After 20+ years of working out of ½ of a 2 car garage and many years of dreaming and planning, I was blessed to be able to finally build a detached shop in late 2010. It has added to my woodworking experience in so many ways that it’s hard for me to quantify. But now that I’ve had a chance to live with it for 4 years, I wanted to look at some of my decisions with a better sense of perspective. I know that many (most?) of us are constantly tweaking our shops to make them “better”. But I’ve learned that the definition of “better” for me has changed over time and continues to evolve. So it is in that spirit that I share my shop design reflection. In no particular order, I’ve divided elements into 2 groups; things I’d do again and things I’d either not do or do differently. So without further ado, here’s my list:
Things I’d do again
1. ½ Bathroom with utility sink. I love not having to slog through the snow in the winter to the house to use the bathroom as well as being able to clean brushes in the shop.
2. 10 gallon electric water heater. Honestly, I was on the fence about putting this in, but it’s nice to have hot water to wash hands and clean brushes and other finishing equipment. It’s also cheap to run.
3. Keeping the large tools mobile with storage along the walls and limiting the fixed location tools/benches. I learned in the garage to keep everything mobile as much as possible and to simply roll things out like the planer, jointer, etc. when I need to use them. This allows me to preserve as much open floor space as possible for assembly, breaking down plywood, etc. Having said this, I do have my cabinet saw basically fixed in the middle of the shop.
4. I divided the space into 2 main areas. A larger main shop area and a smaller separate storage/ finishing/ equipment room.
5. As previously mentioned, a centrally located cabinet saw with floor outlet and out feed table. It's hooked to a dust collector through 6" lines routed overhead.
6. Again, large open areas at front and rear of main shop area to provide flexible usage space.
7. Vertical plywood storage area adjacent to one open area to allow for roughing out panels.
8. Outside “porch” with outlets – I usually move miter saw outside and create dust out there vs. in the shop. It’s also nice to sharpen lawn mower blades with a grinder outside.
9. Interior walls that are 8’ at the perimeter but with a vaulted ceiling – the standard 8’ walls are cheaper and easier to install and finish, but the vaulted ceiling provides ability to flip sheets of plywood/long boards easily.
10. Overhead outlets for cord reels.
11. Overhead air reel fed by snap lock flexible air system.
12. Windows on one (west) side only provides adequate light. No windows on the east which allows for more flexible storage.
13. Mix of horizontal and vertical wood storage allows for a good mix of storage vs. quick access.
14. Dedicated bench drawers for various “themes” (sharpening, screws, jigs, gluing, router bits, etc.) makes it easy to keep things organized. Also, I have no shelves in main work area to reduce surface area to collect dust.
15. Sawdust colored floor provides a cleaner look (even when it needs a good sweeping!).
16. T8 florescent lights and lots of them, especially in the main shop area.
17. Outward opening French doors at each end of shop allow easy movement of sheet goods, equipment, projects, etc.
18. High number of 110v outlets.
19. Main shop space is 20 x 30 which is surprisingly adequate for what I do (for now!).
20. Natural gas forced air furnace is cheap to run and allows me to get the shop from 45 to 60 pretty quickly in the winter. Keeping the shop at 45 in the winter is very economical when I’m not out there. I did add an additional filter over the cold air return from the main shop area for extra dust protection for the system. I also have a central AC system which is nice on the humid summer days here in southern Ohio.
Things I’d change or not do
1. The concrete stain on floor isn’t as durable as I’d hoped as it tends to mar easily. Also, rubber anti-fatigue mats tend to stick to the floor and leave residue behind for some reason. I would use a different finish but of the same/similar color it I had to do it again.
2. The skylights (x2) don’t add as much extra light as intended. One unexpected benefit is that I’ve found that I like to hear the rain on the skylight glass if I happen to be in the shop while it’s raining. But it’s not worth what I paid for them.
3. Add down spouts at all 4 corners of shop vs. just at one end. I’ve retrofitted one additional downspout at one corner on the back side so I have 3 of 4 corners covered. (The remaining corner seems to drain OK now.)
4. The 220v outlets are concentrated in one corner of shop except for one in the equipment room for my air compressor. I haven’t had too much of a need yet, but I would scatter a couple more around just to allow even more flexibility in the future.
5. Add in a cyclone upstream of my dust collector which I may still do. Coming from a garage, I just didn’t have room back then and didn’t really think about this ahead of time.
I provide this list as a possible starting point for those interested in setting up a shop or changing an existing one. Again, the things that work for me are the result of over 20 years of experience working out of half of a 2 car garage. They may or may not work for you as shop layout and preferences are a highly personal thing. So take the lessons from my list that you like and adapt them to your own needs! But most of all, don’t forget the shop and tools, in whatever form they may take, are just a means to the end…enjoyable woodworking!
Take care.
Charlie
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Originally Posted by Art Mann
