Basement Shops.. You Got One?

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Ok... So how many of you have basement shops... Mind you.. Not JUST basement shops.. But basement shops in which you have to go down several flights of stairs to get into them, shops?

I'm wondering what you do with your sheet goods when you have to pull in a bunch as to processing them.

Also, any tips as to efficient use of basement shops and dealing with those stairs in regards to moving projects, materials, etc?

[Matt Kestenbaum]

My shop is down a full flight of steps...I have Bilco doors with about 15 steps to the back yard, but there is a stone filled trench in front of it for drainage, so even though that route is shorter than through the house...it has its own challenges.

For sheet goods I have the dealer break in half (at least) before I load it up and bring it home. I have not built anything too tall or heavy that I could not get it out of the shop, but I am conscious of this constraint. In all fairness I think my biggest challenges have been getting everything into the shop! I staged as much as I could buy upfront in the garage and then paid movers to get it down the steps -- 8" parallelogram jointer was tough...and the table saw. Moved the 7'6" long 3" thick maple work bench in with one friend, a fridge dolly, plywoord over the rock bed and with a lot cussin' and praying! I fear I am never moving out of my house.

Wrapping in moving blankets and corrugated with packing tape before taking anything up and out is a must! I also like to do my finishing outside (9 months of the year) or in/out of the garage.

[Mike Zilis]

I only have one narrow flight of stairs to traverse to get into my basement shop, but getting lumber and plywood in and getting projects out, takes some planning. For the last year or so the only plywood I've been buying is half sheets of Baltic birch. Not light, but the 60" x 30" pieces are way more manageable than 8' x 4'. Since getting rid of my Ford Expedition 2 years ago, the longest piece of lumber I can comfortably fit now is 7'. I now have the supplier cut the boards I'm buying before loading them. This certainy makes getting them in the house and down the stairs easier too.

As for large projects, having a design and construction strategy in place from the very beginning for how I'm going to get them out of the basement is a given.

The only tool in my shop that came pre-assembled (it was a floor model) is my 450 lb Jet JJP-12 Jointer/Planer. I hired movers to get it from the store into my basement. Everything else came partially assembled in boxes that I was able to carry or slide down the stairs - 14" bandsaw, contractor table saw, drill press, drum sander, dust collector, air cleaner, etc.

A basement shop has it's challenges, but I wouldn't ever trade it for the few advantages of a garage shop.

-Mike

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I expect a basement access to be designed such that you can move a washer and dryer. If it is much larger, you probably need to take it apart. I can take down a full sheet of ply, but I feel like I am dancing.

When I traded for a table saw, which happens to have long fence rails, a friend and I took off the base and carried the saw with the fence rails attached into the basement. Thinking about including the saw with the house if I move

[Jim Shockey]

I love my basement shop after I got a good dust collection system installed. Having a walk out basement is really nice. It is nice to have the constant controlled temperature and the convenience of the shop being so close. With good insulation the noise is not much of a problem if I plan ahead. Jim

[Michael Peet]

Basement shop here, no exterior access. Full-sized sheet goods get broken down in the garage with a track saw first.

Mike

[Mark Ashmeade]

Basement shop here too. I have four options:

1. Have sheet broken down by supplier. Free at Home Depot, $5/cut at my preferred lumber yard. Therefore depends on the quality of the plywood required as to where it comes from.
2. Break sheet down myself on horses in the garage. Considerably more hassle than having it run through a panel saw.
3. Carry entire sheet down internal basement steps, wrestle it through the table saw. Requires help of wife, therefore to be avoided if possible.
4. Carry sheet around house to rear, and in through walk-out basement doors, wrestle it through the table saw. Considerably longer route than the internal route. Requires help of wife, therefore to be avoided if possible.

The Rolls-Royce solution would be my own panel saw in the garage. I'm not there yet, and I can't see me getting there anytime soon either.

[Prashun Patel]

I keep saw horses in the garage. I break down 4x8 sheets in the driveway with a circular saw and a guide.
Dimensional stuff is kept to 9ft or less. If I have to go bigger, I just work in the garage.

I took off the railing to my basement, which helps a little.

No matter how much care I take going up and down, I still have annual spackle patchwork to do around the corners.

The basement (for me) isn't as much a challenge as my car. I have a minivan, but no truck, so even getting 4x8 home can be a challenge. In that case, I have the dealer rough it down for me. I never have them cut it to exact specs though - especially that ply's from HD...

I long for a walkout basement. But I just can't justify the cost to LOML.

[BOB OLINGER]

I have a basement shop; explored other options, but looks like I will continue with the basement. If I maneuver just right, we (2 person job) can get a full sheet down the stairs. If the project permits, I will cut the sheet down first. There are pluses and minuses to the basement shop, the way I see it. A big plus is its close proximity. A minus is moving stuff (everything including finished projects) up/down the stairs; also the dust thing with the basement shop, although my addition of the dust collector and air filter should help.

[Philip Berman]

Used a pair of sawhorses to break down sheetgoods until I ran across a great deal on a panelsaw. Best $300 I've spent yet. Installed it along one wall of the garage and it doesn't interfere with parking a car. I do however have to move the car out of the garage before using the saw, but that's waaaaaaay easier than going through the kitchen, around the island, down the stairs, through the tv room, make a sharp left into the shop, watch out for the bench, go around the carving bench, don't hit the fluorescent tubes, and onto the tablesaw which, invariably, I've forgotten to open the blast gate which I can't reach once I've gotten the ply onto the saw!

[mreza Salav]

have a basement shop (non-walk out). The stairs down have a 90 turn in the middle. I break the plywood sheets either at supplier or in the garage.
My biggest problem has been taking my tools down there (all by myself) one at a time. The biggest one was a ICS-SS with 52" rails (I dis-mantled it).
My current worry that I think about once in a while is how to get my 800lb J/P combo down there.
My nightmare is when we want to move out and I have to take all these out of the basement!!

[John Williamson]

I break down my sheet goods in the garage then move them to the basement. I use the festool TS55 and it works great for me.

[Bob Murphy]

I have a walk out bsm't shop which has 6 foot French doors and both open.

I did, however, have a friend who actually rigged his bsmt steps so they could be raised up from the first floor level. The house was a one story and the stairway ceiling was not sloped. The stair ended against the bsmt wall which kept the raised stairway in place.

With the stair raised, 4X8 sheet goods were more easily passed into the bsmt. He even rigged a cum along in the rafters so heavier equip could be lowered. Maybe a little extreme but it worked for him.

Bob

[Chris True]

I have a basement shop. Access is normal interior stairwell from the living quarters or the exterior access is a double french door leading to the concrete "area way" with about 10 steps up to ground level. I had a concrete sidewalk put in all the way from the driveway around the side of the house to the basement steps when the house was built 3 years ago. Excellent addition, equipment is easy to roll from the driveway to the stairs on a dolly or appliance hand truck, just gotta worry about the 10 steps. Also got 9 foot ceilings down there for a modest upcharge, think it was an extra thousand or maybe 2 thousand. Everything from sheet goods to an 800 pound planer goes in from the outside.

[John TenEyck]

Same deal as many others - 13 steps down to the basement and no other access. Full sheets of plywood just make the corner at the top of the stairs, but as I get older I tend to break them down in the garage first. I've started to acquire larger stationary tools, and they are more of a challenge to get down those stairs. I've had to disassemble some and take them down in pieces just to make it semi-safe. I've had to forego buying others because they are simply too large. I've longed for a Bilco door, but the $5K+ price tag ended that longing. My longing these days is for a safe way to spray finish projects down there. If anyone has any suggestions on how they do it I'd apprecite it.

Getting finished projects out of the basement has required design modifications more than once. I've resorted to assembling projects in the gargage on occasion, or using knockdown fittings for final assembly. But my basement shop is large compared to a garage, I don't have to move tools around in order to get the cars in (that would drive me nuts and I bet the cars wouldn't see the inside of the garage much), and it is warm, dry, and comfortable to work in. I wouldn't trade it.