Feedback on new shop layout

[Ray RodriguezJr]

Hi. I'll be closing on a new house tomorrow with a 2-car garage which will allow me to more than double my current shop footprint. I've posted what I think is the optimal layout for my current tools and machines and also another similar layout that will have what I'll probably be purchasing in the next 12-18 months.

I will be bringing the following from the current shop:

Sawstop 36" PCS
6x3 Paulk Workbench (TS outfeed)
Grizzly Jointer/Planer combo
Incra router table
Small rigid sanding station
Grizzly tabletop drill press on cabinet
Makita miter saw with miter station
Grizzly dust collection with Grizzly cyclone separator
Bunch of wall cabinets based on Steve Johnsons plans

I plan to add the following tools to my new shop:

A traditional Roubo/Nicholson workbench
15" Bandsaw
Wide dedicated Planer
6/8" dedicated Jointer
Wide drum sander

I plan on selling the following:

Grizzly jointer/planer combo unit

As you can see from the layout the garage is 25x21 with a ceiling of about 9 feet 9 inches with luckily no load bearing posts and is totally open space save for the garage door rails so I plan on adding a column near the center of the space just offset a bit to allow power and dust collection to come down to service the tablesaw, jointer and anything else that might be near that column. I've also tried to place most of my tools as close to the dust collector as possible to minimize long runs of duct/pvc and suction loss. I plan on using a shop vac for the miter station dust collection. One of the things I really want to address in this shop is noise so as you can see I plan on enclosing my dust collection in an insulated closet with vents to avoid back pressure on the DC system. I'll most likely do the same for my air compressor. And finally I also plan on walling off one of my garage doors to get a bit more wall area for tools or what have you.

I based my last shop layout on feedback I received here (under a different account) and it has served me incredibly well for the last 3 years so I'd love some feedback from the incredible collective wisdom we have here. Thanks!

Initial layout:

447326



Future layout:

447327

[Lisa Starr]

Ray,

I would consider blocking the opposite garage door. Assuming entry into the DC Closet on the long wall, it would allow both doors to utilize the same walk space. It would also provide a clearer path to the man door at the back of the shop. Also, if you'd consider rotating the TS and J/P machine group 180 degrees, you have the ability to open the garage door for long rips off the TS.

Finally, in the "Future Layout" I'd move the sanding station to where the router table is shown and put the router table in front of the blocked garage door. That would provide room for longer work on the router table.

Of course, these suggestions are based on the type of woodworking I do. It could be that your projects have entirely different requirements. If so, take my ideas with a grain of salt.

[Andrew Seemann]

No matter how much you plan, you will ultimately end up with a different layout. It might be a little different, or it might be a lot different. Make sure you allow for that flexibility. I've been in my shop 10 years, and I still keep moving one of my drill presses from one end of the wall the other. And I have never quite firmed up whether I like where my 14" bandsaw is. It won't matter someday, because I will have to move it when I add on to the shop; it is blocking a future door:)

I would recommend not blocking up one of the garage doors until you absolutely need the wall space. Using the shop for a few months (years) will help you decide which door (if any) would be most convenient/least inconvenient to block.

[Bruce King]

The TS assembly is blocking access to both bays. You will eventually need to pull a car in there for maintenance or to save it from a hail storm. Pick one and line it up there. If like me, a lot of work will be done in front of the saw and a bench so having these close cuts down on walking. Don’t forget a ceiling mounted air cleaner, it’s very important.

[Bob Riefer]

Hard for me to tell the scale to determine if infeed/outfeed will be sufficient for the various tools, and that's something I've found to be important in my shop. All my tools easily enable 8 foot in and out, and my miter saw allows 10+ feet during material break down, so it's very rare that I need to move a tool during a project. You may want to think through your typical projects to determine if that's a need for you too (e.g. your planer looks like it would only accept about 4-5 foot boards on the infeed side)

The thing that jumped out at me is that you have your planer between your TS and jointer in such a way that you'll be walking all around your jointer a lot (or reaching over it awkwardly) to grab boards that you've run through your planer. In my own workflow, that would drive me nuts as I try to be as efficient as possible especially during marathon milling sessions.


Your drum sander is near the garage door I think and aimed at the wall. I'm assuming this will be on wheel so you can pull it away from wall when in use?


Some options to consider

- Put your bench on the right wall (opposite from current location).. lots of wall space there for hanging tools etc. (rather than lumber rack which doesn't help you while you're at your bench)

- Align table saw with garage door so that you can open the door for long cuts... which also creates more space (a central "hallway" sort of) jointer and planer to be more nicely tetris-spaced (without walking long way around tools all the time)

- Perhaps router into the extension wing of your table saw to significantly save space

- Drum sander and band saw (both on wheels) next to dust collection closet maybe? Looks like something is blocking an additional garage door there though

[Andy D Jones]

I'll reiterate some of the ideas mentioned already.

I would NOT block either garage door. You've got a lot of wall space, see how efficiently you can use what you have before you make more, and lose a garage door in the process.

The center cluster is too tight, and especially interferes with moving planed lumber back through the planer for multiple passes. Having jointer and planer parallel and even with each other often works well, but you need room to maneuver between front and rear of planer.

Having wall space for hanging tools/cabinets/shelves near the workbench is advantageous. Lumber storage is best behind other machines, and/or overhead. But a workbench can benefit greatly from natural light coming in through the windows, whereas lumber storage does not: maybe move the lumber storage to the opposite wall.

I don't like the fixed column in the middle idea. Drop power cords and DC ducts where you need them, plan for flexibility, and ability to use machines in different places than originally planned.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Tom Bender]

Well it depends on what you build and how often but having an aircraft carrier in the middle of the shop seems sub-optimal.

[Jack Frederick]

I’m with Tom on this. Of course this all depends on the work you do, but SS offer a fold down table. Also I break sheet goods down on the track saw. I find that works well for me. It also means I don’t have to clear the out feed table to cut something up. You might consider adding the SS router table to your saw for some space saving. I haven’t worked with an Incra RT so can’t compare them, but the SS has worked very well. I think this would give you more flexibility with the doors and the ability to move as necessary. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

[Ray RodriguezJr]

Thanks everyone for the amazing feedback! Just to answer the question of what type of woodworking I do I guess I'm still doing a little bit of everything including hoping to do some things that I haven't been able to take on due to the limitations of working in a 1 car garage. I work on everything from cabinetry to fine furniture to outdoor furniture to small things like humidors and boxes. I've been woodworking for about 5 years now so I guess I'm still in that phase of wonder where I want to try my hand at a little bit of everything to build up my skills. I hope to still feel that way many decades from now so I guess I need a setup that's flexible?

I am starting to come around to the idea of not limiting myself to only having one working garage door or adding a faux column when I can just as easily drop electric and ducting from the ceiling where needed. Also I agree it would be good to have most if not all of my tools on wheeled bases and 240v power all over the shop for future expansion and the ability to adapt machine location based on what I'm currently working on.

Also a quick update on the status of the shop. We closed on the new house 12 days ago and this being my first home it has been the busiest 12 days of my life. :-) Since taking ownership of the house I realize I'll need a few months of prep in the garage before it's ready to move in my machines. The walls are uninsulated so I plan on tearing down the existing drywall and sealing the stud bay wall seams with close cell foam, running electric then getting to R-13 or better if possible with fiberglass 2x4 insulation and finishing it off with OSB sheets. OSB will be about 3x the price of drywall but it will save me the time of mudding all that drywall and having wall to wall surfaces to mount french cleats of anything else I need to attach to the wall.

For the attic above the garage I plan on cleaning it up, getting some power up there to the ceiling and getting to R-38 with two layers of fiberglass insulation.

Finally for the floors I need to do some leveling and crack repair for the slab before laying down dri-core R+ and still undecided wether to go with some vinyl planking to finish off the floor.

So looks like a longer journey than I originally anticipated but looking forward to making it just right for me after I get some things in the house straightened out in these next few weeks.

[Jim Becker]

Ray, you can put R-15 fiberglass in those stud bays...same space requirement as the "old" R-13. :)

And yea...a new home makes for a lot of "fun" and being busy for sure.

[Lisa Starr]

Ray, enjoy your new work space. Also, consider closing up the walls after your insulation project and running your electrical in surface mounted conduit. It will add a great amount of flexibility when you want to change your shop around 3, 5 or 10 years down the road. I promise, you will make changes, as we all do as our tools and interests evolve. While EMT looks daunting at first, a cheap bender for 3/4" EMT and a couple tutorials will have you going in no time. I've found circling the area up near the ceiling and then dropping into 48" high receptacles as needed preserves wall space.

[Andrew Seemann]

Ray, enjoy your new work space. Also, consider closing up the walls after your insulation project and running your electrical in surface mounted conduit. It will add a great amount of flexibility when you want to change your shop around 3, 5 or 10 years down the road. I promise, you will make changes, as we all do as our tools and interests evolve. While EMT looks daunting at first, a cheap bender for 3/4" EMT and a couple tutorials will have you going in no time. I've found circling the area up near the ceiling and then dropping into 48" high receptacles as needed preserves wall space.

I second surface mount EMT. I did my first shop with in-the-wall Romex and will never do a shop like that again. My current shop is surface mount EMT. There are no hidden wires to worry about screwing into, and I have been able to change things as I have needed to, without tearing up the wall. It's also easier for a future owner (or you) to reverse when the property is sold.

[Jim Becker]

I'll also agree with the surface mount for all the "machine and tool electrical" work...easier and faster to install and easier and faster to modify over time. The only "in wall" I'd do in a new-to-me shop in the future if the situation ever came up would be a general purposes circuit or two and maybe lighting control.

[Tom Bender]

OSB is pretty ugly. To make it a nice place to work you might consider leaving the drywall and adding cleats as needed. Maybe some half height paneling. Hack a few electrical outlets in and patch as needed. Not really a big deal. Blown in insulation will be fine. Walls don't really contribute much to heat loads. Ceilings, doors and windows are all more important. Spend your money there. You'll be in and working much sooner.

[Alex Zeller]

Not sure where you are located but can you work outside if the weather is nice? If so you may want to plan around working with the garage door open as well as closed. It might even lead to setting things up so for larger projects you will be working with the door open.

[Kris Cook]

Regarding the wall treatment. I don't know if you stated whether the garage was attached but if it is you should plan to have drywall on the shared wall between the house and the garage. Drywall on the rest of the space is probably a good idea from a re-sale standpoint as well.

I am finishing up the drywall in my new shop right now and I am going to attach 1/2 sheets of "shop-grade" T1-11 to the drywall as a wainscot to protect the walls.

[Jack Frederick]

When I built my shop with 10’ walls I set plywood vertically. All of my 30 & 50 amp plugs are down-fed. In the six yrs I’ve had the place I’ve only been into the walls twice. The most recent was last spring in installing the solar wiring. It took me 10 minutes to move things away from the wall, 15 to remove the two pieces of ply surrounding the panel and about the same for re-assembly. It worked out very well and gave total open exposure for modifications. If I was to surface mounted emt I would make vertical drops down the wall and not have it run horizontally. It seems to me that it could get in the way.