What would you add to a "new" shop?

[John Sanford]

A really big second on the skylights.

Radiant floor heating if you can do it and then put the hardwood flooring back down over the Radiant.

Wood wall panels rather than drywall in the handtool room. You can nail/screw things anywhere you want.

[Norman Hitt]

That's some good stuff Norman, I'm using the height and the runway. Thanks!

I forgot to mention that I haven't completely finished the panel mounting and am still trying to find some proper fitting hinges to match the wallboard thickness to mount on the bottom of the panels so I can just take the outlet covers off on a panel and swing it down on the hinges.

My shop's roof ridgeline basically runs east/west with a metal roof so I had 4 opaque sheets of fiberglass (or whatever they are made of) installed in place of the metal sheets spaced out equally on the South (sunny side) only of the roof and those skylights give excellent daytime lighting in the shop which has NO windows (for both security reasons AND to allow 3 walls to have French cleats to hang cabinets , etc. anywhere along those walls). The East wall has a 10' x 10' overhead door that opens directly onto the alley, and the remainder of that wall will have a vertically stored sheet goods cabinet next to the door and then a slanted wall rack for vertical storage of my wood supply. The decision for vertical storage was to make it much easier to pick through the wood supply for the proper board or boards without having to unstack and restack wood on shelf type racks every time I need another piece of wood. (My twice Surgically RESTORED Back appreciates that decision)

Note: I have decided that about 6 or 7 years in the hot Texas sun is nearly the life of the fiberglass panels as they are getting kind of fuzzy on the exterior side AND have a couple of small pencil size holes from some hail that a dab of caulking sealed, but all 4 will be changed within the next year and use a more expensive but much longer life clear panel (that I can't remember the name of) but it matches the profile of the metal on the roof also. I sure wouldn't want to be without my skylights.

[Art Mulder]

I really like having my Tablesaw on a switched outlet. I have young kids so this is a "belt and suspenders" bit of safety for me. I always flick off the switched outlet (it has a light so I can easily see if it is on or not) when I leave the shop. As well, I can just flick the switch when changing blades and not need to unplug the saw.
If I was building from scratch, with all new electrical, I might look into having a master cutoff by the main door for all the big tools

If your Cyclone is going into a closet, you're going to want some method of warning you when the bin is nearly full.
For that matter, since your location is a farm in the "wilds" of Nebraska, why don't you configure your cyclone so that it dumps outside? Look at Steve Clardy's setup (there is a photo of it somewhere on SMC!) -- he just has a pipe and blower that dumps outside. If you're worried about heat loss, then what about configuring it to dump outside in the warmer seasons and just use the inside bin during the winter?

I also am a fan of windows and light, wish I had more in my basement shop.

You mentioned a loading dock, so a level entry to the shop is not an option? I'd like that, but then I'm a hobbiest so am more likely to load things in/out by hand than via a truck.

Have fun, post photos!

[Michael Manfre]

A loading dock would be really useful when moving tools in or out to save on lift gate fees from freight companies. Not really cost effective for hobbyists, but is a very nice luxury.

[Leigh Betsch]

One thing I would never do is: I would NOT put in any space for an old Oliver 159 lathe. Instead I'd take that back to SD.

Ok I would: Under floor dust collection, closet for the cyclone, air compressor, and 3 phase converter. Add air conditioning. Unheated wood storage space. Sharpening station by the sink. Separate room for my metal working machines and precision measuring instruments. Hand tool room, and space for my plane collection that you got me started on!

[Zach England]

What about a bar?

[John Coloccia]

The things I would add to my shop if I could:

1) finishing room. You have this covered already, but is it really covered? Explosion proof fixtures and exhaust, for example, if you plan to spray (unless you're strictly water based). I really wish I had that!

2) Wood storage. That takes up SOOOO much room in my shop. On my list of things to do is to add some shelves suspended from my joists for wood storage.

3) Flat assembly area. If I had the room, my table saw would be surrounded by a large, flat assembly table/outfeed table. One corner of it would be a downdraft table. How I wish I had a downdraft table and a big assembly table!

4) Lighting. I don't care how much lighting you have. You don't have enough lighting. Even when you think you have enough lighting, you won't have enough lighting.

5) I wish my walls were covered in 3/4" plywood so I could screw whatever I wanted to the walls for storage. On my list of things to do is to put plywood over all of my drywall. Studs are never where you want them to be.

6) I wish I had more outlets on my ceilings. I had plenty of outlets before I rearranged my shop. Now, a lot of them are blockes. Outlets on the ceilings is SOOOOO convenient! Fortunately, I ran everything in conduit so adding outlets is just a matter of cut and splice, but I'm lazy ad haven't had a chance to do it yet.

7) I wish I'd done something about my cement floor before I moved all the machinery in. Now I'm stuck. Get your floor how you want it from the beginning.

8) The entry to my shop is a double out swing door with a handicap sill. That's one of the things I got right!

That's my wish list of things I'd have done differently.

[Don Bullock]

John, that's a great list. I especially like the flat assembly area and need to put it on my "must do" list. At least I got numbers 4, 6 and 7 (epoxy on floor) right the first time. For wood storage I may build a separate shed for that some day.

[Joe A Faulkner]

If you have a pretty good idea of layout, you might consider some outlets in the floor, eliminating the need for cords on top of the floor. Also since gutting the entire building, you might want to look into security systems. You may want to run twisted pair for motion detectors\sensors. Also think about adding exterior lighting and a few outlets since you have the walls gutted. This project sounds like it will keep you busy for a while.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

IMG00010-20110101-1117.jpgIMG00011-20110101-1118.jpg

Those are little pics, but you can see the basic structure in them. Basically, the previous owner of this farm lived there until the late 80's, then moved. No upkeep was done, and they left the house and garage standing for who knows what reason. My house is across the driveway from them.

The structure obviously needs roofed, the big elm visible in the back is falling on it, so that needs to come down, the siding needs replaced, windows are junk, doors are junk, etc. Basically I'm starting with a frame, which also needs work to raise the ceiling. I know, why bother? Why not just build new? I priced a new building, with teardown of this one at $60,000. I don't want to spend that on a woodshop. It's a hobby, and I'd feel obligated to be productive if I had that much invested in my new building. I like to rebuild old buildings, and there is some sentimental value to saving a sound old building from the scrap pile.

What it does have, is a very sound frame and floor. I can make it into anything I want! Wohoo! If I provide "free" labor, I can get this old eyesore that I have to look at every day, looking nice, and set up right, for a fraction of the cost of building new.

[Leigh Betsch]

Looks good to me Steve. Lots of possibilities and with a good foundation and frame you'll probably save quite a few $'s, although limited on actual layout. The multi room set up may be advantageous. Keep your finishing away from the dust, separate machine room from the hand tool room. Maybe even a napping room!

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I's seriously behind on thanks for the ideas. You guys are helping a lot!

John, love the floor plugs, I had planned on doing one for the combo machine because it sits in the middle of the room and does a good job of impersonating a small island. I also want under floor dc to it. I don't know enough about spray booths I guess, any research material you'd suggest? I'm also planning on oak flooring throughout. It's cheap, and looks ok.

Zach, my wife vetoed the bar.

Leigh, sorry, I already have a nook in mind for the Oliver, and it matches the color scheme in my shop better than it did in yours! 3 phase is a great point, I have a three phase supply not far from the building.... The sharpening station by the sink is now on my list too. I'm planning on forced air ac and furnace. Are you getting more planes? They are addictive!

Michael and Art, The floor height of the house is about two foot above grade on the wall by the old garage. The farm shop is also in my yard, and there is a forklift there, so maybe not a full dock, but forklift access at least.

Art, good point about the dc bin level. I'll need address that.

I'm sure I forgot to mention someone, but keep the ideas coming!

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I like the napping room Leigh! Actually it's mostly gutted now, and there will be two rooms when I'm done, I think... Still could find a suprise in the old structure I guess. Planning on a big open L shape, the larger part of the L for the machines, and the little part for the hand tools and a little spray room.

Are you getting snow there? A blizzard just roared through here.

[Jim O'Dell]

If you put your DC ducting under the floor, be sure to use metal duct. This is for safety in case you hit a nail, cause a spark that sets some wood on fire, having the duct out of site could be a disaster. Metal ducting would at least give you a little more time to see what is happening to stop it or at least get out. This advice came from Bill Pentz several years ago when I mentioned here that I was putting my duct up in the attic because my ceiling height is 7'8". I already had PVC on hand when he cautioned me, causing me to re do how my ducting is installed. Jim.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

If you put your DC ducting under the floor, be sure to use metal duct. This is for safety in case you hit a nail, cause a spark that sets some wood on fire, having the duct out of site could be a disaster. Jim.

Never thought of that, thanks!