Planned new workshop

[Patrick Galpin]

First posting after two years of reading Sawmill Creek.

I am finally going to be building my dream shop, have been planning it in my head for many years but am now at the real planning stages.

Our home is north east of Toronto, Ontario so it will need to be a well insulated affair as we get the brutal cold in winter and killer humidity in summer. But hey, I'm Canadian, wouldn't have it any other way.

The shop is going to be part of a major addition we are doing in the spring which will involve tearing down the very old small building that currently holds my shop. The new shop will be 30' by 50' with 10' clear flat ceiling, 2x6 construction with sprayed insulation, a complete dust collection system running under the floor in the crawl space area, air filtration from the ceiling, double doors open to the driveway area totalling 8' wide by 8' high. A two piece bathroom will be just outside the door by the mechanics tool chest. Windows will be 36" by 48" high, double hung, positioned 52" off the workshop floor.

The radial arm work surface and the tool benches will all be filled with full extension, heavy capacity drawers for my hand tools, etc as I hate having to reach into cabinets to get things, especially down low. I plan on having some wall cabinets, etc placed between the windows.

All of the tools on the South wall will be on movable bases, most will be the same height as the table saw and work/ support tables. None of the other internal walls must be anywhere specifically, this is what I have come up with so far.

Couple of requests please. First, I would love to get comments / suggestions on my proposed equipment / tool bench placement as well as proposed general layout.

Second, I have seen a number of comments recommending in floor radiant heat. Why this vs forced air as I will be having central air put in for the summer heat.

Also the floor will be 3/4" plywood covered (I hope) with wood T&G plank flooring. Any comments on using pine that will be finished on site apart from it being soft?

Many thanks in advance,
Patrick

[Steve Southwood]

Looks good Patrick. Remember to take plenty of pictures.

[Chris Padilla]

Nicely planned...nice size. Think about this as you get older and are less mobile or can't see as well....

[Prashun Patel]

I'm jealous.

Is this free standing?

If the office side of the shop will be attached to the house, consider putting your cyclone and compressor one of the southern corners in a dedicated closet. The noise will disturb the house less that way. Also, good idea to keep the dust as far away from the furnace as possible.

Consider adding window fans to help evacuate dust quickly out of the shop (at least in the summer, when heat loss isn't an issue).

The sink in your finishing room: any issues with freezing plumbing having it on the outside wall, like that?

Personally, I like my bench closer to a wall because it makes tool storage and accessibility easier.

My 2 cents. AM NOT A PRO. Looks amazing!!! Can't wait to see real pics!!!

[Don Jarvie]

Consider moving the RAS closer to the middle of the bench so you have more support to the left. I find it easier to cut with the good side to the left since the motor isn't in the way.

Another suggestion is to use laminate I-beams to support the ceiling so you don't need any support poles or have a cathedral ceiling put in.

As for the heat, price out the radiant heat system and compare it to the furnace. The furnace will do both heat and AC in 1 unit so it may be more cost effective just to have that instead of both.

The plans look good. I wish I could do something like this.

[Paul McGaha]

Patrick,

As for your ideas about your shop, Awesome.

Quite a first post. Welcome to the Creek.

PHM

[Van Huskey]

Very nice and well thought out! The only minor quibble for me would be the DP, BS and sharpening station seem to the a little tight. If the BS is on a mobile base then it becomes moot, since if you move it out 2-3ft from the wall it would be clear.

[Mitchell Andrus]

As was posted.... put at least one assy. table on a wall for easy access to a rack of screwdrivers. Working on other stuff (like a model airplane) is easier and can be left alone while working on a big piece of furniture somewhere else. Cancel the door from the DC to the furnace. Is the support post really needed? I don't see another anywhere.

Nice job so far. Keep us up to date.
.

[Ben Martin]

That PDF made me green with envy...

I like the layout, except space stuff out a bit further on the South Wall. Are you sure that you need the cyclone to be in a seperate space than the compressor?

If everything is on mobile bases, than possibly you won't need to move it around in that plan.

(I just repeated what Van said, haha)

I like what Prashun said also about getting those two items are far away from the house as possible, that is unless you have a oiled compressor, than not much to worry about.

[Patrick Galpin]

Sorry for the delay in responding to comments so far, have been out of Internet access.

The west end of the shop, 20 feet worth, extend past the rest of the addition so the DC and compressor should not really be an issue but I am going to see what I can come up with regarding changes to move it as far away as possible so I appreciate the comment.

The machines on the south wall will all be on movable bases so being tight in the plan won't be an issue.

Interesting comment on an assembly table next to a wall for screwdrivers etc, will move the second one in the next plan draft, thanks.

I will be using manufactured joists throughout but still may require that one post due to the complex roof line above as weight is transferred down. Unfortunately, won't know until the architect and engineer finish all the work and that won't happen till I finalize some more details.

These comments show why this forum is so helpful, different eyes see things differently and ID potential problems / alternative solutions.

Thanks to all, will have 2nd draft in a day or two for further comments.

[Kirk Poore]

No matter how big your shop is, you'll want to put more in it. With that in mind, I think you could open up more space by doing a few things:

1. The miter saw could be built into the table to the right of the RAS, where they could share the work surface and a common fence.

2. Drill presses can easily live in corners, such as in your upper right (southwest) corner. I don't think you'll want this on a mobile base--they're pretty tippy.

3. Lathes don't need outfeed space. You could put it along the short wall next to the furnace and rough lumber rack.

4. Jointers live nicely along walls--you don't need to get to the back side. If you put it where your lathe is, you'll have plenty of infeed and outfeed space, and you won't be walking around it all the time.

Am I correct in assuming you'll have a DC drop in the floor for your planer when you move it out to use it? Have you got that location figured out yet?

Radiant heating will keep your feet warmer. But unless your shop will be heated all the time, it will probably take the shop longer to warm up, particularly through a wood floor.

With a 10' ceiling you'll probably want some ceiling fans to churn the heated air and keep it from pooling up high.

Have you thought about your electrical and lighting needs yet?

Anyway, it looks like a good start. I built a shop last year, and am really enjoying it.

Kirk

[Patrick Galpin]

I had actually considered having the mitre saw integrated with the RAS but was not too sure if it would conflict with it, would welcome feedback from guys that have already done this.

My drill press has been on a mobile base (well semi-mobile, it is pretty heavy to move around) that I built 3 years ago for it. Sometimes I actually need a fairly long in feed / out feed area so need to be able to position it accordingly.

Good suggestion on the lathe, I have moved it on the plans.

My jointer I have positioned so that the out feed will slide onto the TS support table after 3 feet so long boards should not tip as they are processed.

The planer will move to be on the backside of the jointer so that the wood can be processed in a circle as it were and yes, there will be a DC drop for it.

Hadn't thought of the ceiling fans but yes I will be putting a few in, probably four altogether.

I will have a full electrical panel but have not decided on the specifics yet, at least 200 amp though.

Lighting, probably 8' tubes as I hate shadows and low light in a shop, any suggestions on how many would be much appreciated. Also will have some dedicated spot lites on some key areas / equipment.

[Kirk Poore]

In my shop (22x26) I have 8 fixtures of 4' T5 bulbs (2 bulbs each). These are on two circuits, so I don't need them all on all the time. There is one fixture near each corner, and the other four are arranged in a rectangle closer to the middle. Think of a rectangle inside a rectangle, with the light fixtures at the corners. This has worked pretty well. For daytime use, I need only one set at most--though my clerestory gives much more light than I have in, say, my garage:


(This was before the contractor replaced the small clerestory windows with bigger ones.)

Yours should be less crowded than mine, but you'll still want as much electrical along the walls as you can. Don't forget the 240V.


Here's a construction shot, with more lights and electrical visible:

There's a ceiling fan behind the ladder, too.

I went with surface mounted conduit for future flexibility. I don't know if it was cheaper. Conduit isn't expensive, and it made the drywall much easier since I didn't have to cut a bazillion little holes. The conduit did let me use bulk stranded wire, so I'm sure I saved there.

Kirk