Sprucing up basement shop advice

[Eric Sarno]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a house and the first order of business is taking care of the basement. So far I've spent a few days ripping apart the awful paneled room that was just wasting space and cleaning up most of the mess. I'm glad I did it, as 50 years of mouse poop probably fell out of the drop ceiling. The plus side is that big pile of 2x4s should be useable after removing the nails to build a nice solid work bench (the PO provided bench and shelves are obviously pretty rickety). On a side note, some of the 2x4s look almost pink, is this some sort of treatment?

The size of my space is 22x32, and I am going to call in an electrician to both upgrade to 200 amp service as well as wire some new outlets, including some 240v. Does anyone have recommendations on where to place outlets, what height, etc.? For the lighting, I have 20 4' fixtures I am going to hang. I am thinking a piece of 2x4 mounted to bridge the floor joists, then I can flush mount the lights to those, kind of tucking them in between the middle of the X's. I should have enough to do them about every other floor joist gap on both sides of the metal beam. I'd like to hook these up to two switches so I can turn half the basement on at a time.

Now for the 'sprucing up' part, I am wondering about paint. Would it look stupid to paint the concrete walls? I don't want to go crazy, but I feel like even a quick coat or two of paint would make it look a bit less grungy. Especially once all of my machines are in, lights up and some real cabinets are built. I'm thinking maybe a green or tan? Same thing with the floors - should I do some sort of paint / epoxy? Or is bare concrete one of the better surfaces for a wood shop? (with some anti-fatique mats).

I will have to try and figure out something for dust collection as well, I haven't yet researched. I'm used to every horizontal surface in the area as my dust collection.

Thanks for reading and for any advice!

[Brian Holcombe]

Paint the walls white, for building furniture it's nice to see neutral color rather than that which is effected by your paint choice. Also it will make the room much brighter which is important.

[Marc Burt]

I painted the block walls in my last shop white. It made a HUGE difference. I definitely recommend you do it. I used Drydex since I was below grade, never had a moisture but figured better safe than sorry.

20 fixtures in that space sounds like a lot. You could sun tan in thete when you're done I would think! Jealous.

[Bryan Lisowski]

Congrats on the new house! I agree painting white is best, also I would think about putting the outlets 50" from the floor. That way if you have to place sheet goods against the wall, they won't interfere with the outlets.

[John Jenkins4]

Paint the "ceiling" as well. It seems like unpainted floor joists suck up light! The more light reflective surfaces the better.

[John K Jordan]

... The size of my space is 22x32, and I am going to call in an electrician to both upgrade to 200 amp service as well as wire some new outlets, including some 240v. Does anyone have recommendations on where to place outlets, what height, etc.?
... I will have to try and figure out something for dust collection as well, I haven't yet researched. I'm used to every horizontal surface in the area as my dust collection.

Eric, you will love that space! The wood area of my new shop is similar, 24x40 minus a 12x12 space for a small welding room. Not an abundance of free space but certainly enough for quality time. (I used about 1/2 of a 2-car garage before building the shop.)

I like to mount most outlets above any work surface height. I planned the shop layout well before wiring, using cutouts and drawings so I had no unpleasant surprises. For most of the walls I put a duplex 120v outlet every 4'. Where I planned a workbench or lathe tool sharpening station I added extra and/or quad outlets. I also mounted several in the ceiling: to plug in an air cleaner and retractable cord reels for hand tools in the center of the shop. The 240v outlets are close to the tools. If I had any tools in the middle away from the walls I would probably have added a small post and brought the circuit down from the ceiling.

Also, a few of the battery operated emergency safety lights might be a life-saver in a basement shop in case of power loss. I installed 120v electrical boxes high on the wall to power these. The one by the door has an EXIT sign with an arrow. These emergency light fixtures are very inexpensive at a real electrical supply place.

My lights are all T5 fluorescents in 4-bulb fixtures - extremely bright. These fixtures came with the option to enable two of the bulbs with a second switch. I mount this second switch on the wall above the primary switch. Most of the time I leave these off and use just 1/2 the bulbs but the extra light is REAL handy when needed.

I did three other things with the lighting I really like after several years of use:
- One, I wired the lighting in zones with a 3-way switch for each zone at the entrance door AND somewhere in the zone. This way I don't need to turn on the bright lights on one side of the room when I am working on the lathe on the other.
- Two, I made one switch with a string of lower-level lights through the shop. This lets me enter and see enough to go anywhere in the shop to get tools and things without having to turn on the bright work lights.
- In several places (bandsaw, lathe) I added several wall and ceiling receptacles that are controlled by a wall switch near the tool. I plug task lights on adjustable arms into these so, for example, I can turn on 3 lights at the bandsaw with one switch. (I like a lot of light!) And for a lathe, using multiple "point source" lights rather than long, diffuse fixtures helps me evaluate compound surface curves and defects while turning.

For the dust collector, consider building a closet with sound insulation. I use a 5 hp cyclone and it sounds like a freight train. Outside the closet I can carry on normal conversation. I also put the big air compressor in that closet. Good sound insulation might be even more important in a basement shop since the sound coming into the house above might not make the family happy. My closet is 4'x8' with double doors for easy access, the doors facing into the maintenance end of the shop. A good dust collector really helps. I've known several people who had to quite working with wood COMPLETELY due to serious medical problems from breathing fine sawdust for years. I bought one of my larger lathes from one of these guys.

JKJ

[John A langley]

I would seriously consider closing in the stairway that would serve two purposes one dust The other fire ,and I also would drywall the ceiling maybe some insulation between the floor joist to help with the sound

[Eric Sarno]

Everyone, thank you so much for the comments - I really appreciate it!

I will take your suggestions on the white walls, though I will probably do an off white as I like things to be a bit 'warmer'. One of the other things I am seeing that I like is a stripe of color from the floor to about knee level or so, with many people saying doesn't affect the bouncing light on the work piece but adds color to be lively. I am definitely looking for something that makes me happy to look at and want to go down and work rather than super accurate finishing. As you can see there is some efflorescence in the corners of the house. It doesn't seem to be too bad (and maybe in the spring I will try and tackle more outdoor drainage). But due to this, any suggestions on a brand of paint to use to that can stand up to moisture? Should I just blast the concrete with a hose for cleaning, or is there more prep involved?

As for the ceiling, I will probably tackle that at a later time than right now. I don't want to cover things up because 1. I am still learning a lot about the house, how things work and where they go, and 2. I don't want to give those mice any more space to make a home! Painting might be an option depending on how much light disappears, but I must say I do like the look of the wood too haha.

Excellent advice on the height for outlets, I will definitely follow that. I'm short, but I do hate having to bend down to plug things in.

John Jordan - great tips! I really like the emergency light ideas, and the exit sign will definitely look cool. The fixtures I bought were those costco LED ones, so hopefully I can do a similar wiring situation to those. As you did, I will definitely try and draw things up so that I have something to give to the electrician. I like the closet idea for compressor and dust collector (neither of which I have yet).

John Langley - Thank you, I think that is a good idea. The staircase will definitely be its own project. The stairs there right now are fine but still a bit rickety, so I will have to address that. Thinking about fire, right under the stairs might be a good place for some metal tool boxes / storage to live. And if I put up drywall to enclose the other parts, I can easily hang clamps, etc.

I haven't seen anyone address the floor at all, do you guys have painted / unpainted?

Thanks again!

[Brian Holcombe]

Paint the "ceiling" as well. It seems like unpainted floor joists suck up light! The more light reflective surfaces the better.

I agree with this entirely! It is very true. The more spots I've drywalled and painted white the better my shop has been to work in.

Eric,

Go for a bright white, like studio white or Benjamin Moore Super White. It seems like it would not make a difference, but painting my walls that were off-white with actual white made a very nice difference.

You'd like the wood color to be true to life, if ever you need to take photos of your work...you need a white background. If ever you want to video your process...you need white background....if you want to photograph your work in progress..

You get the point.

I'd leave the floor as is. Paint is a PITA on floors and since you're on concrete I would not be surprised if you put down mats around your work stations.

[Eric Sarno]

Thanks Brian, you know the more I keep reading and thinking about it you (and everyone else ) are right, I will go with a bright white, not an off white like I was originally thinking. I keep forgetting that this shop will fill up quite quickly with other stuff, all of which reflects light, so other colors will probably look too dark very fast. Because of this it's also probably pointless to add any two tone or fanciness since there will be stacks of wood, cabinets, machines, benches, etc. against or near the walls. That also means less work and less paint, which is a definite plus! It would definitely be cool to eventually do videos or at least photos as well.

Thanks on the floor. Again, I was hoping for that, as it means less work! I will give them a good cleaning, maybe a detergent mop & shop vac and then let them be.

Next step tonight is to draw up the basement, and I'll try to lay out lights and outlets to see what you guys think of it. Hopefully that will also help me get a quote on the electrical (between running outlets and upgrading to 200 amp, I'm sure this is going to be a big one..) Also, if anyone has a good electrician that services Enfield, CT please let me know!

[John K Jordan]

...I keep forgetting that this shop will fill up quite quickly...

If you are anything like me, soon you won't even be able to see the walls. I can't find enough of a clear spot now to hang a whiteboard so I just lean it against something, in the way!

Something I did which helped me arrange things in the shop: When I did my diagrams I made cutouts of all the machines so I could slide them around on a scale drawing. I included cutouts for the infeed and outfeed space needed too, for things like the table saw. Where things were tight and I was tempted to reduce the space between tools and work surfaces, I made circle cutouts with what I considered the desired and the minimum spaces for walking and carrying things. I moved these circles through the diagram to make sure I had at least the minimum space. To help me visualize the actual space needed I arranged a couple of big cardboard boxes to stand in for some stationary tools and walked between them, adjusting the spacing until it felt right. Then I measured that spacing to make my little circle cutouts. I did something similar to help size the space where I wanted a desk, office chair, and book case. No unpleasant surprises that way. I made numerous drawings on graph paper but used a big piece for the arranging the cutouts. (You can do all this with computer software but I think the cutouts are better)

Also, I thought I addressed your floor question but I must have forgotten to click "Post". I have bare concrete, covered at major stations (lathes, etc) with spongy anti-fatigue mats. I did paint a couple of areas and meant to paint the entire floor but, nah, I'll probably never get around to it. My shop is for using and not for looking admiring. If you can't stand the look of concrete, a nice wood or pergo floor would be classy! Keep in mind, however, that basement slabs sometimes pass moisture from the ground. If I did paint, I would use a good epoxy floor paint.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

Paint is a good thing...white or light color is best. And you'll want to seriously update the lighting so you can work safely, precisely and enjoyably.

[Brian Holcombe]

Eric,

Excellent, glad to hear it! I have my shop specifically setup so that I do not have anything against a wall, except my sharpening station. My sharpening station is basically a short counter height table that is mounted directly to the wall. Immediately above and below it I set plywood, assuming (correctly) that it would get grundgy and that having something easily replaceable would be worth its while.

Above that are two big lights so that I can see what I'm working on, it helps tremendously.

My work bench has lighting positioned so that I can focus a spot light on problem areas. Overhead lighting is a must, but without spot lights you'll be able to cast a shadow on your workpiece and that shadow will get in the way of accurate work.

Two areas where you'll want to consider that specifically are your workbench and your bandsaw (assuming you will have a bandsaw) as well as any other stationary equipment which calls for specific attention. I have my lamp setup so that I can rotate it between my workbench and my router table.

There have been a couple threads recently on Costco LED lights. I picked up a couple yesterday, they're amazingly bright and incredibly reasonably priced. I'm setting up an auxiliary shop now for my bandsaw, and putting up two of them along with a spotlight turned a dark shop into a bright space.

It's very hard to over-do your lighting, and I like a mix of lighting so that I can see what I'm doing in every position if possible. There is a thread floating around about setting up lighting in your shop and planning out the amount of foot-candles (a lighting measurement) needed for a given space. The closer I get to what the article recommends as good lighting, the more I find I can do accurate work in any instance.

[Eric Sarno]

Thanks Brian. Yes I imagine I will have a few 'spot' lights, it would be awesome to get something flexible or something that kind of drops down from the joists for when I need to focus on something.

The Costco LEDs were the ones I went with since I don't have any fixtures right now (except 1 T8). I bought 20 of them since I want to be able to see for once!

Here is a diagram of the basement. I think my main work benches will be on the left side where the lighting is consistently spaced with the floor joists. On the right side things end up not being spaced perfectly but I'm sure will still have plenty of light.
If I have any leftover fixtures I can use them in the garage anyways.

John I like the idea with the cutouts! I unfortunately don't have all of my tools in yet to measure, and I also don't have a lathe or a larger sized planer yet, only a 6" craftsman alien style, so I'm not sure where they would go. Honestly I was so cramped in my last space I don't even know what my ideal layout will be for tools, so I think for a while my best method of experimentation will just be to start working and see where things end up. I want to get more into some furniture type building, but one of my main focuses is definitely going to be electric guitars (and hopefully amps someday too!)

In general, what would you suggest for outlets in this setup? I think for lights it would be simplest to just split them into 2 zones for the left and right side of the basement (from the stairs) I do like the idea of extension cords on a roll that can be pulled down from the ceiling. Can I do my own routing of the electrical? So I do all of that time consuming part of dragging the wires across the ceiling, pulling through holes, stapling, etc. and the electrician just comes and does the final connections and makes sure that it's all good.

Thanks again!

[John K Jordan]

John I like the idea with the cutouts! I unfortunately don't have all of my tools in yet to measure, and I also don't have a lathe or a larger sized planer yet, only a 6" craftsman alien style, so I'm not sure where they would go. ...

In general, what would you suggest for outlets in this setup? ... lights ... Can I do my own routing of the electrical?

Eric,

For tools that you do not have yet you can get the dimensions from the manufacturer's web site or from a downloaded manual. That's what I did since although I had all the tools they were still in crates in one of my storage buildings. If you plan now for that dream jointer, lathe, or planer that you will buy some day, the space will be reserved and avoid a lot of headache in the future.

Unless you have the space well planned, the best plan I know is to install more receptacles than you think you will need and put them everywhere. This is a good idea even if you have the space planned since you may want a different layout in the future, or the next person who owns the house will. Rewiring is a pain and very expensive.

How you organize your lighting depends on how you work. My lighting zones are based on my own needs (I use my shop for turning, flat wood, farm, office, machining, welding, storage, maintenance, etc.), I have eight switched zones , in three rooms. In case you are interested, this is how I split up the space in my shop (woodturning is and farm support are my primary interests):
shop_floorplan2_flat_s.jpg

If your shop is all general woodworking you might want to keep it simpler (and cheaper). One thing I might consider with a light fixture layout like yours is alternating the lights, putting every other one on one switch and the rest on a second switch. For example, on one circuit you could put the left light of the first pair, the right light of the second pair, and so on down the room. This would let you throw one switch to turn on just 1/2 the lights and still give you a fairly even light all over the shop, then double the brightness when needed by turning on the other switch. If you have more than one entrance you may want to use 3 or 4-way switches so you can control all of the lights at each entrance. (Yikes, I have 26 light switches inside my shop - I never counted them before.)

As for doing your own electrical work, check with your local inspector. I always do all of mine from the design to digging the trench to flipping on the light switch. This way I not only get exactly what I want but the only cost is the materials and the time - IF you can do it right. In most areas I think the homeowner is allowed to do part or everything. However, I strongly recommend no one do their own wiring without the knowledge and experience. It will be inspected carefully, so it has to be done right. Do one thing wrong and your house and your family could go up in smoke.

You will have to check with your chosen electrician as to whether he will agree to you running wires. I know I would not want to connect things up unless I was sure the person pulling the cables knew what he was doing - when I'm wiring, no body touches anything but me! In fact, I lock the doors and let no one in. Without organization and concentration keeping up with what cable is which could be a nightmare, for example the wiring on multiple 3 and 4-way light switches can get complicated. And even running wires and stapling has do be done right. (For example, some people don't know that positioning a wire the wrong way can cause seasonal contraction/expansion to slowly wear through the insulation - I've seen a cable nearly cut in two from this where someone strung it tightly in contact with a sharp corner on a brick chimney.)

However, the electrician may agree to letting you help him pull cables. Whether this will save you any money or not, I don't know! Some may charge extra if you help...

JKJ