Shop Cost

[Tom Darscheid]

I am on a fact finding mission. I, like most woodworkers dream of the ultimate shop. I see lots of photos and posts about these Dream Shops but hardly ever is the cost to build ever mentioned. I'm hoping I can get some responses from those of you that have actually seen your dream come true. What I want to know is: What size is your shop? How much did the project cost excluding tools? Links to Pics of your shop would help as well My dream is to build mine at retirement(if I ever get there!!) and I need some idea as to what I can expect to spend. I don't want to bother getting professional estimates at this point as I am years away but this way I can start to get some idea and maybe start putting some extra cash away for this purpose.

[Greg Peterson]

Building a shop is a relatively quick process. Equipping a shop and configuring a shop is a whole other matter. Your projects ultimately dictate what you need and how you will arrange the shop for workflow. Even in a one man shop work flow is a matter I think most people either consciously work on or unconsciously just dial it in.

I have arranged my shop in several different configurations. Currently it is configured in such a way that I am not fighting myself.

One example: I use to hang my saw blades on the wall on the other side of the saw and several paces away. I now have a narrow, tall cabinet to the left of my table saw to hold all the various accessories for the saw and a rack on top for my blades. Now changing a blade doesn't involve having to walk across the shop to get the blade I need. May not seem important, but by making blade changes as quick and convenient as possible I am able to keep my focus on the project.

Your shop will never have enough outlets. Or more precisely, it will never have an outlet where you need it most at a particular time.

A shop is a constantly evolving entity. I don't think a shop is really ever completed.

[Jim Neeley]

Amongst many other things it depends on LOCATION..

How much insulation do you need (if any)?
Do you need heat and/or AC?
Do you have high winds?
What are your local building codes? Sheet rock?
What is the local labor rate?

Then it moves on to wants..

How much power do you need and how much is available?
Do you need water? Hot water? Sewer?
City water or private well?
Do you want garage doors? How many?
How high of a ceiling?
One room or several?

Do you have the time and patience to be a bargain hunter?
How much are you wanting to do yourself?
Do you plan to be the "General Contractor" or pay someone else to do it?

The list goes on and on.. kind of like a house.

[Dave Cottrell]

I'll bite and give you some hard data.

My shop is 24 x 34, framed 16" on center, cement slab floor, second story with mansard roof. 8 foot ceiling on 1st floor, 6 foot on second. Roof trusses custom-made to allow a 12' wide room the length of the shop. Stairs in back of shop (not a ladder). 2 windows at either end of upper story, 1 single window and 1 double window on 1st floor. 2 garage doors, one with power lift. 2 entrance doors, one in back one in front. This is my lone work space and where I work for a living repairing musical instruments. I have running water (small HW heater), drain (important distinction as I have had water and no drain), no bathroom (shop is at home), a moderate 110 electrical panel (I have a metal lathe, milling machine, heavy duty buffing lathe, air compressor and Jet DC, never tripped a circuit, but I don't use more than 1 machine at a time), 8 four-foot four-bulb T12 fixtures, 2 phone lines, Cat5E cable (for the computer) and coax cable (by mistake because the contractor put this in first). I have a through-the wall hotel-room style heat pump, which works great. Winter temps inside a little cool at 65-68, but hey, its a workshop. Finished with drywall and textured ceiling paint. Oh, and a ceiling fan, which helps the heat pump circulate air.

This ran about $30K excavation to shingles. I financed it through my credit union. It took the contractor 9 months do build! I was out of work until he finished, but ended up getting in full swing by Thanksgiving. We started in March. Needless to say, he did not get paid his full price. The workmanship is OK to Good, nothing spectacular, but he took three times the estimated time to complete. This was 7 years ago, so I am well over the stress of that and very happy with how this building works for me.

My shop is at home in Maryland on the I95 corridor. You price will vary depending on where you live.

Here are some things to keep in mind.

1. My biggest suggestion is try to get a decent finished space upstairs. With a mansard (barn-style) roof, you can have the center section clear, but not need to build the high gable over that, an issue if you have trees like I do. The peak of my roof is only 2-3 feet over the top of the upstairs room, not 6-8 if you had a typical gable. You would not believe how nice a second floor is. Storage for parts, I house the dust collector and compressor up there, and there is enough room for a workbench that I use for packing and shipping.

2. Don't get a finish on the floor. After dropping countless 2 mm screws, I can attest that a shiny floor sucks. My floor is smooth enough not to glare or be slippery, but hard enough not to chip or dust.

3. Put in the biggest electrical supply you can swing. I could only swing 2 circuits off my house panel, but I would not mind about 30% more capacity than I have. Draw is not a problem, but I have only 2 outlet circuits for all my plug-ins, and I would have liked a little more capacity.

4. If you use a contractor, get reviews. Even the woman my contractor suggested I call told me he did good work but took a long time. Lowest bid is not always the best.

5. You can never have too many windows.

This is a summary of my experience. I hope this gives you some concrete ideas to base your thinking on.

[Jim Laumann]

Tom

I've included the URL for a post I made concerning my pole shed to heated shop project....

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...pix)&highlight=

My cost so far is over $44K - and it's not "done" yet. Still things I can do - like get the gas lines hooked up
to my LP gas heater, get a scrub sink installed and running water to it, a ceiling fan, etc, etc. The list goes on.
I did a goodly amount of work on it, and that is not factored in to the $.

Funding for the the project was a combination of refinancing the house - took out equity, and personal savings.
The refinance put up the building, the concrete, initial wiring and gray water system in 2003. Personal savings &
the checkbook handled the interior work last summer and fall.

Heat last winter was a woodburner - got a LP heater, but is not hooked up yet. A/C - I framed a opening for
a unit we used in the house prior to conversion to central air. It can be put in if/when I think I really need it.

I have running water in the form of a frost proof hydrant. The gray water system includes a floor drain, and the
lines for drain/vent in the wall - but no sink yet as prev. mentioned.

Tools - hah - ran out of money a long time ago....am hoping to sell some vacation time this winter, and use that
for some new additions.

Questions - just ask....

Jim

[david blakelock]

Tom, I will bite as well as I had many of the same questions when I was planning my shop. Obviously there are a lot of variables in building a shop, but here is what I did. I built a 1000 sg. ft shop, 25x40. It is a frame building with 2x6 framing, walls insulated, ceiling is drywall, walls are covered in plywood. I have a small bathroom that is rough plumbed with a shower drain but no fixtures. It is not tied into the sewer so no drain, nor do I have water run to the shop. I have a full electrical panel, with 220 3 phase power, not tied into the house. I have a large garage door, two windows and an entrance door. No finish on the floor. The slab is concrete, and is a post tensioned slab due to the soil conditions in Dallas. By the way the slab was the most expensive part of this project. I have lots of 110 outlets through out the shop with a 220 outlet in the middle of the slab for my table saw and a couple of other 220 outlets scattered thru out the shop. I will need to run additional 220 outlets as I add tools, but I have plenty of room in the panel to add additional circuits. I do not have heat or A/C, but plan to add that at some point. I live in the city of Dallas so I had to conform to all of the building codes for the city. I used a general contractor who is a friend of ours and we had additional work done at the same time, so we might have gotten a bit of a break on the cost. The total cost for the building was $42K. It took about 4 months from soil testing to final inspection to build. So far I have not found anything that I would do differently but just now getting things set up so I am sure I will find things as I go.

Hope that helps. If interested I can post some pictures

David

[Bob Winkler]

Here's my story, which may be helpful to you.

I had my 24 x 32 two-story shop shell erected 2 years ago in CT. It cost $46K, which includes the vinyl siding, 30-year shingles, thermopane windows, 2nd story dormer, concrete floor, 2x6 construction and 2 overhead doors. I wired the entire shop myself and added copper for compressed air. I paid a company to foam insulate the entire shell, which added $5K. I then added sheetrock on the walls, door, wall and window trim to the downstairs, but to date have left the upstairs unfinished for storage. Maybe when I retire I'll add sheetrock and finished floor to the upstairs.

I just completed adding rigid insulation, subfloor and 3" strip oak flooring with Waterlox finish over the downstairs concrete floor. This cost about $2300 for materials, and I supplied the labor. I know its a lot, but I love real wood floors and always dreamed of a shop with one.

Other misc costs included ceiling fans, window A/C, and Daytom heater, which probably added another $1000.

This fall, I plan on moving tools, supplies, and cabinets from my basement shop to he new shop. I know 2 years seems like a long time, but I've been moving at a leisurely pace because I've been doing the work myself.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Bob Riefer]

My scenario is a bit different, but to give you the other side of the spectrum..

I saved a 110 year old 2-story barn. Interior foot print is about 25 x 30. The portion used for woodworking is about 20 x 30.

Cost to save the building so far is about $10K. I did all work myself except the concrete floor. I have 100 amp service, plenty of outlets, plenty of lighting, insulation etc. I still need to re-do the siding on the exterior and refinish the 2nd story. That will all add about $12K. So, grand total will be about $22K. I priced out the same amount of space and functionality built new at $60K on the cheap side in my area. Benefits of saving the building were that I could spend piece by piece (instead of getting a loan), that I could leave my building in its nonconforming area just feet off the road (setbacks on a new structure would have pushed me way back), and the character of my rickety old jalopy of a building rings true for me.

edit: the biggest thing I'd do differently would be radiant heating tubes in the concrete slab. It's cold in PA, and overcoming the thermal mass of that floor is difficult in the middle of winter. Everything else on my wish list can be retrofitted, but concrete is once and done. Even if you put the tubes in and add the heater after, you'll be glad about it.

In terms of tool setup, I bought just about everything used and made some mistakes along the way, but not too bad. I have (with prices out of memory):
- Grizzly 1023 right tilt table saw ($400)
- delta 12" miter saw ($100)
- grizzly g0555 14" bandsaw ($200)
- walker turner floor model drill press ($200)
- dewalt 733 planer (free)
- rigid 6" jointer ($200)
- craftsman scroll saw (free)
- harbor freight 2 hp dust collector with 4 inch PVC and blast gates etc. (total was about $250 new)
- Bosch router ($220 new)
- all sorts of other tools picked up organically over time as a home owner
- shop fixtures, all built by me

So, call the total tool setup to this point in time well under $2000, and I think the shop is very nicely equipped, especially for my level. I'm sure over time, I'll upgrade various things, but overall not bad.

If you're a glutton for way too many pictures, you may find these pics interesting. People tend to like the pictures of me pulling the barn straight.

http://rieferbarn.shutterfly.com/

[Rick Potter]

I had a shop built to match my house. People who first go in the back yard think it is an apartment. 27' X 60' stucco, architectual 50 year shingles, lots of double pane windows including one bay, covered porch along one long wall, slab floor, six 2 X 8 skylights, single insulated garage door, insulation, and complete 5/8" drywall. I went crazy on electrical and have ten 220 breakers, and sixteen 110 breakers on a 100A subpanel, with 16 four tube T-8 lights. One corner of the building is partitioned into what I laughingly call my 'office', with carpet, two recliners, and Direct TV.

I have done remodel work on my house, but I am getting kinda old and beat up, so I drew it up myself, got the permit as owner builder, and acted as the contractor, letting other people do the heavy work. This was December, 2005, and building in CA. had basically stopped. A friend who has been a framer (an outstanding one) for 40 years, and his two sons, for 15 or more years, were out of work, and I hired them for $25 per hour (each). They did the shop through the wrap stage, and also did the roof, windows, and door instalation. They also helped me get good workers in other fields. I have an electrician who also is outstanding.

My part was supervising, making running changes, making sure the lumber drops were there as needed, having the roof stacked at the right time, coordinating the different trades, going Home Depot for miscellaneous stuff up to four times a day, and spraying the interior when it was done. This was a full time job for about three months.

Hard cost fact: $45 per sq. ft. for a move in ready building that fits in with the suburban neighborhood. I do not know what a contractor would have built it for, but I do know it is overbuilt, done right, and done exactly how I wanted it. Change orders with a contractor were no problem, as I was paying my main guys by the hour, and they didn't care if I said to change something.

Hope this helps,
Rick Potter

[Bob Winkler]

Forgot to add pics for my post:

Bob

[Jim Neeley]

Wow, Bob.. That's a beaut! I see why you wanted the wooden floors.

[David Nelson1]

Here's my story, which may be helpful to you.

I had my 24 x 32 two-story shop shell erected 2 years ago in CT. It cost $46K, which includes the vinyl siding, 30-year shingles, thermopane windows, 2nd story dormer, concrete floor, 2x6 construction and 2 overhead doors. I wired the entire shop myself and added copper for compressed air. I paid a company to foam insulate the entire shell, which added $5K. I then added sheetrock on the walls, door, wall and window trim to the downstairs, but to date have left the upstairs unfinished for storage. Maybe when I retire I'll add sheetrock and finished floor to the upstairs.

I just completed adding rigid insulation, subfloor and 3" strip oak flooring with Waterlox finish over the downstairs concrete floor. This cost about $2300 for materials, and I supplied the labor. I know its a lot, but I love real wood floors and always dreamed of a shop with one.

Other misc costs included ceiling fans, window A/C, and Daytom heater, which probably added another $1000.

This fall, I plan on moving tools, supplies, and cabinets from my basement shop to he new shop. I know 2 years seems like a long time, but I've been moving at a leisurely pace because I've been doing the work myself.

Hope this helps.

Bob

Bob, Can you elaborate on the finish for the floor?

[Bob Winkler]

Bob, Can you elaborate on the finish for the floor?

Sure- I hemmed and hawed and finally decided on this: 3 coats of Waterlox Original Finish from Woodcraft. I didn't want poly because it's not easily repaired if it gets scratched or gouged. I read a lot and decided that I couldn't go wrong with Waterlox, even if it is overpriced. Plus, I like the fact that it dissolves into itself, so no sanding between coats is needed. And I also liked the fact that my local Woodcraft store carries it, so no waiting or shipping hassles.

[Larry Edgerton]

My last shop cost me 150K to build, and was 9000 sq. ft.. I built it myself so no labor costs, so that comes out to $16.66 a foot. the bigger you go the less cost per foot.

My new shop is a building I bought, is only around 2000 ft., but the cost is hard to determine as it is a repoed property I bought. It is a bare building, so all of the expensive stuff like wireing, plumbing, dust collection will close to the same, but spread over less space. More space is the cheapest thing you can add, but in my case the upkeep, commercial taxes, and heat cost were burying me as the construction industry crashed hard here in Michigan. heating cost in my neck of the woods can be brutal. It cost me $300 a month to heat it when I built it 15 years ago in the bad months, from $1200-$1500 month when I sold it. Running costs are something to keep in mind.

Now I am trying to figure out how to work in a lot less space, a challange after years of glorious excess!

Larry

[Kirk Poore]

Here's the final part of my shop build thread from a couple of years ago:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...mpleted-part-3

22x26, 9' walls on the sides, attached to my garage & house. I think the clerestory added about $5k, but it's been worth it. Except for the brick work, drywall, and painting, I used a contractor. When I was a kid, we lived in a house as my dad built it around us. If you like doing that sort of thing, go ahead--but I don't, so I used money instead. Figure on your heating, cooling, electrical, and maybe rough dust collection needs up front (and plumbing, I guess, though my shop doesn't have any). The right design will reduce the cost of the first two, give you enough of the third, and if done right reduce the eyesore value of the last.

Also, consider reuse/resale value. I have sliding doors into my garage, and could park a car in the shop. Lots of guys around here have sports or classic cars, and if the next buyer has one, he'll be able to drive it right into the shop through the garage. I'm not planning on moving for 20+ years, but I think that feature will help it sell (as well as being right handy for moving wood and machines).

Total price was about $37K.

Kirk