Dreaming about a new shop

sprucegum

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We are working toward building a new home which means moving my shop into a new space. My current shop is above my detached garage and is 24 x 36 which sounds pretty big but because of the sloping ceilings leaves only about 500 sq. ft. of usable floor space. I don't think that I want my shop attached to the house because of dust, and fire hazard. I think that 500 sq. ft. is a workable size for me so a 24 x 24 sq building would meet my needs and with truss rafters is a easy build. I am accustom to a long narrow work space and it has some advantages like being able to rip a 16' board on my table saw without opening a door or window, not something I do often but it does happen. The house is starting in the spring and because I will do much of the work myself it will be about a 18 month project and the shop will come after so I have plenty of time to think about it, however it is below zero again this morning and I am sitting around drinking coffee and I got to thinking.
 

barry richardson

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Sounds like you have a busy year coming up Dave, looking forward to seeing your build....
 

sprucegum

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Sounds like you have a busy year coming up Dave, looking forward to seeing your build....

We cleared the lot almost 4 years ago and got the stumps pulled last fall. I have been accumulating lumber for it for several years. I have a couple thousand board feet of cherry and ash and quite a bit of maple so I guess not every room will get the same finish. I milled cedar 1/2 of last summer in my spare time for siding and exterior trim. I just bought some big cedar logs that will be milled into more exterior trim and 8 x 8 beams for the kitchen and living room ceilings, we are going with 9' ceilings in this part of the house. We thought about cathedral ceilings but the cause many issues when it comes to ventilating and insulating the roof . I think a high beamed ceiling will look good and we will get a guest room over that way. We have a antique wood burning kitchen range that will get utilized and I have a beast of an antique sink that I (wife not so much) want to use. I have many materials from plumbing & electrical supplies to cool pieces of lumber that I want to utilize. I hope to use as much of my hoard as possible and get rid of the rest. So much planning to incorporate many ideas.
 

Nature Man

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This will make an exciting build to follow! Please fill us in with pictures from time to time. Chuck
 

rocky1

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Sounds like an interesting project, takes lots of pictures!!
 

sprucegum

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So back to the shop 24 x 24 for greater width and better consolidation of the workspace or 16 x 36 to facilitate ripping and planning long stock without opening the door in the winter? Or something in between? My usable space in my over the garage shop is roughly 16 x 36 and I have the table saw a little to one side and dead center of the length with my jointer, shaper and router table, and bandsaw along one side and my miter saw on the other. Planer in one end still have to open a door for stock over 8'. My lathe is tucked back out of the way and gets rolled out to use and the assembly table gets dragged around where ever it works on a given day. Fixed work bench in the other end under the window. My sloping attic walls suck because mounting cabinets and shelves is difficult. House design is so easy compared to a shop.
 
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