What to do with the second floor?

[Dave Houseal]

I've just moved into a new house, and a new shop to go with it.

It's a 23x24 garage with 9' ceiling, and a second floor. Steps lead up to the second floor which is 24' long 16' wide and has a 7' ceiling in the middle. There are eves that take away from that headroom for 3-4 feet on each side.

I have NO idea what to put up there! LOL

I would like to do something more useful than simply using it for storage, but putting equipment up there and running up and down the stairs doesn't seem like a great idea either.

My buddies think I should finish the room and make it a man loft. It's not a bad thought, but at the same time I'm not sure I wouldn't be happier putting it to more productive use. The first floor is a really nice size, but not so big that I have extra space to throw away.

I had thought it wouldn't be a bad spot for a dust collector and air compressor. And of course some storage is a good thing for partly finished projects, and things I won't use often that aren't a pain to get up and down the steps.

Any ideas are appreciated!

[Rob Russell]

That spots under the eaves could be a great place for lumber storage. Your thought of putting the DC and compressor up there is good too. You could setup part of it as a clean finishing area with an exhaust fan to the outside.

[Dave Houseal]

A finishing area is a pretty good idea. That would make smaller projects and pieces a breeze. Not to mention I could continue working on other stuff while projects were drying. Meanwhile bigger stuff that I don't want to cart up the stairs.....well....it'll be no more a pain than it is now!

[Jason Beam]

Several thoughts come to mind on this ... I'd split it into the following:

Utility room - Compressor, DC, shopvac, vacuum pump if ya want - anything noisy that isn't a "station" that you stand by to do things with. Plumb as needed. Insulate the crap out of it to keep all the noise down. It's amazing how much more peaceful life is when the DC isn't a constant hum

Long-term lumber storage. Stuff that has to dry and will take awhile. This would be a well-ventilated space - probably to the outside if you can manage it. Something with strong cross-ventilation would be best. This could be one end of the space with vents on each end of it. Doesn't need to be insulated.

Long-term jig/pattern/parts storage - things that you build often enough to build a pattern or jig for but is too bulky to just keep around. My panel flattening router sled that I used to flatten my workbench went right up into the attic since I doubt i'll use it often, but would like to keep it since I went through the trouble to make it. That kinda thing.

Regular house storage - give half of the remaining space to just regular storage. Nothing fancy, just space with racks or shelves in it.

FINISHING ROOM - i would turn the rest into a finishing room. A room about 10x10 is pretty spacious for such a thing (and if my head has it right, you should have just about that much left - if not, take it from the house storage!). You're lucky to have a completely isolated space from all your dustmakers that it's just plain perfect for a finishing room up there. Light the heck out of it - the more lighting the better. Seal it nice so dust won't wander in while something's drying. Plumb it for air and you can be all set to spray water-based finish. If money were no object, explosion-proof the space and setup to spray oil stuff.

Those are the things _I_ would use your space for ... if you can't come up with anything, I'll gladly take that space off yer hands

[Dave Houseal]

I'm liking the finishing room, and I never really thought much about jigs and patterns. Those are perfect things to move upstairs and out of my way. I guess there is probably more of that type of thing in my shop than I probably realize.

I'm not using any of it for house storage after all the negotiations with the wife to convince her it was off limits! LOL

I told her there was a basement for that! Hehehe.

[Eric DeSilva]

I like the idea of an insulated room up there for really loud stuff--AC and DC. If you go that route, you might consider figuring a way of having stuff drop down a longer chute to a collection point below (if you run a cyclone), since hauling bags of chips from the 2nd floor might be a pain (might also aid in knowing when its full).

With that much space, a clean finishing room seems like it would fit as well, maybe even with lumber storage (although those two seem bad neighbors).

My big worry with either of those scenarios is that hauling things up and down might not be a real joy. I seem to recall pictures of someone else's workshop, however, where they had an I-Beam mounted in the center of the roofline that could be extended out a large window with barn doors on the second floor. That way, things could then be hauled up from outside and rolled down the I-Beam. That would be pretty handy either way you go...

[Jim O'Dell]

What's the possibility of building in a trap door that is say 4' X 6', and using an electric wench to operate it. Make getting bigger items up and down a little easier. Might not be feasable to do it price wise though.
Only problem I see with a cyclone or other dust collector is the extra pipe going up the the 2nd floor and the drag that it puts on the system. It would be easy enough to put a longer pipe from the bottom of the cyclone down through the floor to a barrel on the first floor to capture the dust.
You've got good room up there. Make a corner for a desk/drawing table and files with a computer. Certainly wood storage in the low corner spots. Make your lumber racks where they roll out to get to the wood easier. Have fun with it!! Oh and pictures. Man we need lots of pictures. Jim.

[Steve Leverich]

I would look VERY carefully at how the floor of your second level is built, check span tables, maybe even get an engineer involved if you're gonna put lumber or ANYTHING very heavy up there - there's no guarantee it's built strong enough for much weight.

Without doing that, I'd stick to pattern storage, finishing, anything LIGHT.

Your choice of course, but personally I'm "agin" bein' CRUSHED... Steve

[Jim Kountz]

Some good ideas here, I have the same issue a second floor that I have been trying to decide what to do with for the last 7 years. Now its just storage but I eventually plan to put the DC, Air compressor and long term lumber storage up there. Never thought about putting my vacuum pump up there but I sure could although mine isnt that loud really. I thought about a finishing room which would be fine until I had a large piece to do. Hefting cabinets or other large items up there would be a pain. Check back with me in another 7 years and I will probably have the same issue but who knows I might get inspired and do something with it!!

[Don Bullock]

I was going to suggest a finishing room as well. It would be very useful for all but very large items that would be difficult getting up and down the stairs.

[glenn bradley]

+1 on DC and compressor. Cut a hatch and add a winch for raising and lowering items as someone who posts here has done. Really slick.

[Bernie May]

Your space is similar to mine although I have a drop down staircase instead of fixed stairs. To get to this point I pushed the front of my garage out five feet, cut the roof off and added 9/12 pitch roof over the whole thing length wise. I put it in a 30"x50" hole with an electric winch and platform to lift everthing up. The lift is slick as can be. I put the camping gear, christmas stuff, kids storage, and all my shop stuff I need only now and then upstairs. This way the main floor has primarily the big machines and the three workbenches.
-bernie

[Ben Franz]

Jim- are you sure you're not rushing the planning process here ? Had to laugh 'cuz an old friend of mine spent about 7 years planning a small deck around his hot tub. After he built it, the pump on the tub gave out.

[David Hostetler]

I'd do storage, and possibly a finishing room. Dust collector not such a good idea. Remember you have to go UP with all that dust and debris if you put it on the second floor.

[Peter Scoma]

my shop is 90 sq feet so I think you should let me bring my tools and stationary equipment to work up there. I'm pretty quiet and promise not to bother you to much. Think about it.

PS