I think I now understand my problem... I'm out of space.

[Todd Burch]

I'm planning my new workshop. My current shop (3 car garage, with a 20' extension on the back) is tight in some areas. So tight, I can't get to anything.

I've been accumulating for some time, and little by little, I've added here, and there, and here again, and there again, and....

I'm @ 1200 sf now, and was planning to "upgrade" to 1600 sf. However, it seems as if 1600 won't be enough. (Yes, call me a tool collector).

This wasn't clear enough for me until I drew my current shop in SketchUp, as I've been living with it, slowing getting worse - like a frog in hot water, for 11 years, and things just weren't fitting! I thought to myself "they are fitting now in 1200 sf! Why won't they fit in 1600 sf?!!!". However, now that I look at my 1200 sf, the contents certainly does not fit.

I will get rid of the car in the new shop - it will go into the "garage", so that will help. But even then, I don't think 1600 will be enough to spread out the tools for using, plus, have enough room to assemble and finish products (a 9' X 9' spray booth will be plopped down in the there too! - not shown yet).

Plus, I have a storage unit full of wood (30' x 11') that's full (on home-depot style wood racks - stored vertically) that will need to absorb into this shop - I'll get out of the storage rental business when I move.

I have planned a budget of about ~$50K for a new shop.

This is a mess!

[Patrick McCarthy]

Todd, I think the car is the problem. My garage/shop hasn't seen a car in YEARS . . . . . I think you need to get you priorities in order! A car in the garage? That's just crazy thinking!

[Todd Burch]

I KNOW!! I KNOW!! Car has only been in the garage since July. I had to buy my wife a new car in July, (cadillac) and I broke down and let her park in the garage. Otherwise, in the 24.5 years we've been married, she's only parked in a garage for about 3 months. So, overall, I think I'm doing pretty good!

[Peter Kelly]

Are you sure you've scaled all the elements in that drawing correctly? Looks like a lot less than 1,200 square feet. Not sure your situation but the average three car garage is around 600 sq ft.

[Todd Burch]

40 x 30 building - it's correct. 20' extension on the back - 20' * 30' = 600'. Spot on.

Now, I was generous with some of the "tools". For instance, worst case, he AD-751 was measured from the outermost part of the front guard, all the way back to where the power feeder hangs behind and toward the right (in the picture), so the machine itself is really a smaller bounding box. And, like the Hollow Chisel Mortiser, I show it high because the handle is that high. Same with the dual bench grinders and power hacksaw - they have attached conduit lighting above them. Along the left wall, some of those machine actually overlap some when stored, but, this is all close enough (for me) for layout purposes.

[Charlie Barnes]

Todd,

I know Patrick was joking, but I think he's right. The car and the fixed wall are the issue from my perspective. I operated out of a 2 car garage for close to 20 years and still managed to have space for my wife's car (most of the time!). Flexibility is the key. By that I mean that I used mobile bases on everything except for my dust collector. Even my main assembly bench was on retractable casters. I also didn't have any interior walls to contend with since that also limits your ability to modify your layout based on the operation at hand. It wasn't great, but I managed to get by for a lot of years this way by moving the car out and moving the tools into position. When I built my new stand alone shop a couple of years ago, I applied some of my lessons learned in the garage. I do have a few tools that I don't move now (cabinet saw, dust collector and one bench against a wall). But everything else is on a mobile base that allows me to keep them against the walls when not in use and move them out into the work space when I need to use them.

Charlie

Edit: I would also add that I keep some of my less frequently used lumber types stored on racks that don't go below 4 to 5 feet from the floor. This keeps floor space at the wall open so that I can park my equipment accordingly. Of course I have to get on a ladder to go through it, but it's a trade off I'm willing to make. Overall, this allows me to keep 2 large areas open for assembly. One final note about having equipment that can easily moved is that you don't have to get your initial layout perfect right out of the box. It allows you to live in the space for a while and develop/refine your work methods so that they suit you. I've been in my new shop about 2 years now and I'm just now kind of getting to that point.

[Jim Andrew]

Seems like however big your shop is, it's not big enough for all the stuff you'd like to have in it. I'm adding onto mine, and it is about 1250 sf. Problem is, it would be big enough if I didn't have to store material, so the add on will be for material mostly, along with my tire machine. Bought a tire machine when our local service station was closed, and looked like no one would re open the place. Of course now, we have a young guy fixing cars there, and selling tires and batteries and such. Oh, well, it's handy, but takes up quite a bit of room. Hence a little addition for it and the sheets and boards, and shelves for stuff. Plan some vertical board storage, and some horizontal, as well as the rack I have for laying ply flat.

[Todd Burch]

Hi Charlie. Thanks for your input. A lot of wisdom in what you say.

I added the fixed interior wall. It is not load bearing. Initial plan was to heat/cool the workshop and contain the dust, and still have a 2-car garage for garage stuff (bikes, mower, etc.) and a car. I put up the wall, and installed a/c and heat, but never completed the project. I rarely use the a/c, since the ceiling is not insulated, but do occasionally use the heat when I'm out there and to keep stuff from freezing. The wall has given me places to hang items (electrical outlets, clamps, tablesaw accessories, pencil sharpener, light switches, band saw blades, and I do have a couple arms that extend out up high to hold long trim pieces, and I lean plywood cutoffs against it too. I didn't show all this "clutter"!). I certainly would take over the whole space if it were not confining me as it does. (I guess my dust collector and horizontal edge sander have wheels too, but, they are more like a mobile home... yes, you can move it, but do you?)

I only have 2 machines on mobile bases now - my 18" bandsaw and a floor drill press. Everything else is fixed. However, your logic of having more tools on mobile spaces, to be able to configure your workspace as you need it, totally makes sense. It would make any shop that much more flexible, and perhaps I could indeed have a smaller shop (than I think I need) by doing this. Mobile bases are a whole lot cheaper than dedicated floor space. For sure!

Hi Jim. Yes, I have a 300+sf storage unit for lumber, and I will have to absorb that into my shop too. I suspect I'll use some of it for shop interior siding and fixed cabinetry. I'll probably move my hodgepodge of current cabinetry to my next shop, but then eventually replace it for common look & feel, dimensions, surface heights, etc. I decided on a 12' ceiling so I could store lumber vertically.

Todd

[Bruce Page]

Todd, I think the car is the problem. My garage/shop hasn't seen a car in YEARS . . . . . I think you need to get you priorities in order! A car in the garage? That's just crazy thinking!

Exactly! I had a carport installed. The cars live in the driveway where they belong.

[glenn bradley]

Todd, I think the car is the problem. My garage/shop hasn't seen a car in YEARS . . . . . I think you need to get you priorities in order! A car in the garage? That's just crazy thinking!

I agree this is the root of the problem ;-)

I KNOW!! I KNOW!! Car has only been in the garage since July. I had to buy my wife a new car in July, (cadillac) and I broke down and let her park in the garage.

Just hold it right there mister. Now stop with the crazy talk.

[Paul McGaha]

Todd,

Buying your wife a new Cadillac is one thing, letting her park it in the middle of the shop is another.

PHM

[Todd Burch]

Tough crowd!! I would have to expect that all y'all are whooped in some way or another... so don't beat me up too hard!

[Paul McGaha]

We're just kidding Todd. Seems like you're going to have a fantastic shop.

With a shop that large will an architect be hired at some point?

PHM

[Jim Neeley]

My shop is similar to yours, with only 1 stall kicked out and no wall. Try dumping the wall and consider putting the lathes back-to-back and slide the PM and J/P around. I think you can really open the place up. What I've done is to allocate "shared space" where I may sometimes stand in to work yet my wife can also use for maneuvering. If you slide the car to the right, put garage "stuff" to the left and put a work aisle alongside the car, I think you'll gain a lot. As long as my wife isn't maneuvering her car in while I'm working there, life is good. <S>

[Todd Burch]

I know Paul!

I've been working with a Home Designer. My friend has used him for multiple houses and he does good work. I may do an owner-build too. Haven't decided yet. More research to do.

Thanks for the suggestions Jim, but I won't be rearranging deck chairs on the titanic. House goes on the market next year, and I've too many projects yet to do to be focused on my current setup.