New Shop Photos

[davionics]

Looks like I didn't shrink the photos small enough so I'll have to make several topics... I'm very open to suggestions and comments and criticism so don't hold back.

I had a small two car garage that I used for a shop 26 years ago but other than that I've moved all over the world with the Air Force and I always had to make do with what I ended up renting. Bottom line is I never had what i wanted. So now that I'm not moving around anymore, I'm building a detached garage/shop that I'll be able to keep for my own. the front section will be the garage and the back will the wood shop.I had a contractor build the shell and I'm going to do all the interior walls, elec. etc. and so far so good.

The first photo we'll call the North wall. a 36" double door directly behind the first garage door for easy loading and unloading. Oh yeah, the total garage/shop is 1900sf and about 850sf of actual dedicated shop space... 11' ceilings and all 2x6 construction on outer and inner walls. I plan on insulating all of it not only for comfort in the winter/summers here in Ohio, but to keep the noise down for my neighbors. they're not too close but I want to be respectful anyway. after talking with Dave ???? here on the site I'm seriously looking into 3/4", 4x8' sheets of pine paneling, on the walls and ceiling. for the floor (shop) I will put down treated 2x4s with insulation between them, 6mil plastic barrier and then 3/4" plywood as the floor. If I go with the pine walls, I'll put down the epoxy on the plywood floor. the area with the sheet goods I'll talk about later.

the second pic is the East wall. I had 2x5' windows put in with the bottoms at 8' so I can get all the sunlight and have all the wall space too. I put in an exhaust fan for finish work but it's not an explosive proof fan. I did a lot of reading on this and for type of finishing I'll be doing I don't think this will be an issue and definitely not worth the price. If I were painting cars it would be a different matter. I originally thought of a dedicated finishing room but I hated the idea of that space not being used most of the time. I will probably run plastic from floor to ceiling from the North wall somewhere to the corner of the South wall. If I end up with larger projects that require finishing I'll just use the entire shop and let the projects dry as I go fishing... The room to the right is for the dust collector with some storage above it. This wall will probably be for assembly, sanding and finishing. This will change over and over again I'm sure so I'll work this as I go.

The South wall will be for benches, shaper, drill press etc. The center will be TS and Jointer and a planer. I plan to run the power under the plywood floor and up. I had thought about running ducting from the dust collector into the attic and down the walls but I still have ducting down the walls so I'll probably just run the 6" main pipe above the windows and 4" down to a "Y" to run two machines where I need them.

Has anybody ever built a box around their duct work? wonder if it's worth it to keep the noise down??

If you notice the double outlets, the left is 110 and the right is 220. Most 220s are dedicated lines and I put minimum amps on each 110. I ran 12/2 wire on both 220 lines (required) and the 110 outlets. My 110 outlets will be 20amps.

Dave

[Vic]

I need to post new photos, but I used 2x3 windows up high for wall space and wish I'd gone to a 2x4 or 5 and just a larger header. My shop is "Welcome to Tumblewood in the this forum category.

[davionics]

This is the West wall. Cabinets, Miter saw and long table, possibly jointer along wall, bandsaw. Plenty of room and with all the outlets with both 110/220, I can move things around and not be limited to specific locations.

Ok... the most difficult part for me was deciding how much light to put in. There are so many ideas, right and wrong but all seem to come to one thing... trial and error and personal preference. There are so many formulas out there to account for the height of the benches, ceilings etc. arggg, frustrating to say the least. So the lights along the walls are for overhead of the machines. these are on a single switch so if I'm not running equipment, they're off. the center 12 lights are for the main area of the shop. All the lights are 4', 2 bulb fixtures. the lights along the walls run parallel to each wall and the center lights will run from left to right as you're looking at the photo. these 12 lights are run from two switches so I can turn on half of them if that's all I need. One switch connects like this... first row, 2 outside lights, next row the middle light, 3rd row the outside and the 4th row the middle. the second switch controls the other 6 lights. there will be 2' between each column of lights and about 4' between each row. I don't know yet if this is over kill or not. I guess if it's too much light I can take a bulb out of each fixture or just move them and plug the holes but on the other hand since the ceilings are indeed high, I'm in my late 40s and I like to see what I doing this may be just right..

The last photo is of 3 more lights in what I would call the finishing area. I planed on these being 3 fixtures 4' with 4 bulbs each to give me a bright area for finishing and assembly work. Now that I have them up if I have a bench along the wall, this will probably create a shadow since they will be behind and above me. for finishing I can add a light on the wall below the fan but I may change the fixtures to 2 bulbs and add three more fixtures closer to the wall. I won't lose or gain anything wattage wise... this is tough to decide on when there's no actual light and I have to guess what it's going to be like...

Same concerns and issues for those of you who have been lucky enough to start a new shop from the ground up I'm sure...

Dave

[thewoodwhisperer]

You should be able to make multiple posts in the same thread if the files are too large. I merged them for you and compressed your images a bit.

[davionics]

Back to the North wall. this area will be my wood storage. Above the sheet good area, the open hole will stay open and this is about 6' deep. I can put long lumber up here and if they're more than 8-9' long I can build supports along the ceiling. I doubt I'll be purchasing lumber longer than 10-12'. Further down the right hand side is just a wall and the space below is used from the garage side and will not be accessible to the shop but above it is a large area I'll use for storage of larger items like a portable compressor, kerosene heater etc. I framed it so that I will have two large doors that will open up with hydraulic pistons like the back windows of truck camper shells.

Oh yeah, also in the ceiling are 4 outlets for air filters, pull down extension cords etc.

The second picture is a direct view of the wood storage. The left will probably be for sheet goods and the right I will build shelves to house all the pieces 5' and less.

I'm not sure about this so tell me what you think. I was picturing having to pull out the sheet goods and how hard this can be sometimes. So when I build up the wood floor, I was thinking about instead of plywood in the sheet good area, use some sort of Milimine and extend it 4' out from the front. Hopefully this will help the sheet goods at least slide easier. I'm not sure how the Milimine would hold up in the long run though.

In my garage it will be heated with a propane heater that hangs from the ceiling for the winters but the shop I haven't decided yet on how to control the environment. I don't need it to be like the house but I want to keep the shop from getting below 45 degrees and above 80 degrees. I've had many projects in the past get ruined or have to be reworked because the temperature/humidity changed drastically before I was able to finish the project. So if you have any ideas on the best way to go let me know.

Oh yeah, on the first picture, behind the white 4x8 sheet is where the compressor will be housed. It will be accessed from the garage to help keep down the noise in the shop. I will run the lines out to under that same white 4x8 sheet to a filter for spraying on finishes, tie off of that line and go thru the ceiling to two pull down hoses for any air tools or just to blow dust off and a separate line to the garage area for the automotive needs. I'm going back and forth on using either the steel piping with threaded ends or "L" type copper. I like the steel because it's cheaper but if I want a specific run length I can't get it without cutting and having to retap the ends. The copper is more expensive but I can fit it to go anywhere. I don't intend to use pvc even though some are using it. I think more long term and I don't think it will hold up. So if you have any thought on which piping or definitely what size??? I'm going with 3/4", I will have a 60gal compressor with a larger CFM so I'm thinking 3/4" will be good. 1/2" will be to small in my opinion.

Well, that's where I'm at on the shop right now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed hoping I didn't forget anything or I'm not doing something wrong and I won't realize it until later. I'm like everyone else here, I read tons of books from the library or local book stores about starting up a shop. Plus I added in what I wanted and so far it's all working out.

Dave

[davionics]

You should be able to make multiple posts in the same thread if the files are too large. I merged them for you and compressed your images a bit.

Thanks for your help... Do you know what happened to my second topic "New Shop Photos (2)"? I submitted it and went on to (3) and now i don't see it.

Thanks

Dave

[davionics]

Thanks for your help... Do you know what happened to my second topic "New Shop Photos (2)"? I submitted it and went on to (3) and now i don't see it.

Thanks

Dave

Never mind, I see what you did... ... thanks

Dave love the site by the way

[nateswoodworks]

First off a BIG thanks to your years protcting us in the Air Force!! As for the shop, looks like your dream is coming along good. No matter how much you plan it it's still going to change iver and over again, that's the fun part/ I built mine about 14yrs ago and added on a wood storage amd finishing room a few yrs later and couldn't be happier. As for boxing in the ducting, I did mine but not for sound but simply because I hates the looks of the piping, I don't think it made any difference noise wise.

As for lighting, there are a couple people on here that are experts in that area and will likely chime in, if not posting a thread for just that would help. I have figured mine out by trial and error but the one thing I will say is I really love the daylight fluorescent bulbs.

For your wood storage mine is very similar, vertical sheet goods and lumber that is 4' and under goes on shelves that are organized but species and couldn't be happier. As for your thought on melimine for helping the plywood slide easier, if you go that route I would think formica would stand up much better. The other thing to consider would be ceramic tiles, if you siliconed some cement board to your floor and installed tiles onto of that it would be very durable, smooth sliding, and still easily reversible if you change your mind-just a thought.

For your air supply I ran 1/2" in my shop for the supply lines and drain line and am quite happy. The one thing you may want to plan out is draining your tank. I ran my drain line to as I leave my shop I open a valve right by the door to let the moisture out. Keep us posted on your progress and have fun!!

Nate

[davionics]

Thanks for the advice Nate. I thought about Formica but I'll have to look into the tile too. I was thinking of the area being a 8 1/2' high drawer that will slide out on rollers or something. Lots of time to think things through and yeah, that's most of the fun. Thanks again...

Dave

[PeteJr]

Here's what I used for lighting.

http://www.visual-3d...t.aspx?id=15250

If you click on the Interior Lighting Tool (right hand side about 1/2 way down) for can enter your shop dimensions.

For my 50 x 30 shop I'm installing 24 of these fixtures. I purchased them at HD.

Here's the fixture specs: http://www.acuitybra...cSheets/LBW.pdf

[TexWood]

Here's what I used for lighting.

http://www.visual-3d...t.aspx?id=15250

If you click on the Interior Lighting Tool (right hand side about 1/2 way down) for can enter your shop dimensions.

For my 50 x 30 shop I'm installing 24 of these fixtures. I purchased them at HD.

Here's the fixture specs: http://www.acuitybra...cSheets/LBW.pdf

Ditto for me. I really like these fixtures.

[Bhelart]

Congratulations on the new shop, well deserved.

Back in 2004 I had the opportunity of designing my custom shop, I was constrained in the area, my space butts up against the property line and is limited to about 12x23 with 12'ceilings. The space is adjacent to the garage so I was able to get the compressor and dust collector out into the garage. Having the dust collector outside reduces noise considerably and I wouldn't have it any other way. On the other hand, my ducting is exposed in the room and runs around the perimeter. I never considered encasing the ducting, it would certainly cut down on noise but I like being able to access my duct work. Allows flexibility.

The room has one window high on the east wall 2.5'x5'long so that's all the daylight I get. I hung double 4' fluorescent t8 fixtures, in that 12x23 space I have 8 of them, never too much light. In addition to these I have three 150W single bulb hanging fixtures right over the bench plus the bench and the sharpening station each have one of those swing arm 100W lamps that can be directed as desired for even more light. I am satisfied with the light everywhere except over the lathe, I"m thinking of adding a couple of the same single bulb hanging fixtures there. All the bulbs are daylight balanced and I strongly agree with the earlier comment on those bulbs, they are great. I get good color rendition plus, I believe they are easier on the eyes, I can spend 15 hours in that shop with no vision fatigue. Other environments with the more standard fluorescent colors make me feel like my brains are being sucked out through my eyeballs.

The lights are on a dedicated circuit, I have a single 220V circuit running the perimeter and two 115V 20A circuits running the periphery. I used different color receptacles to differentiate the two circuits.

I heated the space with floorboard electric, I really like that. The fixtures themselves never get very warm but the system keeps the room at a very steady temperature.

I hung french cleats around the circumference, this allows me to move cabinets and such when needed. I learned that lesson the hard way. When I moved in I thought I had it all figured out and hard mounted most of the shelves and cabinets, four years later I decided to change the layout and had to move everything. Not only does the french cleat system give me flexibility but it also gives me the ability to hang things on the wall without nails or screws, for bench fixtures, sandpaper cabinets, bench hooks, deadmen etc I can make a simple fixture too hold them on the french cleat.

One thing I can say in closing is that no matter how confident I am in any single layout, am always playing with the layout of the shop, there is always a better way. I think organizing the shop and tool cabinets is as much fun as building things. Keep flexibility in mind when you build your shop.

Good luck, I hope you have years of fun in there...

[davionics]

Well, the electrical and framing inspections are done. I'll start putting the circuit breakers in before power is applied to the box. I feel a little more comfortable working in the electrical box knowing there's no power anywhere..

There is still more work to be done on the outside such as finishing the trim, caulk all the hardie board seams, paint and grade the landscaping around the shop... this is all the "not so fun" stuff. I can't wait until I can actually start seeing the shop come together. Well I've waited 28 years, guess another year to have what I want isn't too bad.

Dave

[davionics]

Well, it's been a year since my last update and the garage/shop is 99% complete. It's been a very long year with many late nights and long weekends doing nothing but working on it but I can now look back and say it was worth it. While in the past I may have dabbled with minor projects such as electrical or building things out of 2x4s, this garage project has pushed my basic skills beyond what I had anticipated. Most of the work I did was a new experience where I had to research how it's done and then go out and do it from working with iron pipe for gas and compressor lines to building an electrical matrix for my garage doors/lighting. Running the mini backhoe was cool...

I hope I didn't compress the pictures too small... The first picture is as you come in the double door. The room with the double door at the far end will eventually be for the dust collector and at that end is also where I will set up for finishing...hence the variable speed exhaust fan. I have prepositioned iron piping in the walls to eventually hook up air filters for spraying on finishes. I installed the air reel in the center of the room so I can easily use it anywhere in the shop.

These pictures are of the opposite side of the room and my wood storage area. I think my long lumber sheets will eventually be on a rack above the miter saw that is pictured. In the picture of the wood storage area, the right side will be for sheet goods standing on end. I built in a fiberglass material into the floor so I can slide the sheets in and out without marring the floor. The left side will be framed out shelving from top to bottom for lumber storage up to 6'.

This picture shows some large storage areas that I put in high on the wall so I can utilize as much wall space as possible, same goes for all the windows.

This last picture is of the final corner of the shop. It obviously is a very well lit shop and when all the lights are on at once it's perfect lighting as far as I'm concerned. I opted for more fixtures so I would have less shadows anywhere I stand. All the lights are also controlled by 4 separate switches. I have 12 fixtures in the center area and these are controlled with two switches; each switch will control alternating lights so I can just run 6 or 12 lights on during the day depending on how much sunlight is coming in the windows. The lights that go along the walls are for when I have machines there and these lights are operated with a single switch. The last switch controls the 3 large light fixtures that you can see in the first picture of this reply (if these come out in order that is).

I still have landscaping to do, a few things to finish up in the garage and even less in the wood shop but after a very busy year I'm now considering this shop complete and the rest will be just fun building projects as I go along. Even though I saved tons of money doing all this myself, it will still be a year before this is paid for and I can start saving to properly fill the shop. I think to fill my immediate woodworking cravings I will search out a used cabinet table saw and some bench top items to fill the void. Besides I need start building some benches and cabinets... ...but before I start building any cabinets, I'm going to start sharpening my hooks instead of my pencils, respooling my reels instead of reloading my nailers and put a fishing rod in my hand instead of a hammer and paint brush. This will be a much more enjoyable year for me and the family.

I have other photos of the garage but I figured I'd keep it to the wood shop. I'm also puttig together my processes on how I installed the wood flooring. I think it was done better than what I've read in books/magazines. Any suggestions as to how I should post something like this? I still have to go thru and edit it but it's currently 18 pages with 23 pictures.

Dave

Dave