8'x18' workshop build

[Scott Winter]

Hey all,

I posted a topic about a week or two ago about the dimensions needed in a workshop with a table saw. I had to rethink how I was going to remodel my finished basement to allow me enough room. My original design was to make my laundry room larger (currently 8'x9', but had the idea to extend that to 8'x15' which would include needing to store the washer/dryer and hot water heater). I scrapped that idea, and decided to shrink my laundry room to more of a closet, and instead dedicate the rear section of my basement as my new work area. It will be 8ft wide, and 18ft across. It will also be where my outside door is, so I could easily cut down large sheet goods outside with my circular saw.

Anyways... my workshop is mainly just to complete household type projects, and maybe some things for family members. Nothing too crazy where I would need a ton of space to store a bunch of raw materials since I will pretty much have minimal extra wood laying around. I am an avid hand tool woodworker, but also enjoy using a table saw to make things faster & accurate. Especially repeated cuts like shelving and things of that nature. The picture below is what I designed using some free website design software. I included my entire basement to give you guys an idea of what I am working with.

My entire basement is 18ft wide and 25ft in length. I'm going to build a partition wall to give myself an 8ft x 18ft workshop, but leave the other portion of my basement finished so I can still have my "man cave" type area lol (free weights and video games :P ). My workbench/outfeed/table saw stand will be on casters, so I can move it around the shop as needed. I estimate that my table saw station will be around 6ft in length (which would give me a 4ft outfeed table depth), and 5ft wide. My band saw will also be on casters. Dust collection will be stationary, but I will route hoses to each piece of equipment via tubing routed on the ceiling. The rest of the finished basement is to scale, but my workshop is not. I kinda played with it a bit to give me an idea of how I'll position the equipment, but since I will be dimensioning a lot of the mobile equipment I have the freedom to tweak it as I see fit.

[Richard Wolf]

My opinion, you are being very optimistic about the space you will have to work in. Clutter will set in and more storage will be needed and in a short time there will be no room to work . Why is a duct collector needed for two machines when a shop vac would be adequate. Unless you are going to limit yourself to very small projects (pens and small boxes) I don't think this size shop would work. I know it will be difficult for you.

[Matthew Curtis]

Scott. My basement shop was almost identical to what you are planning. It was tough. I was able to function alright. The biggest headache was running power tools in the house. The rest of the family did not like the noise and dust.

I quickly decided to build a 24x30 detached shop. Well worth it. Even though I should have made it bigger.

[Jim Becker]

I'm also concerned with the size, especially the very narrow 8' dimension. The small home office I'm sitting in while writing this is 8' wide so I'm keenly aware of that dimension. This would be ideal for hand-tool focused work, or turning, etc., but material management/work flow is going to be a bear and dealing with "that one piece" you forgot to cut on the table saw while you're using the same surface for assembly will be, umm...discomforting. Perhaps doing "major cutting" in the garage or outside and using this space for refinement might work better for you.

[Brandon Speaks]

I dont get why you would need to separate the man cave area from the shop. Keep the layout the same but without the wall and you could have a decent space.

[Matthew Hills]

I think it would be hard to use a workbench as your outfeed table, so you'll need some additional bench area.

I'd consider moving the shop wall out to the laundry area, with the tv on the top wall of your floorplan and the chairs backing on to the shop. Place the gym area in the shop (roughly where the TV is shown currently), and use a cover when needed to keep dust out.


Matt

[John K Jordan]

I think it all boils down to how much time you will spend in the shop and what you will build. If your shop time rare and you don't make big projects the space needs could be different than if you used the shop every day.

My own shops have ranged from a small porch (with a radial arm, a jigsaw, and hand tools) to my current 24x62 building, with a living room, two smaller buildings, and a 1-car garage between. The porch and living room severely limited what I made, one reason was because I had no space for wood storage. My current shop has space for a huge variety of projects. With a small office in the shop I have no need for a dedicated man-cave. (especially since I don't watch TV or play video games and I get my daily exercise here on the farm)

If you did want to allow for more space for future changing "needs" and interests, there may be other options. How about a heavy curtain separating the two areas instead of a wall? A curtain could be moved to the side or taken down if you need more shop space. Roll the tools behind the curtain for couch-potato mode. Bed sheets could keep sawdust off the TV and couch when in shop mode. Or just put the TV in a wide cabinet and open the doors to use. A wood floor over the entire space would be a nice touch for both uses.

JKJ

[Scott Winter]

After taking in all of your advice I've decided to skip the tv/couch section, and push out the wall another 5ft to give me a total of 13x18ft work space. I'll just ditch the whole "finished" basement part, and leave the laundry area open to give me additional room for my gym stuff. My squat cage will just go up against the partition wall to my new shop which will give me enough room for my barbell. My HVAC closet will just be in the shop versus in the basement part.

I really do appreciate all of the advice from you guys. I just really want my own indoor shop lol.

[Jim Becker]

That sounds like a very practical plan, Scott.

[Tony Roun]

This is often a debate in many facets of life. Get two options that are "ok" or just focus resources on one of the options and make it more productive. I think you are making a good choice. Woodworking is more fun than video games anyway!