Garage or basement

[jeff begin]

I keep going back and forth about whether I want to outfit my garage or basement as my shop.

Garage:
Three car garage with 14' ceilings but I only get 2/3rds of it since the wife insists on parking inside it (the nerve!). However, I also have to share it with our lawn tractor, snow blower, two motorcycles, and other misc household stuff. It also has stairs that lead to a 400 sq. "bonus room" above the garage that would make an ideal finishing and storage room. It currently has no heat and uninsulated garage doors, but that can easily be fixed. It also only has a single outlet in the whole garage, so I would need to install a 100A subpanel about 70' away from my service entrance. It would be nice to be able to open the garage door when working on nice, summer evenings.

Basement:
Our 1,700 sf basement has 9' ceilings and is completely unfinished. It gives me more than enough room to make a sizable shop. However, I was hoping to eventually finish it off to add more living space. It would more usable to the rest of the family that way, plus if/when we do eventually sell, I'm not sure a huge woodshop in the basement would do much for resale value. I would also have to contend with carrying projects/stock/equipment up and down some rather awkward stairs. Finally, the master bedroom and great room is immediately above the basement. I would be concerned about the possible noise level.

Any thoughts?

[John Keeton]

Jeff, not sure where you live, but I vote for the garage. Dust and noise in the basement are not good things. However, I am betting the outside walls of the garage are not insulated, so if you have a cold climate heating the garage may be difficult.

Still, the accessibility, lack of stairs, open air access, etc., all lead me to the garage. 1700' is a HUGE shop. Mine is 24x24 and while one never has enough room, it is adequate for all I do. That sounds like about 2/3 of the garage. I would partition it if possible to hold down on dust on the wife's car - and to give more wall space for "stuff."

[David G Baker]

I would go for the basement. You didn't list where you live but you did mention snow blower so if you go with the garage you are probably going to have to do some wiring, insulating, heating, protecting your other items from sawdust, etc.
In the cold weather the incentive to work in a cold shop is generally less but going down to the warm basement will possibly be much more comfortable. My basement has the water heater and furnace in it, it is quite warm. There is 1 inch foam board glued to the outside walls for insulation. Humidity is a problem and I do get some rust on some things I store there.
My shops are over 100 feet from the house and so far this Winter I haven't spent hardly any time in them. One of them is heated.

[Jamie Buxton]

Unquestionably, the garage. The access issue with the basement is a big problem, and the noise issue is another. The only problem with the garage is the other stuff which you think needs to live inside. Lawn tractors and snow blowers can live outside. Motorcycles can live outside, given a little weather protection -- a fabric cover, for instance. Or maybe you can build a shed for them.

[Don Bullock]

Unquestionably, the garage. The access issue with the basement is a big problem, and the noise issue is another. The only problem with the garage is the other stuff which you think needs to live inside. Lawn tractors and snow blowers can live outside. Motorcycles can live outside, given a little weather protection -- a fabric cover, for instance. Or maybe you can build a shed for them.

I'm with Jamie on this one. When I was a kid my dad's shop took up most of our basement. I remember going to my cousin's house house where there was a "finished" basement that was super for entertainment and always wondered why we didn't have one of those. In those days in both Maryland and Virginia where we lived few houses had garages, so my dad had no choice for his shop.

I'd suggest that your first woodworking projects could be centered around finishing the basement for your family to enjoy and perhaps building some sheds for all that "stuff" that is taking up shop space in the garage. Perhaps some day your wife may even "understand" why you need the whole garage.;):D

[jeff begin]

I live in Michigan, where it is 12 degrees at the moment with 2' of snow on the ground. Which is why I'm talking about building a shop, not actually doing it yet. :-)

We're on an acre of land, so it is possible that I could build a shed out back. It's something I had planned on eventually doing, but more of a potting shed/greenhouse for the wife. I imagine I could put the yard equipment there too, but I don't really want to build a monster of a structure due to the time and expense.

The bikes have to stay in the garage though. Which also brings up the point that another hobby of mine is wrenching on old motorcycles. That doesn't take up nearly as much room (or time) as woodworking though, since I don't go over-the-top by rebuilding engines or anything similar. If I stuck the woodshop out in the garage, I figure that with mobile bases on almost everything, I could also use the space for the bikes (even if the wife has to temporarily park on the driveway).

If I took the basement, I wouldn't use the whole thing as a woodshop. Though when I eventually purchase a "real" TS (or other large equipment), how difficult would it be to get the pieces down basement stairs? We have 4 treads, a small landing that leads to 90 degree turn to the right, and then 10 more treads to reach the bottom. 8' of vertical clearance and 39" across.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Jeff, those stairs sound great, for a family area. Not so much for trying to get boards and sheet goods down. Go for the garage. Access is absolutly critical to a working woodshop. What if you want to built some kitchen cabinets, or a large cased piece of furniture? Getting the tablesaw down the stairs would actually be the easy part.

[Doug Shepard]

...In the cold weather the incentive to work in a cold shop is generally less but going down to the warm basement will possibly be much more comfortable....


I can vouch for that. MI has been hovering around 0 for a good month or so and it's probably that long since I've gotten much of anything done. No heat except the space heater which cant keep up when it gets that cold.
So my natural bias was Basement, except that...


... It currently has no heat and uninsulated garage doors, but that can easily be fixed....

It sounds like he's ready to solve that issue, so...
Garage

[John Keeton]

And then there is that all important factor of "lift-gate delivery" for all those big, new Grizzly (or other appropriate branded) tools!! I would not want to wrestle the bed of my 8" jointer down ANY steps, let alone "some rather awkward stairs." Wait till you try a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 ply:eek: I don't think it would make it through a 39" wide, small 90* landing with 8' ceiling height - I don't care how you turn it.

Honestly, unless you have a walk out access to the basement, I don't think you have a choice if you intend to have full size machines and do casework. If you are going with smaller machines, hand tools, or going to do mostly lathe work, may be a different story.

[Rob Cunningham]

I vote for the garage also. Having had a shop in the basement for about 15 years, I can tell you it is a real hassle getting machines and lumber down the steps. Not to mention getting finished projects back up. My shop is now in a separate garage. No noise or dust in the house. It's so nice to back up to the garage door and unload a van full of lumber etc.

[Russ Boyd]

I had a basement shop. The worst thing like others have said, is the access. Could you spend the money you save on insulating and wiring the garage to make an outside entrance? I actually prefer the garage myself, but the space in the basement is hard to ignore. Russ

[Mike Wilkins]

Another vote for the garage. Just try to get the basement finished and liveable as soon as possible; good for brownie points with the Mrs.

[Peter Quadarella]

I vote garage. I feel that dust collection in a basement shop has to be almost perfect since you never really get great air flow through the place. With a garage you can leave the doors open, maybe put in a window fan, and it is almost like working outdoors. Just being able to air it out once in a while is great.

The space issue is a difficult one. My plan is to eventually build a workshop in the back yard.

[Carlos Alden]

Garage. You have a lot of room there to play with, and when it comes to dust manufacturing you'll be able to contain it better and not spread it through your house. (Before constructing a new two-car garage to replace our ailing detached shed for our 1911-house, I used to do stuff in our basement, and dust and solvents spread, as if by magic, to all corners of this older house.)

Besides, according to Spousal Law 3284.4 you are not allowed to engage in more than one potentially dangerous hobby. So when you get going on woodworking as a hobby and buy some serious power tools you'll have to be selling the motorcycles. And once you start making things, forget about any extra time to do anything else, so you can ditch the lawn tractor as well.

Voila - more room and extra cash for more tools.:)

[Bill Huber]

Another vote for the garage.....

I know its cold out there but its not always cold.

I had a shop in my basement at one time and it was a real PITA to get things in and out of it. Then there is the other part of getting tools back and forth when working on cars or other things. You have to go down and get the wrenches and then you always need the one you didn't bring up.

The noise in the house was a little problem also, the wife and kids didn't like to hear of the stuff going on in the basement.

[Chris True]

You could always punt - put the big machines in the garage but set aside a modest space in the basement for a couple of benches, hand & portable power tools and the occassional benchtop tool. That way in the dead of winter when you aren't going to want to spend hours in the garage you can do the maching out there and bring your parts in from the cold to work in comfort. Spring, Summer and Fall work exclusively in the garage but have that warm space to fall back on in the winter.

Me, I'm in the basement. 1/2+ finished for the family and the rest is my shop...

[Myk Rian]

If I had the opportunity to get 2/3 of a 3 car garage, I wouldn't hesitate.
I'm only 20 minutes north of you. Heating isn't much of a deal just as long as the big doors seal good..

[Rod Sheridan]

And then there is that all important factor of "lift-gate delivery" for all those big, new Grizzly (or other appropriate branded) tools!! I would not want to wrestle the bed of my 8" jointer down ANY steps, let alone "some rather awkward stairs." Wait till you try a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 ply:eek: I don't think it would make it through a 39" wide, small 90* landing with 8' ceiling height - I don't care how you turn it.

Honestly, unless you have a walk out access to the basement, I don't think you have a choice if you intend to have full size machines and do casework. If you are going with smaller machines, hand tools, or going to do mostly lathe work, may be a different story.

My situation has a lot in similar with the OP, except for scale.

I have a single car garage full of vintage motorcycles, so the garage is a motorcycle shop with lift, hydraulic press. bandsaw, two welders, drill press, grinders, tools, parts etc.

Obviously no woodworking going on there.

The basement of my townhouse has a laundry/furnace room, Diann's stained glass bench and storage, and my wood shop.

Most of my projects are furniture, chairs, cabinets, cases etc.

As John indicated, I have to carry wood downstairs, however it's one length of rough hardwood at a time, so it's not bad, just multiple trips to fill the storage reack.

I have real machinery downstarirs, 17" bandsaw, General 650 TS, Hammer A3-31 planer, Shaper, DrillPress etc. So yes it's possible to move machinery downstairs, just takes more smarts, less muscle approach to making it easy.

I moved my A3-31 downstairs with one finger (the one on the winch push button).

I'd like a big garage shop, or a bigger basement shop, and I'd vote for the bigger basement shop due to climate. The basement is warm and dry, or cool and dry depending upon whether it's heating or cooling season.

The Oneida cyclone eliminates the dust issue, making everyone happy, so I have no problems with a basement shop.

When I had kids they wanted a rec room instead of a shop, they're now out on their own so I wouldn't be using a rec room, the shop however I've used for 30 years.

It's all about your wishes, and your circumstances.....Rod.

[John Sheets]

Jeff,
I'm a big fan of basement shops for the benefit of the "free" heating and cooling, but _only_ if you have walkout access and preferably garage door size access. I have had four different shops set up this way.
In your case, coming through the house and down some probably narrow stairs would rule out basement as far as I was concerned. JS

[Rob Russell]

Jeff,

I'm going to offer a different opinion.

Spend a few thousand dollars and install a hatchway at a convenient location. That will give you access to the basement so you can get machinery and materials down to the shop without going through the house.

Not knowing the topography of your property, the layout of your house or driveway - try to place the hatchway so it's close to the driveway to make it easier to move machinery/materials to the hatchway.

The basement shop will be warmer than the garage, you'll get less condensation on some of those fast weather fronts (cold tools/warm air when the garage doors open). It also means you'll have the garage space to park your vehicles and toys inside.

Another benefit of the basement shop is that you can leave a partially run project setup and not worry about interfering with parking.

As info, my shop is in the basement. My hatchway couldn't be farther from my driveway, but I've managed.

[Dave Potter]

As my shop is going in down in my basement, I'd vote garage in your situation. Particularly with you having to negotiate a 90-deg turn on the descent. It may not seem like much now, but just try and get a sheet of ply down those steps without some... Challenges

Don't get me wrong, I love my shop being readily available, in a heated and cooled location, with ready access to the house electrical panel, and not having to contend with yard equipment, cars, tools, or other issues. But there are drawbacks.

A concern for me isn't access, the stairs are a straight shot across from the front door and I've experience in and the equipment for moving heavy or elongated equipment or material. Dust is, of course, an issue but we can and are dealing that. What my wife is all over me about the noise.

I'm taking steps to abate as much of that noise in the rest of the house as I can. I'm now installing insulation in the joist and I plan on removing the slap-dab drywall job I did to also sound-proof it. The door I'm going to replace with a pocket door and put up a sound curtain to drop over that while working. That should also help with the dust.

The major difficulty I have is with finishing. More to the point, the chemicals used in finishing that are very combustible. With a gas furnace and water heater in proximity to where I'm working potential ignition dangers lurk. Also, the odor of naphtha wafting through the house is not the LOML's idea of a good thing. In that same vein, venting will be a problem as when you expel out enough air to take care of these issues, you find it interferes with things like pilot lights staying lit, flue draws, and pulling unheated/uncooled air into the living space. So, I am eying the garage myself for a finishing area. Insulation and heating are musts as as well as ventilation and ambient dust collection there, so you might want to take such things into account as well.

Besides, you could build a shed for now to house the lawn and garden equipment, thereby free up that much more space in the garage.

Dave Potter

[Rod Sheridan]

Besides, according to Spousal Law 3284.4 you are not allowed to engage in more than one potentially dangerous hobby. So when you get going on woodworking as a hobby and buy some serious power tools you'll have to be selling the motorcycles. And once you start making things, forget about any extra time to do anything else, so you can ditch the lawn tractor as well.

Voila - more room and extra cash for more tools.:)


Au contraire, I purchased a riding course for Diann for her birthday about 27 years ago, and then bought her a motorcycle.

She's been riding the BMW since, and I have a shop full of expensive tools.

In fact Diann was the motivation behind the Oneida cyclone, and the Hammer planer......So maybe you need to interest your wife in your hobbies to free up even more space and cash.:D

Regards, Rod

[Michael Peet]

You can take care of some of the heating issues in the garage, but as others have mentioned, not the humidity. While your stairs don't sound ideal, personally I would opt for the basement. Especially with those nice high ceilings. I live alone though, so I don't consider the affect of noise on other residents.

[Wilbur Pan]

Jeff,

I'm going to offer a different opinion.

Spend a few thousand dollars and install a hatchway at a convenient location. That will give you access to the basement so you can get machinery and materials down to the shop without going through the house.

Not knowing the topography of your property, the layout of your house or driveway - try to place the hatchway so it's close to the driveway to make it easier to move machinery/materials to the hatchway.

Absolutely.

My basement shop has a Bilco door in the backyard, as far away from the driveway as you can get at my house. It's still really convenient, and I love having the Bilco door.

Basement wins over garage for warmth reasons, especially since you live in Michigan. The only downside to the basement is it's harder to get good dust control, unless you have a window.

[mike holden]

Jeff,
How long HAVE you lived in Ann Arbor? This is a no-brainer! BASEMENT!
Nine foot ceilings and heat!
In the garage, you will not do any woodworking from late November to Mid-March.
You will also not want to do any woodworking in July and August.

The basement is unfinished and with nine foot ceilings, you can put up some sound insulation. You will need both dust collector and air cleaner. But you get an extra 5 months plus each year to work.

Basement is the only real answer here. I started in my garage here in Clinton Twp, MI and after the first winter, moved to the basement.

BTW, are you a member of SEMIWW?

Mike

[Sonny Edmonds]

Garage.
And make a carport for the wife's car, and a shed for the stuff.
A Man's gotta do, what a Man's gotta do!
I made it abundantly clear that I had to have a shop, and one room for my compooter junk.
Those perquisites have never varied. And she knew it going into the marriage, and has always respected it. (Great woman!)
My shops have always been in two car garages. That's fine. And when we moved, the garage transformed right back into a garage with a few improvements. Not only does the shop move, but the electrical and all auxiliaries move with it. (Dust collection, air compressor & piping, shop vac & system, Etc.)
BTW, she set aside $10,000 from the proceeds to let me get my new shop set up just the way I wanted it.
Build your shop in a hole and get nagged at forever. Not to mention the hassles.
A dear Friend of mine fell backwards down his stairs coming up from his basement shop and fractured his pelvis.
The only way a basement shop makes good sense is if it has outside access, and preferably with a ramp and roll up door.
Compromise with her. Give her the basement in trade for the entire garage for your needs. Once you have your shop up and running, then you can feather her nest by finishing her home (nest) using the shop to build the basement.
Then, if you ever do move, the shop goes with. All of the shop. (Except the insulation and wall coverings.)
It's a win-win situation! :)

[Michael Merrill]

I think another important consideration that is important is what other hobbies/interests are important to you. In my case the two that drove the purchase of my current home are cars and woodworking. The house need 3 garage bays and a basement so I could have a woodworking shop.

Just as oil and grease on nice wood material will ruin a project so to will sawdust on important vehicles. In my previous home I had a couple mobile tools in the garage and would move everything to work and then move back. Finally after seeing my red Corvette looking a bit orange like with sawdust covering it, I said "No More!"

I'm a car guy as much as a woodworker so "Garages are for cars". If you have cars, motorcyles, ATV's, snowmobiles, etc. you might want two separate areas.

[Myk Rian]

In the garage, you will not do any woodworking from late November to Mid-March.
You will also not want to do any woodworking in July and August.
So, what have I been doing in the garage all winter, and last summer?

[Robert Parrish]

Think about the resale value. A finished basement adds living space which equate to equity. A garage workshop can be easily converted back to a garage when you decide to sell. Someone mentioned those sheet goods and long boards as being a problem for a basement. Go for the garage!

[Carlos Alden]

.So maybe you need to interest your wife in your hobbies to free up even more space and cash.:D

Regards, Rod

Cash? What's that? I have a kid in college and one going next year. Cash? What do you speak of, this...."cash"?

Actually, my wife is already supportive of my other non-cheap hobby, playing music professionally. I've got a roomful of guitars, banjos, mandolins, and a bunch of Chinese instruments, all of which I perform with. She also comes with me on my small sailboat at times. Yes!

Carlos

[Chris Padilla]

Another vote for the garage. If I had a basement (wish I did), it would be for family and entertaining/game room. You ever see Man Cave? I have so many sports memorbilia that I'd love to adorn such a room with but it'll have to wait for the next house. :(

Cold/Heat in the garage can be dealt with: it is called insulation. :) Other toys in the garage can be dealt with if the need arises: it is called a shed/canopy/cover. :D Electricity can be deal with: it is called a sub-panel. ;)

It sounds like you have nice space and land...use it.

[Rob Russell]

Think about the resale value. A finished basement adds living space which equate to equity. A garage workshop can be easily converted back to a garage when you decide to sell. Someone mentioned those sheet goods and long boards as being a problem for a basement. Go for the garage!

With 9' ceilings and a gently-sloped set of stairs, it would be no problem to move anything down the stairs into the shop. I know about moving into a basement shop. Take a look at this SMC thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=11989&page=3&pp=15).

With 1700' of space in the basement, Jeff could setup a 24'x32' dream shop in the basement and still have that much space left over (after leaving room for the "mechanical space" - boiler/furnace, hot water heater, etc.) to build a similarly sized den, home theater or whatever he wanted down there. He can't put in a bedroom unless he has windows that are large enough for emergency egress.

[Bob Slater]

I think another important consideration that is important is what other hobbies/interests are important to you. In my case the two that drove the purchase of my current home are cars and woodworking. The house need 3 garage bays and a basement so I could have a woodworking shop.

Just as oil and grease on nice wood material will ruin a project so to will sawdust on important vehicles. In my previous home I had a couple mobile tools in the garage and would move everything to work and then move back. Finally after seeing my red Corvette looking a bit orange like with sawdust covering it, I said "No More!"

I'm a car guy as much as a woodworker so "Garages are for cars". If you have cars, motorcyles, ATV's, snowmobiles, etc. you might want two separate areas.
I've divided my workspace into 4 rooms. Woodshop about 35%, car area about 35%, welding and painting (and extra car storage when needed) 20%, office/relaxing space 10%. The best thing is that the dust stays in the wood room. I have windows between most of the spaces, so I can see more than one area at a time. Make sure you can make noise in the shop you choose.

[Art Mulder]

Three car garage with 14' ceilings but I only get 2/3rds of it since the wife insists on parking inside it (the nerve!). However, I also have to share it with our lawn tractor, snow blower, two motorcycles, ... It also has stairs ... 400 sq. "bonus room" above the garage ... no heat and uninsulated garage doors, but that can easily be fixed. It also only has a single outlet in the whole garage, so I would need to install a 100A subpanel

Basement:
Our 1,700 sf basement has 9' ceilings and is completely unfinished.
Any thoughts?

Like others have said, it is difficult to make a suggestion without more information. How big is your family? would you really need the entire 1700sf basement for more living space? How big is the rest of your house? How much of the basement is exposed vs buried? Is it 100% dry -- have you lived there more than a year and know this for sure? Is the basement insulated? How much space is in the main elec panel for a basement shop? (ie: do you need a sub panel either way?)
Does the 400sf bonus room connect to the house, or is it only accessible from the garage?

I would also like to give my humble opinion that you are fooling yourself when you say you get only 2/3 of the 3-bay garage. If you are fitting a car in the garage, that is one bay. If you are also fitting in a lawn tractor, snow blower and two motorcycles, then that is another bay. :(

You only get 1/3 of that garage at most. :eek: You haven't even said anything about bikes, sleds, basketballs, and so on...

And what about that 400sf bonus room. Heck, that is bigger than my entire shop. I know of several guys who have put their shop above the garage. It gives them a nice wooden floor. It's nice and isolated from the house for dust, and there is just one straight set of stairs to go out. With a hatch and a hoist, heavy tools and projects go right up in various ways.


With 9' ceilings and a gently-sloped set of stairs, it would be no problem to move anything down the stairs into the shop. I know about moving into a basement shop. Take a look at this SMC thread.

With 1700' of space in the basement, Jeff could setup a 24'x32' dream shop in the basement and still have that much space left over (after leaving room for the "mechanical space" - boiler/furnace, hot water heater, etc.) to build a similarly sized den, home theater or whatever he wanted down there. He can't put in a bedroom unless he has windows that are large enough for emergency egress.

I'm with Rob. I think he makes some really good points. 1700sf is a HUGE amount of space. There is no reason why you can't have a reasonably big shop and still a nice big playroom.

Disclaimer: I currently have a basement shop. It's only about 250sf, but it's mine. Internal stairs only as well, but I manage. I frankly don't understand all these people who fret about dust invading the house. I have a 2HP single bag DC with an upgraded 1 micron bag. I also have a small ambient air cleaner. Sure the shop gets a bit dusty, but there is really no issue at all with dust getting into the rest of the house.

I think the other best bit of advise you've gotten so far in this thread is from the person who asked you just how much would it cost to add heat and insulation to your garage (it's up to you if you also add in the cost of building a shed/outbuilding to store your lawn tools/tractor/motorcycles)
Now compare that to the cost of putting in some better stairs into the basement -- or whatever else it is that you think you'd need to make a basement shop worthwhile like a Cyclone DC. Don't forget the annual cost of heating the garage. (The basement is already getting heat/AC)

[Dan Bertenthal]

Both... :D

[Lawrence Reichert]

My vote is for the garage. I have had a shop in basement for 10 years, royal pain in the hind end. always had to pre-cut plywood to fit down stairways. Large building projects had to built in pieces to exit out stairways. I Built a 22' *22' garage this summer with 16'door, and heated. No more precuting anything to fit just throw that plywood on 52" Sawstop and cut away.

[Leo Zick]

Rod seems to be the only 'car' person here...

in this case, the basement situation isnt ideal because its not a walkout, but you should never ever never lose valuable car storage and work space for something else!

[Leo Zick]

i think another important consideration that is important is what other hobbies/interests are important to you. In my case the two that drove the purchase of my current home are cars and woodworking. The house need 3 garage bays and a basement so i could have a woodworking shop.

Just as oil and grease on nice wood material will ruin a project so to will sawdust on important vehicles. In my previous home i had a couple mobile tools in the garage and would move everything to work and then move back. Finally after seeing my red corvette looking a bit orange like with sawdust covering it, i said "no more!"

i'm a car guy as much as a woodworker so "garages are for cars". If you have cars, motorcyles, atv's, snowmobiles, etc. You might want two separate areas.
amen brotha!

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I think we can all agree that all that "other" stuff needs to get out of the garage and into a shed of some sort!

other than that - depends on what your priorities are. For me, I know I'd much rather have my cars in the garage. Also, with our "little people" running around - as well as our own "organizational habits" - I'd be worried about all my shop stuff in the garage getting buried under toys or boxes, or other stuff. We also tend to use the garage for most entry/exit of the house, and I wouldn't want that to be ithrough the middle of my shop.

Mine is in my basement, and other than dealing with the exit stairs (PITA!), I like it. it stays cool in summer, warm in winter (furnace is there), and it's "off the beaten path". The kids know that it's daddy's, and they are not to go in there without me. I do wish it was bigger (working on commandeering a little more space....) but it is what it is. I still left more than half the basement for living space.

Oh - an whoever said "both" is a genius. :)

[mike holden]

Myk,

"So, what have I been doing in the garage all winter, and last summer? "

Freezing your tuckus off! and sweating pools of rust onto the tools! (grin)
It is not impossible to work in a garage in Michigan, just uncomfortable - especially when compared to a warm basement.
Mike

[jan kycia]

Hello

I just want to add some points. I was making a similar decision.
I live in Ontario. I started winterizing my garage to be able to work on
my car in the winter.
Maybe this is stupid and everyone knows and deals with this but ...
A new problem occurs when the icy car comes into the warm garage.
It melts all the salty ice under the wheel wells all over the floor.
This was a real mess for me and actually drained significan amount of water into the basement. I am now leaving a crack open in the garage door to dry out and cool the garage or I don't bring in the car.

Second. I set up my shop in my basement. What started it was that I found a used Delta Unisaw at a great price (not the hybrid but the heavy one). I took it apart and carried it down by myself and then reassembled it.
I would not recommend doing it by yoursef but I was so enthusiastic that I could not wait to get it running. Moving the equipement was not a big deal.

One suggestion that maybe someone mention, it could be nice to have a hatch in the garage to bring things down, also you could mayb work on your car from below, if you are into such things.

Maybe you could set up your loud dust collector in the garage.
It would reduce the significance of the noise and you would not be
so concerned about the smallest particles making it through the filter bag.

Jan

[Leo Zick]

Hello

This was a real mess for me and actually drained significan amount of water into the basement. I am now leaving a crack open in the garage door to dry out and cool the garage or I don't bring in the car.

Jan

...fix the root cause!

[Sean Nagle]

I have had a 450 sq ft basement shop for 15 years. My dream shop would be a 1200 sq ft above ground, dedicated shop. However, if given a choice between my garage or my basement, I'd choose the basement. There have been numerous posts mentioning the biggest advantage of a basement shop which is climate control. Not only is it a comfortable temperature in all seasons, the humidity is the same as the house which allows you to work and finish solid wood projects and not have any surprises when the items find their place in your house.

[Ron Bott]

Another vote for the basement. Main reason is temperature control. Yearly temp range here can be from -20F to 100F. I want to be able to work whenever I have the time, and not have the weather dictate my work schedule. Sure you can heat/cool a garage shop, but it would be quite a bit more expensive and not as effective as a basement shop.

In addition to the wide range of temperatures would be the wide ranges in humidity. Cold and dry in the winter, warm and humid in the summer. Seems like it would be difficult to keep the wood stable.

A basement shop is not without obstacles however. It can be difficult getting the larger equipment downstairs, but worst case scenario is to hire a specialty mover to do it. Unless your planning on moving frequently, then once it is downstairs, it's there to stay. For sheet goods, I rough-cut mine to size in the garage prior to taking them downstairs. Makes things very manageable.

[Randal Stevenson]

My personal want, is both. I have to work out of my basement, and outdoors. My garage, is basically a tiny shed, that was built for model A's and T's. It is unpowered, and sits far enough back, that I would have to go through a ton of concrete, including steps, just to get power to it.

With a basement shop, you will need better dust collection, as well as separation from the furnace and water heater, but it would be warmer then a typical garage. With a garage, you have a place to unload your stock, directly off the truck. It is also easier to work with sheet goods up there, and you can open the door when planing large stock.

[Wyatt Holm]

I vote garage because you have more room mostly, and it is easy for you to get machines in. One advantage of the basement is your temperature will be more comfortable.

[Chris Padilla]

Jeff,

What kind of access will you have to your basement? Storm doors? Stairs from inside the house? Walk in level? Will the garage and basement have direct access to each other (i.e a set of dedicated stairs?).

[Chip Lindley]

Um....can you put *single* garage door to the basement? Make the wife happy and YOU get 3 bays!!!

[Sonny Edmonds]

And she can park in the house to unload the groceries. You won't have to help carry them in. :D