New Woodshop Build

[Charles P. Wright]

We’ll be installing outlets at 42” above the floor and roughly 4-5’ intervals around the perimeter and all circuits will be GFCI protected.

Maybe bump those outlets up above 48", so you can lean sheet goods against the wall?

[John K Jordan]

Overwhelming response has been keep the wood floor, NO paint ... I'm going to work on it.

I think solid wood flooring would be nice but a good coat of paint would look good, protect the plywood from spills, and make cleanup easier. There are epoxy floor paints that can be applied over concrete or wood. One recommendation is to paint the wood first with acrylic latex primer. (Ask your paint shop.) Any good porch paint should also work. You can always add solid or laminate wood flooring later.

I recently purchased a 10x20' portable building for my beekeeping stuff and plan to prep and paint the plywood flooring. (It's insulated and I'm installing a through-the-wall heat pump as well!)

JKJ

[Brian W Evans]

Jerry,

Congratulations on the new shop! I think you're right to go with LEDs. You'll make the extra money back in a few years, anyway.

Since you're wiring from scratch, I suggest 20 amp breakers for your 110v outlets. Some equipment pulls a fair amount on startup (my portable compressor, for example) and this would allow you to run a couple of things on each circuit without worrying about tripping a breaker.

I will also second the idea of making things mobile. I really like the Portamate PM-2500 mobile bases. They're overkill for a lot of things but they are smooth and solid. The PM-3500 is also very nice, but only necessary for things in the half to three-quarter ton range.

[John Sanford]

Maybe bump those outlets up above 48", so you can lean sheet goods against the wall?

This. You want those outlets above 48".

[Jerry Frank]

Hello to all ... this is an update to my original "new woodshop" posting. I received lots of comments, all good stuff, thanks to all for your time!

Many comments were directed at my plans to paint the floor, probably a light tan, which I hoped would 'hide' some of the dust. The general opinion which, by the way, was how my wife felt too, was to apply a 'wood' finish, NO paint. Well, I decided to use a golden oak stain and a water based polyurethane. I filled the nail holes, sanded the floor, applied the stain with a pad applicator and rolled on (3) coats of poly using a 1/4" nap roller.

I just completed the work and I've attached a few photos taken yesterday, before I made any new messes.

20170921_182145.jpg20170921_182206.jpg20170921_182251.jpg

I'm sure I will get comments about finishing the floor ahead of the rest of the interior fit-out.

Yes, the floor is usually the last thing done, but consider the following ... 1) I'm waiting on my electrician and I needed to get something done, got a schedule to keep; 2) the bare ply was getting too marked up with dirt and boot marks; and, 3) as I complete the shop build, I will not be doing anything that will be any different from the work I will do in the years to come. So, all things considered, I didn't see any problem finishing the floor ahead of the fit-out. I'm pleased with the result.

Next up ... milling a 2x6 wall base with a 1/2" rabbit and chamfer along the top. It’s 8’-6” from the floor to the bottom of the roof truss. So, to avoid having to piece a 6" strip at the top of each sheet I will fasten the base to the studs and then set each 4x8 sheet into the rabbit. This will raise the top of the sheet close to the ceiling line and I will then use 2x2 material to mill something to cover the last bit of gap.

I’ve decided to finish the walls with 7/16” OSB. I was thinking I would seal the OSB with the same poly I used on the floor. Unfortunately, the OSB available around here has a rough and smooth side, and of course the smooth side is covered with black lettering indicating the material spec. So, looks like I will be painting with a white or off white color.

I will post additional updates as the work proceeds and again, thanks to all for your time!

[Jim Becker]

The floor looks great, Jerry! It's pretty kewel that simple plywood can be made to look pretty grand with a finish like that. I agree with painting the OSB...it isn't really designed to be exposed (at least the variety commonly available at lumber yards and home centers) and it will help with your lighting coverage as well as keep things neat and "less splinter prone". Half my shop has OSB on the walls and the paint was a no-brainer.

[Chris Irving]

Looks great so far! As far as the led lighting, I just built a shop similar to yours but with higher ceilings and went with 110 watt led highbays that put out a whopping 13,700 lumens per light
I put them on a dimmer for when I don't need all the light
The lights were right at $100 per light so that's 55,000 lumens for $400, you might ask your electrician about them
Have fun out there!

[Alan Lightstone]

Looks great so far! As far as the led lighting, I just built a shop similar to yours but with higher ceilings and went with 110 watt led highbays that put out a whopping 13,700 lumens per light
I put them on a dimmer for when I don't need all the light
The lights were right at $100 per light so that's 55,000 lumens for $400, you might ask your electrician about them
Have fun out there!

How high a ceiling is necessary for high-bay lights to make sense?

[John K Jordan]

How high a ceiling is necessary for high-bay lights to make sense?

Alan, my 2 cents: I put 4-bulb T5-HO high-bay lights in my shop, 7 fixtures in the wood area, each fixture with an advertised 20,000 lumens (5000/bulb @ 54 watts). I have 9' ceilings. I also have a couple elsewhere in the shop, for example one in my 12x12' welding room, also with a 9' ceiling.

They are very bright, some say too bright. However, the electronic ballasts have a built-in feature to allow only two of the four bulbs to come on at once which is enough light for almost everything I do. However, when I occasionally want more light I turn on the other two bulbs.

I don't think they are too bright and I don't think the ceiling is too low. The light is spread evenly by the fixtures. If I had to do it over again tomorrow I'd use the same fixtures. As we get older our eyes need more light. I hate doing detailed work in dim light.

JKJ

[Steven Green]

I put a wood floor in my shop when I built it a few years ago, love it never looked back. Got the lighting from a plan on here and it's very bright and even.

[Jerry Frank]

Hello Steven ... I think the wood floor is the right choice as long as it's built well. I had the contractor use a double layer of 5/8" ply and my floor is really solid, doesn't flex. What I'm not to sure about is the longevity of the water base polyurethane, but if it wears along walkways it should be easy to touch up.

Here's the light fixtures I purchased ... [http://www.bjs.com/lights-of-america...product.287663]

These are rated for 4500 lumens at 40 watts. I'm going to make what ever mod's are needed to screw them directly to the ceiling. My ceiling is at 8'-6" so no room to hang from chains.

[Mike Wilkins]

Looking good my man. Another vote here for painted OSB; a lighter color will liven up the interior and make it a little easier to attach cabinets/racks to the walls (into the studs of course). Thanks for the photos.

[Jim Andrew]

Latex paint on waferboard used to lead to waferization, which means wafers come loose from the panel, wonder if they still have that problem? If so, maybe kilz or some other product should be used before painting.

[Jerry Frank]

Hello Jim ... I suspect you are correct about latex paint raising the chips. I've been thinking I would use oil based "Kilz Complete" with top coat of a latex semi-gloss paint. The OSB at Home Depot has a strip of black lettering down the center, about 8" wide by the 8' sheet length, with the material spec's. I'll probably spot prime over that, then prime the whole sheet and then apply a top coat. When I get to that point I'll take some photos and describe what material and method I use.