Pre-shop Preview w/ Photos

[Ed Garrett]

I've thought about shop design for about a year. So many details have been worked out in my head. Dozens of floor plans and models (and more recently, LOML input for something cute) have lead me to something like a cottage (the last 2 pics). Tell me if you see pitfalls here...

I hope to finish a few more details (to plans and model) soon and approach a builder soon. I wish I could make it myself, but I can't imagine having the time.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Wow Ed, that should be one fine place to do woodworking. Welcome to the Creek and good luck with the project. Alan in Raleigh.

[David DeCristoforo]

But.....it's so.....small.....

[Mitchell Andrus]

Why a double decker? I'd think the 20th time up and down... by tuesday, you'll regret it. The stairs already seem to be a tourtured decision.

[Jason Beam]

Okay okay ... stop the madness ...

WHERE the HECK are you gonna find needle nose pliers the size of a station wagon? HMMMM??? :confused::confused::confused::confused:

That'd be one very nice place to spend your days (and a few nights).

[Ed Garrett]

It started off as one story, but grew upward when loml got involved. Plus there's not space to go sideways. She wants a place too...

[Rob Russell]

Is the plan that you get the bottom floor for woodworking and she gets the top floor? If so, your general idea makes sense. If the plan is to split your shop between the 2 floors, I'd say that's going to be a nightmare.

[Matt Meiser]

Will the screen porch be part of the shop? What are the dimensions of the shop going to be?

[Jon Shively]

New house and new shop? Figure the one story gray building must be your shop. For old age living, stairs are a killer. Build to use in your old age, if it must go up due to space of a lot, think of an elevator. Downfall I see, taxes.

[Matt Day]

I would suggest handrails on those stairs, and maybe a door to enter through rather than a window! J/K

What are the dimensions going to be? Do you have a place for your DC, lumber storage, finishing, etc?

[Grant Wilkinson]

Ed

If you very give up woodworking, call me please. I'll come and live in it. :D

Grant

[Greg Funk]

Ed,

From the outside the cottage style looks great. My only concern would be that the large overhang required for the porch will cut the amount of available light from that side of the shop. This may be an issue depending on the orientation of your shop. I have lots of windows and skylights in my shop and enjoy the natural light but this is a personal decision. It appears the top floor will have lots of windows and lights. Is that for your wife?

Greg

[jason lambert]

Nice models. Matt if you don't have the door and only the window I'm not sure a hand rale is required ;)

But yes getting large built items out of the top can be a issue also carrying things up not sure where the table saw is going but if upstairs I wouldn't want to have to get it up there. Also I would have at least one big gurage door in it that you can pull a truck into I don't know how many times I pull my car into my gurage to load and unload things to be out of the rain and sun. Although I cna't see the back of the model might be there.

[Jim Becker]

Wow, that's really nice, Ed.

[Steve Kohn]

What a nice looking building. Will make a spectacular shop.

However, in my personal experience when your wife asks for something "cute" it really adds to the cost per square foot.

When we added on to the house to make my shop, the architect spec'ed a bumpout with a gable in the front of the addition. This was to mirror the other side of the house. Looked great, the wife loved it, but it added about $15,000 to the cost of the addition.

One one hand the $15,000 allowed me to get the addition built with the wife's approval, however it just about eliminated any funds for tools to go into the shop.

[Ed Garrett]

Thank you for your input so far. This has already helped me. It's funny how easy it is to overlook some simple design problems. Please make more suggestions if you if you see something else which wasn't so obvious to me. I'll respond to your questions and comments thus far:

Thank you to everybody who said something nice about these models. It took some practice. The first ones (not pictured) were ugly ducklings.

I was afraid that cute could be expensive, but $15K for a dormer is shocking. Our plans are for two. I was initially thinking of a budget of $15K for the whole shop, but it looks like the whole project is ballooning.

You're right about stairs leading to a window. The models are made with interchangeable modular sections. I didn't anticipate needing a door where we ended up settling on an entry point on the 2nd floor. The windows were cut with a scroll saw prior to assembly. I might make a final version that makes more sense before I go to a builder.

My wife is planning on using the 2nd floor for her hobbies (She's into several types of art), so hopefully the weightlifting of stuff up the stairs will be reasonable. I also followed some guidelines from an architecture text and made the stairs to about a 30 degree angle with 12" treads (my shoe size is 15). Hopefully this will make freight and an older version of me a little easier to hoist up the stairs.

The shop will be on the 1st floor. The table saw will only need to climb one or two steps, which I routinely do already.

I see your concern about the overhang. I agree about quality of natural light. However, I think Florida has excessive sunlight. I intended the overhang to reduce light and heat on the lower floor. I've found indirect sunlight to work well in my current shop, but I will also have several fluorescents between the joists.

As for dust control, I hope to set up a Clearvue and PVC ductwork. I'm planning an above grade floor allowing for a trench for ductwork and power to reach a cabinet saw in the middle of the room. For fugitive finer dust in the air I will simply pump it (and lots of heat) outside with an industrial exhaust fan I've scoped out which has steep blades, low rpm, high cfm, and low db. For sanding, I'm planning a downdraft table with 2" perforations directly vented to the outside. Finally, I have a practice of wearing a facemask/headgear setup with a 4" umbilical delivering fresh breathing air (Don't blame Mr. Pentz for this; I've been doing this for about 10 years).

I share Jon's concern about taxes. Right now I pay exceedingly low taxes because I've not been reassessed since I moved in 18 years ago. They limit your property tax increases to 3% here unless you get reassessed, normally by moving. I don't yet know if this will trigger a reassessment. It won't be heated/cooled so maybe I'll get a break. This is among several things I need to research further. Thanks for the reminder.

Current dimensions for the shop are 23' x 18' and a small bump out for a cyclone. My wife rejected an "outhouse" for the cyclone (I guess that would be too cute for her). I would go for a bigger shop, but I'm on a limited urban lot. For the last 20 years I've been working in a 140 square foot shop, so I've got a PhD in space utilization. I've obviously been restricted from acquiring several large stationary tools. Hopefully I'll have the room soon. This is a classic "Dream Shop" scenario for me.

If you see something else please tell me before I commit to something dumb. If buying a hand tool is, "Pulling the trigger," then I'm about to, "Drop a bomb."

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee

[John Bush]

Hi Ed,
Great design ideas. I designed and built a shop that could have other future uses: mother-in-law, rental unit, or new home for me if my wife suggests I live elsewhere. When one of her friends saw it she said "What a darling outbuilding". Now we call it the "Get the #@$%&*out building. Here are some shots of the outside. Let me know if you want to see inside detail. I used old barn beams I shipped out from our farm in Ill. Hated to see them go up in smoke. Good luck, John.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN13321.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN1050-1.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN1049-1.jpg

[Ed Garrett]

John,

We're 3000 miles apart and yet on a parallel path. I had some of the same ideas for potential uses, including future mother-in-law suite.

Your place looks great. Of course I'd like to see the inside. I would bet a few other folks would too...

Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee

P.S. I turned down a job offer 6 years ago to work for the State of Oregon. We were really tempted by your part of the country. My wife loves plants and boy was it lush up there.

[John Bush]

Hi Ed,

Lush?? I don't drink THAT much. Here are some inside shots. I don't think I have any upstairs views. That was to be my wife's hobby room as well. Seems she has developed a new hobby of storing rough lumber!! What a gal. Here goes:
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN13341.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN13371.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN13361.jpg

As you can see, I've got more crap than the Christmas Goose. Someday I'll throw SOMETHING away.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN13351.jpg


Here are the stairs to the loft. No pics tho. If you wish, I can capture some tomorrow. Thanks for looking. Hope this gives you some ideas.
Hopefully you could use some old lumber as well. I should show you how I did the DC attached shed. Let me kow if you are interested. I just learned how to attach pics. You guys could be in real trouble. Next I'll show the family reunion at the Hoopeston Sweet Corn Festival!! Best Wishes, John.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/bushhog104/DSCN13381.jpg

[Ed Garrett]

John,

Thanks for the interior photos. Looks like my kind of shop. Lots of space and nice tools. I'll show my wife when she gets back to town. She may consider your place cute enough to emulate.

Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee

[John Bush]

Thanks Ed,
I can send a copy of the drawings if you wish. All the engineering has been done. JCB

[Eddie Darby]

Do you have in the works a dedicated finishing room?
Double doors on it would allow big pieces access.