Shop plans

[frankp]

Yeah, someone else mentioned lighting and I have a bunch of the 4 foot LED lighting banks that will be mounted throughout. Mrs found them at Costco on sale and snapped up a bunch. I like the idea of a dedicated lathe light, though.

 

[daniscool]

Drew up a quick plan... thoughts? Dashed line in the middle (and to the right wall) denotes existing shed space. Area for DC and area to the left of the vertical dashed line is all new construction. No power to the area, yet, so none of the electrical is fixed location or anything. Want to keep the area in front of the double door entrance clear because that's also where I process deer during hunting season. Looks like I forgot my grinder, which will likely be setup near the lathe.View attachment 283881

It looks good. Remember one thing though. No matter how well you design it you will want to change it.

Make sure that everything is moveable. Especially make sure that heavy machinery is on good casters.
OR do what I do:
I actually only have a set of piano casters (if it can hold up a 600 kilo piano it can hold up my bandsaw) and a carjack. With the carjack I can lift up the machines and workbench high enough to slip the piano caster underneath. Viola! It moves.

 

[Sprung]

Remember one thing though. No matter how well you design it you will want to change it.

Ain't that the truth...

The last time we moved, in helping to lay out my shop, I made a scale layout of my space on graph paper, noting those things that are fixed. Then I made cutouts to scale of everything in the shop - tools, benches, shelving, etc. - and spent a lot of time playing with positioning. It helped me with a decent start to figuring things out. But in the end what worked best was a combination of playing with the layout on paper and brute force of moving everything around - unfortunately some of it multiple times. Paper or digital layouts are a great start, but I found didn't take into account the mechanics of using each specific item in the shop and what space you might need around an item to effectively use it.

Layout looks like a good place to start. Do you have any sort of outfeed for your table saw? If not, you'll definitely want something. If you want a permanent home for the table saw, off that end of the workbench could be a possibility, and use the table saw as outfeed. Or, if the table saw only needs to move on rare occasions, like when you're processing a deer, then it's already in a more permanent home and could be good there - just moved when needed, but some sort of outfeed (even something small) would be good.

Miter saw/router/storage all in one line is smart. Especially if you make the counter levels all the same height for them. If there's a counter or bench there with your storage, if it's level with both miter saw and router table height, then everything works to help serve as supports for using whatever tool you're using. These tools could then be set up and always ready to go in place.

 

[djg]

......... Definitely plan around dust collection - Mike is right when he tells people not to overlook it. Drops to your tools, with blast gates at each tool, will be nice, if your shop space will allow it. I see there's already been some debate on what to use for piping. I used 4" PVC and haven't had any issues in my shop.......

Debate? More of a discussion . In hindsight, I'd run PVC also if I had to do it all over again. I really don't know why I went with metal ductwork. Maybe I couldn't find 6" PVC (S&D?) for the main cheaper than metal.

 

[frankp]

Layout looks like a good place to start. Do you have any sort of outfeed for your table saw? If not, you'll definitely want something. If you want a permanent home for the table saw, off that end of the workbench could be a possibility, and use the table saw as outfeed. Or, if the table saw only needs to move on rare occasions, like when you're processing a deer, then it's already in a more permanent home and could be good there - just moved when needed, but some sort of outfeed (even something small) would be good.

I have conveyer rollers for unloading box trucks as my outfeed "tables". They are on casters and adjustable height and length (up to about 12 feet long). They're in the plan next to the lathe as a "storage" spot for them but they roll around as needed.

Miter saw/router/storage all in one line is smart. Especially if you make the counter levels all the same height for them. If there's a counter or bench there with your storage, if it's level with both miter saw and router table height, then everything works to help serve as supports for using whatever tool you're using. These tools could then be set up and always ready to go in place.

That's the plan. Build a stand/storage shelf for the miter/planer/sander that aligns with the counter height and height of the router table. Then swap the tool as necessary and use in place. The storage cabinets will probably just be kitchen base cabinets and the counter just a butcher block top I glue up in the shop. That's less urgent since my workbench is huge already but I'd like to not use it for benchtop tools if I can avoid it.

 

[djg]

Drew up a quick plan... thoughts? Dashed line in the middle (and to the right wall) denotes existing shed space. Area for DC and area to the left of the vertical dashed line is all new construction. No power to the area, yet, so none of the electrical is fixed location or anything. Want to keep the area in front of the double door entrance clear because that's also where I process deer during hunting season. Looks like I forgot my grinder, which will likely be setup near the lathe.View attachment 283881

Nice drawing. What software did you use?

One thing I can see, that I would do with your plan, is to make the room on the right wide enough to add a 8' long wood storage (pallet rack on the 9'-6" wall) in that (DC) room. You'd have to add a few feet of ductwork to your DC since you'd have to move it to the right side of the room. The pallet rack would be used to store long lumber if and when you have a tree milled. I made my own rack from unistrut before pallet racks were available.

 

[JonathanH]

Something that I haven't seen mentioned is comfort. Insulation is a must for me, even if it isn't climate controlled. Here the summer temps are brutal. The insulation that i added to my non-climate controlled shop keep it comfortable for all but the hottest or coldest days. It was 9* here last night but 52* in the garage when I woke up. Itthe best money I've spent.

Smooth, painted walls & Great lighting are also must haves.

If your shop is comfortable it is easy & relaxing to spend time there.

 

[frankp]

@djg I used Visio to do the drawing. I use it for most of my plans since it comes with ready-made stencils for architecture etc.

@JonathanH definitely agree. I was just thinking last night about insulation and how much wall mass to add both for noise dampening and temperature control. Right now it's an open rafter shed with no insulation at all, which won't do.

 

[djg]

@djg I used Visio to do the drawing. I use it for most of my plans since it comes with ready-made stencils for architecture etc.

@JonathanH definitely agree. I was just thinking last night about insulation and how much wall mass to add both for noise dampening and temperature control. Right now it's an open rafter shed with no insulation at all, which won't do.

I just looked it up. It's part of 365 which I don't have. I'd rather own the software like of old than rent it. Now everybody is doing it. Oh well, I've got plenty of quadrille paper.

 

[JonathanH]

@djg I used Visio to do the drawing. I use it for most of my plans since it comes with ready-made stencils for architecture etc.

@JonathanH definitely agree. I was just thinking last night about insulation and how much wall mass to add both for noise dampening and temperature control. Right now it's an open rafter shed with no insulation at all, which won't do.

After lots of reading on the topic of insulation capability & sound deadening I used Rock Wool instead of other types of insulation. It has done a great job of being a barrier to both sound & temperature change. All wall cavities were caulked with silicone caulk and then 5/8's drywall put in place.

Ran lots of outlets at 48" level, wiring for internet, speakers, & antenna all behind the sheet rock.

 

[frankp]

I just looked it up. It's part of 365 which I don't have. I'd rather own the software like of old than rent it. Now everybody is doing it. Oh well, I've got plenty of quadrille paper.

Yeah, I have an old version of it for home but use my work computer most of the time for these things. When I retire I'll probably have to try something different. If you look at "Apache Open Office" it's an open source office suite that has something visio-like that they call "Draw". Might be worth checking out. (https://www.openoffice.org/product/draw.html) I used Open Office 20 years ago when I was running exclusively linux machines but I got lazy.

 

[DLJeffs]

I'm jealous you have that space Frank. One thing I'd think about is where you'll keep a small wet/dry vac (I suspect you have one). I use mine every time I do something in the garage or driveway, and the fully rigged shops I've worked in also use their's all the time even though they have dust collection. There's always little bits and pieces that escape the DC and they use the wet'dry vac to clean up the machines after use. So that's one piece of equipment I'd make real handy and easy to access.

 

[sprucegum]

I don't have any suggestions as far as layout. My shop is similar in that it's long and narrow, 16x32. I do suggest that you put a bit of thought into the height of horizontal surfaces for material handling. For instance my work bench is just slightly lower than my table saw, when ripping large stock like plywood I can rest one end of the sheet on the edge of the saw and the other on my bench with the saw turned off. Then the sheet will stay in position while I start the saw. Also put everything that you can on a mobile base, sometimes just repositioning a tool a couple of inches is all you need to accommodate larger stock. My planer weighs over 500 pounds, most of the time it's kinda out of the way and I can only plane short stock, by moving it a couple of feet and opening the door I can run 16' stock.

 

[sprucegum]

One more thought, if you are pouring new concrete for the floor consider insulating it well and installing pex tubing for radiant floor heat. The tubing is cheap and you can't do it as an after thought. I absolutely love my radiant floor heat in my shop and would never do it any other way. It is as safe and clean as you can get.

 

[Alancw]

Here you go.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

Looks like my inlaws house. Only his is a car repair garage. But I could reimagine the tooling and get by...
48 x 60 with a 16 foot slice off the back to live in. The rest is shop with a 60 foot x16 foot lean-to on one side for storage and a 60 foot x 16 foot lean to on the other that became porch. And kitchen/ livingroom

 

[frankp]

One more thought, if you are pouring new concrete for the floor consider insulating it well and installing pex tubing for radiant floor heat. The tubing is cheap and you can't do it as an after thought. I absolutely love my radiant floor heat in my shop and would never do it any other way. It is as safe and clean as you can get.

It's something I've been thinking about since I love that type of heating but I doubt I'll end up going that route. Then I'd have to run plumbing lines out there too and add a water heater and all kinds of other considerations, including the concrete pour. I suppose I could do electric floor heating... something to consider.

 

[sprucegum]

It's something I've been thinking about since I love that type of heating but I doubt I'll end up going that route. Then I'd have to run plumbing lines out there too and add a water heater and all kinds of other considerations, including the concrete pour. I suppose I could do electric floor heating... something to consider.

If you are planning to pour concrete anyway it is a good idea to insulate it by putting high density foam sheets beneath it and around the outside. If you are doing that anyway a roll of radiant pex is probably around $50. The heater can be added any time. My shop is detached from the house and has no plumbing other than the heat. I use a takhagi on demand water heater as a heat source. It's a sealed system that I filled with heat transfer fluid (antifreeze) using a small transfer pump. I top the fluid off once a year. I leave the thermostat on 58 all winter unless I'm working with finishes that need to be warmer. My shop is super insulated and draft free. It takes around 150 gallons of propane for the winter in northern Vermont. The plumbing is a pretty modest project if you have experience working with copper pipe.

 

[frankp]

If you are planning to pour concrete anyway it is a good idea to insulate it by putting high density foam sheets beneath it and around the outside. If you are doing that anyway a roll of radiant pex is probably around $50. The heater can be added any time. My shop is detached from the house and has no plumbing other than the heat. I use a takhagi on demand water heater as a heat source. It's a sealed system that I filled with heat transfer fluid (antifreeze) using a small transfer pump. I top the fluid off once a year. I leave the thermostat on 58 all winter unless I'm working with finishes that need to be warmer. My shop is super insulated and draft free. It takes around 150 gallons of propane for the winter in northern Vermont. The plumbing is a pretty modest project if you have experience working with copper pipe.

Not planning to pour any concrete. The existing shed has a frame floor with concrete board over the frame. For cost savings and simplicity, I'm planning to do the same thing.

 

[sprucegum]

Not planning to pour any concrete. The existing shed has a frame floor with concrete board over the frame. For cost savings and simplicity, I'm planning to do the same thing.

Nothing wrong with a wood stove, I considered it for my shop but I didn't want to give up the space that it would take. I also wanted to keep it heated all winter so I could store glue and finishes without freezing.