Buying a house, getting a new workshop ....

[Randy Red Bemont]

I would highly recommend heat/ac. I would suggest using a mini-split system. You will have unlimited heat in the winter and cool dry air in the summer. Great for you, your wood and equipment. They operate on just about nothing for electricity. I am installing one on my new shop that will be under construction shortly.

Red

[Jim Andrew]

In New York, I'd want some wall insulation. For concrete walls you want a closed cell foam, so don't fir out and put fiberglass in the walls. You may have enough ceiling insulation with the spray foam on the ceiling. You will want something to attach your DC piping to, and probably conduit for wiring, so think I would skip the suspended ceiling. I have added drops for power to machines, and redone the DC piping 2 times since first installing it in the last 12 years since setting up my shop, and I have an attic to access my wiring etc. There are companies who specialize in cutting concrete if you need a hole drilled, or window cut out.

[Mike Wilkins]

Couple of years ago Fine Woodworking magazine had an article in its annual Shops issue where one of the editors put up framed walls and placed foam insulation boards between the studs. It may have been 2 X 4 that were anchored to the masonry walls. He then covered them with either drywall or plywood. Very informative read. He also added a wood floor for foot comfort and protecting any tools you drop on the floor (it will happen sooner than later believe me).
Good luck on the purchase and let us know the outcome. Folks on this site love shop photos.

[Rich Sabulsky]

Hi Tony -
I have a basement shop as well - concrete floor and concrete and block walls. The biggest issues for me have been moisture / humidity control, and storage space on the walls. I wound up framing in 3 of the walls just for the purpose of mounting cabinets and pegboards of various sizes. Consider your strategy for dehumidifying if you have walls below grade - moisture does love to come through concrete even if you're not seeing water puddles. My shop is 40x20 and the largest household dehumidifier I could find struggles to keep up at times.

I'll also agree that as much as I'd love natural light, the shop windows present a very tempting break-in point for the bad guys. Considering the investment into tools and supplies I've made, they just arent worth the risk to me, even in a "nice" neighborhood. I also replaced my windowed door with a solid steel one for the same reason.

Enjoy moving into your shop!

[Tony Roun]

OK folks I have an update. We did the engineers inspection earlier this week, so I had a chance to walk through the house again, and spent some more time to get exact dimensions and such. I was mistaken with my initial details, the ceiling height is lower than I originally thought in my proposed workshop under the garage. The ceiling height to the bottom of the I-beams is 7'2", not the 8' I thought it was when I went in the first time. The 8' height is how far it is to the bottom of the garage concrete floor. Would that height be a deal breaker for you if this was your 'forever' workshop? It does have me thinking long and hard about it. The room size is 19' x 23' so it is big enough for me. I do have one alternative place in the house I could consider for a work-shop, which is that there is a storage room in the basement under the unheated sun room. That room is connected to the basement, and has an 8' ceiling height and measures 12'x22'. I could use either for my shop, but the 200 amp panel is just a few feet from the original workshop under the garage, and about 50' from the room under the sun room. Curious everyone's thoughts on ceiling height. Thanks so much for your feedback!!

[Jim Becker]

Material handling and larger projects might be challenged by the lower ceiling limit. You might also find yourself smacking your hands on the ceiling unless you're "very vertically challenged". 12' is somewhat narrow, but you have to weigh that against they type of work you anticipate doing vs the ceiling height. My shop ceiling is 8" and I use pretty much every bit of it plus have many of the lights up between the I-joists so they have minimal effect on what goes on in the shop from a physical movement perspective.