Breaking Ground- Finally!

[Glenn Kotnik]

Can anyone find the problem with my workshop?

Garage 1.jpg

If you said: "Glenn you need more space for all that junk, you can't work in there", you're right.

After 20 years of working in an over crowded garage, my wife recently told me to build a new shop, the shop of my dreams. It will be locaten in our backyard. My neighbor Ryan who is a fellow woodworker and also a home builder worked on the design. 24x36 feet. 4" concrete slab. We plan to break ground in a week or two. I'll believe it when I see it. My wife wanted a small porch on one side so she'll get that too, for her swing.

The builder will build the foundation and shell including painting the fibercement siding, complete shell, gutters, upstairs floor. I'll finish the rest.

North elevation.jpg
I will need to put in wiring and recepticles, insulation in the walls, lighting, propane heater, wallboard, ceiling board, floor. So I would appreciate ideas on these items. For example, what can I put on the ceiling that will be sturdy but not weigh much, 1/4" OSB? I hate drywall. On the walls I would like something like wood paneling but that might cost too much. OSB would work but looks bad on walls. Some other thin cheap woodgrain paneling? I would like wood on the floor but I think that would cost too much also, so is Epoxy my best option?
Floor plan.jpgfoundation.jpgCross section.jpgSouth Elevation.jpg
Not visable on these elevations is a double door on the western side. This should allow me to rent a forklift and move my machines from the garage and put them inside onto the workshop floor. Machines include 12" jointer, vintage PM66 TS, 18" band saw, drillpress, Oneway 1224 lathe, PM mortiser. Any problems I should anticipate using a forklift to move this equipment?

The upper area started out to be just storage but as we designed the shop it evolved into a large work area as well as storage. The ceiling is 9" and there will about 12' width where I could walk with no danger of hitting my head. I think the area will be perfect for my lathe. Also a good area for veneering and assembling smaller pieces. There are 3 skylights plus whatever ceiling lights I install. I'll need to put insulation and paneling up.

I plan to use T8 lighting with enough bulbs to give me 120 footcandles at bench level. There seem to be plenty of posts about lighting so I shouldn't have too much trouble with this.

If anyone sees mistakes or potential problems I'd like to hear about it before I get too far along. Right now we're just waiting for the building permit to be approved then the dirt will fly.

.

[Patrick Galpin]

Glenn, congrats on the new shop, I went through a new build myself last year, you'll love the new space.

Couple of comments / questions.
How high are your windows? you will want them high enough so that your machines and or work benches fit underneath especially along the long wall with 4 windows
Are you heating / cooling your space? If so consider using foam insulation. I used it (located in Ontario where we have brutal cold winters and smoking hot humidity in the summer) and it is fantastic compared to regular fiberglass. I used the open cell foam, much cheaper than closed cell, and very happy with the comfort of the new shop.
Dust collection - if possible preplan and run some of your main dust collection runs under the floor, it is much nicer not having runs snake along the floor or dangle from over-head drops, makes moving stuff around much easier.
Ceiling height - as high as you can, I have 10' clear space and it is fantastic, flip boards end for end and don't hit the lights
Stairs - with the turn in the stairs you might want to consider putting a hoist and trap door in the second floor to lift / drop large or heavy supplies, projects or machines
Good luck on the build, happy times ahead!

[Glenn Kotnik]

As things are now, windows are 30" up but I think we could change that easily. My builder reccomended R-13 fiberglass in the walls and R-30 in the ceiling. I'll have to check the price differential with foam. The building will be completely wrapped in plastic under the siding so there shouldn't be any cold air leaking in. The only practical heating option is propane, the propane company will give me a 100 gal. tank as long as I use their gas. I can get a hanging propane heater around 80,000 BTUs for about $600 from Lowes. As far as cooling, in mild weather I'll use my barn fan but when things really heat up I'll get a window AC. I think a regular central AC unit would be about $4000. Ouch! I know what you're saying about dust collection but I hesitate to put it under a concrete slab. Then it would really be "set in stone". My ceilings are 9' 11" in the plans so overhead DC should not be too much of a problem.
Thanks for your help.

[Chris Damm]

"I plan to use T8 lighting with enough bulbs to give me 120 footcandles at bench level. There seem to be plenty of posts about lighting so I shouldn't have too much trouble with this."

I've found that is good for younger eyes but when I built my shop I about doubled that. I am very happy with the light in my shop. I'm almost 64 and it is easy for me to work without any task lighting. I have also found that the lighting does dim over time, just check it out if you replace all the bulbs at once!

[Glenn Kotnik]

I was going by Jack Lindsey's statement in his article: "For those of us over 25 or in shops with more detailed work as mentioned above I recommend 100 footcandles. If we are performing very difficult visual tasks like intricate carving additional light may be needed". I fit into the category of those well above 25 so I chose 100Fc plus 20%. Does that seem too low? It comes out to about 100 four foot bulbs for the main floor.

[Keith Westfall]

On the walls, use whatever will allow you to "pound a nail/set a screw" anywhere. This will make you happy many times!!

Many things don't need a wall stud to hang on but something better than

Some other thin cheap woodgrain paneling?

will be a good thing.

[ray hampton]

when you drive a fork-lift , drive with the load close to the ground as possible, unless the drive are on level ground keep the load uphill if possible

[Andrew Hughes]

Looks like its going to be a nice shop.My main opening to my shop faces south in the spring the sun sits low in the morning sky. I get a very nice natural light when sitting at my workbench.It really help for detail work and finishing small pieces.
Thought I,d mention it if you can take advantage of natural light when setting your window height.

[Michael W. Clark]

Glen,
Congratulations, that is a good size shop and you'll enjoy the new space. I'm hoping to build a shop similar in size to that in a few years. Here are a few comments, take them as opinions:

Forklift - They are very heavy and usually have small tires making them need very firm ground for travel. It will probably not do well in you yard, keep it on the concrete and pavement.
Electrical - I would do EMT on top of the walls. This way you have more flexibility for the future and you can use whatever insulation is best without the worry of having to tear it out in the future to move/add a circuit.
Drop-Zone - Add a drop zone and hoist for the upstairs even if it is just storage. I've ofter wished I had one for Christmas decorations.
Dust Collection - In floor would be nice, but it limits your flexibility for future changes. However, if you know that certain tools will always be in that spot, it may work to put the ductwork in the floor? You can use a combination of techniques. It doesn't have to be all in the floor or all in the ceiling.
Finishing - Plan a space for finishing. You may need extra ventilation and a sink would be nice. Even if you don't plan to add water now, consider running pipe between the house and the shop so it is there if you decide to add it in the future.

Good luck and have fun.

Mike

[Don Jarvie]

Sounds like a great space so here's my 2 cents.

1. Don't go cheap since this is your dream shop. If money is tight concentrate on the 1st floor and finish the loft later.
2. Put plywood on the walls and put drywall on the ceilings. You are right when you say OSB is ugly so spring for the extra money and put 1/2 ply on the wall. Use 1.4 drywall for the ceiling. its light so you can do it yourself. If you take the time to tape and spackle it it will look nice.
3. You don't indicate where you live but if it get cold consider a wood floor. A slab gets cold and your heater will have to work that much harder to keep it warm and the wood is much nicer on your back. The money I spent on my wood floor was worth every penny.
4. Run extra conduit from the house if thats how your power is going to the shop. You may want to run cable or more lines in the future so its nice to have.
5. Plently of plugs. Run 220 and 110 all around the shop. You never know where you have machines. I put all of my 220s in 1 area and now I wished I spread them around.
6. If you aren't doing a wood floor run conduit in the slab to the middle of the floor, at least 3 to 4, 1 1/2 inch. You can then have power to the tools in the middle and if you plan some sort of assembly table in the middle you can wire it and don't have wire all around the floor. I have my TS and assembly table in the middle of my shop, 20x20, and I ran 30amp for the say and 20amp and put plugs around the assembly table. When I use the sander I plug it into the assembly table and not the wall.
7. Consider leaving the loft as storage. Keep in mind you have to heat the area if you want to work in it so its a good place to store wood and other supplies. The drop zone Mike speaks of sounds like a great idea.

Once the interior is done take a moment to think about how you want to work and lay out the shop. The more things are mobile the better like the bandsaw, drill press. Its a lot of fun to start to work on the interior.

[Glenn Kotnik]

There are a lot of good suggestions here. I really wanted some sort of wood on the floor but all of the posts I read make it sound complicated and expensive. I've been working on a bare concrest floor so long I'm used to it and just put on heavy socks in winter. I know this makes me sound Canadian but I live in central Indiana. I know there is plywood flooring that just "floats" on the slab and doesn't rquire glue or nails, I would think this would be simplist, anyone know what it's called? In winter the sun is low in the south which is why I put 4 windows on that side as well as as 3 sky lights above in the loft. My builder tells me a propane heater around 80,000 BTU will give me plenty of heat. In summer I'll see how it goes and probably add A/C later.

Keith, when you say 1/2" plywood on the walls are you thinking of birch veneered type of plywood or just the regular 1/2" good one side stuff they sell at Home Depot and then painting it?

I've been thinking about various ways to install ducting for DC in the floor or ceiling. I assume that any ducting in the ground under the slab would need to be plastic and I already have a couple of thousand bucks worth of metal duct. The ceiling would be my best bet and I understand I can cut holes in the 16" TGI joists if I do it in the right places. I don't know if I can cut out enough of the joists to put in a lift but I'll have to check into that.

As far as electrical, our house is total electric and has two 200A panels but we need all of that for the two heat pumps so I am having the power company put in new seperate 200A service for the workshop. This should give me all the juice I need. The builder will put conduit in the slab for 3 240V recepticles in the center. I'll also put a few 240V recepticles around the sides for any new machines that happen to find themselves in the shop some day. I'll have about 500 sq. ft. upstairs so I may put a finishing room up there where smaller pieces could be finished.

Thanks everyone, dirt will begin to move Monday, things appear to be on schedule, very exciting.

[Ole Anderson]

If you don't want drywall, I would recommend 1/2" OSB for the walls, 3/8" for the ceiling, paint it semi-gloss bright white. Works very well. Sure I like the look of wood, but all four walls and the ceiling would overwhelm me. Save the wood look for your cabinets and projects, maybe with a few contrasting 4x8 sheets of dark 1/4" pegboard.. You don't want too much of a good thing. I think anything over 125 fc in lighting is overkill and not especially being a good steward of our resources. With a 9' ceiling, hanging your duct just below the ceiling will still leave you plenty of headroom. Some spiral duct is rated for ground burial, but how do you clean it out? I would just use ceiling drops. Same for electrical drops in the middle of the room. That way nothing is cast in stone as you said.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

I bit the bullet and put up 3/4", of course my shop isn't as big as yours, but it was

a great decision. I can mount simple stuff on the wall without having to hit studs, etc.

It was from Menards and actually good on both sides.

If money becomes the issue, maybe just do part in the 3/4", then that would be your

'Tools' wall.

[Michael W. Clark]

I did my walls out of 1/2" OSB, smooth side toward the shop. I think you could paint it and it would do well (+1 on semi-gloss instead of flat). If you want to spend a little more money/time maybe use the sanded B/C 1/2" ply and screw it to the wall. You could mud the screw heads and caulk the joints, then paint. It won't be as smooth as drywall, but most of it is going to be covered with cabinets/tools/jigs anyway. I was afraid that if I painted mine, the joints would jump out if I didn't fill them with something. On my OSB, I used construction adhesvie (liquid nails) and 16 gauge finish nails. Most of the heavy stuff is screwed to studs and all the little stuff gets screwed to the OSB.

[Scot wolf]

Couple of things:

Vapor barrier/ bubble wrap under floor slab
Insulation/thero break at stem walls
More than R13/R30. A cont sheet insulation really helps. Consider putting 1/2" min on the outside of the osb(under siding). If you tape it you don't need housewrap. And put it on the bottoms of rafters/collar ties/ kneewalls.