Help where should I put my workshop?

[jason lambert]

I just bought a new house and it has a 24X24 gurage attached to it. The celing is 7.5' and I feel a bit cramped in it, ductwork hanging down, etc but it is heated which is nice my tools will not rust and are close for home remodeling projects.

I am going to build in the back a detached 24x30 gurage to use for the cars and yard stuff. But I am wondering if I should just make that my shop? The troubel is I think I will be less likely to work in it if it is cold and not attached. I tend to work a hour or two at a time so even if I put heat in it by the time it heats up I will be done. The up side is it will be bigger and new.

[John Keeton]

Jason, I would probably have been more in favor of the heated space you now have given your short bursts of shop time, but the 7.5' ceiling would be a pain for me. I'm afraid I would beat it to death moving pieces of 8' stock, plywood, etc. Not to mention the problems of dust being carried into the house thru traffic, hvac, or air movement. Putting heat in a shop is a necessity, but sounds like an expensive proposition for short shop cycles. Guess it depends on the budget somewhat. On the new structure, definitely go with 9' or better ceiling - 10' or 11' if the design will accomodate it.

[Steve Kohn]

I would go with using the new building as a shop. For all the reasons mentioned before.

Also like suggested before, I would design it as a normal 9 foot ceiling and then raise the collar ties as much as possible. Usually this is 1/3 of the way up the rafter.

A little more cost for drywall, but then you have the 11 foot ceiling height.

Also I have a gas fired and ceiling mounted Bull Dawg heater. I turn that up, also turn on the Jet air cleaner and have my 30X30 shop warmer in 15 minutes. When I am not working in the shop the heater is set to 45-50 degrees.

[Jim Becker]

Jason, given the choice, I'd always choose the separate outbuilding for the workshop, especially when you can purpose build it with higher ceilings, etc. Yes, you do have to walk out there, but I have not really found that to be an issue. If you properly insulate it, in "our" climate, it will not take that long to bring up to temp in the winter, especially if you put in a heating system that you can idle at, say, 50º, when you are not in the shop.

[Peter Quadarella]

I'd love my own little seperate shop, I say seperate.

[Steven Hardy]

I just bought a new house and it has a 24X24 gurage attached to it. The celing is 7.5' and I feel a bit cramped in it, ductwork hanging down, etc but it is heated which is nice my tools will not rust and are close for home remodeling projects.

I am going to build in the back a detached 24x30 gurage to use for the cars and yard stuff. But I am wondering if I should just make that my shop? The troubel is I think I will be less likely to work in it if it is cold and not attached. I tend to work a hour or two at a time so even if I put heat in it by the time it heats up I will be done. The up side is it will be bigger and new.

7.5 is plenty high...In fact I believe that is the standard height for basements, Perhaps there is a way to minimise the impact of the ducts ,such as moving them ?

[Von Bickley]

My vote would be for a separate building for the workshop.....

[Jim O'Dell]

I thought I had posted to this thread while at work. Must have gotten interrupted and didn't get back to it.
I have 7' 7" ceilings and they are a pain!!! With the cyclone I had to devise a way to get the main trunk lines up in the "attic" to be out of the way as much as possible. And I had to raise a section at my double entry door to have a way to store sheet goods vertically (Not enough room to store horizontally). Do the separate building for the shop. Especially in your climate, walking out to get to the car in bad weather would not be fun. And the LOYL would certainly let you know that everytime it rained or snowed!!
I agree with all the dust problems too. I can usually shake off most of the dust by the time I walk 100 feet to the house. Jim.

[Craig Summers]

Can you raise the roof of the existing garage? or is there more living space above or would that destroy the achitecture of the house? (there were no pics)

If it works, might be less expensive to jack the existing roof up 2' or 3', and install new 10' tall studs for the walls.

This way you keep the proximity/heating you want, and gain the critical head clearance.

Just a thought

[Victor Stearns]

Seperate Building. We built ours seperate. Keeps the dust, any fumes/smells and noise away from the main house. The LOML likes that she is no longer sharing her parking space with the wood equipment. I love that I do not HAVE to clean up every night. And the short walk, 80 feet or so is not bad, even in the winter. We keep a path cleared to the shop at all times. Just in case we need the generator! There is truely nothing like having the dedicated space, that we designed to do what we do best, make sawdust.
Good Luck
Victor

[Dewey Torres]

Stay separate... make the ceiling height (and what ever else you want) to the dimensions that you prefer... put the heating in later (or not) and enjoy your "man cave"... Kidding with the man cave comment but will allow you to get in the "zone" and stay there.
Dewey

[Don Bergren]

I vote for separate too. The dust stays outside, which makes life easier and keeps the house cleaner happier.

It sure is nice to be able to pull your vehicles into an attached garage to bring the grocery's into the house during bad weather. I suspect that during the week there will be more trips made to the vehicles than to the workshop, which is really important when it's cold, wet or snowing.

[chris del]

A detached shop IMO is the only way to go!!! No dust in the house and no noise!!!!! My wife works shifts so when she is sleeping, I can be in the shop! Sometimes I work in the shop untill 1 or 2 am with the family sleeping in the house.
As far as heat goes.... I heat 24/7/365. The way I look at it, 25k to build the shop, 25k in tools....whats is another $800 or $900 a year to heat???? Seem kinda silly to me that we spend a fortune on tools and then let condensation rust the hell out of them.

I dont have the time to wait for the shop to warm up when I am in the mood.

Chris

[Art Mulder]

My oh my, all these people singing the praises of a separate shop.

Well I'm going to be contrary. I love having my shop in the house. In my case, it is the basement. It's warm in winter, cool in summer, I can hear the phone, I can hear my kids, I'm close at hand in emergency, I can run downstairs to the shop for 5 minutes to check something if necessary...

I'm glad you guys like your separate shop. I love having min attached to the house and would not want to change it.

Just goes to show there are different strokes for different folks.

[Gene E Miller]

Greetings & Salutations,

I vote for a seperate shop. I have an metal pole barn that
is 30x50 and has a 16x50 covered lean to on the side.

The back 20 x 30 is my shop that is fully insulated and I have
a 18,000 BTU 220 AC and use a 30,000 BTU infrared propane
heater for heat.

I turn the heat off at night unless it is supposed to get into
the teens or below otherwise by the time I get into the shop
in the morning it is hardly ever below 50 degrees and I only
have to run the heater on high for maybe 30 minutes and by
that time I am usually sweating lightly anyway.

Just outside of the wall that seperates my shop fromt he rest
of the building I have a full 10x10 bathroom and plan on using
the 10x10 area just opposite that to make a finishing room.

But if you insulate well depending on the part of the country
you are in it should not be a problem.

Thats my vote anyway.

Gene