My New Shop

[James Aguanno]

Hello everyone.

I mostly lurke here and my favorite type of thread lately is the new shop story, I am planning to build a dedicated detached shop in my back yard and would like to track it here (hopefully I can get a bunch of good ideas as I already have from the various threads here). I originally planned to start this process in the spring, but that has changed for the better. Since we just finished a large construction project, my wife has convinced me to hire someone for this one. I am not completely pleased with this decision, but I will live with it in order to have a new space to work in. That said, we are on a tight budget.

Our goal was to build something between 200 and 300 square feet. Our back yard (property is only 75’ X 135’ with a slope in the back) and life style (small kids still using the back yard for play) is the main factor in this decision. We looked at a lot of sizes and finally decided on a 12’ X 20’ (I know… too small, but I can not go bigger) building and decided to go with a shed builder. This was a difficult decision for me, but again, the budget took over. The shed will be build on a 4’ X 4’ “skid” system, but I will be digging and pouring piers to anchor the shed (township requirement as well). I applied for the permits on Friday and hope to hear by this Friday. I am hoping to have the building installed by the end of the month.

There are some things about the shed company that I am not happy with, but think I can live with. For instance, the framing is all on two foot centers (2 X 4 walls and 2 X 6 roof) except the floor will be 2X6 on 12” centers. If this becomes an issue, I can add studs and rafters to supplement, but I should be good. The standard building comes with seven foot side walls. This was not even close to acceptable for me so I upgraded to eight foot (I would have liked higher, but the township would have required a variance). The standard building also only comes with regular wood framing and floor material (I upgraded to Pressure Treated).

The company will just be building the basic building, then I will customize (more on that later). It will come primed, and will have a cheesy double wood door. I will likely live with this for a while (will paint in the spring), but eventually will side to match the house and replace the door. I will be installing windows right away though.

Once I get through the township on the building, I will be installing the electrical system. It will likely be just a 60 Amp sub-panel. I will do all of this work myself, and have a rough idea as to the details (again, more on that later).

Attached are my initial thoughts on the floor plan (comments welcome) and I will be doing a Sketch Up drawing soon. The lathe shown is different from mine. I have a Nova 3K with a custom stand but you get the idea (by the way, most of what I do is turning). I do not have a band saw yet, but plan to in the near future. The grinder is on a custom cabinet and is on wheels. The table saw is not the one shown, and the out feed table does not exist yet. The out feed will likely be a bench of sorts, and the table saw and the bench will be on wheels. The counters shown will be custom made to the space and I will be building cabinets for above the counters.

I will be building a “loft” storage area on the wall opposite the counter top. I am short, so this will probably be about 6 feet off the floor (our house is very storage challenged and this was the only request from my wife other than aesthetics) to enhance the storage space. Right now, I am thinking it will be 12’ wide by about 6’ (or so) deep.

Again, here is the layout… Comments? Ideas? Thanks for listening.

Jamie

[Bill White]

If you pick your projects so as to best use the space, keep your "stuff" put away, and plan ahead you should be just fine with the size. That was roughly the size of my first shop, and I really enjoyed it.
Don't forget the insulation, may want to go with 100 amp, 220volt somewhere (?). If possible go with 3/4 floor. I used 1/2" on mine and if flexed.
Good luck.
Bill

[Jim Becker]

Just keep everything mobile, James and it should work out fine. There's nothing wrong with 2' OC walls and since they will be open, you'll be able to easily install blocking to support cabinets, etc., before you close things in with insulation, etc.

[everett lowell]

James, I'll be watching this thread closely! I'm in the same boat kinda-I have a basement shop,and I keep thinking of moving outside. My property is 75'x127' and I put up a wooden outbuilding five years ago, it;s on 4x4 's and is 10'x14'. I also poured 12'' dia. three foot deep footings as per the town- I live in northern new jersey. ( six footings) I keep thinking of blowing out the back wall and doubling the size to give me roughly the same size work area you are looking at .(a) I;m not sure if this will be enough room and (b) I'm not so sure I want to work away from the house. I can think of MANY benifates but I can also think the drawbacks too! I have to heat it in the colder months for example, sometimes i don't work that long, or sometimes I just go downstairs in my socks to ponder projects or whatever-and I'm still within earshot of my wife-wait is that a plus or a drawback...hmmm.. well, anyway you get the idea:rolleyes:

[James Aguanno]

If you pick your projects so as to best use the space, keep your "stuff" put away, and plan ahead you should be just fine with the size. That was roughly the size of my first shop, and I really enjoyed it.
Don't forget the insulation, may want to go with 100 amp, 220volt somewhere (?). If possible go with 3/4 floor. I used 1/2" on mine and if flexed.
Good luck.
Bill

Bill,

Already thought of that. The floor being installed by the shed company is 5/8" PT plywood. I am planning another layer of OSB or even some utility grade hardwood. Insulation is already in my plans...

Jamie

[James Aguanno]

Just keep everything mobile, James and it should work out fine. There's nothing wrong with 2' OC walls and since they will be open, you'll be able to easily install blocking to support cabinets, etc., before you close things in with insulation, etc.

Yes, everything (except the lathe) will be on mobile bases. I worked in a smaller space (part of a garage that I just converted to living space) so I was used to that. I am not overly concerned with the framing. I plan on using OSB on the inside walls and ceilings and the cleat system from the Wood Magazine for cabinets. I think it will be strong enough, but would feel better with 16" spacing. I wish the shed company would be more flexible, but that is why I can afford it...

Jamie

[James Aguanno]

James, I'll be watching this thread closely! I'm in the same boat kinda-I have a basement shop,and I keep thinking of moving outside. My property is 75'x127' and I put up a wooden outbuilding five years ago, it;s on 4x4 's and is 10'x14'. I also poured 12'' dia. three foot deep footings as per the town- I live in northern new jersey. ( six footings) I keep thinking of blowing out the back wall and doubling the size to give me roughly the same size work area you are looking at .(a) I;m not sure if this will be enough room and (b) I'm not so sure I want to work away from the house. I can think of MANY benifates but I can also think the drawbacks too! I have to heat it in the colder months for example, sometimes i don't work that long, or sometimes I just go downstairs in my socks to ponder projects or whatever-and I'm still within earshot of my wife-wait is that a plus or a drawback...hmmm.. well, anyway you get the idea:rolleyes:

Everett,

For me, it is not even a choice. I have a smaller house and just converted the single car garage to living space (that is where my shop used to be). I guess you could say I am in a hurry without a shop... Anyway, I am looking forward to the detached space. I always battled with my sleeping family (my wife is very sensitive to noise) and see myself getting more shop time with the detachment.

Heat is in the plans, but most likely not until next year. In the mean time, I do have a small kerosene heeter.

thx...Jamie

[Dan Cimbora]

Bill,

Already thought of that. The floor being installed by the shed company is 5/8" PT plywood. I am planning another layer of OSB or even some utility grade hardwood. Insulation is already in my plans...

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

This past summer I had a Tuff Shed built in my back yard. I went with a 16x20' barn style (gambrel roof). I opted for 16" OC wall framing and taller (7-1/2 foot) walls. They put their sheds on galvanized floor joists (50 year guarantee), with 3/4" T&G plywood flooring. On top of that I installed cheap snap-together laminate flooring from HD. So far, it's very solid with no bounce. I didn't pour a slab or footings, but rather (on Tuff Shed's recommendation) put down four inches of 1" gravel on absolutely level, undisturbed earth.

I ran two 15A and one 20A circuits for lighting and outlets. I have an outlet every 3' around the entire perimeter of the shed, with four 4' double T8 fluorescent fixtures downstairs and one upstairs -- also one floodlight and a 20A outlet outside. I put in a 36" steel entry door with window (in addition to the 48" barn door that came standard). I framed in a loft covering 3/4 of the floorplan using 2x10s on 24" centers (every third one doubled up), with 3/4" OSB screwed/glued as flooring.

Still need to insulate and put up something to cover the walls -- not sure if I'll go with painted OSB, drywall, or hardboard paneling. Any recommendations?

I wish I had gone larger, but only decided to get into woodworking AFTER the shed was up. So, half of the 2-car garage will be dedicated to the big WW tools (TS, planer, jointer, DC), and the shed will be for the metal lathe, gunsmithing/reloading, and smaller WW projects.

-Dan

[James Aguanno]

Hi Jamie,

Still need to insulate and put up something to cover the walls -- not sure if I'll go with painted OSB, drywall, or hardboard paneling. Any recommendations?

-Dan

Dan,

I am going to use the OSB (painting it white). In my are right now, it is about $4 a sheet cheeper than drywall, and gives you the flexibility of mounting stuff just about anywhere (without drywall anchors). Granted, finished drywall looks better, but if you take your time and get a good couple of coats on the OSB it really does not look too bad. I like your flooring idea, but I have to go with piers (township requirement), and the shed company is not up to modifications (I was able to get 8' sidewalls though).

thx...Jamie

[Roger Fitzsimonds]

Hi,
I had a 16X24 2 story barn shed built for my shop. I went with osb on the lower 4 feet of the walls and pegboard for the upper half of the walls so I can hang stuff pretty near anywhere. I did not put a second skin on the floor and wish I did. Now it will be a real pain todo. Have fun building your shop.

Roger

[James Aguanno]

Just a small update. I just found out that my permits are ready (record time for me). I will be emptying and removing my old shed this weekend and hopefully doing the pier layout (if the rain holds out anyway). Wish me luck..

Thx...Jamie

[glenn bradley]

Good luck James!

[James Aguanno]

Well, I made a little progress over the weekend (sorry, no pictures). Since I have the permit now, I was able to remove my old shed (8X12 that is in the way). I also removed a small maple tree that was in the way. I did the tree a week ago, and the shed this past weekend.

Once the shed was down, I cut the slab in half and removed the front half. The back half will stay for wood storage (turning wood) and chain saw work. The slab was thicker than I was expecting, so the saw I rented did not go all the way through. I had to bust a good bid of it with a sledge.

With that complete, I then rented an auger. I had to dig 9 holes 36" deep. With the auger, it only took about 30 minutes or so (with a little help from a neighbor). I expected to have a lot of trouble with roots, but there was only one hole that I had to use an axe, much less than I thought. I also hit an irrigation pipe with one hole. It just hit the edge, but I will cut a piece out after the concrete is repaired just in case.

Well, I just have a little clean up in the holes tonite (rain the other day) and the building inspection is scheduled for tomorrot morning. Once I get the go ahead, I will pour concrete each night until I am done (probably two holes a night). I will also finalize the shed order (they only need about a week). Hopefully, my next progress report will include pictures of the concrete piers.

I also had a chance to work on the layout of the shop. I went through quite a few versions, but these two are my favorites so far. Any comments? I think I like the first one better.

thx...Jamie

[Jim Becker]

Jamie, nice progress.

You do need to post larger images, however...those thumbnails really are hard to read!

[James Aguanno]

Jamie, nice progress.

You do need to post larger images, however...those thumbnails really are hard to read!

Sorry, here are the layouts.

[James Aguanno]

Well, I passed the inspection for the footings (piers) and pored the concrete last weekend. It was quite cold, so I covered the footings with plastic and piled some straw bails around as well. I think the concrete cured well. As I mentioned, there are nine piers and I used mud sill connectors to attach to the skids under the shed. I used long straight 2 X 4 boards to level the piers starting from the highest point. Essentially, they range from about two inches to six inches above grade (not too bad considering the slope of my back yard).

I called the shed company last Friday to schedule the construction and they had an opening on Tuesday of this week. The carpenters showed up at about nine in the morning (two of them), and by 12 they had the skid shimmed and level, the floor build, and the walls up (the shed comes as a kit with all of the lumber cut to size). By the time my wife got home from work at four, the shed was complete and the crew was gone.

I was a little skeptical with the construction methods. The framing (walls and roof) is on two foot centers (2 X 4 wall framing and 2 X 6 roof (kind of like a truss without a ceiling cord)). The floor is 2 X 6 joists on 12” centers, but the “skid” is made up of 3 rows of 4 X 4 posts (horizontally connected to the footings and shimmed with PT wood on the ground). I have never thought of hiring someone to do something like this, and thought it would be shabby. With that said, I am pleasantly surprised. I checked the floor for level and the walls for plumb and all looked very well (even in the middle of the long wall). My biggest fear was that the floor would feel “soft”, but so far, that is not the case. It feels very solid.

I am not able to get a final inspection from the township until Wednesday of next week, so I can not start any of the electrical work yet. I do have plans for this weekend though. I am going to put a layer of sub floor down. The kit came with 5/8” PT plywood, and I want to upgrade that. I will likely use 7/16” OSB (still thinking about that). I am also going to build the loft that I have planned for storage. This will be along the 12’ wall and be about 4 foot deep. Lastly, since I did not have the company install the cheesy small windows that they offer, I will install three decent windows.

Since it is so cold, I will have to wait until the spring to do the painting. I also have some landscaping in mind for that time, but for now, I will not be doing anything to the outside of the building. It is kind of strange that a 12 X 20 detached does not look big on paper, but I was surprised to see how much of my back yard is taken up. The height is a little daunting as well. I am glad I went with the size that I did (I am sure that I will change that statement in the future). To date, this is the largest shop that I have ever had. I am really looking forward to getting back into woodworking (it has been almost a year since I have been able to do anything).

Here are a couple of pictures. (how do I insert pictures in the text???)

[Jim Becker]

That'll be a nice space to work, James!

[James Aguanno]

01/29 Weekend report

I spent a lot of time in the new shop this weekend. It is not really a shop yet, but it is beginning to feel that way a little (and it helped that my wife was actually excited for me). Anyway, on Saturday I went to a window factory to check out there seconds. Unfortunately, they did not have any new construction windows there. They could have modified the replacements, but I did not want to wait until next weekend, so I went to HD to get a couple. I ended up getting two sliders (36 inch square windows with screens). I installed these as soon as I got home. I am still planning to put in another double hung window (just in case I ever want to install an air conditioner plus I will like the light).

While at HD, I also picked up some 2X6 joists for the loft area and some OSB for beefing up the floor. The floor went down Saturday afternoon and the loft was on Sunday. The floor seems even more solid now, and I will like it once I paint it. I am still thinking of a hardwood floor, and may upgrade some time in the future, but we will see (I actually found some utility grade hardwood on ebay for $.69 per square foot (+ shipping?))

Well, I am still waiting for my final building inspection (Wednesday). As soon as I get that, I will start the electrical. I am planning a 60A sub panel with a bunch of 20A 120V circuits (I have read many threads on this subject, and will use a lot of those lessons). I am still looking into how I will do the lighting, and am not sure how that will pan out. I am also going to put in a couple of 220V receptacles for when I upgrade my lathe and table saw (will probably account for the DC and band saw as well). I will start the internal wiring at night and rent a trencher for the weekend. Hopefully, I will be live and have my stuff moved in over the weekend. I am holding my breath that where I have my equipment is not too humid…

[Mike Buelow]

My only suggestion would be to take whatever you have planned for ANY detail and add 10% to it (wherever possible). This goes for dimensions, power, windows, etc.

That and add cable TV!

[James Aguanno]

02/13 Progress

Well, I did not get a chance to provide an update last week, but there was progress. I got the final inspection (building) on the 31st (Wednesday) and was finally good to go from the township’s standpoint. That weekend, I did the electrical work.

My only window to dig was on Saturday (weather took a big turn for the worst, Saturday’s high was 25, but Sunday was only supposed to get to 15, and we have not been above freezing since…) so I went to the HD to rent their small trencher. They could not get the thing started, and I was worried about the irrigation pipe anyway, so I went home and started the dig by hand. It actually went well. The ground was only frozen for the first inch and a half or so, and I have sand. The only tough part was avoiding the irrigation and the many surface roots that I have. The trench was a total of about 110’, and I kept it 24” deep.

I ran a 1 ¼” conduit for the service and an extra ¾” conduit for future stuff. In the 1 ¼” is three pieces of #6 THHN cable and a #10 ground. The pull went fine, and I was live to the panel at about 1:30. I had a little help from a neighbor who is a union electrician. He helped with the conduit and the cable pull. He terminated the main panel as I did the sub panel. By the way, the sub panel is a 12 space 125 amp main lug panel.

When the panels were connected, my neighbor went home and I filled in the trench. I still have a lot of work to do on the trench, but it will have to wait until the weather improves. Once the trench was filled in, I ran one circuit with two outlets (no circuit has more than 4 outlets, and I have four circuits (so far) plus one lighting circuit (so far). It was getting late, and I owed my wife a nice night out, so I called it a day.

I did not get started until after noon on Sunday, but got the rest of the outlet circuits listed above run and the tools off of my patio and into the shop. I will try to take some pictures this weekend, but other than the lighting circuit that I did this past circuit, that is all that I have done so far.

Well, I have a lot left, and am starting to get anxious to start turning, so I may have to let some things wait a while (my budget was tightened up as well). For instance, I am thinking to hold off on insulation and wall covering (OSB) until the fall. I may start with building some rolling cabinets and wall cabinets though. The wall cabinets will be hung on those French cleats, so I will not cause too much extra work by doing them before the wall material.

Here is my latest sketch up layout. I think I like this version and everything will be on wheels except the lathe.
5781657818
The cabinets along the walls will be at the same height as the table saw so that I can have a large out-feed table when needed.
57817
I am also planning to build a cabinet around the table saw to maximize storage.

[Art Mulder]

James,

When you start building your mobile carts/stations I strongly suggest that you make sure that all four wheels pivot.

In a larger shop, the "shopping cart" arrangement (two fixed casters, two pivoting) makes sense, as it is better for tracking. But in a small shop, you sometimes want to spin something around, or shove it sideways, and the only way to do that is if all four wheels pivot. You also are not pushing things a long distance, so tracking is not an issue.

[James Aguanno]

James,

When you start building your mobile carts/stations I strongly suggest that you make sure that all four wheels pivot.


Art,

Good suggestion. I will do that as well as make sure that all four lock. I will also look for latches that I can use to secure them to the walls. Maybe even to each other back-to-back.

Jamie

[James Aguanno]

03/12

Well, I have not put nearly as much time into the shop as I would have hoped but I have accomplished some. Over the last few weeks, I was able to finish installing the wall outlets (four circuits spread out around the room), installed some overhead lighting (temporary incandescent fixtures), and put up OSB (and leftover plywood from my old shed) on two walls.

My main focus lately has been organizing things. In my past shops, I never had the room to really have any sort of organization. I just had some peg board (I will not be using that again), no bench or counter, and no cabinets. My only real organization was the small tool chest (the one that my drill press is on in the pictures) and that was definitely not enough.

60028

I was able to get some of the kitchen cabinets (uppers) from my mother’s old kitchen.

60029

I mounted them on the French cleats so that I can fine tune the placement. I will be getting a few more once I can get some help getting them out of her basement, but that will wait until I am done with the OSB on the walls.

I also threw together a temporary work table from scrap.

60030

It is definitely not the greatest, but it keeps my tools off of the floor and out of the way while I am working on projects. My goal for this table will be to rebuild it with wheels. I will use some sort of clamp to hold it in place against the wall yet give me the ability to use it as an out-feed table for the table saw when needed. I hope to build a total of three of these, but that will come later. All of my cabinets/workbenches will be at the height of the table saw as well.

I have also had the chance to do some turning, but I will outline that in that forum.

Thanks for looking, and as always, comments are welcome.

[Jim Becker]

Lookin' good, James!

[Von Bickley]

James,
Everything is looking good... A small shop is better than no shop.

My first shop was 10 X 16, but it was my space and I really enjoyed it.