Hobbiest, Non-Commercial, Leased Shop Space

[Robert Galey]

I retired March 2020. Sixty-one years old and in good health (as far as I know). We moved to Northwest Arkansas. Nice house, but no good woodworking shop space. I'm considering leasing an existing 1500 sqft building for my hobbyest, non-commercial, woodworking shop. Lease building is within walking distance of our house (1 mile). Seems like a good option as I can move in ASAP versus, at best, one year, $50k, and a BUNCH of hassle, to build a shop.

Without getting into the lease versus build math, does anyone have an opinion and/or advise about leasing a woodworking shop? Ample electrical power and threat of theft are on my list of concerns. Climate control would be nice, but the lack thereof would not be a deal breaker for me. Access to toilet/sink would be a must-have.

Thank you in advance for any comments / suggestions.

[Scott Winners]

Just an idea while waiting for the thread to get moved. Would it make sense to lease for one or two years and build a shed type structure at your home future owners might use as a garage or convert to an efficiency apartment?

[Bryan Lisowski]

If you are leasing the space it should come with a bathroom, generally is code. As for heat and AC generally most places will just have heat, unless there is finished office space. You could do your own security system, so not a big deal. You may need to carry certain levels of insurance as a requirement of the lease. I doubt electric would be an issue, but the unit may be 3 phase. With all that said, I have thought about this myself, but eventually the math as a hobby shop doesn't make sense, but I don't have an idea of rents in your area. I like the idea of a short term lease while you build a shop at the house if possible.

[Jim Matthews]

Insure your tools, carry an "umbrella" policy to protect
your home from lawsuits.

Is the electric panel beefy enough?

Can you park at the shop?

Sounds ideal.

[Jim Becker]

I suspect that even though you are a hobbyist, you're going to have to treat the leased space like it's a business for insurance purposes. It does sound like a viable solution if the numbers work for you if everything else is acceptable. GIven economic conditions, there may actually be some pretty good opportunities to lease commercial space and even negotiate the cost a little.

Electrical may or may not be an issue, depending on what the space has been used for previously. If changes need to be made, you need to ascertain whether or not that has to be done through the landlord or not and/or if the landlord has requirements/policies for space improvements like that. Same for HVAC. And an alarm system, preferably with video. And yea, since it's away from your home, access to at least a half-bath is kinda important. You may want/need communication access to the space, too, since the aforementioned security system will kinda need it if it supports video. (regular alarm call-out can use cellular on most modern systems, but that's not a good bet for video)

[Jamie Buxton]

When I’ve looked for rental shop space, fire sprinklers have been a key issue. One landlord told me his insurance company would not let him rent for woodworking unless he put in fire sprinklers. It turns out that installing sprinklers is very expensive.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I would build at home. There is no reason, other than weather, that you can't have a complete shell up in 90 days, or less. Look at Morton type buildings. They are a combination of wood and metal buildings. Very quickly assembled. Here at State Fair, for years they put a 30 X 40 up in a week. Because it was meant for animals, it didn't have a concrete floor, which could be poured after building is erected.

[andy bessette]

I would build at home. There is no reason, other than weather, that you can't have a complete shell up in 90 days, or less...

This. There is just nothing greater than having your shop a few steps away from your home. To say nothing about throwing the rental money away instead of investing in your own property.

[Frank Pratt]

I would certainly make building the shop at home a first priority & not throw away any money on renting. I can't see why it would take a year to get one built. I acted as general contractor on our current home (2800 sq ft on 2 levels & attached garage) & it took 6 months from breaking ground to move in. And I am not a builder and am not terribly organized. A real contractor should have no problem building you an insulated, drywalled shell in a couple of months.

[Thomas Wilson]

I rented a studio for a hand tool shop in a converted warehouse. As a hobbyist I could not get insurance. I tried a lot of agencies and companies and got a flat no way. The rate in a commercial space is based on the gross sales not on value of equipment. I was surprised but that was the way it was from all places I could get an answer.

[Joe Hendershott]

I was in the same boat. Around here, closer in to Atlanta finding a small space was difficult. Everything was 4000 sf or more. Finally found a 1100 sf industrial space semi close. It's smaller than the basement place I had but will work. Around here all of the people renting spaces require $1,000,000 general liability insurance. It was about $40 a month if paid in advance for a year. Every space I looked at required a minimum 3 year lease. Some, like others posted, would not allow woodworking. Pretty happy so far, only been a month. Had to upgrade the electrical service and add LED lighting, so some upfront costs but so far, so good. Also around here they all have to have a basic bathroom if built after about 1968. When talking to others around the country it was obvious that a lot of things differ according to the locale and local codes and trends.

[Bill St Amant]

the "hassle" in building a shop is the set-up which happens in both in building ground-up or leasing a space. An existing space won't have the lighting and electrical hook-ups correct or the storage where you want. At least with building new, you can minimize through planning. I'd be concerned about noise. If it is your own property, you can work late into the night.

Think about the future. five years down the road if they sell the place, then you are out of luck. If you build, then five years down the road, you have been in your shop for four years.

[Ray Newman]

As an aside, the Sept/Oct 1980, #24, issue of Fine Woodworking has a cover story about setting up small shops. Quite a few 4" jointers and 12" portable planners, and no or very little dust collection. Times have changed.

[Frank Pratt]

As an aside, the Sept/Oct 1980, #24, issue of Fine Woodworking has a cover story about setting up small shops. Quite a few 4" jointers and 12" portable planners, and no or very little dust collection. Times have changed.

Boy, isn't that the truth.

[Jim Becker]

My initial shop in about 1997 was a one-car garage (that never had a car in it...I'm still in wonderment that I could actually build anything furniture like in there given the space, but I managed to create Professor Dr. SWMBO's cherry desk that's still in use today.
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Relative to the OP's question, after multiple days thinking about, I still feel that this is going to be a difficult thing for the reasons I originally stated. And to be clear, It's something I've given thought to myself because there's a chance that we may downsize in a year and if we move into town, adequate shop space "on property" may be tough. I do currently have the official business that I can leverage because I do have commercial liability that I can add other coverages to, but I don't have long term plans for the business and don't support myself with it. Going pure hobby gets in the way of a rental and keeping the business running is expensive. But maybe things are more attainable in Arkansas than here in SE PA.

[Jon Grider]

Not sure if it's an option in your area, but "Maker Space" groups can be a viable alternative. I joined one for a while in 2019 pre covid because they had a 16" jointer, 24" planer and a wide belt sander; much larger equipment than my home shop. Shop time was limited and shared however. I never really had an issue though, I just milled my wide boards and brought them back home to further process.

[Frank Pratt]

I don't thing the OP really cares as he hasn't been back to participate.

[Ed Mitchell]

In case Frank Pratt is wrong and the OP still lurks, I'll mention a couple of thoughts:

1) Repeated, quick trips to the shop: If you lease a space somewhere else, it becomes a hassle to go there. A mile is very little hassle, but still not close to just walking outside your door as with a home shop. This was mentioned in a recent FWW podcast -- what happens if, say, you're at a point in the project where you're doing glue-ups, and you glue up a bunch of components, and use up all your clamps. A few hours later, the glue is probably set enough to remove the clamps and glue up another batch of components. Do you sit in your leased shop for 3 hours? Drive home? And a few hours later, do you go back to the shop? At some point, the driving back and forth becomes "not worth the hassle" and you only go to the shop when you have enough things to do to make it worth the trip. Food for thought.

2) What happens if you lease a space, and invest all the time and effort into moving in heavy tools, setting up a workflow, security, dust collection, cabinets, etc, etc, etc, and then your landlord won't renew your lease, or makes it unattractive to do so? Depending on any HOA restrictions (or your spouse), pre-fab workshops can be quick and easy to set up, even with plumbing, electrical, insulation, etc.

[Jim Becker]

I will mention a building method that I'm looking at keenly as an option if after a potential future downsize that I need a shop building...a metal structure like those made by Carolina Car Ports. They go up in a day (not including a slab) and are eye-opening inexpensive compared to stick built or even a pole barn. Spray foam the inside envelope and do some wall coverings, electrical and HVAC (if desired) and you're done. These buildings are strong, too.

[Ben Rivel]

In my opionon, no matter the circumstances, it will always be better all around owning.

[Michael W. Clark]

If you are leasing, need to be concerned about insurance and any relevant code requirements including NEC and NFPA. If leasing, it may not be just for protection of your leased property, but if there are adjoining leased properties, the building codes and dust codes should serve to minimize risk to their businesses as well.

[Ben Helmich]

I will mention a building method that I'm looking at keenly as an option if after a potential future downsize that I need a shop building...a metal structure like those made by Carolina Car Ports. They go up in a day (not including a slab) and are eye-opening inexpensive compared to stick built or even a pole barn. Spray foam the inside envelope and do some wall coverings, electrical and HVAC (if desired) and you're done. These buildings are strong, too.

Are those things stronger than they look? I’ve noticed those in a few you tube videos. It seems like a good west Texas wind storm would be hard on them, but I could be wrong. They remind me of old carports from the 70’s, but I haven’t seen one in person.

[Jim Becker]

Are those things stronger than they look? I’ve noticed those in a few you tube videos. It seems like a good west Texas wind storm would be hard on them, but I could be wrong. They remind me of old carports from the 70’s, but I haven’t seen one in person.

I'm getting the impression that with the upgraded metal option and use of both spray foam and plywood interior walls, they are going to weather the storm pretty darn well. They do have two different wind ratings based on metal gauge. And the quality appears to be much, much better than the old carports from "back in the day". Many, if not most of them, are manufactured in NC it seems and a lot of the installations appear to be more in the south where wind-weather is more of a factor than up here in the mid-east, for example. What's really attractive to me is cost....not including the slab, a nice 24x30 or so structure with 9-10' side walls will come in (installed) for well under 20 grand. Stick built in this area, we'd be looking close to twice that. Not sure about pole structure costs; less than stick built but more than metal due to labor I suspect. These metal structures go up in 1-2 days, depending on the size and customizations for windows, etc. In addition to the "car port" type buildings, there are red-iron kits that are also pretty cost effective available, too. They go up quick with the advantage they can by insulated while being skinned much like some pole structures are. Those are pretty popular in Texas, actually, it seems.