New Workshop: What to consider first!

[James S Lang]

A simple thread, I was wondering what people regret or would change about their detached workshop builds?

Currently planning:

1> Electrical (100amp sub-panel)
2> Insulation (Spray Foam perhaps with rock wool over it for the ceiling)
3> Environmental (Mr Cool and perhaps a dehumidifier)
4> Position DC in best spot for potential closet build if needed later.

Anything else I should consider? What would you recommend doing before moving into a new built shop?

[Jeff Roltgen]

Another closet for air compressor. Consider 200 amp service, unless very light hobby use w/small amount of gear or hand-tool primarily. Finishing room, with explosion proof fan if possible. Use sketchup or similar program to draft it out and lay out machines. Helps a ton.

Hands down, absolutely the best thing I did when building the shop: Radiant heat in the slab floor. One zone for your entire building = super simple and very reasonable cost to DIY the bulk of it. Plumber made final connections/helped kick-start it. No more expensive than a gas-fired box hanging off the ceiling, but much safer in a high-fuel environment like a wood-shop, and super cozy, even heat. (If you need to/plan to heat - don't know your general location. Also, won't work for occasional use, as you can't bump up the thermostat 10 degrees before breakfast and be cozy in an hour... )

Lots more, but not sure of your goal/expectations. Fill us in on some more details: hobby or career? Type/scale of equipment and rough size of building would go a long way towards helping guide you.

Jeff

[Tom Dixon]

I concur with Jeff on the 200 amp service. If possible, a separate shed external to main shop for a cyclone DC. Raise the shed floor to the correct height so that the DC inlet hugs the ceiling. If you know Sketchup, it is definitely the way to go to plan the shop. Here is a link to my shop Sketchup drawing (http://www.teetomterrific.com/downloads/shop/Workshop_Master.skp). Feel free to rob anything out of it for your own use.

[Jim Becker]

Be generous with the size if you can...you may feel you "only" need x by y, but a little more space will always pay off for flexibility over time. Absolutely get the cyclone and compressor in a sound mitigated closet and make it large enough that you can easily service them, too.

HVAC....while it's true that in-floor radiant can be a great source of heat, it's most efficient for colder climates where there is a decent length heating season. Why? Because rodent likes to be turned on and stay on for a consistent result over time. For more temperate locations, today's mini splits are wonderful and very economical to run. They will also cover you for dehumidification in most cases...some even have a special mode for that.

Doors...make your "man door" a generous size, but also plan for a larger door to bring material in and projects out. Some folks use "garage doors". Some folks use carriage/shed type doors that open outward. I favor the latter, honestly. Windows for natural light are nice...use transoms if you want the light but also want to retain wall space.

Consider your options for your floor. Concrete is easy. Wood is more comfortable.

I kinda agree with upping the electrical service. There's no downside to that and the cost will likely be only a little more for the higher service and that's primarily because of the heavier feed wire.

Make sure you get communication/Internet to your shop, preferably hard-wired. You will benefit from it immediately for a number of things and if you decide to embrace some of the modern tools and methods, such as CNC, laser and 3D printing, Internet is essential.

[Matthew Curtis]

Add Dust collection ducting in floor as well as electric.
I was smart enough to add the electrical in the floor, but did not do the dust collection when I did my shop.

As said before bigger is better. I thought I went as big as I would need,but of course I wish I had a few more square feet now

[Paul F Franklin]

I can see the point about larger electrical service, but it's easy enough to add up the loads you will be running at one time, especially if it's a one person shop. Air conditioning and electric heat and electric hot water (if applicable) need to be included in the calculation. Whatever size service you end up with, get the physically largest panel you can; 240 loads eat up breaker slots quickly.

And speaking of water, you don't say if you plan to have running water and sewer hookups. I would put that high on my list.

[James S Lang]

Thanks for all the thoughts all, lots to think about...I knew this group would bring the good stuff.

[Alan Lightstone]

1.) Enough headroom. 10 ft preferable.
2.) Dust collection in floor is great. I did mine with a raised access floor, which is unique to workshops, but I love the versatility of it. The problem with in-floor dust collection is that if you move machines....
3.) Air filtration.
4.) Cyclone and air compressor in soundproofed closet.
5.) Soundproofing for shop walls if neighbors / house is close. Rock Wool with double-drywall and green glue is amazingly effective here.
6.) Mini-split HVAC with heat pump. The heat pump even comes in handy in Florida.
7.) 3-phase electrical service. I accomplished mine with a Phase Perfect unit, but there are many other ways including from your utility if that is economically feasible (it often is crazy expensive). 200 amp single phase AC with a way to provide 3-phase to necessary machines is clearly a path many have taken.
8.) A bathroom is always nice, but requires extra space. At least a utility sink.
9.) Hard-wired internet service run from the house.

Just a start. Good luck. And share the build here. We all love following them.

[Jim Becker]

Alan, that first one is a good one! I'm shooting for 10' myself. The only reason I won't likely go higher is the residential setting and resultant appearance. (zoning has something to say about that, too)

[John Lifer]

I had a 30x30 metal in MS with 10ft walls and more between the few beams. GREAT for WW shop. Swing a 8 ft 2x and never hit anything or think about it. (put lights above beam height if possible)
In current shop I've got 8 ft sheetrock ceiling that is popcorned. ARHGGGG. I HATE the 8ft ceiling. Lights are lower still. I have to watch all the time. Even much shorter pieces will hit if I'm not careful.
AT LEAST 10 ft ceilings. And Figure out a place to put a hoist (even the 400 pound rated HF hoist is GREAT) Add an extra joist or two to help support if wood. Lifting a machine to place on a set of rollers or just lifting a motor is great also.
Mini split. You can save big time if you want on a Senville or similar. I just put one in I bought through eBay and it already has a dehumidifier setting if you have wet air. Fan setting is great in my cool basement. I bought for heat and that works really well also.
Bathroom is really nice, I've got to run back to house.....which is only 30 feet away, but still would be nice if inside shop.
Cyclone house next to shop. OUTSIDE main building. Make it big enough to move around in and also if you want to change size later. Cheap to add now. You can always add filter vent to get air back into shop if you want (put that well above the bags if you can)
I'd put DC piping in attic area if wood, way easier to move if needed, or put above metal joists and drop down.

[Jim Becker]

Having a bathroom is a very nice feature...if that's something that can pass zoning. It's unfortunately not a reality for most of us, however. Water for a slop sink is a nice intermediate step if one is permitted to drain grey water from said sink into, say, a French drain of some sort.

[Brian W Evans]

Can you use steel and/or wood trusses to keep from having supports in the middle of your shop? Even one 6" diameter lally column in your shop is guaranteed to be in exactly the wrong place for the layout you want.

+100 on the heat pump. They are amazing and efficient machines.

I would absolutely love to have a finishing room - even more than a closet for my DC.

Don't forget to leave room for maneuvering and big workbenches. Space to work is vital.

[Jack Frederick]

James, when you get into climate control it is difficult to advise without a location. Minot or Miami? As well, what are you thinking about dimensionally. My shop is 30x30x10 with a 100amp service and runs all my 220 gear plus my welder/plasma with no problems. Upgrading depends on your gear of course. One thing to consider is orientation of the building. Mine is a few points off of S and I installed a 7.5 kw solar system last year. We made more than we used in the first year so I have zeroed out my power bill for the property. With CA rates that is a win. I would not consider a dehumidifier until the mini-split showed that it was unable to keep up. They really do an excellent job at that. Check the specs on the unit you choose. They publish the data on dehu.

[James S Lang]

Man, more fantastic things to think about.

A little more detail on the "shop":

1> It is 24x30 with one garage door and one man door.
2> I'm doing spray foam on the walls, and spray + mineral wool on the ceiling. I will have beams at 16"OC along the building, they will be at or above 10'.
3> Not going to be able to do Solar due to HoA limitations, though I might fight that one as I'd love too.
4> Good tip on the Mini-split and dehumidification. It is easy to add one later, so I'll get a unit that has a dehumidifer setting and see how it does.

I'm also thinking of swapping out the overhead garage door for home made carriage doors that would allow for real insulation and better weather sealing...the door will be in a stupid high wind exposure (North West) so I'm not sure a standard garage door is going to work long term.

The location is mid-Atlantic. So HOT/HUMID in the summer and moderately cold in the winter.

[Andrew More]

Mini split. You can save big time if you want on a Senville or similar. I just put one in I bought through eBay and it already has a dehumidifier setting if you have wet air.
Check the manual carefully for this. I've also got a drier function on my Fujisitu but it will not function unless it's also reducing the temperature. In my case often the temps are fine, but the humidity is still higher than I want, so I ended up buying a stand alone humidifier which just runs without checking to see if it's reducing the temperature. YMMV.

[Alan Lightstone]

I was told by my HVAC installer that the dehumidification settings on mini-splits (at least my Mitsubishi) really don't work very well and I would be better served by keeping the unit on the AC settings. FWIW.

You might be surprised about getting solar despite your HOAs limitations. I love having a solar house. 30kWh in my case, so a beast. Nothing like not paying electric bills - even with a big workshop with big machines and 3-phase power.

A lot to be said for getting yourself on the HOA board too to tailor the conversations and the agenda. It's hard to fight against solar these days. Unless you're the electric utility. They are slime in this regard.

Oh, and ceiling hoists are awesome. I have 3 in my present shop, in chosen locations. They aren't expensive and they are incredibly helpful. I actually thought about having a bridge crane installed in my shop, but the quotes got crazy expensive. Hoists (either the HF one, or better the ones from Northern Tool) really aren't expensive and save your back.

And having a finishing room with an explosion proof fan really opens up possibilities for finishing your projects. I love having one.

[Jim Becker]

There are some newer solar solutions that effectively "look like the roof" which may be very helpful when someone unfortunately lives in an HOA or similar.

[Tom Bender]

An alternative to an overhead hoist (which can really clutter up your layout) would be to rent an engine hoist on those few days you need it.

[Christopher Charles]

Get lots of lights. And then get some more!

[james manutes]

24 x 30 is about what I have . It really fills up fast , even with the best of planning . YouTube shop tours are good for ideas , ways to do things you may not have considered . Try to remove everything not shop related - kids bikes , lawn care stuff , etc.. -all of it ! Good luck with your build , and enjoy yourself .

[Dave Mills]

For that garage door, I'd suggest using a jack lift opener (see Liftmaster). You can roll the door up within inches of the 10' ceiling, and you don't have a rail down the center of the garage getting in the way. It will make the space feel much more open.

[Jim Becker]

For that garage door, I'd suggest using a jack lift opener (see Liftmaster). You can roll the door up within inches of the 10' ceiling, and you don't have a rail down the center of the garage getting in the way. It will make the space feel much more open.
I will agree with this...I just had a Liftmaster jack-shaft opener installed on the big garage door of my "temporary shop" (some folks call it a garage... :D) and it's super-quiet, super-smart and takes up zero ceiling space. If I put a garage type door in my new shop, i'll be looking to get the more vertical orientation when it's opened, too, like you suggest.

[Alan Lightstone]

I will agree with this...I just had a Liftmaster jack-shaft opener installed on the big garage door of my "temporary shop" (some folks call it a garage... :D) and it's super-quiet, super-smart and takes up zero ceiling space. If I put a garage type door in my new shop, i'll be looking to get the more vertical orientation when it's opened, too, like you suggest.

I had one in my last house too. It was great. The battery backup option is also nice if your area is prone to power outages.

[Jon Snider]

Re headroom. In my 40 x 30’ shop half of it is 10’ headroom, over the machine area. In the other half, where I build boats I used scissor trusses to get more headroom. Wish I had done the entire shop with them.

[Jim Becker]

I had one in my last house too. It was great. The battery backup option is also nice if your area is prone to power outages.
Yea, it has battery backup plus control and notifications from our smartphones. While it's not literally tied into our RING security system, it's cooperative and one can jump between the apps quite easily. The unit is about $200 more (installed) than the "regular", center of the ceiling type, but IMHO, worth that extra cost to get it out of the way and to remove the additional source of noise. I got the permanent outlet up for the unit two days ago so everything is really clean now in the gara...err...shop. :)

[John C Bush]

Congrats on the new shop!!

A bit redundant but here's my recs:

-Build as big as possible
-10' ceilings and consider open gable and engineer for storage overhead and hoist "hanging"-- I use a chain fall infrequently but easy access is a good thing--2nd story????
-plan for sheet goods and offcut storage--I save way too much "stuff"
-attached DC and compressor shed
-if you don't have a dust extractor consider a built in system for easy use--fine particulates are pervasive
-bathroom and utility sink
-I have 125 amps and is plenty for hobby with mig, tig, and plasma cutter--if bringing power from house main panel bury extra conduit--future internet etc.
-slab radiant is the best for heat but doesn't address your humidity/AC needs--not needed out here in PNW-
-windows are great but limit wall hanging space
-if planning a workbench mounted SCMS consider depth needed for most saws-mine needs 32" depth and makes reaching hanging tools a "stretch"--could be a girth issue!! DC for SCMC is a challenge
and may be good to consider in design plan
-I made carriage style doors for the 8'w x 9'h doors and 32" man door

Have fun with your new shop