Been a lurker here a short while and I felt it time to share and ask for guidance on my new shop. I had been woodworking out of one bay of a 3 car garage. That worked well for several years as I first started in this hobby. But man, I got so frustrated having to move 3 objects to perform one operation and then move 6 to do the next. Truthfully, I think this is one of the reasons that I fell out of love with woodworking. It became such a frustrating exercise. I kept dabbling but just knew I needed more room. I always thought that if could occupy the full space of that 3 car garage I’d be happy. I know “you can never have too much space” but limitations spur creativity and shits expensive to build.
My old workspace:
Well, my wife finally agreed to let me build a new shop if I built her a new house. The plan for the shop was a 30x20 space. It was discussed with our architect but was never given genuine attention compared to the main home. Make sense really. Actually, the builder kinda has the same dismissive attitude. That’s fine by me cuz I just want him to finish the house already!
The plan for the shop as far as the general contractor is concerned is: Framed and sided 150 Amp service Wiring for one outlet, garage door, one service light, outside lighting plumbing for a sink Ethernet will go in the trench w=once they run the power Metal roof The interior will remian studs
After that, I plan to do a lot of the work myself or at least with my choice of subs and let design happen in a more organic manner.
My and I have always dug the mid-century modern/ modern look and this is the main aesthetic to home. The shop ties in. One shop I have always been intrigued by is Frank Howarth’s, especially his use of poly carbonate in his design.
i hear ya about having to move so much stuff to do something, kills the incentive real fast. if mine wasn't setup to jump right in id probably never do as much as i do now. good luck with the new shop, cant wait to watch it grow.
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
heck if i told the wife if i could build a shop and stay out of the house as much as possible she'd say, hell do it ! 🤣 sad thing is i dont have the space 😞
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
Splinter- its is on a slab. I will admit that I was so involved in the design of the home, I just didn’t have the gumption nor was I prepared to layout DC pipes in the slab.
The plan is a mini Split once we get into the house and get settled a bit.
A lot, and I mean a lot of my future projects and add-ons to this build have been scrapped secondary to “impressive” cost over runs.
The shop is in the front corner of the lot, in front of the house and near the street. It was originally off to the side and had an extra, independent garage bay. I insisted the it be slid forward, turned and somewhat buried in to the bank. So, the back of the structure is about 4’ below grade. I lost the garage bay because I can’t put a structure in the set back but I can put a retaining wall. Thus, that portion is now a parking pad.
The purpose of burying the shop is so that it is not such a visible barrier as approach the house. I will plant some evergreen plants on the back side as well so that the shop effectively disappears from street side approach.
id never run dust collection under floor. if you get a clog it can be a real problem. but mostly if you wanna rearrange machines, and you most likely will at some point, having it on the ceiling or walls makes it easy.
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
That will be a wonderful shop with plenty of space. +1 on Pottz comment. Take some time to watch some of the Oneida DC videos even if you don't buy their product. They talk about proper DC piping design. There are also a lot o good Youtube videos out there. Do it right the first time. I tried just about every type of DC and messed around with various piping designs, partly because I'm an engineer, and realized that a lot of the hype around the various DC is just that. There is a reason commercial DC is run overhead.
I like to see this contribution. I liked your old shop also, but I have to admit that this new one is very nice. Will we get videos the same as from Frank Howarth’s, from now on? In addition, this way I also gain insight into how you build in the USA.
Thank you for the comments. I especially appreciate the thoughts on running ductwork thru the slab. I have always heard it is a good idea but for the life of me can't understand how someone can have such precise foresight to get it right. I imagine a really accomplished woodworker with tons of experience could know exactly where he/she wants their tools. But, I am not an accomplished woodworker.
