My home shop in progress

[Jack Mincey]

Hi,
I've taught high school shop for the last 25 years an had the use of a first rate shop. As my retirment gets closer I've started the process of building my home shop. I started last year about this time. I had friends over to help with the trusses and the rest I've done by my self. I now have it insulated and power run to it so it is usable, but still a long ways off from being done. Here is a picture of it. My 5 year old son painted the side some while I painted the door and trim on the building. He has driven 100's of nails in the soul plate while watching me work on this building. It is 34'x26' with and upstairs that is 34'x 12'. Being that I do mostly Woodturning it should be enough room. I do plan on building a shed behind it for wood storage, as a woodturner I tend to collect allot of firewood to turn.
Jack
http://usera.imagecave.com/flyrod444/100_0507-copy.jpg

[Rob Russell]

Looks like a great start to a shop. I'd love to have that sort of space, grade level access, real windows and reasonable ceiling height!

[Art Mulder]

I now have it insulted and power run to it so it is usable, but still a long ways off from being done.

Now, Jack, don't go insulting that nice shop! ;)

Looks good so far. But fill in those garage door openings! It's a shop, not a garage!

(seriously, why do you have two garage doors there? If it's going to be a dedicated shop, why not fill in the openings? The next owner can always knock them out easily and put in a door if they want to park in it, and you get much better insulation and wall space. IMHO of course.)

[Chris Padilla]

C'mon, Art, how else is he going to FORKLIFT 1000 lbs. crotch wood into his shop?!?! :eek:

:D

[Tim Thomas]

Art, my shop IS a two car garage and I love it that way. Of course, I live in sunny Alabama and not Canada, so I can see why you would place a higher premium on insulation than garage doors. :)

Seriously though, it does make it very easy to get large sheet goods into my shop. I just back the truck right up to on of the open doors and slide the lumber inside. Very convenient for when it is raining.

Nice looking shop Jack! Keep it up.

[Jack Mincey]

Thanks everyone,
The door on the right is an 8' door and it is for getting equipment in and out. I put my 800 lb. lathe in the shop by backing the small trailer I had it on into the shop and then unhooked it from the truck and rolled it to where it was going and used a chain hoist to pick it up while I rolled the trailer out from under it. I then set the lathe down gently. Until my son gets a little older I am a one man show. I put a wall just to the right of the left door to seperate the shop. It allows me to have more wall space to place equipment and I plan on putting the dust collector and compressor in this room to keep the noise down in the main shop. The left door will allow me to pull a car in to work on when needed. I also put the steps upstairs on the outside of the building to save space inside the shop. Upstairs is mainly for storage and maybe drying wood since it should be about the right temp. in the spring and fall.
Jack

[Jim Becker]

Jack, looks like a great shop building! Do remember that typical garage doors will often interfere with lighting and dust collection when open...roll-ups don't have that issue but raise the cost substantially. I used double, outward opening steel doors (with security hinges and bolts) to provide larger access to my shop as well as allow for them to be open in nice weather without taking up any shop space.

[Jim O'Dell]

On the door thing, I listened to Jim B. just shy of 4 years ago, but built my own doors torsion box style, and used the sheet foam insulation cut up in the voids before glueing down the second skin. It has worked fairly well. They are heavy, but don't interfere with light, or lower my overhead which is less than 8' to start with. I still have the 10' wide garage door that came with the building (in the storage shed next door). Jim.

[Dave Lessley]

Jim O or Jim B,

I would like to learn more about your doors. A roll up door in my shop plans still gives me second thoughts for all of the reasons you mentioned and a couple more. I would be interested in what materials you used, How big they are, How you attached them and what you would do different if you were to do it again.

Thanks,

[Jim Becker]

Dave, my double doors (two sets) are just standard insulated steel doors (each with a window) configured for out-open with security hinges. (the pin is not removable). They are 6' wide and the standard ~80" or so height. These replaced two garage doors of the three that were originally in the building I use for my shop. Here's a really old picture of when I was installing one of them years ago:

http://sawsndust.com/images/webdisplay/expand-15.jpg

[Rob Bodenschatz]

My contractor made these for my shop last year:

84071 84072

He used a product called AZEK (http://www.azek.com/) which is supposed to weather better than wood. It's paintable. They open outward like Jim's. No regrets here.

[Jim Becker]

Nice door, Rob!

Azek is a solid polyurethane plastic product designed for use as trim boards, etc. It's extremely flexible, paints up nicely and doesn't have any issue with moisture and other weather factors. We just used it for the cap on the raised foundation that surrounds much of our new addition (because it's below grade) and it's great stuff. Available in 16' lengths, too. It will also go at the base of the frame house where it meets the new patio for the moisture reasons. The downside is that it's extremely expensive...like a lot! Oh, and it's not to be used for anything structural. Decorative only due to the flexibility.

[Jerry Olexa]

Nice looking shop building. Enviously, should be fine....

[Jim O'Dell]

Jim O or Jim B,

I would like to learn more about your doors. snip
Thanks,


Dave, here are a couple pictures and text on my doors. Nothing fancy, but I had a 10' wide opening to fill, and nothing I could afford commercially available.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=14427&page=2
go to posts 38 and 40 on that page. The ribs of the torsion boxes are 1/2" ply and the skins are 3/8" ply. Sealed with Kilz, 2 coats. The hinges are simple 12" gate hinges from Lowes. They are bent to roughly (very roughly :o) fit around the corners and lag screw into frames in the wall and door. I don't believe the hinge pins can be removed to allow access.
I still need to devise a way to seal the openings where the hinges are mounted in the doors and frames, but just haven't given it much thought. Busy trying to get to where I can do some actual woodworking in the shop! Jim.

[Don Bullock]

Jack, congratulations on teaching for 25 years. I'm just finishing my last one, my 37th. Your shop is making me very jealous.;) My wife and I plan to move after she retires, if not sooner. We need a place with more land for the dogs and I hope space for a shop too. Your building looks a lot like what I have in mind for one I'd like. I'd love to see more pictures, especially after it's done. Thanks for sharing.

[Tim Malyszko]

The shop looks great. Congratulations on the 25 years of teaching and the upcoming retirement. Looks like you will have a great place to spend your free time. I certainly hope that when I retire, I am fortunate enough to have such a great shop space.

[Jack Mincey]

Thanks Again Everyone,

I have my shop layed out with the outfeed of my table saw going towards the garage door in the main shop. Since the area under the door when open will be keep open for boards coming off the table saw, lighting isn't a big problem in this area. I can open the door when I have a long board say 16' to let it have room to exit the saw without a problem.
Don, 37 years you have more staying power than I do. I hope to retire at 30 and then maybe contract back a few years. I'm very lucky to live where I do. My family has around 45 acres where I live so there is room for out buildings and animals. Good luck in your retirement.
Thanks,
Jack

[Mike Lush]

What a surprise to see the exact garage package I just bought in real life! Mine is 34' x 24' but I'm undecided about the attic option because I want the roof pitch to match the main house. I like someone's idea of getting rid of the roll up doors. I hadn't considered that, but now I'm going to cancel that part of my package. Please keep posting pics as you design the inside of your shop!

-Mike