Need Advice from Virginia (Peninsula area) Woodworkers

I just returned from a house/community hunting trip to Williamsburg, Virginia with my significant other and it looks very serious that we may be uprooting from Lexington, VA to Williamsburg. I welcome the potential relo as I grew up 25 miles from W'burg (Hampton) and have many friends in the area. My initial concern is "will I have to give up my woodworking?" as the communities that we are looking have few properties that would accommodate (or welcome?) a woodshop and I know in advance that the garage will be used for storing our vehicles. I currently have a 20 x 24' shop with all my equipment on roller stands so I can configure it as needed but they are not compact tools (ie. 20" Delta planer; 20" Delta bandsaw, 8" jointer; tablesaw, chopsaw, drill press & W&H molder, 2 bag dust collection+ other hand & power tools) but nether the less "toys" I had accumulated for my retirement that is now upon me.

Years ago when I lived in Richmond and basically tool-less I was able to reconnect to woodworking by paying a very reasonable semester fee and use a local high school shop one night a week. We couldn't leave our projects on site which prohibited large projects but it was a great place to plane some lumber, rip and even glue up some projects and possible resume work back home. The class was mostly retired folks who were very knowledgable and helpful to a young wood butcher like me. All participants had to be checked out for their knowledge of proper operation and safety before they were "certified" to use a particular piece of equipment. I have contacted the local Williamsburg/James City schools and no one is aware of any such program in Williamsburg.

My purpose in this post is to ask the brain trust in the Peninsula area if they know of any clubs, co-ops, schools or fee based shops in the area that I could utilize as an alternative than to trying to reestablish my shop in the Williamsburg area. I am considering putting my shop into temporary storage upon moving in case I could find an off-site building or possible building site away from the residential area after we got settled.

Any comments, info or suggestions are most welcome.

Don

Don,
Here in northern VA, there is NoVA Labs. It's a maker space with equipment that includes much more than just a wood shop. By all means, look for woodworking clubs and such but I suggest that you expand your search to maker spaces. They may include electronics, 3D printing, CNC routing, laser engraving, sewing including CNC embroidery, blacksmithing, machine shop.

I pay $50/month for full access to NoVA Labs. Presently, I'm checked out only on the laser engravers which is all I've needed. There are woodworking guilds around here but, frankly, the maker movement is much more vibrant. The young folks are there and they are making some fantastic stuff.

Back when I lived in the Kansas City area, the local community college used to offer a welding 'class' like you described. You signed up and it was just open shop time. The instructor was there to help you with whatever you wanted to work on. I think it was $80/semester. Guys would bring in projects to work on. Sometimes they just ordered pizza and hung out.

You may want to give some consideration to commuting to work in WB. North of it in James City County or New Kent county where you can find rural areas that have almost no rules for building and larger lots. There is also Gloucester or even York County that have areas with no HOA's.

I live in an older neighborhood in York County in an area with no HOA's but commute/work in Williamsburg.

Just a street over from us are $650K-$900K homes and just down the road is +$1M homes, but there are still $250K-$350K homes locally with large lots that will allow building larger shops (mine is 1200SF.) YC rules are your shop can't exceed the SF of your basic home, can't be more than 1.25 times the height of your main home and must have set backs from rear/side yard lines. Woodworking is a "BY-Right" hobby or even a home based business if you are the only employee. A special use permit would be needed if you have non-family employees.

HOA's in Williamsburg are very restrictive.... For the price of some the WB ritzy homes you could find 10-20 acre land/homes in New Kent for a lot less.

I'm going to add the obvious...if woodworking is important to you, then for your community/property search, that's got to be an important consideration when you start to short list potential places to move to. If things like HOA rules or setbacks or whatever would preclude you from pursuing something you truly enjoy, then that's not the right property to buy.

In a few years, Professor Dr. SWMBO and I may choose to downsize but you can be sure that whatever property we move to will not place any significant limits on my having a shop that's suitable to my needs/desires. Nor will there be any HOA...but that's a personal preference and in some areas, something that's extremely hard to avoid. Fortunately, not in this area. :)

I can't offer any help with your request for clubs or community shops or maker spaces on the peninsula, but Rob is spot on with his advise! No reason to limit yourself to an area with HOA or anything else to prohibit a detached garage or shop. I've had the pleasure to visit Rob's shop, and it is truly a jewel!! Not everyplace has an HOA. You might find just what you are looking for in York County, or New Kent.... without restrictions. I live in York county (good schools) and commuted to Wbg for several years (30 minutes) without problems. Just a word of caution, if looking in Gloucester...bear in mind the bridge may close for maintenance, severe weather conditions, or just normal ship traffic. That means a long detour/delay to get to work.

I grew up in Hampton (1951 to 1972) and currently live in Gloucester County. I have a business license to operate my sign shop behind my home, the county is pretty lenient in certain areas allowing a business to operate in a residential area. The commute from the southern end of Gloucester County to Williamsburg is about 30 minutes. The Coleman bridge is rarely a problem, yes it does open up for Naval traffic on occasion but its not that often anymore. Bridge openings are usually in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 minutes before traffic starts moving.

I am not aware of any maker spaces or shop access in our area.

A word of caution about expanding the search beyond the inner WB area. In the outer ares of James City County, New Kent, King and Queen and Gloucester. Determine what is available in the way of communication services. Once out of the more densely populated areas and along I-64 cell service gets very spotty to nonexistent. You will have Landline phone service but tv and internet access will likely be limited to satellite service only. Workable, but tends to be a bit pricey having two separate systems.

Don

If you move to Williamsburg or just visiting, be sure an visit the DeWitt Museum located under the old hospital in Colonial Williamsburg. The antique furniture is amazing as well as lots of other old stuff to look at.

I hope you will be able to move your equipment. I love mine, but I purchased it without out feed rollers. A mistake I have often regretted.

Thanks,
Tom Schmutz, lurker
Appomattox, va
434-933-8279