The Perfect Size Shop

[Rob Will]

Lets say you are a serious hobbiest or part-time pro with full size tools like a cabinet saw, jointer, bandsaw and planer. You have some sort of dust collection system. You build cabinets and furniture, whatever turns your crank.

Let's say you have the space and you are building your shop all over again.....how big would it be?

Remember you are spending your own money, so what would you REALLY do if you could do it again? Plese pick the closest size.

Rob

[Anchor Sarslow]

I think I see rich people.. !

[Darrin Vanden Bosch]

I voted 30x40 as that is the size I am currently building but we'll have to wait and see if it is indeed big enough.

Darrin

[Paul Greathouse]

Rob

I built a 30X50 and the only thing I should have done different is, I should have went ahead and built the lean-to off the back of it at the same time that I built the shop.

I had about 3500 bdft of hardwood sawed after the shop was built and I now have the select stuff, roughly 2/3 of it stored in the shop. If I had the lean-to I could store it there instead. Once I can get the lumber out I will have plenty of space.

I recently built a full set of kitchen & bath cabinets for a small house in the shop. It was tight but doable. I was only utilizing about 700 of the 1500sqft. I don't have all the big machines I plan on getting yet. Just the cabinet shop basics so far (tablesaw, CMS, router table, planer, EZSmart table & guide sytem). I can see where everything will fit and still have ample room for assembling a full set of cabinets after the stored wood is removed.

[Jim Dunn]

I voted 24' by 30'. It seems to reflect the size of my shop with a little more wiggle room to get around the table-saw. (If I had a bigger shop then my wife would insist on more "clean" closets and I'd be back to the smaller size any way.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Well....I voted 30x40. The shop I have now is 30x22 with a full bathroom & closet with shelves to store stuff that I don't want covered with saw dust. Some time I hope to add on a room for spraying & to store wood so it would be about 16x16 to add on. It's amazing how small it gets when you start setting up machines, storing lumber & making work benches with storage.

[Thomas Knighton]

I voted 40x60 because bigger is almost always better (specific exemptions being proctologist's finger, etc.)

Tom

[Billy Chambless]

I voted 12x20 because a) that's twice the size of the shop I'm about to move into, and b) you said I'm spending my own money.

With that said, though, for "semi-pro", I'd probably really go at least 20 x 28 in hopes of bringing in enough of other people's money to pay for it!

[Bob Feeser]

I voted 40x60. By the time you cardon off sections, you would have just the right amount of space. So what sections would I have?

1. A refinishing room separate from the dusty shop.
2. A room on the outer wall, with celotex insulation lining, not too big, that I could create my own airtight kiln in. My sawyer has such a room in his barn, he stacks green wood, turns on a blast heater to get the ball rolling, then leaves a couple dehumidifiers running. The heat from the motors is all he needs to cure the wood is what he says, and he does it full time.
3. Of course the main shop having plenty of room to move around, and permanent stations for everything. A couple of assembly tables that are boxed for perfect flatness. Also contains an air draft box/room for the dust collection, like we had in high school, with a shaker switch for the fan, and square ducts all the way to the floor everywhere, so you could even take pure dust pile sweepings and not have to use a dustpan. ( I had a neighbor who was buying those used from high school woodshops for about $300)
4. A separate section garage door accessible from the outside, that is not normally heated but with a blast heater available, for storing wood with enough room to store the portable saw mill.
5. An office and drawing room, that doubles as a showroom, and a place to store finish pieces to get them out of the shop before delivery. (I'm not sure how that would work???)
6. A bathroom

Well that is it. I guess I don't dream too big do I ?

[Joe Mioux]

I said 24x30. I don't think i would want to pay more property taxes on it than that sized building. My garage/shop is 24x32 and has to be shared with loml vehicle. I like the space.

[Rod Sheridan]

I also selected 24 X 30, which is larger than my present shop.

Regards, Rod.

[Steve Rowe]

I picked the biggest because, wood, tools and machinery are not solids they are gases. They expand to fill all available space and conform to the containers in which they are placed. Hence, you can't possibly build a shop large enough.
Steve

[Al Willits]

I went with 30x40 as you said it was my money and that's about all I could justify, other wise I'd have gone with 40x60 and sub divided into a sanding, finishing/spraying and assembly room.
Prob use some sort of moveable wall system.
Also a small office for computor and sound system, and a bathroom too

Bigger is better...especially if you don't have to pay for it.

Al

[Jim Becker]

I picked 1200 square feet...I could live happily in that, but more space, at least for storage, etc., would be really nice to have if it could happen, even if on a second level as I have now. What I long for presently is a dedicated finishing room. But that isn't going to happen unless I put in an elevator or build another building to house the gardening tools, supplies and tractor...at least as far as Professor Dr. SWMBO is concerned...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I voted for 24'x30' as that is the size I have and I wouldn't want to put more money in it either in construction costs or heating expenses in our winters here.