My beautiful shop.....

[Paul B. Cresti]

.....well not quite yet but it is getting there. A little slower than I thought but at least I am going in the right direction. Roughin for wire is just about complete, main panel (change out) and connection of sub panel is awaiting for PSE&G to show up and unlock the meter pan. So, I challenge everyone to see if they can spot any of my machines. Pictures consist of right front & back, left front & back and my subpanel. The shop is a 25x25 two bay garage with 10ft ceilings. I even have a set of stairs to a future office space above (right now it is dubbed the kids playroom). Oh by the way here is a little gloat ....the third one is the way.:D

[Bart Leetch]

I see a sliding compound miter saw & a belt-sander part of a Combination sander.

[Glenn Clabo]

Paul,
Congrats on #3 and frankly I don't see anything wrong with your shop...looks normal to me. :D

[Rob Littleton]

cmon guys, its obviously not a shop yet..............

he needs more light :-)

[Wes Bischel]

cmon guys, its obviously not a shop yet..............

he needs more light :-)


What? Two bare bulbs with pull chains. Isn't that how all shops are started?

Wes - envious of the space and the"loft".

[Jim Becker]

Well, you're just experiencing the storm before the calm...or something like that. Things will come together pretty quickly once you have that wiring finished, a coat of paint on the walls, etc. If this is going to be a dedicated shop and you can lose the overhead doors, it will give you more flexibility with space and lighting. (I don't recall if it's an outbuilding or attached to the house) I did this with my shop an it made a world of difference without compromising the ability to get larger things in and out as I used double out-swing (with security hinges) insulated steel doors with low-E glass for additional light. (see pic below) I too, have space for my office upstairs when I get to renovating that space one of these decades...it was a real plus when we bought this property a little over four years ago.

Congrats on the "growing family gloat"!

[Paul B. Cresti]

Well, you're just experiencing the storm before the calm...or something like that. Things will come together pretty quickly once you have that wiring finished, a coat of paint on the walls, etc. If this is going to be a dedicated shop and you can lose the overhead doors, it will give you more flexibility with space and lighting. (I don't recall if it's an outbuilding or attached to the house) I did this with my shop an it made a world of difference without compromising the ability to get larger things in and out as I used double out-swing (with security hinges) insulated steel doors with low-E glass for additional light. (see pic below) I too, have space for my office upstairs when I get to renovating that space one of these decades...it was a real plus when we bought this property a little over four years ago.

Congrats on the "growing family gloat"!

It is a dedicated shop space (is not my wife great!) but then again I will be venturing into a woodworking/architecture business shortly with a fellow architect. The shop is an attached garage. I have already laid out all of my equipment and the overhead doors do not interfere. I will replace them both and may use one as overhead door (supplies, more equipment ;), etc..) and the other as a out swinging door to match overhead. I am also installing a single personel door to the exterior.This is the third shop I have set up and it will be my last unless of course my business really takes off.

[Mike Evertsen]

how do you move around to get anything done???

[Paul B. Cresti]

how do you move around to get anything done???
Very carefully! What you do not see in all the pictures is the only real "clear" paths I have are along the walls and down the middle. I have been performing all kinds of gymnastic displays in order to wire. All my equipment and tools are still crated or in boxes from my move last January. If I did not number all my boxes and have a list telling what is in each box I would never find anything. I know it will be worth it in the end as I day dream about my old shop

[Chris Padilla]

Sigh...dedicated shops....

:(

[Mark Bachler]

My shop is almost entirely empty. Soon to be remedied. Call the bank today. Call Mini Max tomorrow.

[Alan Turner]

Let's see:
A powermatic 8" jointer
An Agazanni BS
You've made it a bit easier.

[Tyler Howell]

Paul,


It has...........great potential.:rolleyes:

[Jim Young]

My God Man, What a mess! Once you get started on arranging the tools it will feel like Christmas everytime you find a tool.

[John Shuk]

Boy am I glad there are other people out there with shops like mine. A two and a half year old, a nine month old, and having to work overtime to pay the mortgage and the addiction. These things don't make for alot of time to get set up properly in my case. Seeing all the nice shops on here has gotten me motivated. I thought all creekers had shops like Jim's. Good luck with it.
John

[Robert Ducharme]

Everyone missed the most important tool - a coolant system for the ice-cubes and/or brews.

[Phil Phelps]

.....these pictures make the house I'm workin' on a piece of cake!!!!!!! :p

[Jim Becker]

I thought all creekers had shops like Jim's.

Most shops start out quite meager...here's what the original half of mine looked like before it became a shop...

[Walt Pater]

You've got a Bosch 10" SCMS & a 14.4 Dewalt Angle drill, no? Oh, and a bunch of boxes.

[Rob Russell]

Paul,

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but if that gaggle of wiring is all sort of running along together and the runs aren't neatly segregated and supported - the local building inspector could legitimately red flag that as a code violation.

The reason is that you can't have more than 3 cables "stacked or bundled" without derating the ampacity of the conductors. There's a table (in the '99 NEC, it's 310-15(b)(2)(a) Adjustment Factors for More than Three Current-Carrying Conductors in a Racewy or Cable") that spells this out. You can stack 3 wires, although a typical NM-cable staple is only good for 2 conductors. It looks like nothing is tied in to your panel yet, so neatening up the circuit runs may not be a lot of work.

Holler if you need more details.

Rob

[Paul B. Cresti]

Paul,

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but if that gaggle of wiring is all sort of running along together and the runs aren't neatly segregated and supported - the local building inspector could legitimately red flag that as a code violation.

The reason is that you can't have more than 3 cables "stacked or bundled" without derating the ampacity of the conductors. There's a table (in the '99 NEC, it's 310-15(b)(2)(a) Adjustment Factors for More than Three Current-Carrying Conductors in a Racewy or Cable") that spells this out. You can stack 3 wires, although a typical NM-cable staple is only good for 2 conductors. It looks like nothing is tied in to your panel yet, so neatening up the circuit runs may not be a lot of work.

Holler if you need more details.

Rob

Rob,
uh oh! I am an Architect not an electrical engineer! I do have all the wires separated (stapled) neatly along their full runs. The "mess" you currently see at the panel is only the ends that have ot been secured yet. I plan on securing them neatly all to the wall the panel is on and then entering into the top of the panel box. I just left them there while I was roughin all the rest. Does that seem to be a problem? I aslo plan on furring out the wire runs (raceway) along the beam with gyp bd. My permit is under NEC 99. Do you know of any requirements by NEC for dustproof covers for outlets inb a shop environmnet? Or since this is a "residential" :rolleyes: application it would not apply?

[Paul B. Cresti]

Most shops start out quite meager...here's what the original half of mine looked like before it became a shop...
Jim,
I love that window! It must be great to be working in there will all that natural light! Isn't it great to look back at all of your before pictures?

[Paul B. Cresti]

Everyone missed the most important tool - a coolant system for the ice-cubes and/or brews.

Robert,
Unfortunately that is actually a freezer that the previous home owner left behind but, the kitchen is not far beyond the mud room (the room that connects the shop to the house) and there is plenty of Yiengling in the bottom drawer!:p

[Rob Russell]

Rob,
uh oh! I am an Architect not an electrical engineer! I do have all the wires separated (stapled) neatly along their full runs. The "mess" you currently see at the panel is only the ends that have ot been secured yet. I plan on securing them neatly all to the wall the panel is on and then entering into the top of the panel box. I just left them there while I was roughin all the rest. Does that seem to be a problem? I aslo plan on furring out the wire runs (raceway) along the beam with gyp bd. My permit is under NEC 99. Do you know of any requirements by NEC for dustproof covers for outlets inb a shop environmnet? Or since this is a "residential" :rolleyes: application it would not apply?

Paul,

First - I should note that I'm not a licensed electrician, just an experienced amateur.

I was looking at the bundle of wire that runs along the beam over to the wall where your panel is. If those conductors are all stapled neatly and separated so you have a series of cable runs (even stacks of 3 cables) - you're fine. What wouldn't have worked was a jumble of wires running along, all in a bloppy-bundle, not separated. In that latter case, an AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction, aka the building inspector) could have viewed that as a single run of cables - not a series of separate runs. Had that latter situation occurred, you would've needed to separate the runs. If it's done - no problem.

Your question about dust comes down to whether your shop is classified as a "hazardous environment" by the NEC. I'm sure there are those who, seeing the pictures, would classify it as being hazardous. Me - I'd feel right at home. :D

I took a quick look at Articles 500 and 502. Trust me - this is not something you want to have to comply with. All your wiring would need to be in conduit or dustproof raceways, plus other stuff you don't want to mess with. This is a residential environment. Really.

Taking a more careful look at the pictures, you may need to modify that vertical chase between the garage doors just a bit. You need to have 1 1/4" clearance from the outside of your framing. This allows for 1/2" sheetrock attached by 1 5/8" sheetrock screws. If you have a wood chase of 3/4" stock and your wires are fastened directly to that, someone could nail through a wire from the outside. That might produce some unexpected fireworks. All you need to do is put some cleats on the inside of the wire chase and restaple the wire so it's deep enough inside the chase. Remember the minimum clearance when you box in your wires along the ceiling/by the panel.

Remember to leave enough "working space" by your panel - 30" wide and 3' deep in front of the panel.

Rob