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Thread: New Garage/Shop

  1. #1

    New Garage/Shop

    I have been lurking here for quite a while, but I thought I would come out of the shadows as it were and share some pictures of my new garage/workshop. It is 22x32 and other than the concrete and a couple of guys for 4 hours to help with the trusses I have pretty much done the whole thing by myself. It has taken a lot longer than I thought it would, and to be honest I am kind of tired of it despite having a long way to go. All in all it has been an interesting task with interesting problems. After the shell is finished I will putting a partition wall between the two overhead doors. This will give me a 22x18 workshop and my wife a 13 x 22 parking stall. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions about the process!

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    That's going to be a very nice space to work in! It's similar in size to my current shop, actually. I look forward to seeing you move to completion.

    BTW, projects like this ALWAYS take longer (and unfortunately, cost more) than original anticipated. It's a natural law or something...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #3
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    Looks like you're doing a good job.

    It is good that you have windows for cross ventilation.

    A suggestion? You may want to consider adding a skylight or two. I have two in my workshop and it really lights the place up nicely. I boxed in the light shaft for the skylights and added a small door for access to the attic. I have a couple of lights in the attic that I can switch on when I'm up there.

    Hopefully you made the ceiling higher than eight feet. It makes moving plywood and framing lumber easier.

    My workshop is 24 x 36 and I lament that I didn't make it bigger or didn't consider adding a second story to it. I insulated it and sheet rocked it. I also put quad receptacles at hip height every 6 or 8 feet plus ran a couple 220 lines at opposite ends of the shop.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark morgan View Post
    I have been lurking here for quite a while, but I thought I would come out of the shadows as it were and share some pictures of my new garage/workshop. It is 22x32 and other than the concrete and a couple of guys for 4 hours to help with the trusses I have pretty much done the whole thing by myself. It has taken a lot longer than I thought it would, and to be honest I am kind of tired of it despite having a long way to go. All in all it has been an interesting task with interesting problems. After the shell is finished I will putting a partition wall between the two overhead doors. This will give me a 22x18 workshop and my wife a 13 x 22 parking stall. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions about the process!
    Good clean fun! I built mine myself just like you, with a few guys with a crane to put up trusses and roof panels, someone to pour/surface the concrete, and a guy to charge the heat pump with freon - everything else from the dirt work to the light switches. (I tell people I built it with my bare hands but I lie, I used tools. Like you said, it took FAR longer than it would have if I'd had more than a crew of one (me). My motto is "You can't do everything the same day!" Hang in there: it is tremendously satisfying to work in a space you designed and built yourself. And the cost is SO much less! If you start getting burned out take a break - what I did was move a bandsaw and lathe in as soon as I had power so I could take a break and play when I got tired of insulating and putting up ceiling panels.

    Hey, where do you live? Maybe someone close would come and help with siding or something.

    BTW, mine is post and beam with 2x6 stud wall fill, 100 amps underground, industrial insulated garage doors, 24x62 overall. I do wish I had more space, but besides woodworking I have a small machine shop, welding shop, farm maintenance, electronics bench, office, and farm animal care areas inside too - if just for wood I'd be bouncing around in the extra space!) I am hoping to add an extension for a small kitchen and bathroom/shower after I save up some more money.

    You are going to enjoy it so much! And it looks like it has a wonderful outside space and close to the house too. Oops, might be harder to hide! - I built my shop near my barn so if I don't answer the phone my Lovely Bride has to walk down the hill to find me.

    Oh, one suggestion, something I did at my shop which has made life easier: I installed keypad deadbolts on the entry doors so I never have to carry a key with me. And I'd probably put a walk-through door in the partition wall.

    Be sure to post more photos, outside and in, and a floor plan with tool placement too. Lots of people are interested in that.

    JKJ

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    SF Bay Area, CA
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    15,332
    What Jim said. Humans are way to optimistic with time and money when it comes to building shops and homes--if you don't do such things for a living!

    Looks like a great space...keep the pics coming...you'll get LOTS of opinions here but then again, that is why you started this thread, right?! hahaha!

    BTW, Welcome to the Creek!
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Congratulations on your new shop. Too bad you will have to share that space.
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
    I Support the Second Amendment of the US Constitution

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Aloha, Oregon
    Posts
    6
    Looks good. Word of caution with wife's parking - She might see what you're up to and join in - Mine did and although I'm glad to have the company, the shop "shrunk" by half - Now need to build another one.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    That's going to be a very nice space to work in! It's similar in size to my current shop, actually. I look forward to seeing you move to completion.
    BTW, projects like this ALWAYS take longer (and unfortunately, cost more) than original anticipated. It's a natural law or something...
    Yep, I am about two grand over budget too....

    Quote Originally Posted by Brice Rogers View Post
    Looks like you're doing a good job.

    It is good that you have windows for cross ventilation.

    A suggestion? You may want to consider adding a skylight or two. I have two in my workshop and it really lights the place up nicely. I boxed in the light shaft for the skylights and added a small door for access to the attic. I have a couple of lights in the attic that I can switch on when I'm up there.

    Hopefully you made the ceiling higher than eight feet. It makes moving plywood and framing lumber easier.

    My workshop is 24 x 36 and I lament that I didn't make it bigger or didn't consider adding a second story to it. I insulated it and sheet rocked it. I also put quad receptacles at hip height every 6 or 8 feet plus ran a couple 220 lines at opposite ends of the shop.
    The walls are 9 feet, I am going to fur the ceiling down a couple of inches but it will still be better than 8'6" Sky lights would be nice, but those are storage trusses and I need the storage! 22x32 was as big as I could make it where I live.

    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Good clean fun! I built mine myself just like you, with a few guys with a crane to put up trusses and roof panels, someone to pour/surface the concrete, and a guy to charge the heat pump with freon - everything else from the dirt work to the light switches. (I tell people I built it with my bare hands but I lie, I used tools. Like you said, it took FAR longer than it would have if I'd had more than a crew of one (me). My motto is "You can't do everything the same day!" Hang in there: it is tremendously satisfying to work in a space you designed and built yourself. And the cost is SO much less! If you start getting burned out take a break - what I did was move a bandsaw and lathe in as soon as I had power so I could take a break and play when I got tired of insulating and putting up ceiling panels.

    Hey, where do you live? Maybe someone close would come and help with siding or something.

    BTW, mine is post and beam with 2x6 stud wall fill, 100 amps underground, industrial insulated garage doors, 24x62 overall. I do wish I had more space, but besides woodworking I have a small machine shop, welding shop, farm maintenance, electronics bench, office, and farm animal care areas inside too - if just for wood I'd be bouncing around in the extra space!) I am hoping to add an extension for a small kitchen and bathroom/shower after I save up some more money.

    You are going to enjoy it so much! And it looks like it has a wonderful outside space and close to the house too. Oops, might be harder to hide! - I built my shop near my barn so if I don't answer the phone my Lovely Bride has to walk down the hill to find me.

    Oh, one suggestion, something I did at my shop which has made life easier: I installed keypad deadbolts on the entry doors so I never have to carry a key with me. And I'd probably put a walk-through door in the partition wall.

    Be sure to post more photos, outside and in, and a floor plan with tool placement too. Lots of people are interested in that.

    JKJ
    Good Idea on the keypad dead bolt. I will be putting a door in the partition. I plan to use the parking area for finishing when the car isn't there. As for hiding from my bride, I work over-nights so I do most of my woodworking at 3 am. I can promise she isn't looking for me then.

    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Padilla View Post
    What Jim said. Humans are way to optimistic with time and money when it comes to building shops and homes--if you don't do such things for a living!

    Looks like a great space...keep the pics coming...you'll get LOTS of opinions here but then again, that is why you started this thread, right?! hahaha!

    BTW, Welcome to the Creek!
    If I can build a cabinet in an hour I should be able to build a shop in a week! lol

    Quote Originally Posted by Von Bickley View Post
    Congratulations on your new shop. Too bad you will have to share that space.
    The 22x18 space will be far better than what I have now, but I would take the whole building if she would let me!

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Brown 2 View Post
    Looks good. Word of caution with wife's parking - She might see what you're up to and join in - Mine did and although I'm glad to have the company, the shop "shrunk" by half - Now need to build another one.
    If she hasn't in the 11 years we have been married, I doubt she will now. I do think she would enjoy turning, but she won't try it.
    Last edited by mark morgan; 07-20-2017 at 2:14 AM.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post

    Be sure to post more photos, outside and in, and a floor plan with tool placement too. Lots of people are interested in that.

    JKJ
    More photos will be coming as I get off my butt and make progress. I have been playing with the grizzly shop planner for a year now, this is about the best I have come up with. After I get the tools in there, I will probably change my mind. Most things will have to be on mobile bases. The long counter top to the left is the miter saw. I have a smaller Jointer than that, but thinking of the future. Also, while I have a table saw, I will be ordering a new one as soon as the shop is finished. The one in the picture is 52 inch rip, but I am leaning toward shorter rails just to save floor space.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by mark morgan; 07-20-2017 at 3:10 AM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by mark morgan View Post
    ...I have been playing with the grizzly shop planner for a year now, this is about the best I have come up with. After I get the tools in there, I will probably change my mind. ...
    Looks pretty good to me. If you can move the jointer and saw a few inches (or end up getting a shorter saw) you might put them closer to the garage door and just open the door when you need to work on long boards. Depends on how you work and what you make - I use my saw mostly for shorter things. I have some double doors I can open for long things and actually adjust the position of the doors before framing them to allow the extended infeed/outfeed if needed.

    A lot of people use the shop planning software to good effect. Getting the plan locked down before wiring and lighting can make things a lot easier! I used a different method with paper and cutouts that I found easier to visualize things. If you are interested, I made some notes here - there are some other good ideas in this thread and others you can find with the search box (if you haven't seen them):

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...33#post2551833

    That looks like a lathe in the corner, right? If so, yea! I might put it nearer the door but that's just me.

    JKJ

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Looks pretty good to me. If you can move the jointer and saw a few inches (or end up getting a shorter saw) you might put them closer to the garage door and just open the door when you need to work on long boards. Depends on how you work and what you make - I use my saw mostly for shorter things. I have some double doors I can open for long things and actually adjust the position of the doors before framing them to allow the extended infeed/outfeed if needed.

    A lot of people use the shop planning software to good effect. Getting the plan locked down before wiring and lighting can make things a lot easier! I used a different method with paper and cutouts that I found easier to visualize things. If you are interested, I made some notes here - there are some other good ideas in this thread and others you can find with the search box (if you haven't seen them):

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...33#post2551833

    That looks like a lathe in the corner, right? If so, yea! I might put it nearer the door but that's just me.

    JKJ
    You're right about opening the door for longer boards, that is part of the reason I am considering shorter rails. In that layout the saw is 5 feet from the door. with the way I work that is enough for most things I will be cutting. I do make a bed now and again though, or a large table so it would be nice to be able to just pop open the door. That is a lathe, it is back there because I don't really use it much. I am thinking about building a mobile cabinet to put it on though, that way I could move it near the door when I do turn.

  12. #12
    20227792_1809029249126235_952142018_o.jpgStarted working on the soffits, didn't get too far it was over 100 degrees today. I also seem to have a wasp problem which is making working on a ladder worrisome.

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