How big is your shop??

[Thom Porterfield]

18' x 18' plus recently added 18' x 10' (less wall thicknesses). Within the addition is a 5' x 7' closet for future DC and air compressor.

I have a 1946 era Delta Unisaw with Biesemeyer fence and side extension (and a piece of countertop clamped on behind for outfeed--I really need to improve on this design!). I have a 24" x 84" bench upon which is an old Craftsman bench grinder, little red vice, an 15" Craftsman drill press (also 1940s vintage). I have a brand spanking new Rikon 10-325 bandsaw, a Makita LS1013, with extension fences and side cabinets. I have a couple three shop vacs, one connected to a Thein separator and 30-gallon garbage can. There is a derelict Craftsman scroll saw I'm debating on whether to restore and a Craftsman 6" jointer I will restore. And there is the usual assortment of small power tools, a smattering of clamps and hand tools, and some paint. Oh, and there is all the stuff I've meant to make storage cabinetry for elsewhere on the property that has (of yet) no where else to live.

It could be bigger. But I imagine that if it were, I'd just find more stuff to cram into the space.

[Gary Redden]

My shop is a 24x40 that I currently share with my pickup. It is allot more room that what I had before, 17x24 but it is still not enough room. I plan on building a carport on the front of the shop so that I can push the pickup out and gain part of my shop back.

Like you always hear, you can never have enough space.

Gary

[John Morrison60]

I happily lived in a 12x20 basement shop for several years.
I am now putting on an addition that will provide an additional 12x24 space.
Looking forward to a spray booth, wood storage,
and permanent homes for my tools.
I got tired of wrestling my jointer/planer out from the wall to use it.

I like smaller spaces for the lesser number of foot steps, but the
new space will provide some welcome elbow space

Good Luck

John

[Paul Ryan]

I have a 30x40 garage that houses all of my machines, 36" table saw with decent folding outfeed table, 2 band saws, SCMS on a mobile cart, 6" jointer, 17" drill press, 15" planer, 16X32 sander, floor standing mortiser, and router table.
Also in the garage are 3 bicycles, 2 motorcycles, an ATV, a mini van, a car, a extended cab pickup, 24x8ft work bench, shelves, storage bin, and wood storage, ladders, and assorted other junk. I am out of room to say the least. I also have a 12x20 room in my basement for assembly and finishing. Next spring I plan on building a 24x20 shop for just machines and cutting, but that is just a plan. SWMBO may have other ideas in another 8 months. If I sell my harley, then I am building that shop no questions asked.

[Mike Cruz]

Paul, then you'll have to change you avatar...

[Judd Owens]

First post, woohoo....good to have that out of the way.
My little shop is 12' x 12', with a large door so i can cut longer stock. A knockdown miter station that sets up outside, contractor table saw, 12" bandsaw that rolls in and out of the way, 6 gal air comp., floor drill press, 4 X 36 w/ 6" disc sander, lathe, router table that slides under the bench. which is around the perimeter on two sides. Lumber is stored on wall mounted racks, or in the crawl space of my house, when it's over 11' or so.
It makes working with sheet goods a challenge, so I usually rough cut them with a skill saw outside, then clean them up. i keep all my hand tools on shelves, as well as fasteners, brad guns, that sort of thing...
my next space will be at least 24 x 24, maybe bigger if i can talk my financial adviser into it...we'll see how it goes.

[Mike Cruz]

Welcome Judd!

[Rob Damon]

Something I have not seen in previous responses that you should consider first.

How old are you and where are you living?

If you are still in your 20's, what is the likelyhood that you will be living in the same play 5-10 years from now. Are you older and plan on staying where you are for the rest of your life? These days people seem to move around and alot, either due to job changes or moving up to bigger homes or smaller homes as the economy effects them.

When my wife and I were married back in '79, we had a small place with no room for a large building. So a 8'x12' shed was the "shop" for many years. We knew as we got older we would eventually move into a bigger place with a decent piece of land for building a shop. Four years ago we made the move into the 'family" home that I inherited, with the assumption that this would be the retirement home.

So when I planned for the shop, I figured on what tools I would be buying over the next 20-30 years to fill it up, used the Grizzly shop layout tool and came up with a 24'x40', which we bumped up to a 24'x50' (1200SF) to add space for a toilet and wood storage. I have 10'-2" clear and heating and A/C. And it is full of (large) tools and wood already. The Ceiling height allows me to not have to worry about lifting and flipping a full 4'x8' sheet of plywood, I never have to look up to see if I am going to hit something. The toilet to great to have, no runner into the house with dirty shoes,when you have to go. The A/C and Heating makes the shop comfortable year round.

I know that if I was in my twenty/thirtys, would not have put such an effort into such a large building unless it was going to be for near full time business use or I was positive I was going to stay there until death.

Large shop buildings are nice, but there are an effort and expense to building and filling them up and maintaining them. (In a single car garage, how many wall shelves and cabinets can you put in it and fit in tools? Now think of a shop with 150 lf of clear wall space for building cabinets. How much is the plywood alone going to cost to build them?)

So if you are young and unless you have $50-100K worth of disposable income you want to sink into something that you may end up leaving in 5-10 years, I would building something to suite your needs now with a little extra space.
You can always design the building so that it can easily be expanded in the future based on how you orient the building on your land.

But if you hit the lottery or have a high income with lots of disposable income, build big and build often..

So to answer your specific questions: How big is your shop (1200sf) and what equipment do you have...that takes up decent space (18 large floor model tools) , not like routers and hand held sanders and such. What would you add/change if money and space to expand was no issue (nothing, I am happy with what I have, I just need to get it finished) ? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Rob

[Brett Clark]

My shop is approx. 10 x 24 (in a 40x24 barn) with most wood storage in the upstairs, which takes up about the same amount of space.

Pieces of equipment which take up space: 12 in radial arm saw, contractors table saw w/router table extension, 14" band saw, workbench, drafting table, workbench with drill press, shelving that houses my lunchbox planer, mini lathe, and other goodies.

Size is adequate for my needs (although bigger would be more convenient). If I had money, I would add dust collection and filtering, fix the floor (because it's in terrible shape), insulate and add a heater, and hire a janitor to clean up after me (I'm terrible about taking the time to get everything cleaned up and put in its place, but the shop feels twice as big when it is).

[Judd Owens]

Adding the info about how long one expects to stay where the shop is is a good idea. My wife and I are planning on building a house in the next 5 years, so for me, building a lager workshop with concrete floor didn't make much sense. That's why i went with the small space, which the future owner/renter could use as a storage building, or I could if we decide to rent this house out. The 12x12 is big enough to build all but the largest of projects, even if is a bit of a struggle sometimes, not to mention it gets pretty smokey in there with the cigar going whenever I'm out there.

[Eric Wheeler]

Something I have not seen in previous responses that you should consider first.

How old are you and where are you living?

If you are still in your 20's, what is the likelyhood that you will be living in the same play 5-10 years from now. Are you older and plan on staying where you are for the rest of your life? These days people seem to move around and alot, either due to job changes or moving up to bigger homes or smaller homes as the economy effects them.

When my wife and I were married back in '79, we had a small place with no room for a large building. So a 8'x12' shed was the "shop" for many years. We knew as we got older we would eventually move into a bigger place with a decent piece of land for building a shop. Four years ago we made the move into the 'family" home that I inherited, with the assumption that this would be the retirement home.

So when I planned for the shop, I figured on what tools I would be buying over the next 20-30 years to fill it up, used the Grizzly shop layout tool and came up with a 24'x40', which we bumped up to a 24'x50' (1200SF) to add space for a toilet and wood storage. I have 10'-2" clear and heating and A/C. And it is full of (large) tools and wood already. The Ceiling height allows me to not have to worry about lifting and flipping a full 4'x8' sheet of plywood, I never have to look up to see if I am going to hit something. The toilet to great to have, no runner into the house with dirty shoes,when you have to go. The A/C and Heating makes the shop comfortable year round.

I know that if I was in my twenty/thirtys, would not have put such an effort into such a large building unless it was going to be for near full time business use or I was positive I was going to stay there until death.

Large shop buildings are nice, but there are an effort and expense to building and filling them up and maintaining them. (In a single car garage, how many wall shelves and cabinets can you put in it and fit in tools? Now think of a shop with 150 lf of clear wall space for building cabinets. How much is the plywood alone going to cost to build them?)

So if you are young and unless you have $50-100K worth of disposable income you want to sink into something that you may end up leaving in 5-10 years, I would building something to suite your needs now with a little extra space.
You can always design the building so that it can easily be expanded in the future based on how you orient the building on your land.

But if you hit the lottery or have a high income with lots of disposable income, build big and build often..

So to answer your specific questions: How big is your shop (1200sf) and what equipment do you have...that takes up decent space (18 large floor model tools) , not like routers and hand held sanders and such. What would you add/change if money and space to expand was no issue (nothing, I am happy with what I have, I just need to get it finished) ? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Rob

Excellent point. Though I didn't mention it, it is pretty much my intentions. I just like to have all the research and planning done well in advance. I draw up remodel plans for every house we've rented, incase we decided to buy it, I have drawn up a few different houses to build, during different stages of our lives, each one getting bigger and more extravagant. I have a few different barns drawn up as well, but I wanted some more realistic ideas, as I think one barn is 250,000 Sq Ft...

[Kevin Groenke]

This thread has just give my a bummer case of shop envy.

Though I manage 4000sqft at work, it's used by hundreds of students and it should be at least twice as big. I've finally broken down and started assembling my own shop in the basement: 12' x 20' machine space (SawStop ICS, 17"bandsaw, 15" hitachi miter so far - 12" jointer/planer, drill press, 2hp cyclone planned). 10x14 bench space, basically no storage space.

Looking for a place with a bigger garage or room for expansion.

-kg

[Gordon L. Johnson]

Hi Eric,
I partitioned off the back of my 28x40 garage giving me 28' wide x 12' on one side and a section that is 16' wide. I have a bench all along the 28' side. I wish I had room for the d/c in the partitioned garage section, but for now i have it on wheels and just hook it up to whatever I'm running at the time. Seems big enough for most projects. I'd love to have room also for a nice woodworking bench in the middle of the floor.....but not to be in this shop.. I found that one can always seem to make the shop space work. I just won't be building and Grand Pianos in here........

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Unless one uses a lot of self control and forethought, you would never have a big enough shop.

Where I live, I have to heat at least 4 months out of the year. I could use an air condition in the shop 1 month out of the year.

I built a stand alone 30'x24' shop, poured footings, wall and floor. The construction is 2x 6 walls with10' ceilings. I had a contractor do the bare bones construction and he did a good job. I performed the electrical, insulation and covered the walls and ceilings.

I didn't put a bathroom in as it would have added dramatically to the cost of construction. I don't regret that so far.

I would like to have had a larger shop but it wouldn't have been practical. The size of our lot wouldn't have easily handled a bigger shop.

The walls are insulated with R-19 and the ceiling with R-40. It costs little to heat it in our winters.

Our electrical requires a minimum monthly charge of $7.50. The shop has it's own meter and is wired for 200amp service.

The shop is tight enough that it costs little to heat it and I often see an 18º difference in temperature during our hottest months between outside temps and inside temps. Thus there is about a 3-4 week period where I would like to have an air conditioner to work in there.