You guys asked for it:Before

[John Miliunas]

OK, I've been harassed enough about the lack of pics with my posts. Here's a few to calm your (MY) nerves. These are the "before" shots of my new shop. The descriptions in the order, which I'll hope they appear:

1st shot: What used to be the former owner's (Jack) assembly area. He was kind enough to leave me that big 4x8 assembly table! I've since moved it and this area will contain the jointer, planer and hopefully, future drum sander. This area is roughly 16x30.

2nd shot: Following the first shot to the left, a whole bunch of cabinets and counter space. Ugly? Yes. Wall cabinets, throwback from some remodel job(s)? Yup. BUT, they were left here by Jack and very functional! He had his miter saw setup here, though I will chop a couple cabs out and have my DP station on this wall.

3rd shot: Again, following a bit to the left, is the main portion of the shop. This area is right about 24x24. My table saw will live right in the forefront of the picture, with the assembly table behind and some "office-type" space and another bench below the window. Of special note in this pic, you can see the "fantastic" lighting. A grand total of 8 incandescent bulbs in the entire shop! Hey, I'm already half blind. That just won't do! Also, note the nice wood stove to the rear left. That thing throws out some serious heat! (We've already had some high-teens/low-20's and after a couple hours, I'm down to a sleeveless t-shirt!)

4th shot: Rolling 90* to the left, the other wall, which will make home to the lathe, belt/disc sander and OSS. A bit further toward the outside door, will be the BS.

5th shot: And now we've gone full circle. The double doors lead to the garage, which also happens to be insulated. The cyclone will make its home on the other side of this wall. Oh yeah, almost forgot. In pic #3, you may notice another door, just to the left of the wood stove. This is the door to a 16x20 finishing room. Currently, it's storing a LOT of overflow stuff for both, myself and LOML. After it's organized, it will still need something more substantial for fume exhaust, but that's not on my current list of priorities. It'll be nice just to have a separate, semi dust-free room for even applying wipe-on finish!

So, there you have it. I've got a LOT of work cut out for me, but it's an enjoyable journey. There's much of it, that's already done, and I should have more pics soon. I just wanted to let you folks have the full impact of the "before" condition(s). Thanks for viewing! :cool:

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

John, that is a GREAT shop setup in the making. MUCHO room, and it looks like you have a great start on getting it setup and functional. There is one thing that you need to do soon though. You have to prepare space for me.............I don't require much............because with that fantastic shop space..............I am MOVING IN! :D Thanks for the pictures................I just can't wait to see it progress into a fine Woodworking shop. Looks like a great place for a SMC get together down the road too? ;) Good luck with the new digs...............it is coming together nicely. :)

[Mike Evertsen]

nice shop,,,,, lots of room but will fill up fast,,,and finishing room,,,

[Ron McNeil]

John, very nice shop and I'm sure when you get finished setting it up it will look great. I can just vision the great pictures we will be seeing in the future from your wood projects. Enjoy your nice BIG shop and hope you and the family enjoy the new house.

[Phil Phelps]

... you're the envy of many. I's great to have a place of you "own".

[Dave Anderson NH]

Don't worry about the ugly cabinets though, you will find a way to make them a bit prettier. Perhaps a veneer facing, or some fake raised panels. I'm sure that the lighting will be high on your priority list though you can save a few bucks by doing it a section at a time. Woodstoves are great for a shop- I love having mine. Now do you have a good supply of firewood to keep it stoked?

Remember what one friend of mine once stated- there are really two hobbies involved here, shop making, and woodworking. :D

[Glenn Clabo]

John,
Looking good! The only other thing I'm jealous of... beside the space...is that window. My last house in VA I used the garage and it was sure nice when I could open the door. Now I'm a basement rat...and all I have is those little basement windows. I keep thinking about moving up to the garage...then winter comes and it sure is nice to walk out of the house, jump in the car and drive off without going outside.

Keep showing the progress...it's fun to watch.

[Chad Pater]

I always enjoy the shop pictures and peoples project pictures. Congrats.

However I was just reading your "profile" here at SMC and now your going to have to change it! It states I "have a smallish WW shop" :confused:

c pater

[Todd Burch]

John, I ache for you with all the work you have yet to do to put that shop together! Congrats!! Todd.

[Ted Shrader]

2nd shot: Following the first shot to the left, a whole bunch of cabinets and counter space. Ugly? Yes. .What ugly cabinets? - They hold stuff don't they? Nothing a coat of paint won't cure.


. . . .This is the door to a 16x20 finishing room. . . . .
John -

Wow! Great shop. Glad this deal went through.

And once again you get a gloat penalty. Sneaking in a finishing room gloat within a shop "overgloat". :D :D

Have fun moving in and setting up! More pictures later?

Ted

[Byron Trantham]

Ugly you say, well I'll tell you what, have I got a deal for you! I'll swap my 20x20 "pretty shop" for your 16x30 ugly shop! Deal? :D

Finishing room? Man I wish.

Congratulations and I know putting it all together will be a labor of love.

[Terry Hatfield]

John,

WOW!!! What a great space. Sounds like lots of fun getting the shop setup. Keep posting those pics.

Terry

[Don Abele]

John...amazing. You know, I used to just hope that someday I'd have something better than a converted garage - but now I see I have to change my goal. I have seen eden!!! And a garage just won't do any more. :D Enjoy setting it up and best wishes for all your future projects there.

Be well,

Doc

[John Scarpa]

WOW! That is some space! I'm envious of all of the room you have to work with. Keep us posted as you make progress with more pics.

I'm at the same stage of preparing a space but it's the typical 2 car garage that shares space with a washer/dryer and several tall storage cabinets full of our "stuff"

[Tom Sweeney]

You said it had a decent sized shop - YOU WEREN'T KIDDING - Major league congrats buddy- that will definately be a great shop when your finished setting up.

Did it even come with a house - Oh who cares you could live in the shop - hey install a bathroom & cot & you'd have the perfect doghouse for those times when your lady gets a little "frustrated" with you. Not that that ever happens to me of course :rolleyes:

Can't wait to see the after pics!

[John Miliunas]

Thanks an awful lot for all the wonderful comments and encouragement. Yeah, I still pinch myself 'bout every time I walk in there! Going from roughly 300 sq/ft to this just amazes me. It's far from perfect; The floors kinda remind me of a kiddie roller coaster. Jack (previous owner) did the unthinkable after hanging the drywall: He sand-texture sprayed the ceiling AND walls! Heck, he didn't even have it wired for the TV/Stereo! Then, we met with our insurance dude yesterday evening. Looks like the wood stove has to go! :mad: I can handle the higher premium, due to the excellent heat source, but for whatever reason, they *have* to include that as a reference point for the coverage on the entire property, even though the shop is detached from the house. Turns out, my personal property coverage gets cut WAY back, because of it. :mad: Looks like I'll probably go the "Hot Dawg" route for heating and stick an AC unit or two in the walls for Summer use. Still, even with the "negatives", it's a heckuva' lot more than a lot of folks have and for that, I'm extremely grateful. :D I'll try to get some WIP (Work In Progress) pics up here, as well. It's already come a long ways since the pics you see here. Thanks again! :cool:

[Don Abele]

John, did your insurance person tell you why the increase in price/decrease in coverage for your stove? I had one in my house in Maine and inquired about putting one in my house in Washington and neither would have done anything to my insurance if installed according to current code standards. Just curious (and still envious of that shop).

Be well,

Doc

[John Miliunas]

Dale, it appears that, not only this insurance carrier, but *many* in our area have similar coverage clauses in regards to wood stoves. I was curious as to why our old home, which was a LOT bigger, only cost a few bucks a year more. The coverage was also bigger. Here's the kicker: Our old place had TWO wood fireplaces! His explanation was pretty simple and actually makes sense. Fireplaces, which typically vent straight up through the hood, do a better job of "cleaning" themselves. Stoves, on the other hand, have a much greater tendency to collect creosote on the flu walls and a create a larger chance of that creosote being used as a pretty volatile fuel. If if catches on fire, you stand a real good chance of it getting blown back in or, at the least, a LOT of smoke damage. I regularly use the powdered creosote cleaner on a "hot" fire to assist in that cleaning, but the insurance carriers only see the greater potential for a fire (more like the potential that they'll have to actually pay out on a claim!) :rolleyes:

Truth be told, I was planning on some type of LP heat out there, just to keep the place at a low level of heat when I'm not in there. Unfortunately, that $200.00 option just turned into about a $500.00+ option! On the bright side, I pull the stove out of there and I'll pick up close to 50 more usable sq/ft.! :D :cool:

[Jim Becker]

Wow! Nice space...not like mine with the stupid stairway in the middle! :D

[Steve Rybicki]

John, I really enjoy seeing your photos. I'm on a similar journey in that I have a 25' x 25' space that needs to be turned into my workshop. Unfortunately, it has nothing done. No electricity, no cabinets, not even all the wall board is up.

I'll be watching your progress and hopefully I can learn a bit from your experience. Good luck.