New Shop Layout

[Trey Tull]

I am about to out grow my office in the house and will soon be moving everything out to my shop. Its currently a 12x24 w/ a 12' lean to off the back but I will be closing that part in, to create a 24'x24. My though is to have a little office (10x12) and "conference room" in the front part. In the back part, I have room for (2) 18x32 lasers, a big wash sink, a 3'x6' table and counters all around the walls. I plan to hang wall cabinets and or shelving on the walls.

In my current office I can reach my desk, laser and storage rack all at the same time, so my prep area/walking flow is pretty tight. Once in the shop, I will have a lot more room to move around, so I need to think about how the back part will be arranged. I want to minimize wasted walking but still have room for storage and job work flow.

If you don't mind sharing, what is there about your shop layout that you would change tomorrow? Is your sink to far away or do you not have enough prep room or not enough storage....etc.

Thank you for your time!

Trey

[Doug Fisher]

Here are some thoughts on things I wish were better or actually incorporated in my workspace. Mine is in my basement but think these are applicable to any work space.

Good ventilation. By this, I mean getting air in and out of the lasering space without affecting the office space. You want to minimize issues with both smell and the effect on office temperature, especially in the cold and very hot times of the year.

Insulation for both sound and keeping the room temperature nice. Maybe an exhaust muffler if you have neighbors nearby.

At least one wide door and wide doors in general to get machines and large sheets of material in and out.

Ability to separate or enclose really loud accessories if you have them - exhaust fan, chiller, etc.

Easy floor finish to simplify sweeping clean

Fatigue mats on the floor in front of the machine

Windows to keep your mood more positive when you are working long hours!

[Keith Downing]

Here are some thoughts on things I wish were better or actually incorporated in my workspace. Mine is in my basement but think these are applicable to any work space.

Good ventilation. By this, I mean getting air in and out of the lasering space without affecting the office space. You want to minimize issues with both smell and the effect on office temperature, especially in the cold and very hot times of the year.

Insulation for both sound and keeping the room temperature nice. Maybe an exhaust muffler if you have neighbors nearby.

At least one wide door and wide doors in general to get machines and large sheets of material in and out.

Ability to separate or enclose really loud accessories if you have them - exhaust fan, chiller, etc.

Easy floor finish to simplify sweeping clean

Fatigue mats on the floor in front of the machine

Windows to keep your mood more positive when you are working long hours!

These are great tips Doug has given!

I'd add: a place to do dust free staining, painting, and finishing. Everyone is different, but we ended up doing a lot more of that than we originally anticipated and it's always a battle. Wish I would have planned space for that in the beginning.

[Mike Null]

What and how you plan your space is dependent upon the work that you plan to do. In my case, I found that rolling shelves are indispensable. My engraving room is rather small so the rolling stock lets me prep the work in other areas of the basement then roll it into the engraving room then back out for re-packaging.

My nearby competitor, who is also a friend, was visiting my shop last year and spotted my rolling shelves and went directly to his computer and ordered 5 of them for his much larger shop.

[Joe Pelonio]

My biggest problem has always been having enough flat shelving to store materials, especially leftovers too good to discard. Also, it’s nice to have a small “clean room” for painting and airbrushing. I have the laser positioned close to an outside wall so a short run for the vent, and selected the wall so that the fumes are not directed toward a neighbor. In 8 years none has ever complained of the smell, though some days like today I cut acrylic for about 8 hours.

[Trey Tull]

Great tips everyone.

I had forgot about space for my spray booth. I also struggle with where to store scrap that I don't want to throw away.

What about HVAC? Are your areas climate controlled? I'm more worried about humidity than I am with temperature. My office is in the house, so humidity isn't an issue but in the shop, I'll have to figure something out.

Keep the tips coming.

Thanks

[John Lifer]

I have mine in my basement too, indoor outdoor carpet unfortunately. So I have to be careful with stain, Cermark. I conduct my business in house, ultimately want to convert first bedroom to office/meeting room. But I leave having my computer and desk 3ft from lasers. Storage so far isn't issue, and I have plenty for expansion. Will add shelves as needed.


Bathroom? How far to go? I'd want one close. Internet? Powerline
adapters work better than wifi if you use power from home.

[Kev Williams]

What's this "space" you guys speak of??

374573374576374574374575374577

--after 42 years of ever increasing business and a never increasing workspace (until the garage shop which I've already outgrown)--
I make no apologies (or suggestions!) :D






.

[Makrel Johnson]

Man, I saw these and my first thought was: "Intervention" :D


What's this "space" you guys speak of??


374573374576374574374575374577

--after 42 years of ever increasing business and a never increasing workspace (until the garage shop which I've already outgrown)--
I make no apologies (or suggestions!) :D






.

[Jeff Body]

What's this "space" you guys speak of??

374573374576374574374575374577

--after 42 years of ever increasing business and a never increasing workspace (until the garage shop which I've already outgrown)--
I make no apologies (or suggestions!) :D






.

The pictures of your basement gives me a great deal of anxiety. :eek:

[Doug Fisher]

>>Are your areas climate controlled? I'm more worried about humidity than I am with temperature.<<

Yes, humidity is something you want to control, especially in regard to condensation that can form on your laser. I use a stand alone dehumidifier. Go ahead and buy a 70 pint unit. It is more efficient and thus will cost less over time which will more than pay for the initial upfront cost over a 50 pint unit. These can have problems out of the box that require a return so I advise to buy local versus having to pack and ship back to Amazon considering many local places will match Amazon prices. Home Depot and Best Buy had the units with the best price to performance ratio when I was looking a few months ago. Lowe's required a "ship to store" to get a decent one for a decent price.

My $.02 based on the need to do an emergency replacement not too long ago.

[Dave Sheldrake]

A cat Bed next to my desk so my cat doesn't sit on the drawings PC over the warm exhaust fan, dribble and blow up the rather expensive video card !

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[Dave Martin88]

Give careful consideration to lighting, both overhead and spot lighting. Maybe I bring this up because I really notice the need for more light as I get older?

[Mike Null]

Dave beat me to mentioning lighting. It's really important. I think your office is bigger than need be and that space could be better used for prep or storage.

My sink is a bucket of water. The plumbing is roughed in but right in the path of where I have to have space to move my laser in and out should the need arise.

[Kev Williams]

concur on the lighting! My operation fully engulfs our 1300 sqFt basement and as of 3 years ago our 20x24' garage. I just counted, I have 71 overhead florescent tubes in this place, and individual work lights for most of my machines. I recently moved my fiber into the garage, and the light I had over it on the table downstairs (a single 2' 'undercounter' fixture) I moved over my wash sink, can't believe the difference having some light there makes! But I just bought a 3-ton bench press to use as a stud inserter, it's mounted on the table where the fiber used to be, and now I need to get another light fixture to hang over it, even with all these lights that spot is too dark to work...

I said above 'I have no suggestions', but concerning lighting I do: White Walls and Ceilings. Wish I had them, if I did I could get by with 1/3 the lighting I'm using. Most of the basement ceiling is open floor joists, the interior walls are all dark paneling, most of the cement exterior walls my dad covered with pegboard and corkboard. . The garage was sheetrocked with 1960's yellow sheetrock which isn't great for reflecting light either.

If your new shop is paintable, get the brightest white paint you can find and repaint it. If not paintable, an option is 4x8' white styrofoam insulation boards, the 1/2" thick are around $8 each and not hard to put up. I've toyed with the idea of buying a bunch to line the walls and ceiling, but you've seen my walls & ceiling, working around 49 years worth of 'addtions' would be a total nightmare, for me, much easier to just add more lights :D

[Trey Tull]

Thanks for the input about lighting. At the current time, the walls are just natural OSB but I will be painting them white before I move in. The floor is also OSB and I'm trying to decide what I should put down over it....any suggestions?

I just trenched in the power and water lines, from the house to the shop, on Saturday and boy o boy was that a job. I will have a 100 amp service down there, so I shouldn't have any issues with power.

Once I get the shop fully cleaned out, I'll start posting picture of my progress. Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips.

[Kev Williams]

The floor is also OSB and I'm trying to decide what I should put down over it....any suggestions.
YES--
https://www.harborfreight.com/anti-fatigue-foam-mat-set-4-pc-62389.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/anti-fatigue-foam-mat-set-4-pc-62389.html)

^^^^ these floor mats from Harbor Freight- a pack is all of $9, there's 4 to a pack, each piece is 25 x 25", that's only half a buck a square foot!
They puzzle-piece together, come with finishing edges, and they're wonderful to walk on! And not break coffee cups or customers wine glasses on! :D - my whole garage shop floor is covered with these, everyone who comes in notices and comments about the floor. All of my machine cables are run under them, have had no problems. If any get messed up, they're dirt cheap, just get another 4-pack!

I have 5 packs of them I just got the other day to put down in my 10x10' porta-shed-- when I find some time!

These are one of HF's best products for the price... :)

[Trey Tull]

Kev, I will agree, those mats are some of HF's best items. I have those or some variant in front of each of my machines. I plan on having a work surface and all of my storage on casters, so I don't think I can cover the entire floor but the will be in front of the laser and counter space.

Would you suggest covering the OSB flooring with a more uniform surface? Maybe a sick down vinyl tile or something like that?

[Tim Bateson]

I just switched my shop lights to 400k (daylight bright) LEDs. Not only did it cut my electricity costs, It's fantastic to be able see everything so well. Actually I switched my whole house. Even those noisy florescent lights. All replaced with LED equivalents.

[Dave Garrett]

You have a sink? I'm jealous. I'm in a 100+ yr. old spice manufacturing warehouse with no sink. sure, theres a shared bathroom sink but I cant even fit my Brita pitcher under the spout. What I'd recommend is a big enough sink to fit your cutting table into. preferably with an overhead sprayer. In fact I'd settle for a lousy hose outside at this point.

[brian fithian]

Trey, i have an 8’x15’ room dedicated to my laser in a 30’x40’ shop. The rest of the shop is for woodworking. The BEST thing that i did was to put my dust collector outside and ran a branch to my laser. Wish i would have donethat years ago.
I was to the point of running out of space in my laser room so, last week, i built a cutting table and picking table in the shop area withshelves out in the shop. Ithas made it enjoyable again to be in there

[brian fithian]

I have a small mini split in my laser room. Keeps the climate perfect and hardly costs anything to run

[gary l roberts]

You know, I feel better about my work space........

[John Lifer]

Showed Kev's picture to my wife and her consternation was palatable. No way she said, no way...

[Kev Williams]

She should see it in real life :D

There are some nice bennies- no commute, our cars always have low mileage, and the biggie: The ink just gets blacker and blacker :)

[Trey Tull]

Trey, i have an 8’x15’ room dedicated to my laser in a 30’x40’ shop. The rest of the shop is for woodworking. The BEST thing that i did was to put my dust collector outside and ran a branch to my laser. Wish i would have donethat years ago.
I was to the point of running out of space in my laser room so, last week, i built a cutting table and picking table in the shop area withshelves out in the shop. Ithas made it enjoyable again to be in there

The dust collectors and air compressor will be outside.

[John Lifer]

She should see it in real life :D

There are some nice bennies- no commute, our cars always have low mileage, and the biggie: The ink just gets blacker and blacker :)

OH, I'm home based too..... Right now in my 600sf partitioned section of my basement, got another area 400sf for storage if needed, and another 500 sf if really needed. And my shop could be storage to a degree...... Nope, she would MAKE me organize... Heck I just put down my house shoes an hour ago and she's put them in the closet....
O

[Kev Williams]

The goal is, to get so busy you have no time to organize :D

[John Lifer]

.....:eek:......

[Tim Bateson]

The dust collectors and air compressor will be outside.

I have mine in another room. Makes a BIG difference.

[Trey Tull]

Update -
Still under construction but this is the west end of the shop as it stands now. The counter top was given to me and I purchased the cabinets from ReStore. I hope to get the ceiling done and finish up the wall paint this weekend, the electrician is on tap to finish everything up next week and then I'm going to paint the floor some shade of grey. The laser will go under the wall cabinets on the right side of the picture.
The water heater will on in the empty corner space under the counter and a trash can on the right end of the counter. My desk will be at the end of the counter on the left side of the image.

I also have a mobile workstation that will have a wireless keyboard and mouse, wireless monitor and my most common tools on it. This is so that I don't have to run back and forth between my desk and laser when working on a project.

On the other end of the shop will be wall cabinets, wire shelves and a mobile work top. Hopefully this will give me plenty of prep and finish part storage.

Once the ceiling is in and the electrical is done, I will have enough light in this shop to send SOS signals to distant stars.

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Thoughts or ideas?

Thanks
Trey

[Craig Matheny]

Fish tank and desk location to lasers I would flip everything and my desk would be closer to a window.

[Trey Tull]

---- Shop update ----

I finally got moved in but like everything, its still a work in progress. I need to finish the back splash, paint the ceiling, finish some trim, do some touch up painting and decorate the place..ha

Cabinet and open storage
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Laser and sink. The ac unit also has heat and it does a great job.
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I put my spray booth in the wall. That freed up alot of space.
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My desk is in front of the other window. It looks out onto my children's play set, which is nice.


Thoughts?

[Kev Williams]

---- Shop update ----

I finally got moved in but like everything, its still a work in progress...
Thoughts?
Yes- it'll never STOP being a work in progress! :)

After 42 years, every 'this will work for now' thing I ever did to get a machine up and running, is still exactly the same as it ever was.

Know what? It all works, ain't broke, why fix it? And it's entertainment for the customers :D

Know what my biggest problem is? Can't find decent rubber bands (seriously!)