Need input on where to put new shop

[Wes Billups]

I realize these questions have been asked many times before but I have a bunch of specific questions I need some help on. My wife and I just returned from our first visit to Marysville, OH where we will be moving in February. We looked at a few houses with the main goal being to find something for my family as well as my shop. I am currently spoiled by having a separate 20x40 building which contains my shop and offers plenty of space. The original plan was to find a house with an unfinished walkout basement. After visiting we realized that there aren't many walkouts. If we are unable to locate an acreage in our price range we are thinking of building but can't figure out how to fit my shop into a 3 car garage.

Question #1: Could some of you who have dealt with this give me some ideas on a house design which allows for shop space on the first floor?

Question #2: We are also thinking about going with the basement idea and building a 4 ft wide staircase to make moving machines and materials easier.

Question #3: For those of you who have recently built detached shops. What would a good cost estimate be for an insulated 2-1/2 stall garage/shop? If we find a large enough lot we'd consider putting up a 24 x 32 shop.

Please let me know all your opinions as I would really like to decide on an action plan by December.

Thanks,
Wes Billups

P.S. I'm sure there will be many more questions prior to our move.

[Steve Stube]

can't figure out how to fit my shop into a 3 car garage.


This one is easy, sell the cars!

[Frank Pellow]

I recently moved out of a basement shop into a seperate building and am very happy that I did so. The two main advantages are (1) getting all the mess, noise, and dust out of house (2) getting natural light and easy outdoor access.

The complete cost of my recently completed 480 square foot shop was about $20,500 (US). That includes all materials, taxes, fees, and the very small amount of subcontracting that I hired. It also includes the cost of heating and dust control equipment.

[Jim Becker]

I am also partial to a shop in a separate building if you can pull it off, with the garage as a second choice followed by the basement, even if a walk-out. The reasons are many, including dust control and finishing considerations. But quite obviously, the property you ultimately buy will dictate your options.

[Andy Hoyt]

My insurance agent says that detached shops make for less expensive policies.

And building codes aren't as expensive to satisfy either.

[lou sansone]

if I do the math right, frank's place worked out to be about 40 /sq ft. which is pretty decent. Cost of buildings is all over the place depending on the style and features in the shop. I think my shop was probably about that amount, but it is hard to compute because I did all my own work, except the foundation. I also spent more than some might on certian parts of the shop, like 200 amp 3 phase underground service, western red cedar roof, full rigid insulation in roof, walls, and floor, as well as a full hardwood floor. I had a shop within my home at one time and would never do it again if at all possible.

lou

[John Bailey]

Wes,

I worked for years in a small basement shop. I've been building a detached 20x20 shop this last year. I don't have it enclosed yet, however, I've been working in it for the last month and I can't imagine going back to a basement, or even an attached shop. I love it out there, and I don't have to worry about bothering anyone with noise, dust, or loud music. My advice, if you've been used to a detached shop, do what you need to do to get another one.

As far as cost, I've got 2 doors (I'm makin' them myself out of scraps), one window (I'm makin' it myself out of scraps), electric (quote of $1,500), lighting (Home Depot T8's at $350) heat (Jotul 602 CB woodburner @ $1,000 with pipe), floor (pine @ $800) and wall covering (pine @ $500) to go yet and I've got just under $5,000 in it. That includes a grizzly jointer and an old DeWalt radial arm saw. I figure I'm going to have between $9,000 and $10,000 into it if I stay on budget, which I've been able to do so far. Mine will be a simple shop and I scrounge a lot, however, it can be done pretty cheap if you do a lot of work yourself.

John

[George Summers]

Mine is 16 x 24. I had to take into consideration how it would fit with the yard and the house and be in some size relationship to them in order not to effect resale value. Too big and mine would have been too big for the yard and house. I used a garage package from a local building supply center. Not wanting to lose any interior wall space in this size shop, I traded in the garage door for more windows and vinyl siding. I figured that 99.5%+ of what I build will have to go into a house door so it must come out through a normal house exterior door. there was a three foot drop in grade diagonally in my shop area so that was too much dirt to move to put down a slab. I built mine on fifteen piers and am glad I did. First a wood floor and second, a crawl space for storage and I ran my DC duct and electrical for the tablesaw under the floor. Yeh, I would like bigger but like I said, I couldn't overpower the yard or house or it would look way out of place. Other than electrical which I had run underground from the house to a sub panel in the shop, I have about $6000-$7000 in materials with 100% labor by me, myself and I.

http://ncwoodworker.net/gallery/browseimages.php?c=123

George

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Wes...I hired a contractor to build the empty shell for my shop. It's 30'x24', 2x6 walls, poured footings, wall and floor, 10' ceilings, Hardiboard siding, 1 10' insulated garage door, 1 36" insulated steel door, 3 4'x3' thermopane vinyl windows, plywood sheathing, 30 year fiberglass shingles....It cost me $16,500. It was unpainted....I painted it.....I'm finishing the interior when time allows. I'll be into to it about $26,000 by the time it's finished and that includes natural gas heat. I installed 200 amp service with it's own meter and overwired it. Walls insulated to R-19 and ceiling is to be insulated to R-38 on November 3rd. Walls are 1/2 ply and ceiling is 5/8" sheetrock.

[Bart Leetch]

Pole buildings now days are very good looking buildings & not as costly as other types of buildings. So how about a
40' x 50' or 60' pole building 3 cars across the front with the shop in the back half. This works very well because you can have sliding doors from the shop into the garage where you can back in to unload lumber & materials. Also the compressor & DC can be in the garage. You can also store some material in the garage. This puts it all under 1 roof & may be less expensive than building 2 separate buildings.