Breaking Ground on new shop.

[Cameron Handyside]

Hello all,
First post but I've spent quite awhile reading all the other posts, especially in the workshop section. I've spent the last year designing (and worrying over) my workshop. We are about 2 weeks away from breaking ground. While I'm sure I have not covered all my basis; I've spent enough time on this site as well as talking with other woodworkers so that I've got a good plan. I thought it would be fun to post the construction as we go.

I'm a general woodworker (rookie by most measures). I tackle various woodworking projects and I think the bug is permanent. I have built one small boat and my wife is ready to reclaim the garage. When I mentioned starting a canoe; she demanded the shop!

It'll be a 24'x24' seperate, stand-alone building, attached to our garage by a pergola (neighborhood restrictions require it be attached). It'll have a 10' interior ceiling w/ a decked attic above. Since it's a hipped roof, we'll have a cupola installed for added ventilation.

I plan a 100amp subpanel off the main w/ multiple 20amp circuits and dedicated 220 circuits for future dust collector and table saw. I currently have a 14" bandsaw, 12" CMS, stationary sander, compressor and various power and hand tools.

2circuits for fluorescent lighting (plan to come from lighting store). The building includes an extra "shed" on the south side for noisy items like compressor and dust collector. It'll be isolated from the shop by sound insulation. The east side is actually a small greenhouse for my wife's gardening habit.

Ceiling, walls and floor will be 3/8", 1/2" & 3/4" plywood respectively. Ceiling and walls will be painted white. Grey floor will beT&G floated over the concrete slab on 2x4s.

I learned to use SketchUp while laying out the shop and the following are 2 arrangment images. The last is the preliminary plan view of the drawing.

layout1.jpglayout2.jpgPlan view.jpg

If anyone is interested, I'll post more as construction gets under way.

[Thom Sturgill]

Only one comment - think about rotating the lathe 90 degrees. Shower curtains hung from pipes can help control the flying curlies, but getting behind a heavy lathe to fetch that item that fell back there is a PITA.

Good luck on the shop. I am looking to buy a house that has a pole barn and will need to get my retirement shop up and running.

[Don Bullock]

Congratulations on your future shop. I bet you're very excited. Yes, we'd love to see pictures of the build and the "finished" shop.

[Thomas Canfield]

Cameron,

I am also in process of working on plan for a new shop due to a move. I would make the following comments:

1. Thom is right about shower curtins on a rod to drop shavings. I found 8' long heavy clear shower curtains on Amazon and hung using 3/4" thin wall EMT.
2. Extra 220 available circuits are easy at start. My current shop had 2 circuits, 30 amp. I used one for dust collector, and have since made a sub-panel for 3 - 20 amp circuits for table saw, air compressor, and jointer since at 220 they only use about 7 to 10 amps each and most don't operate at same time. Plan on that 2 Hp variable speed lathe in future.
3. Mounting the dust collector outside is my plan for future shop, but with heated/cooled air in the shop, you will want to return the air and final filter back inside. Collector outside will help noise, but the cost of conditioning the extra air lost will get to your wallet, and also bring in a lot of moisture to your shop.
4. You don't show any windows. I am planning on having some high sliding thermopane windows for some natural light. Plan is to set bottom of windows 5' on yard side and 6' on alley side which allows a lot of wall use.
5. The 10' side walls are great. Use plenty of lights. It is ssome distance from 10' to floor versus 8' ceiling.
6. My current shop has 3/8" smart panel on walls and ceiling. It has worked well and will support a lot of miscellaneous without having to attach to studs. I would think that it would have comparable strength as 1/2" plywood and more consistent plus being primed.

Good luck. I'll be looking for progress reports.
6. Build shop for your use, but also for resale value to you property. Consider that the next buyer may want garage for antique car restoration, pottery work, etc or even play room for children.

[Kerry Adams]

Cameron,

Looks great and we love pictures!

Kerry

[Cameron Handyside]

Thanks for the comments/recommendations and I'll try to post more architectural drawings that give a better picture of the building.

1. The shower curtain is a great idea. The lathe area is actually a very good friend's "contribution" to the shop. He's the turner.

2. There will be more 220 circuits (~2 more) but I wanted dedicated circuits for the DC and TS. W/ two people, those might be the tools I wouuld think could overload a single circuit.

3. The DC is in what I'm calling the "mechanical room". I plan to filter the air and return it to the shop but also have a wye w/ the option of blowing outside; depending on weather. The bldg will be well insulated and I plan to use base board heating. A/C is in the near future but will probably be a small split system. I live in the South so summers can be "sticky".

4. I do have 4 fixed windows mounted high on the South and East walls. Because of the greenhouse, giant pocket garage door and mech room, I don't have much wall room for windows (and like the walls for cabinets). I do plan windows in the garage and pedestrian doors.

5. Lots of lights (and then more task lighting). My turner friend points out that old eyes need more light.

6. The plan is that the shop would be sold as a "third bay garage" with a side shop. Which is very popular in the newer neighborhoods around ours.

Thanks! And more to come.

[Cameron Handyside]

Just a couple images of the exterior elevation and plan drawings. We should have a final contract today and breaking ground w/i 2 weeks.

Roof Plan.jpgElevation.jpg

[Jim Neeley]

Cameron,

You might consider making splitting your DC / AC room in half with separate doors to the outside? A DC, no matter how well you try to seal it, is always going to leak some amount of air containing fine wood particles which will not benefit your air compressor. Having them outside your main work area is wonderful but having the two together in a small enclosure will exacerbate the issue. Yes, the AC's filter will get some but they aren't generally designed for the fine stuff.

Then again, if you consider your AC "disposable".. <g>

YMMV..

Jim

[Don Wacker]

My suggestion is to put in more 220v outlets than you think you will need and make them as big as possible, 30a if that's within your budget. I just finished setting up my shop equipment and found out the hard way that 20a was not going to cut it on a couple machines and had to rerun new wire, outlets and breakers.

Don

[Matt Meiser]

Keep in mind that 220 circuits eat up sub-panel space quickly. I'm regretting not replacing the existing panel in my shop when I finished the interior and there were only a few existing circuits.

[Sam Layton]

Hi Cameron,

Welcome to the Creek. That looks like a great shop you are going to build. Please post photo's along the way. I have a 100 amp panel in my shop. Get a large panel with a lot of space. My panel has 40 full size spaces. I ran 220 and 110 about every 4' around my shop. The air compressor, dust collector, and AC, has their own circuits. You need to make sure that your compressor, dust collector, AC, and table saw can all run at the same time. You never know when the compressor will kick in. Consider outlets in the ceiling. It is nice to plug in any tools in the middle of the floor in the ceiling. Also I like electric reels for plugging in hand tools. I very seldom use my 110 outlets on the wall. I use the reel all of the time.

I store my wood on end. My wood rack is 4' X 4'. I have 2' to stand sheet goods on end. I can get a lot of ply within 2'. I have the remainder to stand my wood on end. By standing everything on end, I have better access to what I want. It works good for me, and takes up less wall space.

Don't forget to plum for air. Again reels are real handy.

Looking forward to seeing more photo's, Sam

[Cameron Handyside]

Thanks for all the tips and advice. Since my last post, we have actually broke ground, poured concrete and started framing.
PC010006.JPGPC060006.JPGPhoto_120911_004.jpg

Here we dug the footings; set up the forms (waited for the rain to pass) and pumping concrete through a 30m boom (which got a lot of attention in my neighborhood)

Photo_120911_005.jpgPC140003.jpg

Here is the poured slab and driveway addition.

PC140006.JPG

First day of framing had the 4 exterior walls up. It was great to stand inside the shop and really get a feel for the space. Some say the shop shrinks and it goes up but so far it still feels like the biggest space I've ever had to work in!

[Van Huskey]

Great start, keep us updated!

[Cameron Handyside]

Also, I wanted to followup with some of the advice and tips too:

It'll have a 100amp service with a large panel for plenty of circuits (42 slots, I think) (20amp, 110 and multiple, dedicated 220 circuits).

Lathe orientation is just a place holder. Actually a very good friend is the turner and he's getting that area for his lathe. We have looked at the shower curtain idea and like it. probably have a floor pick up from the DC so he can just sweep up chips/dust.

I do plan to return the filtered air from the DC back into the shop; especially in winter. I'm in North Alabama so it get's "chilly" but the summer heat is just as bad. I do plan to build in the option of exhausting the air outside as well but need to be considerate of noise, since I'm in a neighborhood.

I plan to float the plywood floor but not fasten it to the concrete (thoughts?) so that I could pull it up if needed. I may want to restore an old truck instead of build a boat. And as pointed out, to sell the place as a "3 car garage w/ shop".

Hope to have more pictures of framing this weekend.

[Cameron Handyside]

I've been away for a few weeks over Xmas but there has been quite a bit of progress on my shop.PC260004.JPGFraming is just about complete on the main building and they started electrical. Here is another view showing the "mechanical room" and my wife's green house.PC260006.JPGIt looks very tall from this angle but just comes up to the lowest point on the house. I did end up with a very large attic and they used engineered joists in the ceiling w/ 3/4" decking above, so I can store plenty up there. Wish we could have squeezed a staircase in there then it would have been a full-blown room. Electrician is working on lights now and roofing shingles showed up today. Could be further along before the New Year than expected.