Finally a real shop, maybe

[Cliff Polubinsky]

I'll be making an offer on Monday for a house. One of the prime selling points for me is this -
Shop.jpg

- a 20 x 24 stand alone building in the back yard. Right now it's a blank canvas. No power, no insulation and no heat so I can make it exactly the way I want it. One thing it does have is a wood floor, so no standing on concrete all day. And with this being a separate building and the house has an attached 2 car garage, my car will see the inside of a garage for the first time in it's life.

So, what are the options I should be considering? Fiberglass vs foam insulation? Gas heater and window air conditioner vs a mini-split? Up front and ongoing cost for each? Do I need to insulate the floor more? All my machines are 110 at the moment but this gives me the ability to put in one or two 220 circuits. And I will need to install a sidewalk out to it so I can roll lumber and supplies from the driveway.

What else should I be thinking of? Dry wall vs particle board walls?

Thanks for all suggestions/ideas/comments.

Cliff

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Wow, I would love to have that building! I can't answer all your questions, but my thoughts are:

• Plan your dust ports in advance and have one in the floor for the table saw.
• Use French cleats for all your hanging
• Drywall painted white for good light reflection. Overkill: drywall over 1/2" ply so you can drive screws anywhere you want to hang something without having to find a stud.
• Combine fluorescent shop lights with incandescent track lights to give lighting close to daylight. Track lighting lets you put light where you need it most.
• I would put at least two 220 outlets. You never know what's down the road for tools.
• Tons of outlets, and a large breaker panel.
• Plumbing? If possible, a sink is a good thing to have, even if only cold water.
• Grizzly Tools has a shop design program on their website: http://www.grizzly.com/workshopplanner

Sure do wish I were starting with a blank canvas like that!

[Chris Damm]

It looks like that building is built on piers. If so it will be very hard to insulate the floor and it does need it. Foam insulation works much better than fiberglass but is more expensive. Remember that you only have to buy insulation once but energy bills go on forever! I would put outlets every 4' on the walls you will need 1 or 2 circuits for lighting. I would plan on a small electrical panel of at least 6 circuits. I have a mini split in my house and love it. I wish I had one in the shop.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Chris,

How low an outside temperature will the mini-split go and still produce heat? You get some nasty winter weather up there. Do you have another heat source for really low temps?

Cliff

[Joseph Klosek]

I am almost finished with my shop.

It has about the same square footage as yours. Although mine is long 40' X 14' wide.

I have 2 X 6 walls with 1" foam and R19 un-faced fiberglas.

I put in a 200 amp service so that I could add a bathroom later and if I ever sold the property, the "shop" could be easily converted into an apartment. I live in the country so I need to modify my current septic arrangement as my shop sits well below the location of my septic tank.

Therefore I used drywall to finish the inside and also used wood trim for the windows and put in a wood floor(6" pine).

I will use a wood stove for heat and window A/C to cool in the summer.

I am almost finished. I still need to sand the drywall/paint and install the floor and trim.

The insulation is great. There were only about 2 weeks when I really needed the A/C this summer.

If I were you I would consider losing the garage door and putting in french doors, and adding more windows and a bathroom/water if possible.

I started with a 14' X 24' concrete pad and spent about 20k so far.

J.P.