New shop suggestions on a budget

[Mark Sheppard]

So I will be moving in the next 8-12 months. We plan to build a house with a 3 car garage. 1 for the wife's car 2 for my shop. I already know I need plenty of 15 and 20 amp outlets. Going to put in led lighting. Sink and possibly a toilet. Depending on the budget a separate AC as I will be living in Alabama. Worse case scenario a window unit. 1-2 Windows for natural light. Possibly hard rubber floor tiles? I don't have a huge budget as you can see. What else am I missing?

Thanks for the help in advance!

[Matt Putnam]

A friend of mine recently built a shop and for windows he did a series of transom windows (approx. 18" tall by 30" wide) high up in the wall - the bottoms are probably 6' from the floor. They do a nice job of letting in natural light but maintain shop wall space. If building from scratch I'd definitely do the same.

[Matt Schenk]

-240V
-DC/AC closet

Rubber floor mats would be nice, but I don't mind my concrete floor. Like the idea of transom windows! Wish I had natural light in my shop.

afterthought: If the main circuit panel isn't going to be in the garage, maybe have a sub-panel installed for future growth.

[Bryan Lisowski]

I would skip the toilet, you will be close enough to the house, I think it's an unnecessary cost. However a slop sink would be good. Transom window is a good idea. I would build a knee wall between your wife's car and the space your shop to separate the spaces.

[Robert Engel]

I use the cheap foam interlocking mats from Sams maybe not the best but they do hold up ok for me.

[Robin Frierson]

Well depending on you budget I would recommend a split unit AC/Heat pump. They are great, you dont want a window unit, loud and you lose a window. I love sanded plywood floors on sleepers with electrical underneath. You can do it yourself so its just the material. You will be glad you have them first chisel you drop. Everytime I sweep all these cords get in the way. Skip the toilet, but get a laundry sink. Get natural lights if you can. They wanted an extra 1000 per window for the garage when we built this house so I skipped the windows and wish I had splurged for them. Painted and insulated also. Choose you machines carefully as you dont have a lot of extra room.

[William C Rogers]

All good suggestions, however if you are going to have a sink then I suggest you put in the toilet. You have the sewer line already run. My shop is about 50' from the house and wouldn't want to clean up every time I needed the bathroom. I didn't have one in my previous shop, but have one in this shop. To me well worth it. I didn't have windows in my previous shop, but have 3 in this one. Again well worth it. Since your shop will be part of a garage, your window style will be dictated by the house design. I would think along the way of what would be difficult to add after the fact and importance of those thing.

[David Sloan]

Having done exactly what you are doing in 2015, these would be my suggestions: 1) windows!; 2) more lighting than you think you'll need; 3) laundry sink; 4) a good floor ( I chose an industrial epoxy floor which is very thick and feels nice underfoot plus is bulletproof); 5) make the ceiling as high as possible; 6) pull down stairs to attic overhead if that is feasible; 7) don't make a physical separation to your wife's space because you can use that space when she is out!; 8) put everything in the shop on industrial casters; 9) as insulated a garage door as possible and insulate the exterior wall; 10) more circuits than you think you will need and at least a couple of 220 circuits even if you don't have 220 machines now; 11) white ceiling and white walls. Congratulations!

[Malcolm McLeod]

I did much the same in 2010. Windows are nice, but be careful as they cost money and wall space. You lose virtually all of 1 wall to the garage doors (assuming you install them). If you don't wall off the 'car' stall, you lose that wall as well. That leaves you with only 2 walls to hang tools, etc.. And I'm not advocating a dungeon, but windows just keep subtracting from the walls....

I walled off the car stall and it is my 'long' wall where I shelve lumber and my 'long' tools (i.e. CMS). I also put my window-style heat pump in this partition wall (HOA says AC can't show on front/sides of house; and yes, I read the bylaws before I bought and I'm fine with it!!!). I just open the car stall overhead door to shed heat when I cool the shop. I blocked one o/h door with shelving, but I can get to the latch to open it if needed. Third o/h door is fully functional, and I can even get a car inside if tools are rolled out of the way. I still wish I had another linear 10' of wall space.

I'll 2nd the 230VAC outlet recommendations, even if you don't need them immediately. I would even put one in a floor box in the middle of the space. You may be on a budget now, but it will never be any cheaper to install electrical service than during construction.

Since you're headed for Alabama, I'll also assume your shop will have a slab floor. If budget allows, I'd rough in a PVC dust collection header under the slab for the largest size you can reasonably foresee. It's $200-$300 of pipe that you never have to look at or let get in the way. It won't block o/h doors, lights, air lines, shelving, or cabinets. You can terminate the pipe into a coupling set at floor level and plug it until you need it. Like electrical service, it will never get any cheaper. I didn't think of it and wish I had.

And, if possible make your shop ceiling higher than 8'. Mine are 10' and it is SO nice not to ding the sheet rock or smash a light every time I move a board.

Edit: The partition wall also protects Professor Dr. SWMBO's car from dust and (saints preserve us) scratches (I'll get blamed even if CSI finds embedded shopping cart chrome in the scratch). ....If Momma ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy.

[John K Jordan]

A lot depends on what you will use the shop for and how you work. If you only make chairs using hand tools your needs will be different that if you want to build kitchen cabinets or only turn pens.

I like high windows since they not only preserve wall space and let in light, keep trespassers from easily peering in and seeing valuable things. That said, I designed my shop for 8 windows but ended up with only 4 since I decided I wanted the wall space more than the light. (I use with even high shelves I have to stand on something access.) I did put in double steel doors to open up in nice weather and let me watch the llamas.

When deciding window placement consider the building orientation and the sun.

Even a small porch is real nice, especially when it is pouring rain.

I paneled with plywood so I can mount things securely anywhere.

Depending on your location a security system might be nice. I installed a video monitoring system I can access with my phone even from the cabin in the Swiss Alps.

I saved $1100 by installing the HVAC system myself, plenum, filters, returns, ducts, diffusers, wiring, everything except soldering the lines and charging. HVAC is the best thing ever for a old man's shop!

Don't forget extra lights. I like to wire a few outlets at major tools (lathe, bandsaw, etc) controlled by a switch for task lights that I can turn on all at once.

Good insulation!

I added a small office space for desk, books, etc. No cable TV but WiFi and DVD player.

My shop is a detached building 250 from my house. When running underground power to the shop I ran an ethernet cable in conduit. I also ran an extra 2" conduit, empty except for a rope.

I have concrete floors and use anti-fatibue mats where I might stand a while, lathe, bandsaw, etc.

I use keypad deadbolts on the doors so I don't have to carry a key.

Garage doors: consider industrial. I used heavy duty insulated industrial garage doors in the maintenance area of my shop. These turned out to be the same cost as residential doors, and were thicker , stronger and had more insulation. Used the same track system. To save money I installed the openers myself. In fact, that's the best way to reduce costs - do as much as possible yourself even though it takes longer. I did all mine from the dirt to the wiring except for the concrete surfacing and roof trusses/steel.

If running power, add more capacity than you think you will need. Put in a larger breaker box than you think you will ever use. The incremental cost is insignificant compared to the shop and tools. To help with wiring, HVAC ducts, dust collection, and even windows and even door placement I planned the layout of everything inside before I even got done leveling the site, made drawing of where the tablesaw would go, dust collection to the lathes, etc. That way I got outlets exactly where I needed them the first time, optimized HVAC, etc. Required some thought (and lots of iterations!) but it really helped.

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

For the slight cost difference, put all your receptacles on 20 Amp service. I would also put all the lighting on 20 amp circuits in case you want to use that line in the future for a power tool. You won't regret it.

Check your building codes with regard to the sink and toilet.

My shop is serviced by the same A/C that supplies the house. I simply placed replaceable MERV 13 filters on all the air returns in home made filter boxes on the inlet of the air return ducts. I change these filters at least once a year depending on shop usage. We've had no dust issues in the duct work nor in the house.

[Sean Tracey]

For the love of God, man, Listen to Me.

Do not skip the toilet.

Saves going into house covered in saw dust or paint or what have you.
Men get older, frequency can change. Even become extreme. After coffee, annoyance can be surpasssed. Aggrevation will be reached.

Don't think 1 or even 2 window units will work that great in a three car garage especially in Alabama. Depends on the garage size and especially the garage doors.

[Doug Garson]

I'm surprised no one has suggested skylights for added light and possibly ventilation or a curtain wall between the shop and parking area to keep dust off the car but allow access to the parking area when needed.

[Ray Newman]

Think very carefully about: (a) how much you want to spend; (b) how much you can afford to spend; and (c) how much you can really afford to spend. Moving expenses, plus building new (and possible landscaping and new furniture/appliances, etc.) can quickly add up.

Toilet in garage/shop area. Check on building codes if it is "doable". Some areas do not allow it as they fear it will be turned in living/rental space. If "doable", then check with the tax assessor if and by how it will raise your taxes. Based on my experiences and that of others do not readily accept what the realtor or builder say about this as they are in business to sell/build.

Insulate the house/garage very well. In the long run good insulation or more than the minimum required, is cheap insurance against increasing utility costs. My shop and house are framed with 2x6s with the maximum amount of insulation possible. Did not add that much more to cost as the labor cost was the same, the cost increase was for the higher R-value insulation, which has since been recouped.

Windows, the more you add, the more wall/storage/cabinet space you give up. South and west facing windows will let in heat in the summer. Like others posted/mentioned, my shop windows are up high and are double paned/insulated/tinted.

Skylights, my previous house and garage /shophad them. Good skylights are not cheap and are an easy way for thieves to break in. And eventually, they will leak. Theses small diameter skylights look interesting, but have no idea as to how much light they actually let in.

Electrical outlets 52" above floor so sheet goods will not block access.

If one side is for her car and two sides are for your shop, how and where are you going to store things that normally are in the garage? If you are not careful, things can/will migrate into the shop. Think about walling off the shop.

[Van Huskey]

Just a note on the toilet. Build a room at the garage to house entrance as a "mudroom" include a 1/2 bath. It will increase the value of the home more than one in the garage and will get used more and a "mudroom" is invaluable if one or more people in the house either work or play outside in the yard.