Anyone know if you can rent shop space?

[Justin Peters]

When my wife and I bought our house, we weren't into woodworking, and so we didn't search for a house that would allow for space for equipment. Our house just does not lend itself well to woodworking.

We now have friends that are having kids, and we're planning on some of our own. I would like to build some new furniture for us and them, but I have no space to put more woodworking tools. (I'd also like to do some remodeling of our house...cabinetry and stuff).

We plan on eventually getting a house with enough space for a workshop/more efficient use of garage space, but due to kids, we don't know that we want to make a new house purchase at the moment.

So, I had thought about trying to find a place I can rent that would be sufficient for a woodworking workshop. I don't know if there is such a thing though. I don't recall any storage units I have had in the past being equipped with any kind of electrical service. But I also don't need a commercial warehouse sized unit either. Does anyone know if there are places that rent "shop space?" And how I would go about looking for it?

[Jamie Buxton]

My shop is in rented space. It is about the size of a two-car garage -- 500 sq ft. The place is a small industrial park, and has units from 400 sq ft up to several thousand. Each unit has a 3-phase subpanel, and a toilet. The renters are contractors, small businesses, and such. To find a similar place in your area, you might look at craigslist, or check local papers, or ask commercial real estate agents.

[Joe Jensen]

My shop is in rented space. It is about the size of a two-car garage -- 500 sq ft. The place is a small industrial park, and has units from 400 sq ft up to several thousand. Each unit has a 3-phase subpanel, and a toilet. The renters are contractors, small businesses, and such. To find a similar place in your area, you might look at craigslist, or check local papers, or ask commercial real estate agents.

Do you mind sharing the monthly cost? How long of a lease did you have to sign? thanks..joe

[Jamie Buxton]

Do you mind sharing the monthly cost? How long of a lease did you have to sign? thanks..joe

The lease is one year. 500 sq ft is currently costing me $818 per month. I'm in San Francisco, which is lots more expensive than most places in the country.

[Billy Dodd]

In our area I know of a couple different storage places that rent out to business. One is for a body shop and the other is a mechanic. The mechanic advertises and gives this as his address. I imagine it would work for woodworking also.

[Don Bullock]

Another alternative is enrolling at a Community College. Many of them have woodworking shops that "enrolled students" can use for their own projects. By using their tools, you wouldn't have to buy your own equipment until you had a shop space of your own to put them in. You'd also have the benefit of some professional instruction.

[Bryan Rocker]

The lease is one year. 500 sq ft is currently costing me $818 per month. I'm in San Francisco, which is lots more expensive than most places in the country.


OUCH! Your shop rent is just shy of my mortage!

[david hines]

in the wash dc area woodcraft has shop space attached to the stores.there is a fee for using this space.

[Peter Quadarella]

There's one guy I see occasionally that works out of one of those storage places. It's a pretty funny but ingenious idea I think.

[Gregory Stahl]

I rent a space a little larger than a two car garage, but it is tall and I have a loft where I store lumber. I pay only $200/mo and just have to give a 60-day notice to break the lease.

When looking for a place, I just drove around an industrial park and found it. Actually, there were three places I could choose from. Look for electricians, plumbers, and other contractors--they often rent small spaces or subdivided warehouses.

The best part is my shop is less than a mile from my house!

Good luck,
Greg Stahl

[Paul Grimley]

I also rent my shop space. I have about 1000 sq.ft. (25' x 40') with a 11' x 14' office and a bathroom for $500/mo. I have a 10' overhead door and 16' high ceilings. The space is in a small office/warehouse park on the west side of Houston, TX (Galleria area). I have had to re-vamp and upgrade the interior electrical wiring, but 100amp 3-phase service is provided to my unit. I also built out loft space above the office for lumber & misc storage.

I found the space on Craigslist, but it took quite a while. I started with a one year lease that I'm sure will be renewed for many years to come.

[Ben Cadotte]

Do you have a bedroom you could use now? Another idea is if you have some yard space is to build a shed. Would not cost that much. And could even be moved around if say you want to build a garage later. Would not have to be super huge either. You could build a shed for what rent would cost for a month or two deppending on size you built. And if you built it with nice wide doors. Just by opening them you increase your useable space.

If you had the room, a 10'x16' shed would be very useable even for larger projects. Simply by opening the door you could rip, joint, plane long boards. Could use the rafter space for storage. Pretty simple to build. Most could put one up in a weekend.

I just did a quick estimate. 12'x16' shed using borg prices. Built myself would be $1,500 (using better materials, not just cheapest). About 3 to 4 months rent.

[harry strasil]

have you checked your local neighborhood for someone willing to rent out their garage.