Future Workshop Space

[Jim Bennett]

So my wife comes home one day and says we should buy this house around the corner and fix it up for ourselves. Mentally I'm thinking - but I don't want to move. Then she says, "and you can use the adjacent commercial building for your woodworking shop. Suddenly I'm fully on board! This building was built around 1926 and housed a print shop up until a year ago. In all, there is 2700 square feet of space - although I'll likely only use about 1/3 of that for my workshop. The process of rehabbing this building and the adjacent house is likely going to take over a year, so it will be awhile until the tools get moved in. I suspect I'm going to have a bunch of questions for this group along the way!

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[Thomas Wilson]

This is a great retro space with so many opportunities. This is going to be fun to watch.

[Steve Jenkins]

That sounds great

[Paul F Franklin]

Sweet! Congratulations!

[Jim Bennett]

This is a great retro space with so many opportunities. This is going to be fun to watch.

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So the building does not have ceiling joists - just a truss every 16 feet. There is no way I could leave that covered up. I’ve taken out all of the suspended ceiling tiles and insulation (two 13 cubic yard dumpsters). I can’t rip out the ceiling grid until I’m ready to rip out the lights. I haven’t got a full plan yet but I’ll likely spray foam the the underside of the roof and have plenty of headroom. 😀

[Jim Becker]

Yup...closed cell spray foam will not only provide good insulation it will also provide some structural stiffness to that ceiling struction. Since it can be left exposed, it will help with lighting given spray foam is generally light in color.

[Jim Bennett]

Yup...closed cell spray foam will not only provide good insulation it will also provide some structural stiffness to that ceiling struction. Since it can be left exposed, it will help with lighting given spray foam is generally light in color.

Jim,
I havenÂ’t talked to contractors yet, but based on YouTube, IÂ’m not sure IÂ’ll be able to leave the foam exposed. Although this will be a shop for me, when I sell it, it will be as a home. IÂ’m not sure if our city will require a fire resistant covering. Still early in the planning stages.

[Steve Jenkins]

When I built my shop I had the entire thing spray foamed. It started out a light yellowish color and has darkened over the years. I think you should at least spray white primer. I intended to but didn’t have time before I moved in

[Jim Becker]

Jim,
I havenÂ’t talked to contractors yet, but based on YouTube, IÂ’m not sure IÂ’ll be able to leave the foam exposed. Although this will be a shop for me, when I sell it, it will be as a home. IÂ’m not sure if our city will require a fire resistant covering. Still early in the planning stages.

Closed cell spray foam that's applied in exposed areas generally had fire retardant added, but yes, local codes always apply.

[Frank Pratt]

The foam can be sprayed with a white intumescent fire retardant paint. As always, check with your local AHJ for what is required & accepted.

[Thomas Wilson]

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So the building does not have ceiling joists - just a truss every 16 feet. There is no way I could leave that covered up. I’ve taken out all of the suspended ceiling tiles and insulation (two 13 cubic yard dumpsters). I can’t rip out the ceiling grid until I’m ready to rip out the lights. I haven’t got a full plan yet but I’ll likely spray foam the the underside of the roof and have plenty of headroom. 

I like the look of the planking. If you need to re-roof, you could use sheet foam insulation on top of the planking. My shop has an open beam design with planking visible from below. The insulation goes on top of the planking, two layers of foam sheet, 3 1/2” + 2 1/2” to get to R-31, I think. Then 2x4’s going up the slope on top of the foam with spikes driven through the 2x4 and foam into the rafter beams. OSB on top of the create a ventilation channel between the 2x4’s to the ridge vent. Conventional roofing on top of that.

[Jim Bennett]

I like the look of the planking. If you need to re-roof, you could use sheet foam insulation on top of the planking. My shop has an open beam design with planking visible from below. The insulation goes on top of the planking, two layers of foam sheet, 3 1/2” + 2 1/2” to get to R-31, I think. Then 2x4’s going up the slope on top of the foam with spikes driven through the 2x4 and foam into the rafter beams. OSB on top of the create a ventilation channel between the 2x4’s to the ridge vent. Conventional roofing on top of that.

I do need to re-roof - I have leaks in at least 3 places and some rotted planking from those leaks. I'll look into doing the insulation on top. I am in a historic district and this building is contributing - so they might not let me do it.

[Bill Conerly]

"although I'll likely only use about 1/3 of that for my workshop. "

My forecast is you'll use it all. Enjoy!

[Jim Becker]

Dang...I'd use every square foot of that space for woodworking and woodworking related activity and purpose!! Dedicated finishing. Storage. Flexible assembly area. An office for design work and mental gymnastics. Separate machine and hand-tool areas. Etc. Congratulations!

[George Yetka]

I would build a small loft at one end. This has endless possibilities.