Shop layout (NOT)

[Jim Colombo]

277082277081I'm envious of all you guys that have real workshops. Mine is the garage shared with the cars. Let's hear it for us guys that have to move our cars and then roll our toys around in order to do our woodworking, Actually it saves us having to do a shop layout.

I tried to show pictures but I get a "upload failed" message. Could the file size be too large (2mb)?

I've added the pictures which show all of my toys as they are stored so I can get the cars in the garage. Looks like the image size has to be around 1mb.

[Daniel Smith]

I'm lucky enough to have a basement to house my shop, but there are still some minor inconveniences. This time of year I lose the shop for about a month due to Christmas. Right now my table saw is covered in wrapping paper, ribbons and bows - as in this is where we wrap the presents and not "Merry Christmas to me". It still beats freezing in the garage though. I do feel for those who have to tough out the seasonal conditions just to get some shop time.

[glenn bradley]

I'm envious of all you guys that have real workshops. Mine is the garage shared with the cars. Let's hear it for us guys that have to move our cars and then roll our toys around in order to do our woodworking, Actually it saves us having to do a shop layout.

Here, here. A grand hurrah for you lucky stiffs!

[Eric D Matson]

I feel your pain. I used to be in a garage myself but have been blessed with half a basement shop now. Mobile bases are a life saver!

[Myk Rian]

Nothing wrong with a garage shop. They do sell heaters of various types for the purpose.

[Kevin McCluney]

Nothing wrong with a garage shop - just don't let any cars in and there's plenty of room!

[Dave Zellers]

Garages are not for cars.

Come on- who doesn't know that!

My neighbor is not even a woodworker and his 2 car garage is filled to the brim with stuff while his cars sit outside.

This is America we're talking about, right?

:cool:

[Dale Murray]

I'm in the midst of getting setup myself, a bit of a tall order considering I bought my house just over a year ago and on top of working full time I also have a whole house to remodel and trying to setup a shop in the garage. I am doing a bit of a hybrid model.

I intend to have all my machines in the insulated, heated, air conditioned garage, the basement will have all my hand tools; chips in the basement and dust in the garage. So far my garage has not gotten under 50*F, not bad considering I have not replaced the 30 year old un-insulated garage door.

The garage is 19.5'x24'.
Currently we have one car but eventually two will be in there. I intend to have a bench attached to the 4' high cement wall and build several carts for storage and work surfaces.

[Rick Potter]

I used to have a two car garage 20X20. I had a bandsaw, ras, table saw, and workbench, plus misc tools in there along with two cars. This was before mobile bases. I just put casters under them. Got a lot of stuff done with that setup. Paid $125 used, for the whole package from a newspaper ad. We're talking mid 60's here.

Rick Potter

[Rick Markham]

I love my car, and I love my truck... they live outside because I love my shop more! ;)

[glenn bradley]

Nothing wrong with a garage shop - just don't let any cars in and there's plenty of room!

Oh come on. Who would put a car in a garage. That's crazy talk.

[Michael Dunn]

I actually have my wife's car in the garage now... First time in years! Now that I have a commercial space. I do miss having tools available around the house.

[Mike Cutler]

Well there's one thing to be said for a "garage shop". You definitely clean it more often. ;) Right now my shop looks like a bomb went off in it, and it's cold!
My" shop" is two 9'x19' spaces that Form an "L". It's pretty cramped, at times. I gotta blow out the wall to the boat port someday, 'cause I'll never have a boat.

[Steve Kohn]

My first shop was in the basement. After less than a year I was told to move it out of there due to having dust circulated around the house by the furnace. So I made everything mobile and moved to the garage. Heat was provided by a kerosene heater. The total shop took about 1/2 of one bay in a 2 car garage. My wife was still able to part her car in the garage.

Eventually my tool collection grew to include dust collection and a ventless natural gas heater. I had no A/C so it was petty uncomfortable in the summer. With wood storage I had now had taken over the entire garage whilst my 5 cars sat in the driveway. We had to adopt a very specific method of parking the cars to be able to get me, my wife, and the 3 kids out in the morning.

After 10 years of scraping snow and ice off her car my wife insisted I build a shop/garage. However she insisted that the shop needed to look good attached to the house. So an architect was hired and he designed a 30X32 foot addition. The architect designed the inside to my specifications. We had the shell added to the house years ago, and I did all the finish work myself. The shop is heated and air conditioned so I can work year round.

So now we theoretically have space to park 3 cars inside; 2 in the garage and one in the shop. In practice we still only park my wife's car in the garage, since the rest of the garage is taken up by other "stuff". The good truck only goes into the shop when I'm not working in there. My beater truck always sits outside.

It took 25 years but I'm very happy with the solution we have evolved to.

[Craig Behnke]

my workshop is in the garage also, but i got lucky because the house i recently bought has an oversized 2 car garage with in floor radiant heating. I'm squeezed into the sides and front area because here in Vermont, i NEED to keep the cars in the garage because many winter nights go to zero or below zero degrees....you read that right, zero or below. now way in hell am i getting in my car at 7am after a -5 degree night. ain't gonna do it.

it works for hobby project type stuff.