Thoughts on a new workshop

[Joe Mioux]

Since my wife and I have sent out last kid off to college last fall, we (ME) are tired of living in a larger house with 1.5 acres of grass to mow. That acreage is in addition to 3.5 acres that i have to maintain. So we (me mostly) have decided to move into my parents old house which is on the same property as my greenhouses and flower shop. My dad died in 8 years ago and the house has been empty since then. I keep the utilities running and overall the house is in pretty good shape.

The house is roughly 1800 sq ft mid century brick ranch house. three bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen, den dining and living rooms and an attached one car garage.

We are going to update the house by adding a master suite, new master bath, remove a load bearing wall, open the living room to the kitchen and add a new two car garage. Also the basement is unfinished, Anna (aka Mrs) wants to have that fixed up to a game room, TV room, I want to have a space for my audio system and we will take the old kitchen and move it downstairs. My parents renovated the kitchen in 1995 and installed cherry cabinets. In the 20 plus years, the wood has become very handsome so I hate the idea of getting rid of them. Having a second kitchen isn't the a bad thing as it could serve as overflow cooking space for holiday gatherings and also work as a canning kitchen. The basement will also have a third bedroom and bathroom.

Anyway, and to the point, the old garage could then be used as a dedicated workshop. The problem I have is that the old garage measures 12x26. So I am looking for ideas and thoughts on that space.

Some of you may remember what I have as far as equipment goes but those of you who do not know here is a quick list.

Sawstop ics with long extension table
Mini-max fs30 jointer/planer
Mini-Max MM16
16/32 drum sander
Nova 1624 lathe,
Delta miter saw
Delta bench top delta drill press
Oneida 2hp dust gorilla
router table
workbench
Festool saw, sanders, domino, vacuum, etc
some hand tools
a couple sharpening grinders
a 50-60 clamps that are wall mounted

[Bill Dufour]

I would place an I-beam 12+' long just inside the garage door so a chain hoist can be used to unload heavy machines from a truck or trailer. It has to far enough inside so the open door does not interfere. Put an extra 2x4 on each side of an existing stud and run the beam so it sits on top of the old stud. That should be enough for 1500 pounds or more. I would design the beam for 2000 pounds to be safe.
Bill D.

[Peter Christensen]

I would stretch the two car garage at least another dozen feet and take that 12 feet for the shop so it's an L shape and almost doubled in area. You're gonna need it. :D

[Jim Becker]

No question...I'd add on to the existing garage space to create a shop that is more in line with supporting your excellent tools with space to actually use them. A "one car" garage, which is what you effectively have there, isn't going to work very well for that in all honesty. You may actually want to check cost of a dedicated building vs adding on to be sure you have all the details for any decision making.

BTW, I sure hope that when Professor Dr. SWMBO and I get to downsize in a few years (maybe...) that we can find a rancher like that!

[Doug Dawson]

I would stretch the two car garage at least another dozen feet and take that 12 feet for the shop so it's an L shape and almost doubled in area. You're gonna need it. :D

There's no way you can fit all that stuff in a one-car garage, and still be functional. Try it, at least in mock-up form. You'll start to see the virtues of parking outside. Either that or converting entirely to hand tools. :^)

[Chris Parks]

Budget & space willing I would be building a stand alone workshop, all the noise and dust is then isolated form the main house.

[John Isgren]

I think it will be tight. I am currently building a similar sized shop. I am focusing on more of a hand tool shop, but am designing it for some machines that I will get from my Dad. My main concept is to put everything on wheels and store up against the wall when not in use.

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[Kris Cook]

I am currently building a shop that will be 21'X24' inside dimensions. The new dust collector is going in the adjacent garage. The shop will be dedicated to wood working only. I have less stationary power tools than you and while I am fairly confident my layout will work I wouldn't want to go any smaller.

I am currently using a small add-on room (11'X19') for a workshop. My band saw, and 15" planer are the only stationary power tools in there along with my work bench. My table saw is in storage. This space isn't a lot smaller than your proposed shop space. I am building two doors right now for the new shop, and am having to cut the sheet goods outside, and will likely do the glue-up in the house (don't tell my wife). My point being; you may be able to fit those tools in the space but you won't have much room to get anything done.

Not sure how much flexibility in your plan but could you use the existing garage for one car, and use the two-car for a shop?

Good luck.

[Kevin Jenness]

You could probably make it work with everything on wheels but it will be cramped.

My first woodworking job was in a skinny shop 16" x 36" with more or less the same equipment as you have, and there wasn't much room for assembly or finishing.

Can you live with the existing one car garage and build a separate shop as Chris suggests?

[Jim Andrew]

Going by your list of ad-ons and improvements to the old house, you are probably going to spend everything and more you get from the sale of your house on your dad's old house. Personally, I would build a new shop, sized at least 1200 square feet, as you have plenty of room.

[George Yetka]

Park outside use the new 2 car garage for big tools and use the old garage for finishing/storage. Get a remote starter for the wife. :)
I sold my wife on taking over the garage by selling her on mobility on all tools and that I can move everything to one side if she needs to get car inside for a snowstorm. But that evolved into me just cleaning her car off after every snow

[Peter Christensen]

Could you add to the greenhouse/flower shop part of your business? A bit farther from the house but you could write off the building as expansion of the business storage/tractor parking even if it is closer to the house. You tax laws may be different than ours and it may not be worth it.

[Doug Dawson]

Could you add to the greenhouse/flower shop part of your business? A bit farther from the house but you could write off the building as expansion of the business storage/tractor parking even if it is closer to the house. You tax laws may be different than ours and it may not be worth it.

Here in the U.S.the IRS is very strict about not mixing business use with personal use re tax write-offs. Particularly in a "mixed-use" property like you describe, if there's _any_ personal use at all of something that's being declared as a business expense, that could be trouble during an audit. It's not worth it here (the likelihood of an audit may change in the future, but in any case this is a red flag.) I am not a tax lawyer, but I've seen a lot.

[Joe Mioux]

Thank you for the thoughts.... I realize, prior to creating this thread, I was attempting to drive an square peg in a round hole.

I think there are a few options.

1: Down size my equipment

2: Leave some pieces in the new garage, i.e. Lathe, Performax 1632 sander, Drill Press, Sharpening (Grinder, Tormek, Water Stones), Festool. Keep Tablesaw, MM FS30, MM16 bandsaw, Router table in workshop area along with some Workbenches

3: Retain existing garage for Anna's car, and build a detached garage. I didn't mention it but I have a New Holland TC33 Tractor with loader and 6 ft Brushhog, a ATV, a zeroturn, garden tractor, three tillers, and other items which are scattered here and there.

4: Get out of woodworking and sell all my equipment except some hand tools and Festool items.

[Jim Becker]

Number four is NOT a good option, Joe... ;)

[Joe Mioux]

Number four is NOT a good option, Joe... ;)

yea, that is why I listed it last.. :o

[Carl Beckett]

Well, a 12x26 workshop is better than NO workshop.

I have been in every space you can imagine. Basements. Garages. Separate shops. Heck, even used a second bedroom of an apt I lived in as a workshop for a while.

Fact is, it is not always practical to just build a dream shop.

One of the apt's I lived in for a while had a long narrow garage like this. I put a key few items around the edges (like a workbench/and tabletop machines that I moved on/off), and put the tablesaw facing the door. For most operations I would leave the door up or pull it out in the drive to use it, then push it back. As a side note I always preferred a 26" fence on the table saw just for this reason - those 50" fences are too wide.

You can adapt and make some great stuff. I you know you are limited in the space, I might opt for fewer pieces of equipment or even benchtop units that can be stored when not used. And steal any adjacent spaces you can (have seen compressors and dust collectors be put in separate rooms or even a small leanto type space on the outside wall).

[Joe Mioux]

Im going to update this old thread.

anna and I were in a big rush to get this project started, but a life changing event intervened.

My daughter was supposed to be married to the love of her life next week.

that won't happen.

Jennifer and Dalton have dated since 7th grade. they are/were 24 now. Dalton drowned while on a float/rafting trip.

Jennifer wanted me to have the house ready for her wedding, but now ithere is no need.

indulge me: This young couple met when they were 13 years old. they never knew another boy/girl friend. they never spoke poorly of the other. Dalton was an accountant working at Scott Air Force Base and Jennifer does social work placing foster care children. Last year they bought a house and were looking fpraward to next weekend.

It all changed in a few minutes.


Anyway... my new workshop will go forward as will the house renovation, but now on a slower pace.

[Jim Becker]

Joe, I've so very sad to hear what you just wrote about...there's just no way to even imagine your daughter's pain, let alone the rest of two families. And you're correct...it can only take a moment for things to change. :(

[Ron Selzer]

Sorry to hear this. Life can sure change in an instant. My sympathy to all involved.
Put your energy into surviving this and the house and shop will work out in time.
Prayers sent
Ron

[Bruce King]

Sorry to hear that Joe. Hope she can move on eventually as many do.

[julian abram]

Geez, what a tragic event in the lives of your families. Hopefully your daughter and all family members can work through this and continue on with their lives. Every day is a gift.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Sorry to hear of this life changing event Joe. Life is precious. My thoughts and prayers for you, your daughter and the two families involved.

[Larry Frank]

You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

This really makes me think. I met my wife in 7th grade, we went steady later in high school, we went to different universities and got married after we graduated. Now, next year will be our 50th. I can not begin to imagine if something had happened just before we got married. There are just no words to this tragedy.

[Robert Hartmann]

Agree with Doug. I just retired from the Air Force and sold our house in PA. The pics below are of my detached garage and the shop I had on the right side (it was added to the original oversized 2-car garage). The shop was 24x13 and had a separate room at the back that was roughly 10x10. I have a table saw, bandsaw, router table and delta dust collector on the right side of the shop. I have a DeWalt planer under the outfeed table and my bench on the far wall. On the left I have some room for sheet goods, a bench for my kids, drill press and clamps (35-40). Most of my hand tool storage is in the back room along with other supplies. If you tried to add the additional tools you have it would be really tight. As it was, using the bandsaw was a little tight and I had to pull the router table out from the wall. My outfeed table (4x4) was used for assembly and "other" stuff. There is just enough space to cut a sheet of plywood on the saw. Anything longer I would have to open the French doors. I also had the advantage of this being part of a larger garage that didn't have much in it, so I used it at times.

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FYI, I'm missing that garage/workshop. Not finding anything near it in our current house hunting quest.