Building my first Woodshop

[Bob Swann]

I have had a woodshop in the basement of our home for nearly three decades and we have now sold our home and are in starting to talk to builders to design a new home. Of course one of the considerations is a new woodshop. We are going to build a 2500 sq ft brick ranch home with a three car garage. I would like to incorporate the woodshop as an extension of the back of the garage (size between 16' by 35' to 20' by 35'. My question is has anyone build such a shop and if so, are they willing to share their experience and design
:confused:

[Jim Andrew]

My shop is a separate building, so no great help. Don't know why attaching it would be a big deal. Hope you find a great builder. You might look for a guy who is 2nd or 3rd in a family of builders. Have a friend whose dad was, and son is also. And the guy is good.

[Chris Damm]

My shop is 26 x 26 (former 2 car detached garage) and is attached to the back of my new 26 x 36 garage. The shop has a 6' wide double door the swings into the garage. My DC and air compressor are in a separate room at the back of the garage. This keeps the noise down in the shop. All walls are insulated with 3.5" of fiberglass and 1.5" of closed cell foam. This keeps the heat (or cool) in and the noise out of the house. I can heat the shop with a 5200btu oil filled space heater here near the shores of Lake Michigan and can cool it with a 5000btu window AC.
If I were you I would go with the 20 x 35 shop as 16' would be a little restrictive. Bigger is generally better when it comes to shop size.

[Jerome Hanby]

My shop is a huge, nearly cubical, two car garage. I can walk down into it from a door in the kitchen. I'm not sure I'd tout twenty+ foot ceilings, but having enough room to swing a cat in all three dimensions and easy access from the house is nice.

[Kirk Poore]

My shop is on the back of my garage, and is 22 x 26.


Doors: I would suggest sliding doors to divide the garage and shop--I used horse stall door hardware. These save space, are cheap, and you don't have to open the door the whole way like you would with a rollup door. Also, make your door large enough to drive a car through. I went with 8x8. You can get small stuff through a big door, but not the reverse. The next guy might want to work on his sports car in there (since he probably won't want to do woodworking).

Floor trenches: Figure out where you want your dust collector. Then run a trench in the floor from the DC location to the middle of the shop. Underfloor lines beat overhead for looks and practicality, even if you wind up with short above-floor runs to the actual machines.

Headroom: 9' ceilings minimum. Go taller if you can.

Subpanel: Put in a subpanel just for the shop and garage. 100 amp or larger.

Kirk

[Prashun Patel]

Have not built one, but have dreamed MANY TIMES about it.

I would design your building around dust collection. I'd build a false floor and have floor-run electric (if permitted) and 6" dust ducts. I would also plan on a preseparator or cyclone dc that vents outside. No filters to change.

Having a dedicated finishing room would also be nice.

Are you planning to have it plumbed for a sink? That's also nice to have.

[Justin Jump]

When I started the planning stages - I read this forum every chance I got, scoured it for as much info as I could, to help me plan, aid, build, etc.....

Some of the thongs I came up with as a result, and not just a 4 walled room with no plans.

Defintely added water and plumbing. I added a small room with a toilet. I made it just big enough for the toilet though, with a 2 tub slop sink in the shop, I didnt want to waste valuable floor space for a small sink.....It's a workshop after all, men don't wash their hands anyways, and when I do, I can wash them in the slop sink.

Ran as much 220 (10/2 and had some free 10/3) wire as possible. Hell, now that I am through that process, other than the lighst maybe, and the required 14/3 for the smoke detector, for the extra $$$$, it's probably worth it just to run 10 gauge everywhere. Leave you way open for future tool additions.

Dust Collection and Air are in the lower portion of my shop. I built a 2 Story, 2 Car Garage. Yeah - I may get dust on the cars, I can always wash them. I CANT WAIT to use an air tool in my shop with hearing a v-twin air compressor runnning.

Used engineered floor trusses - plenty of room to run the 6" dust pipes in the floors.

I have the table saw planned for every day work, with my back facing double french doors, if I ever have to cut anything exceptionally long, I can open the doors and let the stock hang out. Saves some floor space for what I'll be using it for.

No need for attic space, so I used scissor trusses for a cathedrial ceiling. More aesthetic than anything, but it does make the room feel bigger.

Im sure there are more, juct cant think of them all right now....

[Von Bickley]

Several things to think about.

If it is attached to the house, how will that affect your property taxes. For tax purposes, it may be better to have a separate building, taxed as an out-building.

If you go with a separate building, keep it close to the house for the electrical, water, and if the fall of the land is suitable to tie in the sewer line for a toilet.

[Don Jarvie]

To keep the aesthetics of the house it putting it off the back of the garage so the shop would be 20 x the length of the garage would be a good size. 20 is plently wide. Having a catherdral type ceiling is nice since having the room to manuver long boards is great.

Kirk's idea about the 8x8 door separating the shop and agarage is awesome. Set it up in the 3rd bay and you can just back in your truck with wood, etc and then unload it. The 3rd bay can also double as wood storage if you have 2 cars.

[Jerome Hanby]

I'm beginning to start thinking in terms of building a big shop and having a small attached house <g>.

[Ray Newman]

Have you checked with the local building and zoning department for any restrictions on what you want to do? That is the first thing that I would do.

Even rural areas have some quirky zoning issues. For ‘zample, where I reside most properties/lots are zoned R5 -- one house on five acres. But the zoning codes then stipulate that you can only build on only a certain percentage of those 5 acres, leaving the rest for water run off, environment /habitat protection, etc., and limit the size of the out building(s).

And as one poster mentioned, think about property tax issues. If you want to install a separate electric meter service for an outbuilding, check with the utility company. Around here, the power company will charge a higher rate for a second meter on the property as it is considered a business or rental unit -- even if it is not and the the assessor and permit offices get involved.

No use making plans and daydreaming if you can not obtain the permit. Based on personal experience and that of others, be a bit skeptical of what a realtor and or builder tell you what can be done.

See the below thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?184106-new-shop-and-zoning-issues

[Thomas Canfield]

The 8' door for vehicle access is a good idea, but 8' sliding door will kill 16' of wall space somewhere, and typically do not seal well for dust or AC. I did put an 8' insulated metal garage door in my new shop and it is an inconvience with the door up blocking lights and also restricting head space with door track.

I also favor having a shop unattached or connected by "breezeway" if required to be connected by local codes. There is too much dust, bug, and other issues associated with a connected unit, plus it defines when I am out of the house.

[Jim Falsetti]

As others noted, it's best to review all the local regulations and codes before you spend any time or money on a shop.

We are building an addition that includes an attached shop to our existing attached 2 car garage. The shop will be 14x24, essentially a third bay to the garage. For various reasons, there is no external door leading into the shop - the shop door will open into the existing garage. Because the shop may be considered as living space, code requires the shop floor to be 4" higher than the garage floor.

5/8" FC gypsum is required on all surfaces adjoining the other living spaces. We are still debating the fire rating for the door between the shop and the garage - most likely a 20 minute fire rated door will be installed.

Our town zoning regulations require a Storm Water Management Plan when the Effective Impervious Coverage on a residential lot exceeds 10%. As a result, the single largest cost in the entire project is moving dirt and installing drainage systems. We will also have a 10x20 rain garden, to be planted with native plants.

The zoning regulations require that a Professional Engineer design the SWMP. The town decided they don't have the manpower to inspect and review the as-built SWMP so the homeowner has to pay a PE for the SWMP inspection and review.

Jim

[Kirk Poore]

The 8' door for vehicle access is a good idea, but 8' sliding door will kill 16' of wall space somewhere, and typically do not seal well for dust or AC. I did put an 8' insulated metal garage door in my new shop and it is an inconvience with the door up blocking lights and also restricting head space with door track.

I also favor having a shop unattached or connected by "breezeway" if required to be connected by local codes. There is too much dust, bug, and other issues associated with a connected unit, plus it defines when I am out of the house.

I will be framing in my sliding doors this summer, making them pocket doors. This will get me back that lost wall space. I do have garage door style weatherstripping around the doors, with foam stripping on the connecting edge, and have found it to seal pretty well. You do have to have some kind of support (or, in my case, a roller) to keep the bottom of the door from tilting. The roller was included with the stall door hardware.

As for a separate building, in my case it was going to cost more to construct, more to power, and cost more in property taxes. And if I'd added plumbing, it would have been even worse.

Kirk

[Todd Burch]

Hi Bob.

My current shop is a detached (or attached, via breeze way, depending on your perspective) 3 car garage with a 20' extension on the back. That makes it 30' wide x 40' deep, for a tad over 1200 sf per the tax roll.

I have a double and single rollup doors in front (w/ openers), a walk-in door on the front side and a rollup door in the very back, no opener. Rollup in back cost $350, whereas a walk-in door back there would have been $450 (code, add a light, a step, etc). I like the rollup door better anyways. Builder wanted to put the rear rollup door in the corner, but I told him to move it out 35" from wall. He asked why. I said so I could put a cabinet or a machine in the corner. That has worked out perfect.

I have 8' ceilings. I wanted 10' and the builder (a production builder) wouldn't do it. Wouldn't do 9' either. I'll have 10' ceilings in my next shop. Maybe 12'. A small cyclone (the smallest Oneida unit) will fit under an 8' ceiling. When I out grew my cyclone, I went with a Felder RL-160 and it had much greater capacity and was only 6' tall or so. Bonus: it's a much better dust collector too.

I sprung for garage attic stairs that support 300 lbs. It was a negligible upgrade cost. Much better.

I use recessed cans with floods for lights - they take very little space, and that's nice with 8' ceilings and swinging plywood around.

I didn't specify, and the framer spaced the ceiling joists ~19" apart. This sucks for adding insulation. Next time, I would do 16" or 12" centers. I got a huge attic up there.

I use ~700 sf as a "shop". 400 sf is used as a garage (mowers, yard stuff, bikes, car, etc.). (Car is under restoration - we don't park in this "6 car" garage. :p ) ~100 sf is machines stacked up too close together to use them in the area of the front single-car bay.

I built an "L" shaped wall surrounding the 400 sf double bay with a large non-doored opening in the back to get to the "shop" part. The tall leg of the "L" splits the front double and single bays apart. The walls give me more wall space for hanging stuff, and backing cabinets or tools up to, and, it cuts down on some of the dust reaching the "parking area".

Todd

[Bob Swann]

I have had a woodshop in the basement of our home for nearly three decades and we have now sold our home and are in starting to talk to builders to design a new home. Of course one of the considerations is a new woodshop. We are going to build a 2500 sq ft brick ranch home with a three car garage. I would like to incorporate the woodshop as an extension of the back of the garage (size between 16' by 35' to 20' by 35'. My question is has anyone build such a shop and if so, are they willing to share their experience and design
:confused:

I want to thank each of you for your responses as they are all helpful. I have met with three builders and will meet with two others today and will all their initial quotes to build our new home over the next three weeks. If it is allowed, I would like to post my plans for the 20' by 30' space as they develop and would welcome your input and thoughts as I go through this process.

Thanks again
Bob Swann

[Ron Natalie]

A big door (double doors or a garage door) would sure be convenient. A only have a large single door, I'd change that if I did it again (and I still may).

I do have the DC and compressor on the outside (well indoors but outside the shop room) and I agree with the previous poster, that's a big win.

I've got straight fluorescents in the room but my wife had it retrofitted with solotube skylights which really was a good idea.

[Bob Swann]

My shop is on the back of my garage, and is 22 x 26.


Doors: I would suggest sliding doors to divide the garage and shop--I used horse stall door hardware. These save space, are cheap, and you don't have to open the door the whole way like you would with a rollup door. Also, make your door large enough to drive a car through. I went with 8x8. You can get small stuff through a big door, but not the reverse. The next guy might want to work on his sports car in there (since he probably won't want to do woodworking).

Floor trenches: Figure out where you want your dust collector. Then run a trench in the floor from the DC location to the middle of the shop. Underfloor lines beat overhead for looks and practicality, even if you wind up with short above-floor runs to the actual machines.

Headroom: 9' ceilings minimum. Go taller if you can.

Subpanel: Put in a subpanel just for the shop and garage. 100 amp or larger.

Kirk
I have taken your points and have discussed them with the builder and will incorporate severail in the design. For example, making the door big enough to drive a car into the space does indeed give the space more flexibility on resale. I am however leaning toward a roll up door as it takes up the least amount of space. I have also incorporated the 9' plus ceilings, a 100 amp subpanel am looking at how to put the air compressor and dust collector outside the shop and have a space build for them in the garage.

:rolleyes:
:rolleyes:

[Russ D Wood]

In addition to the tax issues that might arise because the shop is attached or not attached I had a similar situation with the power panels. I have a detached shop and was going to put a power drop to the shop. Turns out if I did that I needed a commercial permit for the out building and I would have paid commercial power rates. By upgrading the power panel on the house and tieing the out building to the house I did not need the commercial permit and pay household rates. Do NOT assume the building department will tell you these things, do your own research and always ask the builder what is allowed and what things tick off the inspectors. In our area the building inspector is cool and so is the electrical inspector but oh my the plumbing inspector has had his head in too many toilets! :eek:

As far as the other poster that had a contractor tell him what he would and would not do, fire the contractor, it is your dream and your money, never let the contractor dictate the job, they work for you.

Oh yeah, high ceilings are a must! Russ

[Dave Zellers]

... For example, making the door big enough to drive a car into the space does indeed give the space more flexibility on resale. I am however leaning toward a roll up door as it takes up the least amount of space.
Just make sure you have enough headroom for your forklift. And a place to park it. :D

Well, that's what I'd do... if I could, you know, afford it...:cool:


But still happy in my 35 x 23 basement shop.

With an 8' slider.

But no forklift.:mad:

[Zach Ware]

dad paid a guy 17g's to build ours. 9 foor walls all steel 13 feet up to the peak of the rool 24x33 with slablike the car ports but alittle more heavy duty metal

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bob,

You might want to check in to building code differences between an attached shop and a detached shop. I built a 24'x30' detached woodworking shop. Because it's a detached shop, the code requirements were different and more flexible.

[Richard Dragin]

Roll up or carriage doors. The biggest waste of space in many "garage" shops are the standard door with tracks.

[Don Bullock]

Several things to think about.

If it is attached to the house, how will that affect your property taxes. For tax purposes, it may be better to have a separate building, taxed as an out-building.

If you go with a separate building, keep it close to the house for the electrical, water, and if the fall of the land is suitable to tie in the sewer line for a toilet.

Von said exactly what I was thinking. When I explored adding a shop/garage to our new home (did not have a garage) I looked into the issue of attached vs detached. A detached building was cheaper to build and like Von suggested, my property taxes are less. In my area an attached shop or garage adds to the school tax and a detached building doesn't. Don't ask why. It's just one of those strange things that politicians came up with.