Should I build a new shop

[Jim Guy]

My wife and I just moved into her old homeplace. At the place we just left I had a 24 x 24 shop in the barn. The new place has a full basement that has even more space. The sealings are a little under 8 ft (the down side) but the temp is great year round (the up side).
Is the noise and dust going to be more than my wife can stand? What are the other problems with a basement shop? Also my heating/cooling system is in the basement and I don't know what problems the dust would cause over a long period of time.
I have an outbuilding that I would have to put 10,000 to 15,000 dollars into but would then be even larger than the basement, but I would have to heat and cool of course.

Those of you with a basement shop, what are your thoughts?

Thanks -
Jim Guy

[Ted Christiansen]

Jim,

My only option where we are living now is a basement shop. I have about 500 square feet. The consistent temperature is nice. Getting tools (500# planar for example) is difficult. I have to carry 8' lumber in one piece at a time (no walkout). My ceilings are standard height - I havent found that to be a drawback. I have a dual bag style dust collection system running flex hose (for now) to each tool, along with an air cleaner. The HVAC system was exposed to the dust, so I built a wall around it, which really helped. The dust hasnt been a problem.

Having a first floor shop would be nice if you can afford it and have the space.

Ted

[Jeff Horton]

I built my house .. well still building it, with a basement shop. Here in the south we build daylight basements. We don't just dig a hole in the ground and build a basement in that hole. So my shop has a garage door on the back and I can drive my truck inside. Considering all the things I do down there I could not live without and outside door. YMMV of course.

I do have 9 foot ceilings in my basement too, low ceilings would be a major issue for me. I could work in there but I wouldn't like it.

Noise has not been a problem and I was concerned about that. Our bedroom and the living room (with the TV) is above my tools. The basement it unfinished, I painted the walls and put in 4" batt insulation between the floor joists. My wife never complains about the noise. I have been upstairs when someone was using my table saw. You hear it but it is not loud at all. My wife says she just barely turns up the TV when I am sawing. Much to my surprise!

Now the lunch box planner is a whole 'nother matter! The other day I ran a 50+ year old oak board through there to see what I had found and the planner was just screaming. It was very loud in the shop and my wife said it was loud upstairs too. Of course that didn't surprise me. That is the only machine she said that ever bothered her but it was tolerable most times. Just those times when I run it for a long time was it a problem. Or like the oak that was hard as a rock and really put a load on it.

Dust has not been an issue except for what I track upstairs or carry on my clothes. Most of the dust is heavy enough it doesn't float up the stairwell. I did weather strip the door and add a threshold. BTW That makes a huge difference in the noise level too. Noise will travel thought the air and by sealing up the air gaps it seals out a lot of the noise.

My HVAC unit went in the attic so I didn't have duct work in my way. I wouldn't think you would have a problem though. If you have gas fired unit and being so far north you probably do, I guess it could present a problem pulling in some dust in the combustion chamber? Better let someone that has experience chime in on that one.

[scott spencer]

You listed the upside of temp and space. There's also the convenient proximity to your wife and family activities while down there, plus there's usually easy access to electricity. Another downside are the basement stairs for tool delivery, tool removal, material transit (think 12 footers), and finished projects. Everything that goes in eventually has to come out. Unless you have a walk in basement, don't overlook the stairs.

[John Bailey]

I used to have a basement shop before I built my present small (20x20) separate shop. My shop is close to the house, so it's conveinient. It's like night and day. By all means, if possible, build a separate shop. The mess, noise, smell and atmosphere of a shop permeates. It is not always appreciated by, otherwise loving, others.

John

[Bob Huddleston]

I have a great shop downstairs. Was not the original intent when we were building the home, but wife took over the main floor room we (read:I) had planned originally to be the workshop. We even had maple floors put in and additional joists where the big machines would be. She is big into upholstery and it works out much better.

Now I am in the basement directly under that particular workshop. But, honestly, it turned out just fine. The upside: the constant temp, no one bothering me, can leave the mess down there as only I really see it, and no going in and out (Michigan can be damn cold in the winter!). Downside: carrying things up and down, especially 4 by 8 sheets, is a bummer. Also, have to be sure to keep dehumidifiers humming at times. So far, there has not been a noise problem, but if there would be, could easily take care of it with insulation. As it has been a continous work in progress, who knows. Here it is on another site:

http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot629.shtml (at the start)

http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot766.shtml (more like now)

If you have the extra money to build a stand alone shop, excellent. My bro-in-law built one and it is truly awesome. In floor heat, dedicated spray room, three-phase power, and an isolated dust collector storage area.

Good luck

[Jim Becker]

There is nothing inherently wrong with a basement shop and many, many folks have them. Dust and noise are a consideration, but they can be dealt with, for the most part. The most significant issue with basement shops, IMHO, is access. With a walk-out, as Jeff mentions, it can be a slam-dunk in that regard. If you have to drag materials through your house, navigate several tight corners and maybe be stuck with a stairway that has a turn, it's going to be less of a pleasure. (Builders don't always locate the basement stairs in the most convenient place for moving big and long things up and down them) It can also affect your project choices and designs.

My first choice for a shop will always be a dedicated building not attached to the house. That deals with dust, noise, access, etc., immediately. But obviously at a cost. But that's one of the big reasons the property we live on was so attractive to us...like in your situation, there was a usable outbuilding that with some work and money, could be turned into a very nice shop.

[Scott Vigder]

What type of projects will you be making? Sure it's a big deal to get your equipment into the basement, but that is a long-afternoon one-time event. If you are making desks and tables, are you willing to keep hauling your finished products up the stairs, and will those products (or pieces) fit in the stairwell? If you're doing a lot of turning, getting those finished projects upstairs won't be as tough. My shop is only five minutes from my house, but it sure would be nice to stop and get a cold drink or a sandwhich NOW. Good luck with your decision!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

If you have the means and the room there is not one good reason to limit yourself to a space too small or a space too difficult to access.

[W Craig Wilson]

I would love to have a separate building, but since that's not an option where we live now, I think I have an excellent second choice.

We built our new house about three years ago. My shop space is about one-third of the basement 19' x 32'. The builder was a great help to get the right configuration. We had a lally column moved out to 16' from the outside wall (lots of room for long work pieces), included a stair down from the garage with a 40" door at the bottom (easy swing for 4x8 sheets) and he let me place dust collection duct under the concrete floor for the TS.

Since the wife wanted a look-out basement, I got a full sized window on one end - excellent to have real daylight and a view. The wife never complains about the noise, but I'm still adding insulation & isolation. I do get the occaisional exasperated stare when I track dust upstairs.

[Bob Noles]

Conditions so many times dictate and restrict the way we work and play.

With all things considered, those "restrictions" become greatly reduced in a detached building if the option exists. It may cost a few extra dollars up front, but I love the dividends it pays down the road. I'm not sure I would have near the freedoms if my shop were any part of the household. Many have no choice, but your situation sounds like you do. I'd go for as much freedom as I could afford :)

[glenn bradley]

I'd weigh the cost of a stand-alone shop vs. adding a walk-out and exterior dust collection / compressor.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I have a basement shop that is 27' x 17'. I share it with a gas hot water boiler and gas hot water heater. No problems. If I had a hot air system with duct, I would isolate the shop or install real good filters on the inlet duct serving the shop.

My ceiling is only 7 feet tall. It's low, but ok. The biggest problem with a low ceiling is that I cannot install a cyclone, but I'm not sure if I want the noise either.

As pointed out by other folks above, the shop temperature stays very comfortable. As far as dust control, as Jim points out, there are simple ways to manage this.

One major benefit of a basement shop is that it is readily accessible to the rest of the house (kitchen and bath comes first to my mind!). It's also nice to be able to quickly check in a project between TV commercials, or take a break in the adjoining rec room.

Noise is not a major issue for me unless I'm using my lunch box planer. Regular thermal insulation can be installed in the ceiling and walls followed by some drywall (double layer would probably be best). But I've never bothered to do this since I have no wife and children.

The downside to a basement shop is accessibility for materials. My shop requires that I schlepp all my materials either thru the living room or kitchen, and then down the steps. I would also hate the thought of moving large machinery again now that I'm fat and old, and my home is finished. However, most things that I make must take into consideration moving it from my home, to another part of my home, or into another home. So my projects must be designed for access to anyones home, and the steps to my basement are atypical.

cheers, Jeff :)

[Frank Pellow]

Yes Jim, you should build a new shop.

For about 30 years, my family lived with the dust and noise emenating from my basement shop. Two years ago, I built a stand alone shop in the backyard (see the thread http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=7769) and we are all much happier and healthier as a result.

Aside from that benefit, it is much easier to get material into and projects out of my shop, I have much much better lighting, better headroom, more floor space, and floor is now wood.

[Ron Blaise]

I had a basement shop for three years (was glad to have it). But, it was damp, it was dark even with two huge overhead lights and a white ceiling. And it had (of course) a concrete floor (hard on these old bones). We moved to our first new home ever, but before we moved in I had a 20 x 20 shop built to my specifications (all brick, hip roof and all wood on the inside, wired to meet my needs. What a difference! That's my two cents worth Jim, do yourself a favor, get what you need now, you will be glad you did.

[Phil Maddox]

Just my opinion: I would use the basement shop only as a last resort. Most I know have trouble keeping dust out of the house, the noise is an issue, there are safety concerns, and then there is the aforementioned low ceiling.

That being said, plenty of people are happy in their basement shops, I just don't know of too many.

Good luck.

PHil

[Jim Guy]

Thanks everyone for all the insight. My basement does have a ramp and garage door at the end. Getting things in and out, big and small is no problem at all. We just moved in 2 days ago and the movers really loved the easy access to the shop. I also have hot water heat throughout the house and basement. Since we started the remodel about 9 months ago we have had a large central air unit installed with the best filtering system I could buy.

After reading everyones comments I'm thinking I might put insulation overhead just for sound, then give it a try for 1 year. Although I don't like the sound of it, my current dust collection is on wheels and I will just have to roll it around.

Thanks again.

[Jeff Horton]

I think it is wise choice money wise. Try it and see if you like it.

Now a question for the those that spoke of dust problems with their basement shops. I am curious how and why you had a dust problem? I have not had a problem except for tracking it up the stairs or forgetting to clean my clothes off before coming upstairs. I am curious (and not trying to start something either!!) what was happening. I want to keep from having a problem down the road.

[Frank Pellow]

I think it is wise choice money wise. Try it and see if you like it.

Now a question for the those that spoke of dust problems with their basement shops. I am curious how and why you had a dust problem? I have not had a problem except for tracking it up the stairs or forgetting to clean my clothes off before coming upstairs. I am curious (and not trying to start something either!!) what was happening. I want to keep from having a problem down the road.
Dust from my shop was getting into the ducts that spread air from our furnace and air conditioner unit throughout the house.

[Michael Merrill]

My 23' X 14' shop is in our basement, it was the first room that I finished myself in the basement after purchase, then continued to complete the rest of the approx. 2000 sq ft basement using the shop as the dirty area for cutting and such.

As for dust into the rest of the house I have took some precautions. I did make the room as tight as possible, it is drywalled and I sealed around all the electrical boxes to reduce dust creep. I also used a door weather seal to the shop to seal the shop door as well as possible. The HVAC are in the next room throught another door and no noticable issues yet. II have a shop vac as my main collection tool with a Jet air filter as secondary. Also I ran no AC line to that room, just deal with the temp as it is.

[Bob Huddleston]

I am lucky to have hot water heat both in my home as well as in the floor of my basement. I do have a/c, but that system is not integrated into the basement. I walled off my workshop and keep the door closed. The only dust problem I have is when the big ogre (me!) wanders upstairs before brushing off a bit. But remembering to use my smock or apron really helps a great deal to keep the dust in the basement.

[Chip Olson]

I have a tiny basement shop, and my only complaint is that I wish it was bigger. When we fixed up the basement, I had insulation put in the ceiling of the shop, and our downstairs neighbors (whose living room is directly above) have never had a problem with the noise. Access is OK but could be better. One of these years I'm going to expand the shop into more of the basement and put the door closer to the outside door.

[Gary Hoemann]

We are about to build a new home and my intention was to build a standalone shop. When I started looking at that, I knew I was going to be so surprised how much money we were spending on the house, that I would end up scaling back on the shop space and extending the extras like plumbing and cooling and heating of that building just to save some money. I also knew that a basement shop would be much more cost effective.

This land did not lend itself to a walkout nor did the house design.
My son came up with the solution--a freight elevator from the garage to the basement. I finally found a very serviceable scissor lift on e-bay,(cheap) designed the well for it in the garage. Now I will have a covered place to load and unload, lift is large enough to handle 4X8 sheets and up to 2000 lbs.

[Jeff Horton]

Thanks for the reply Frank, I ran my ductwork in the attic to avoid loosing my ceiling height. I designed the basement as my shop and specified 9' ceilings. I couldn't see dust floating upstairs but I can see it leaking into a blower. That makes sense to me now.

Gary, I tip my hat to your sons inventiveness! Very clever. Must say I am very impressed with that idea. I think I could live with something like that! Of course I sure do like being able to drive the truck in, close the door and unload or work on it when I need.

[Larry Fox]

I had one for the first part of my woodworking and it worked out great as I was in the process of restoring an old house. Dust, noise, and getting things into and out of it were problems but solvable ones. The one problem that concerned me the most was the fumes created by finishing products and the like. Worked outside when I could but not always possible and I never liked messing with that stuff under my living space.

Just my $0.02