shop at that time. Looking back I should have made the existing garage 4 bays rather than two.

Building onto the exsiting garage might very well cost more than a completely new structure. Right now I'm trying to convince her I can convert the 28x28 "Manly room" I have inside the house, that by the original house plans was a garage. We had this space taken into the house during construction with the thought of a large home theater-Game room. I'm about the only one that uses it unless we have company.

Only problem with the existing "Manly room" is access to the outside, which is up a small set of stairs then down a short hall, through the laundry room, to the outside. I could cut through an exterior wall and add a double door to the outside pretty easily I guess. Otherwise hanger rash will be a problem.

The wife thinks that I'll make a mess and track balsa dust through the house which isn't true but it's her reality. this room would be perfect IMHO as it has HVAC, plenty of elec outlets and is large enough for what I need. Heck I spend all my time in here anyway.

One plus to using the room inside the house, I found when I had a seperate shop in the backyard I got less accomplished than when I worked in the house.

Yesterday I was at Sam's club and picked up the center work bench. I got a funny look from her. Somehow I think I should have gotten two of them. Bet when I go back to get the second one they don't sell them anymore.


My whole purpose of this is to not compromise this project and get something, once again, less than what I'd hoped for.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Something to keep in mind about the central H/A system, fumes from the shop will end up througout the house. That cant be good. I'm kicking around that idea too. A separate 24x30 shop would be a hair bigger than the 2 bays I use in our 3 car garage. I got a 68 mustang convertable that needs a lot of suspension and front end work to get ready for a v8. So I kinda need space with a cement floor. Since its my wifes mustang, it sorta made it easier to justify the separate shop which works for me.
Edwin

skyhawk172n

My Feedback: (3)

A suggestion concerning floor outlets, and it leads to another floor suggestion, also. If you go with a hard-surface floor (tile or painted) you will want to mop, and a floor outlet stands a chance to get liquid in it. Dirt will also collect in it, unless you use a covered outlet, and this will cause a fall sooner or later.

The other thing is I wouldn't recommend carpet. I used it and regret it because of the dust it creates even when cleaned frequently. I have bad sinus trouble, and carpet aggravates it, also, due to the dust.

Use light colored tile or paint on everything and put up about twice as much light as you think you'll need and that should about do it...

Roy

Prop Nut

My Feedback: (3)

Here is a picture of my shop area. Its a 20x20 section of my custom cabinet shop. Note the power outlets on the ceiling and the retractable cord, also note the outlets along the wall are every 4' and above countertop hieght. I have air outlets every 8 feet. Lighting is the biggest thing, in a comercial shop lights are spec'd every four feet (depending on the fixture), this eliminates any shadows. A walk around center bench is a must, and build it to your comfortable hieght. I dont know what part of the country you live in, but in West Michigan it can get really cold. I heat the shop with "in concrete" radiant heat. No matter how cold it is in the winter it is T-shirt temp in the shop (with the heat set at 60 it feels like 75) there are no cold or chilly spots in my shop. You can also use the floor to cool the shop in the summer but I have no experience with that. I painted my concrete floors with a light blue garage paint. Its easy to clean and you can see small parts on the floor. Most of these ideas were mentioned before but they are worth doing it again. I build the shop (34x42) for 13000.00 and there are few things that I would change if I had to do it again. If I ever do go out of business I will turn the shop completely into an RC shop. Then I will have a paint booth, etc etc etc. For now the 20x20 slice is working out very well. The cabinet portion of the shop has saws, shapers, boring machines, edgebanders, router areas a 4x8 mobile workbench and two 3x5 mobile workbenches. On the really big RC Jobs I can spread out a bit

waross

Well here is my design as it is stored in AutoCAD right now. I still have a lot of design work left; however I won't have the funds to build it for another 5 years so I have time. Overall it will be 30' wide and 24' deep with 9' ceiling. I am planning concrete slab construction with heat in the concrete as was described above. I am not far from Michigan in Northwest Indiana and winters can be very cold. I plan on installing dust collection system throughout the shop as you see the dust collector itself is located in a corner. The newer models are very quiet when operating. I also plan to use the shop for custom woodworking jobs as well. Already have the steel building table and several of the tools. I will probably build the cabinets myself. In fact probably will do most of the construction as well. Only down side is my riding mower has to have a home in it. That is the justification for building a "shop"...."honey we need someplace to store the mower, the old shed is falling apart" Hopefully I can send her on a vacation for a week and get the thing built quick like they do on Extreme Home Makeover. Ok that's all the humor I have for now.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Since my last post I had a 24x16 out building built behind the garage. Its mostly for seasonal storage, tool storage, chainsaw maintenance, and a place to store and work on my motorcycle. I also built a loft in it to store airplane carcass's and other valuable junk. Amazing how much space that cleared up in the shop.
Edwin