Basement Shops.. You Got One?

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Ok... So how many of you have basement shops... Mind you.. Not JUST basement shops.. But basement shops in which you have to go down several flights of stairs to get into them, shops?

I'm wondering what you do with your sheet goods when you have to pull in a bunch as to processing them.

Also, any tips as to efficient use of basement shops and dealing with those stairs in regards to moving projects, materials, etc?

[Matt Kestenbaum]

My shop is down a full flight of steps...I have Bilco doors with about 15 steps to the back yard, but there is a stone filled trench in front of it for drainage, so even though that route is shorter than through the house...it has its own challenges.

For sheet goods I have the dealer break in half (at least) before I load it up and bring it home. I have not built anything too tall or heavy that I could not get it out of the shop, but I am conscious of this constraint. In all fairness I think my biggest challenges have been getting everything into the shop! I staged as much as I could buy upfront in the garage and then paid movers to get it down the steps -- 8" parallelogram jointer was tough...and the table saw. Moved the 7'6" long 3" thick maple work bench in with one friend, a fridge dolly, plywoord over the rock bed and with a lot cussin' and praying! I fear I am never moving out of my house.

Wrapping in moving blankets and corrugated with packing tape before taking anything up and out is a must! I also like to do my finishing outside (9 months of the year) or in/out of the garage.

[Mike Zilis]

I only have one narrow flight of stairs to traverse to get into my basement shop, but getting lumber and plywood in and getting projects out, takes some planning. For the last year or so the only plywood I've been buying is half sheets of Baltic birch. Not light, but the 60" x 30" pieces are way more manageable than 8' x 4'. Since getting rid of my Ford Expedition 2 years ago, the longest piece of lumber I can comfortably fit now is 7'. I now have the supplier cut the boards I'm buying before loading them. This certainy makes getting them in the house and down the stairs easier too.

As for large projects, having a design and construction strategy in place from the very beginning for how I'm going to get them out of the basement is a given.

The only tool in my shop that came pre-assembled (it was a floor model) is my 450 lb Jet JJP-12 Jointer/Planer. I hired movers to get it from the store into my basement. Everything else came partially assembled in boxes that I was able to carry or slide down the stairs - 14" bandsaw, contractor table saw, drill press, drum sander, dust collector, air cleaner, etc.

A basement shop has it's challenges, but I wouldn't ever trade it for the few advantages of a garage shop.

-Mike

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I expect a basement access to be designed such that you can move a washer and dryer. If it is much larger, you probably need to take it apart. I can take down a full sheet of ply, but I feel like I am dancing.

When I traded for a table saw, which happens to have long fence rails, a friend and I took off the base and carried the saw with the fence rails attached into the basement. Thinking about including the saw with the house if I move :rolleyes:

[Jim Shockey]

I love my basement shop after I got a good dust collection system installed. Having a walk out basement is really nice. It is nice to have the constant controlled temperature and the convenience of the shop being so close. With good insulation the noise is not much of a problem if I plan ahead. Jim

[Michael Peet]

Basement shop here, no exterior access. Full-sized sheet goods get broken down in the garage with a track saw first.

Mike

[Mark Ashmeade]

Basement shop here too. I have four options:

1. Have sheet broken down by supplier. Free at Home Depot, $5/cut at my preferred lumber yard. Therefore depends on the quality of the plywood required as to where it comes from.
2. Break sheet down myself on horses in the garage. Considerably more hassle than having it run through a panel saw.
3. Carry entire sheet down internal basement steps, wrestle it through the table saw. Requires help of wife, therefore to be avoided if possible.
4. Carry sheet around house to rear, and in through walk-out basement doors, wrestle it through the table saw. Considerably longer route than the internal route. Requires help of wife, therefore to be avoided if possible.

The Rolls-Royce solution would be my own panel saw in the garage. I'm not there yet, and I can't see me getting there anytime soon either.

[Prashun Patel]

I keep saw horses in the garage. I break down 4x8 sheets in the driveway with a circular saw and a guide.
Dimensional stuff is kept to 9ft or less. If I have to go bigger, I just work in the garage.

I took off the railing to my basement, which helps a little.

No matter how much care I take going up and down, I still have annual spackle patchwork to do around the corners.

The basement (for me) isn't as much a challenge as my car. I have a minivan, but no truck, so even getting 4x8 home can be a challenge. In that case, I have the dealer rough it down for me. I never have them cut it to exact specs though - especially that ply's from HD...

I long for a walkout basement. But I just can't justify the cost to LOML.

[BOB OLINGER]

I have a basement shop; explored other options, but looks like I will continue with the basement. If I maneuver just right, we (2 person job) can get a full sheet down the stairs. If the project permits, I will cut the sheet down first. There are pluses and minuses to the basement shop, the way I see it. A big plus is its close proximity. A minus is moving stuff (everything including finished projects) up/down the stairs; also the dust thing with the basement shop, although my addition of the dust collector and air filter should help.

[Philip Berman]

Used a pair of sawhorses to break down sheetgoods until I ran across a great deal on a panelsaw. Best $300 I've spent yet. Installed it along one wall of the garage and it doesn't interfere with parking a car. I do however have to move the car out of the garage before using the saw, but that's waaaaaaay easier than going through the kitchen, around the island, down the stairs, through the tv room, make a sharp left into the shop, watch out for the bench, go around the carving bench, don't hit the fluorescent tubes, and onto the tablesaw which, invariably, I've forgotten to open the blast gate which I can't reach once I've gotten the ply onto the saw!

[mreza Salav]

have a basement shop (non-walk out). The stairs down have a 90 turn in the middle. I break the plywood sheets either at supplier or in the garage.
My biggest problem has been taking my tools down there (all by myself) one at a time. The biggest one was a ICS-SS with 52" rails (I dis-mantled it).
My current worry that I think about once in a while is how to get my 800lb J/P combo down there.
My nightmare is when we want to move out and I have to take all these out of the basement!!

[John Williamson]

I break down my sheet goods in the garage then move them to the basement. I use the festool TS55 and it works great for me.

[Bob Murphy]

I have a walk out bsm't shop which has 6 foot French doors and both open.

I did, however, have a friend who actually rigged his bsmt steps so they could be raised up from the first floor level. The house was a one story and the stairway ceiling was not sloped. The stair ended against the bsmt wall which kept the raised stairway in place.

With the stair raised, 4X8 sheet goods were more easily passed into the bsmt. He even rigged a cum along in the rafters so heavier equip could be lowered. Maybe a little extreme but it worked for him.

Bob

[Chris True]

I have a basement shop. Access is normal interior stairwell from the living quarters or the exterior access is a double french door leading to the concrete "area way" with about 10 steps up to ground level. I had a concrete sidewalk put in all the way from the driveway around the side of the house to the basement steps when the house was built 3 years ago. Excellent addition, equipment is easy to roll from the driveway to the stairs on a dolly or appliance hand truck, just gotta worry about the 10 steps. Also got 9 foot ceilings down there for a modest upcharge, think it was an extra thousand or maybe 2 thousand. Everything from sheet goods to an 800 pound planer goes in from the outside.

[John TenEyck]

Same deal as many others - 13 steps down to the basement and no other access. Full sheets of plywood just make the corner at the top of the stairs, but as I get older I tend to break them down in the garage first. I've started to acquire larger stationary tools, and they are more of a challenge to get down those stairs. I've had to disassemble some and take them down in pieces just to make it semi-safe. I've had to forego buying others because they are simply too large. I've longed for a Bilco door, but the $5K+ price tag ended that longing. My longing these days is for a safe way to spray finish projects down there. If anyone has any suggestions on how they do it I'd apprecite it.

Getting finished projects out of the basement has required design modifications more than once. I've resorted to assembling projects in the gargage on occasion, or using knockdown fittings for final assembly. But my basement shop is large compared to a garage, I don't have to move tools around in order to get the cars in (that would drive me nuts and I bet the cars wouldn't see the inside of the garage much), and it is warm, dry, and comfortable to work in. I wouldn't trade it.

[Ben Hatcher]

My basement shop is accessible only via stairs in the house. I'm also blessed with a 90 degree turn about 3 steps down. Joy. I get full sheets down by banging them into the walls, knocking holes into the drywall, jacking up the door and trim. This is made easier by lots of cussing, and hoping that when I finally turn the corner they don't get away from me and slide down the rest of the way.

As much as this sucks, it is way better than it used to be. I actually went so far as to swap the location of the bathroom and hallway on my first floor so that I had a strait shot from the garage into the basement stairwell. I built a home made panel saw in my shop intending to use it to break down sheet goods in the basement. As soon as it warms up, the panel saw is going into the garage...that is, unless I break down and buy that track saw I've been lusting after for the last year+.

[Ralph Okonieski]

Ben, I use a similar approach for transporting sheet goods into my basement ("...banging them into the walls, knocking holes into the drywall, jacking up the door and trim. This is made easier by lots of cussing.") LOL

For a specific cut list, I have the lumberyard cut the sheets in half either lengthwise or width-wise. If I'm getting for no specific purpose, I'll cut the 4x8 sheet with a track saw in the garage. I stopped trying to get an entire 4x8 sheet down the steps and into the shop, there just isn't enough room to do that.

[Paul Johnstone]

My only criteria in buying our most recent house was that I could get a full sheet of plywood down. The wife had pretty much free reign with everthing else :). I moved the door that connects the garage to the interior. Now the basement door and garage door are lined up, and I have a straight shot to the basement. (No turns in stairway, that was a requirement).

Using something like a Gorilla Gripper, or the plastic jig that holds the bottom of the sheet good (http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/PK-2468/Pocket-Kart/?srccode=cii_13736960&cpncode=22-96462099-2)
really helps.

[Brian Hughner]

The only access I have to my basement shop is the interior stairs, which has two 90 degree turns in it. Which means all sheet goods get broken down in the garage. I use a circular saw and guide set up on horses to do the breakdown. The one trick I learned that has really helped with the breakdown is to use 1 inch thick rigid foam insulation panels as a platform on which I lay the plywood. This helps stabilize the plywood as its being cut. I use a cut list program to lay out the pieces and I can cut both rips and crosscuts without having to muscle the sheet around all the time. An no worries about how to support cut-offs and handle the saw at the same time, and no cut-offs falling and damaging corners or edges.

[Gene Waara]

Same as all. Break down in garage or have sheet goods ripped at source. I have a 90 degree turn at the bottom of the steps that creates a challenge. Created a bigger challenge moving a 7/8" X 4 X 8 solid slate pool table to the basement. Actually cut a hole in the wall at the bottom of the stairs and fed the slate through the wall. Still, as others have said, I love my basement shop for accessibility and free heat.

[Van Huskey]

I feel for those with a basement shop, had one years ago BUT it was a walking. Just thinking about getting machines and stock down the steps would give me nightmares! Kudos to those that love this hobby enough to cope!

[Chris True]

I rather like my basement shop, steps from the living room and perfectly temperature controlled, no rusty cast iron to worry about. I suppose an outbuilding with it's own HVAC system would be nice but economics say otherwise...

[Ben Hatcher]

I rather like my basement shop, steps from the living room and perfectly temperature controlled, no rusty cast iron to worry about. I suppose an outbuilding with it's own HVAC system would be nice but economics say otherwise...

Chris, I'm with you. As much as getting things up and down the steps, the dust, and the noise are inconvenient, the free climate control and easy access make it a perfect fit for me at this point. Now, in my dream world, I'd have an attached 3-car garage on a walk out lot with my shop on the bottom, vehicles in the middle, and my SO's studio up top. Oops. I just drooled a little on my keyboard.

[Ed Lomax]

Last year, I moved into a house that has a walk-in basement (partially finished) with a patio door. I am in the process of converting a section of the basement into a shop. :)

[Steve LaFara]

Baement shop here too. To get stuff in I have to carry through the kitchen, living room, down a flight of about 10 steps, make a 180* turn and down about 5 more steps. The house is a tri level. Or, go around the back of the house to the opposite end where there is a pair of french doors and then cut through a large family room and down the 5 steps. Either way is a pain in the pa-toot.

But I still love my shop as I have the ENTIRE basement to myself. Break down sheet goods in the garage on a sacrificial 3' x 6' table made from 2"x3" studs mounted to a pair of folding table legs. It's a pain but worth it.

[Burt Alcantara]

To get to my shop I have to go thru either the kitchen or garage, both of which are very narrow entries. Then it's down 7 steps with a left turn to more steps to a sharp right into the shop. I've installed a Grizzly 19" bandsaw and a Powermatic 3520B @ 600 lbs. What I do is make a mock up of the tool then practice getting around the turns. Once I see the problems I can determine if I need help or not. As the step have a heavy duty carpet, I slide the tools down.

As to sheet goods, I always have then cut to rough dimensions. An entire sheet will fit but weak me can't do it and there's not enough room for 2 people. I can't conceive of getting those tools out of the shop.

[Peter H Brown]

I also do my sheet cuts in the garage so I keep 4 folding saw horses there. I cut all sheet goods with a Festool plunge saw and track system which I might not have purchased had I a walk-in basement. I used to make all plywood cuts on my table saw but I now prefer the quality of the Festool cut over the table saw. When I cut with the Festool I can cut it to final dimensions. I don't have problem getting rough wood up to 16' down my cellar stairs so my chop station is in my basement.

Biggest limitation with my basement shop is that I can't buy larger equipment without moving help. When I first set up my shop, I bought machines that I could get into my basement by myself. As my woodworking skills have matured and I've wanted to graduate to larger equipment, I find that I can't get the pieces down the stairs without professional movers. Friends can only do so much where this kind of weight is concerned. Sometimes I wish I had an extra bay in my garage just for the heavy equipment (table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw, and dust collector).

Finally, it's possible to build a piece that's too big to get out of your basement. I recently had a 'boat in the basement' experience with a 62"x35"x21" cherry sideboard project that almost didn't make it up the stairs of my Bilco covered bulkhead. I forgot to consider the geometry of carrying this piece up the stairs. Yet another thing to think about when constructing some pieces. I don't think I could build a hutch or an armoire in my basement, for example.

[Peter Quinn]

I have a giant bilco and one those handle things for carrying sheet goods, some bright orange plastic gadget. Its a lift but its doable. I have a vision of creating a conveyor lift one day when age necessitates. I saw plans for one a while back using a small cable winch and a rolling cart plus some shop made rails, like a little rail road car. On the bright side you will never hear me complain " Its minus 42 degrees out and my garage shop is too cold to work in. Lowest it ever hits is 55 degrees with no heat on. Highest it ever hits is around 72 even when its hight nineties out side.. I now use my van and a come along as a winch to get very heavy things in and out safely.

[David Prince]

I have a separate shop building so it isn't a basement shop, but reading through this thread brought up a couple of questions.

Does to low ceiling cause any issues?

Do you end up with dust in other parts of the house? (even with a DC and air cleaner)

I have a basement and did a few things down there about 20 years ago, but couldn't imagine ever having a full blown basement shop. I would cry if I had to give up the shop I have now and move into a basement.:(

[Gary Herrmann]

Another basement shop with a 90 degree turn from top to bottom. I haven't bought any ply in quite awhile, but usually break it down in the garage as others have mentioned. Long boards either have to be cut to length or finessed through the narrow angle that presents itself without dinging anything up. I got a 12' long 14" wide 8/4 cherry board down there once and don't ever want to do that again.

That being said, the real trick has been getting 500-600 lb tools down there.

[Mike Konobeck]

Of course we would all like a 100' x 50' "shed" for a space to work but I think that for most a basement shop is very doable and economical. I don't have to heat/cool another space, get bundled up in the dead of winter to get between house/shop, etc. I want to say that the main part of my shop is 12x20 with some other nooks and an L. Having a basement shop has its own challenges. Space utlization and efficiency is by far the most important thing to consider. I have a combo machine and you should have seen how small of a space the person I bought the machine from had it in and made some very nice stuff but most of it was small. My limit is 8' stock but I typically break stuff down in the garage like everyone else so that it is easier to move around. Just got done building a 10' wide built in and moving stuff around was a pain but not too bad. Anything more and it would have been near impossible to have in the basement.

Moving equipment has been FAR more challenging then lumber. The combo machine was fun. I think it weighs 1600lbs but splits in half. Made a rail system and used a winch. Only way to do it if you are moving anything over 500lbs. Anything less is really not bad. I feel bad for people who have to get around corners to get to the basement.

A dust collector and filter are a MUST. I built a "doghouse" outside the back of the basement/shop for the dust collector and that helps a lot for noise and dust. Never had a problem with dust in the rest of the house.

Ceiling height has never been a problem. When I finished the basement I put in cans. Recessed lighting is nice because I guarentee I would be breaking bulbs constantly otherwise.

Scattered thoughts but a basement shop has its advantages. Just have to think through things a bit more when approaching a larger project. Good luck.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Does to low ceiling cause any issues?

It is a problem, yes. Some equipment is too tall to easily fit. My dust collector pretty much touches the ceiling. My dust filter hangs from the rafters in the corner, but, if you walk under it you can hit your head. Running lines for dust collection can also be difficult.


Do you end up with dust in other parts of the house? (even with a DC and air cleaner)

I have not had dust problems in the main house, but, I am pretty serious about going after the dust. I use a very good filter on the furnace, I run main dust filter, which does a very good job in my small shop, I use dust collection on my tools, and I spend a lot of time vacuuming after I generate dust. My shop vac can be used as a blower, so, I frequently blow the dust out of the rafters while running my dust filter as well as my main dust collector with a giant collector piece on it.

My wife watched me do this one day and said that she had no idea how hard I worked to keep the dust down... The laundry stuff is in the same room.

[John Morrison60]

When I built my home, I could not come up with a acceptable layout that would have a stairway able to handle
a 4x8. My architect suggested horizontally slotting a rim joist providing a 1" by 4' "passageway"
(from the garage to the basement) for sheet goods.
This worked good for my basement finishing. Following that, I decided to add an external stairway for the basement apartment with which I share space. I can bring a 4x8 sheet in that way.
I then built a folding cutting table which is kept in the garage.
This is the way to go.
You end up with smaller pieces to carry down, and less space requirements for the TS in the shop.
The Festool track saw is so accurate, that I do simultaineous breakdown/final size cuts in the garage.

My biggest issues with the basement shop involve getting heavy machinery to it.
My outside stairway cured those issues, with some rigging of sled/rail jigs, and muscle.
I have taken 600 - 700 lb machines into the shop.
The most difficult issues in a basement shop normally revolve around reduced space, dust and noise.
Some initial thought a organization beat those issues into submission.

I love the environmental control and being "in the house" that are the big benefits of basement shops.

Good Luck
John

[Rich Konopka]

I have been successfully using a basement for many years and bringing down full sheets. I have been using a Telepro Trol (http://www.amazon.com/Telpro-TROLL-300-Pound-Capacity-Handler/dp/B0000224PA/ref=sr_1_47?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1295805328&sr=1-47)l for the past 8 years. It works great when I have bring sheets down from the hatchway.

[Jay Maiers]

I have been successfully using a basement for many years and bringing down full sheets. I have been using a Telepro Trol (http://www.amazon.com/Telpro-TROLL-300-Pound-Capacity-Handler/dp/B0000224PA/ref=sr_1_47?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1295805328&sr=1-47)l for the past 8 years. It works great when I have bring sheets down from the hatchway.

How well do you think this would work if I had to walk through grass and firm dirt? I've got daylight access to my basement, but it's a steep drop on one side of the house, and a long slope to go around the far side (the easier route).

[Neil Brooks]

+1 with almost all who responded.

Basement shop. No walk-out. NOT a straight shot from the garage > laundry room > basement stairs. No turns ON the stairs, though.

I have the sheets ripped, when I buy them, am DILIGENT about dust control, swear like a drunken sailor when time comes to take machines down the stairs, patently REFUSE to think about what taking them UP the stairs will mean, and love my basement shop.

Year-round comfort. Easy access. Low costs of construction. 9' ceilings.

Only a well-designed and prohibitively expensive stand-alone shop could -- FOR ME -- be an improvement, and it neither fits my budget NOR on our property.

So ... yeah (, Van): I love my hobby enough to make do with the sacrifices, and don't truly consider them to be substantial.

Brother just gave me a copy of WOOD Magazine's "America's Best Home Workshops."

Naturally, I HAVE to kill him, now ;)

[Rich Konopka]

How well do you think this would work if I had to walk through grass and firm dirt? I've got daylight access to my basement, but it's a steep drop on one side of the house, and a long slope to go around the far side (the easier route).

I do not think it would work well for that. The wheel is small and narrow and would sink in with the weight. I am fortunate to have a walkway around my garage to the rear hatch.

However, this may work for you.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200439939_200439939

Cheers,

[Ole Anderson]

350 sf of my 1500 sf walkout basement is shop, the balance is mostly finished. Even with the walkout, I bring a lot of stuff straight down the stairs, as it is quicker. I tend to have sheet goods cut 2x8 or 4x4 for free at HD or my local plywood outlet depending on the project, just a lot easier to load in the van and move to the shop. On other projects I can deal with full sheets even in bad weather if I take all the rear seats out (a GMC Safari). Full sheets come in the doorwall in the basement and I can break them down, barely, on my Griz with the 52" rails, but they are tight to the walls. Just installed an ambient air cleaner and am finishing up a centralized DC. I have 91" to the bottom of the joists, wouldn't want any less. One of my buddies at work has TEN foot ceilings in his basement, now that would be nice