Basement Shop, Pros and Cons Question...

[John Dingman]

Thanks to all for the links, pics, and the advice. I think I will try the basement and see how it works out. I have time to lay it out and insulate it and get the DC all piped in as my shop does not have to be moved anytime soon. (only moving 3 blocks away from my current shop location) It would be nice to keep a detached shop but eventually, the building it is in is going to be torn down for additional parking. I'll keep you posted as to how it is going. And as always, there will be pics, plenty of pics Thanks again for the advice!

John, Heading to the basement

[Greg Mann]

John,

All the pros and cons have been covered except one characteristic that you probably don't have or you would have mentioned it. While my shop is in the basement, I have a walkout basement with a sliding door opening. A nice feature if you are lucky enough to find it. I grew up in a house with this feature and always valued it. The one and only home I ever had built had this feature and I loved it again. After several moves, including one with no basement, I am back to the walkout. Happy again. My wife and I are kayakers, so storing long, big things was important when we were house-hunting. Paid off in ways I did not realize at the time.

Greg

[Bob Johnson2]

John,

All the pros and cons have been covered except one characteristic that you probably don't have or you would have mentioned it. While my shop is in the basement, I have a walkout basement with a sliding door opening. A nice feature if you are lucky enough to find it. I grew up in a house with this feature and always valued it. The one and only home I ever had built had this feature and I loved it again. After several moves, including one with no basement, I am back to the walkout. Happy again. My wife and I are kayakers, so storing long, big things was important when we were house-hunting. Paid off in ways I did not realize at the time.

Greg

I carry 3 canoes out the hatchway each spring and back down in the fall as well as storing the 12'er down there year round, it's not a joy to do. What I wouldn't give for a walkout entry.

[John Keeling]

I have my Hand-tool and carving workshop in the basement, which does include grinder and buffer for sharpening. Also includes drill-press [please excuse my bad language]! Limited by 7' ceiling, concrete floor and very fixed space for assembly. 65 degrees winter, 70 degrees summer. No dust collection, so no sanding! Constant nagging to keep it clean [absolutely necessary nagging I might add, otherwise i'd never do it!].

In my 20'x24' garage I have electron eating stuff and my more 'user' oriented hand-tools [ie they get used on epoxy etc], combined metal/wood-working stuff, cheesy workbench and enough space to build a 16' sail-boat or a 18' canoe/kayak. 0 degrees winter, 90 degrees and mosquito ridden summer.

Neither space is mine exclusively.

Not perfect, but seeing some of the small places people in the UK and elsewhere are building, and storing, boats I really am not complaining!

John

[KENNETH WATSON]

I am in the process of building my long over due work shop in my basement as well. Plenty of room and open clear space, no post or support beams in the way. However the overhead joist beams are at an even seven foot. I am 5 foot, 18 inches tall . As long as I don't jump up and down with joy because I just accomplished a perfect cut, then I am fine ! I will post construction pictures when completed. I am a retired US NAVY Chief Petty Officer and have looked forward to this shop project for years. I monitor this site as much as possible to read opinions and suggestions. This is a great source of information and it's all down to earth language. Thanks for the sharing of information to every one who is involved here. I look forward to many future informative sessions within this community. Very Respectfully, Kenneth R. Watson USN GMC, (SW), (ESWS), (MTS) (RET)

[harry strasil]

I just updated my house with a 95% efficient furnace and for the first time have central air. no return air from basement, but I did tap into 3 ducts with small 4 inch dampered outlets and my basement stays the same as the rest of the house temperature wise. I used to run a dehumidifier in the basement all summer, but did not need to this year. To get heavy and awkward things up and down the narrow basement stairs I use a 4 part small block and tackle with a pad eye above the basement door. Most material comes thru a normal basement window and plywood sheets down the steps.



pics of my 12 by 20 basement shop here ; http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...=basement+shop

[Prashun Patel]

I have a basement shop. Nothing as nice as the ones that have been posted here.

Pros: Free; not an eyesore to neighbors; doesn't take up space in the yard.

Cons:
Dust collection is critical
Noise. I have little kids and a wife that doesn't like noise > 9p.
Getting tools in and out is dangerous and you need helpers.
Getting stock in and out is a pain because my stairwell is turned, and my door is only 36" wide. If I had a nickel for every time I've gouged the walls getting stuff up and down...

If you have the funds, I'd definitely put in a BILCO or walkout door.

[Hank Knight]

My shop is in my basement. I agree pretty much with the pros and cons others have described. In my view, they balance out. Basement is not ideal, but not bad. If I could do one thing over, I would put in a wood floor. The concrete is killing me - even with padded floor mats. I may yet put one in, but it would be a major project to move all the machinery, lumber, supplies and other stuff out, and find a place to put it while the floor is being installed. Much easier to do it on the front end.

My $.02.

Hank

[Gary McKown]

or are building one, look for a house with walkout, higher basement ceilings, and windows. We had the house built with all that in mind, and came close to the ideal. Half of our basement is a large 2½-car garage (where lumber and two cars get stored) with walkthrough to the shop in the back. Extra rows of blocks make the ceilings a little over 9 feet, and even 7' under the HVAC duct running along one side. I completely walled off the furnace area, a walkin "closet" in the rear where the utilities come in (and more lumber is stored), and half of the remaining space - lally columns are embedded in that center wall. One part is a combination rec and finishing room, the other half is the shop. I took the time to insulate and sheetrock the ceiling, so with the three doors closed it is relatively dust-tight. We're on a slope so the basement is about half underground on the North side, with a nice big triple window just above ground level where the workbench is located. HVAC ducts keep it even more temperate year-round. It is dry as a bone, but I do run a dehumidifier in the dead of summer to help control humidity. Laundry tub at one end is nice for cleanups.

The only drawback to this grand plan is a bit of a noise problem. As it turned out, the shop is directly beneath the master bedroom but pretty well isolated from everything else, so I am restricted somewhat only in the wee hours.

If I had it to do over, about the only change would be to make the shop part larger and the rec room smaller.

[Curt Harms]

Others have mentioned these points at some point. One real benefit-no significant heat/air conditioning costs. Offsetting the environmental savings is the need for more lighting. There are good sources for lighting information re # of fixtures, what type of lamp etc. available online. It'd be worth considering a ceiling of some sort painted white which would help with the lighting. Light/White walls would help as well. If you do ceiling/walls, you have to think about access to plumbing, electrical etc. You want good dust collection regardless of where your shop is located but having the chance of dust spreading throughout the house adds importance.

Re noise, I just have fiberglass insulation and SWMBO doesn't complain about noise, but then I don't do that much jointing or planing which are my noisy operations. Fiberglass is cheap and there are fiberboard-type materials available that are supposed to help with noise damping Either a walk-out basement or Bilco type stairs is very helpful. Moving sheet goods and heavy machinery down interior stairways is pretty undesirable.

HTH

Curt

[Rod Sheridan]

I also have a basement shop, however the originator of this thread made his decision over 3 years ago!

Regards, Rod.

[John Dingman]

I also have a basement shop, however the originator of this thread made his decision over 3 years ago!

Regards, Rod.

Yep, sure did. So I guess I should post some pics of the shop. How I built it can be found here: http://www.johnswoodshop.info/Making%20a%20Shop.htm





More images can be seen here: http://www.johnswoodshop.info/Current%20Shop.htm

John

[Rod Sheridan]

John, thank you for posting the photographs and links, you've don a beautiful job on your shop.

Regards, Rod.