Building a Shop: Advice Wanted

[Harpuahound]

I've moved to southern Georgia, about a year ago. My family and I have been in an apartment since. House hunting. I intend to build a shop when we find the right place. Im looking for all sorts of ideas or warnings. Someone tried to sell me on the idea of a metal shed. the kind everybody is using as carports these days. Except you can finish them out, doors, windows, insallation. Im bit worried about what kind of structure Im going to be storing all this equipment in. My shop will be seperate from the house, so doubtfully climate controlled at all times. Will that be a problem? What probblems should I look out for? If your shop has any nifty innovations, Im very interested.

 

[John B.]

Hi Johnny.
I'm no expert on this, but...............
I had a student that built a seperate structure for his shop.
It and all his equipment were lost in a terrible storm.
As the shop was not attached to the house his homeowners insurance did not cover his loss.
Just a thought, cover with seperate insurance or a rider against loss.
John B.

 

[TEDTWOFEATHERS]

Use A Metal Shipping Container. I Am Using Two Of Them For Storage. I Will Be Retiring I A Couple Of Years And I Have Been Storing All My Extra Tools And Household Goods In Them. No Insects, No Mice And Very Secure. The Two I Have Are 8'x8'x40'

 

[jimzim75]

Hi Johnny,
I live out in the country. If I were going to build a separate shop. First thing I would
lay a 6" deep or better slab of concrete. Next I would build a steel building not a shed.
Sheds use steel struts not wood. A wood frame is what I would want and then
use farm grade steel. Not the light duty stuff.

Did you ever see "The bridge Over the River Qui"? In Georgia it would be called a hot box,
so your probable going to want to insulate it from the heat. Big windows that can open
with screens, and maybe bars to keep the varmints at bay.

After a while I would install a sub box with 100 amp service. To start two ceiling fans,
then a lot later a 15000 BTU air conditioner when I had sold a butch of engraving.

Beer fridge with the necessary supplies. One blood hound, one banjo, and a swing in the
tree to relieve back stress. Pictures of ducks, deer, and geese. An anvil and some
ball peen hammers and a vice. Two gun safes and a deer head.

One sign saying "Engraving is my life". Twelve cases of Coke and a coffee maker.
A Pamela Anderson calendar and book case with every engraving book ever written.
That should get you started.
Talk to ya later,

Jim

 

[Ray Cover]

I have been dreaming about a separate work shop. Here are some things I have considered.

Face the building with one of the long sides facing north. Put windows on that north side of the building and put your main bench there under them. North light is the best light you can work by. You won't regret doing this.

Install two or three times the electrical service you think you are going to need. Make sure at least half your outlets are 36-40 inches off the floor so they can be easily accessed on top of every work bench as well as under. Make sure you have at least two outlets for every workspace.

Make sure you have a door on both ends of the building. Nothing sucks worse than having to run through the fire to get out.

I would also install an attic type fan and have plenty of windows that can be quickly opened. If for some reason you had a chemical spill or a bad chemical reaction (or your dogs are passing gas under the bench) it would be good to be able to vent the place out quickly.

Take good security measures. Don't be cheap on the doors windows or locks. If the building is seperate from your house you may not hear someone breaking in as easily.

A small lathe is very handy to have in the shop. You don't need anything extravagant. Something like an Atlas 618 or a craftsman 109 would be fine. If you have room a small mill/drill machine is nice too.

Leave yourself plenty of room for both a good drawing table and a good desk. Having a dedicated desk helps keep the paperwork in order and gives you a place to take of care of that part of the business. If you have room next to the engraving bench under those north facing windows for the drawing table all the better.

Make provision for both a heating and cooling system of some kind. It is miserable to try and work with sweat dripping off your nose. Likewise it is not easy to cut a straight like when you cold hands won't stop shivering.

Ray

 

[Tim Wells]

When I was building my shop I asked a guy how big he thought I should build it. His reply was, "how big is your lot?" He told me as others have; build it as big as you can afford to, you'll always use the space.

Mine is 12X20 plus a 6 foot porch, with engraving bench at one end and 2 watchmakers benches at the other, it ain't big enough. It's amazing how fast the bench tops get cluttered with lathes, drill press, bench grinder, heat treat oven, your kids models, torn apart guns that you're gonna engrave...someday.

I'll repeat what Ray said about facing north and having plenty of windows for natural light. All the Italian engraving houses have their benches facing north for that reason. Put outlets along the wall so no matter where you stand along a wall you can reach an outlet with each hand without stretching.

I have a box stove in my shop as well as an AC unit in the wall that runs all summer due to that Georgia humidity trying to rust my stuff. If it's not cold enough to build a nice fire I run a ceramic space heater. A ceiling fan makes a world of difference in temp regulation. Oh, mine is built just like a house, out of wood. Vaulted cieling, insulated finished walls, and a tounge and groove pine floor. Looks like a cabin when you walk in.

 

[Ray Cover]

Tim is right on about size.

I have what I thought was a huge room when I moved in here. I now wish it were twice this size. My lathe and other machinery are out in the garage and I still wish I had more space here in the studio.

One more recommendation. Telephones do not belong in the shop. They waste valuable work time. If there is no phone out there you will not be tempted to answer it. I went fishing last weekend and Monday I had about 5-6 calls asking how the trip was. Let the machine in the house get it and IF it is important you can call them back later.

Ray

 

[fegarex]

Depending on the size of the building and size of the air compressor, you may want to build a "dog house" for the compressor. Or at least build a partition. If you have a small room and a large compressor kicking on, it will drive you nuts. There are some guidelines for housing a compressor like this and I'm not the one with the answers but I'm sure they are out there.

 

[beegee]

Like Tim said....plan a shop twice as large as you can imagine you'll ever need and then double it. However, since stuff expands to fit the space, you may be able to manage a small shop if you don't acquire, collect or store things. I bought a 12 x 16 storage barn that would make a decent engraving shop if it wasn't full of garden tools and supplies and beekeeping stuff.

Other than that plan to wire in plenty of lights and receptacles and a couple of 220 outlets. Get a larger compressor than you think you'll need, so you can have plenty of cfm for dusting, bead blasting, etc. Air tools(grinders, sanders, etc) are more fun to work with than electric tools. It's nice to have running water and a sink in your shop too.

 

[firefly]

Living in Texas, and facing roughly the same heat and humidity problems you have in Georgia, I have one additional suggestion. Small dehumidifier units are available just about everywhere, including online stores like Amazon.com. An air conditioner wasn't enough to drop the humidity in my new shop (wood, insulated) below 60 percent or so. The dehumidifier is just the ticket, and keeps all that expensive equipment from rusting and eliminates a lot of moisture that would otherwise go through your air compressor. I have a drain plumbed to the outside of the building, so that it can run 24/7 and humidity in the shop is now around 30 percent. I have not noticed a big difference in the electricity bill.

It also will keep wood, horn, and other handle materials from absorbing moisture and swelling/shrinking while you have it there to work.

 

[hiloboy]

i just built my new shop 20x24.i added lot of windows for natural lighting.. lots of lighting for night work .and you can't have to much outlets. i have 4 plug outlets 40" off the floor 5 feet apart. i have 10 around the walls of my shop.i have a work bench that runs down the center of my shop that i have 2 hanging outlets from the ceiling .about 3 feet above the bench..that way i don't have to run cords from all over the shop and in my walk areas..i also put in a dust collector system for my lungs ..when i'm grinding metals or silver brazing ,carving or burning..maybe over kill but it does keep the shop cleaner..

 

[Yves Halliburton]

When picking out your house make sure you can build such a building. Many sub-divisions have covenants that will not allow this or have many restrictions, so check before you purchase. If it is a new home you will be able to see a copy of them prior to purchasing. If it's an older house make sure you get a copy from your real estate rep.

 

[alfrisillo]

I strongly support the cement floor suggested by Jimzim. I had what is advertised as a small cabin put up on my lot last year and because of the lot's steep slope, was convinced by the contractor that a wooden floor would be the way to go. He said you could park a car on the floor when it was done.
Probably true but it was still severely suseptable to vibrations until I went under and placed about 5 support jacks under it. Much better now but I still think I may some day remove the floor where my bench is and somehow build a cement pier.

 

[Ray Cover]

That reminds me of the studio I had in the old Victorian house Holly and I had in Bismarck. I had a beautiful attic studio in the walk in attic of the old house. I was thirty feet in the air and the windows overlooked the whole town. The only problem was that the laundry room was on the ground floor instead of on the concrete basement floor. Every time Holly did laundry it looked like a 6.4 earthquake under the scope.

Ray

 

[jimzim75]

Hi alfrisillo,
A good concrete floor is always a good idea. Up here in Canada it would be consider a
floating slab, because frost can heave an entire building. Frost breaks up concrete that
is 4' thick. Six inches is consider self supporting if re-enforce with steel.
In Georgia the reason to put it in would be water damage and the fact that you can
anchor the rest of the building to it. So, wind, rain, or storms is not going have much
effect.

The one big thing is, no vibrations. My shop that is in my house, is on this type
of concrete slab. The only thing I do is paint it medium gray so diamonds will show up
if they hit the floor. I do that once or twice a year.

My shop faces south with big windows. I get lots of light. None of benches have a
window in back of them. So the light is diffuse because it bounces off the walls.
I think the one thing that really helps a shop is how much light get in.
My two windows are 60" x 26". It might not sound like a lot, but after getting out
of the basement where all the rest of my shops have been. It make a great deal of
difference.

Jim

 

[Harpuahound]

THANKS! This is exactly the kind of information I was counting on. Im sure I will be able to make a much more informed (possibly more expensive ) decision.

 

[Tim Wells]

For the compressor, I built a little doghouse like Rex mentioned, I forgot to put it in the first post. It is made of a plywood decking floor and walls with 2X4 frame and a shingled roof and siding like the rest of the shop. It has it's own support legs and is just big enough for the compressor plus a little more for storage of hose and axes and such,. It has a door with a solid brass latch. Whatever you do, don't plumb shop air with copper pipe because it condenses moisture, humidity and will send it right to your handpiece.

The cool part is that I took foam with peaks in it like what some folks call egg crate foam. It looks like the stuff on the walls in recording studios. I have that stapled to all the walls and cieling and it cuts the racket down to near nothing, for me AND the neighbors.

 

[Ray Cover]

Tim,

Could you PM me or email me your phone number? I have lost it and I need to call you this evening.

Ray

 

[magicmaker]

I built my shop to be as user freindly as possible, as well as, inexpensive to keep comfortable. It is approximately 18' x 31' and still too small. I will be adding a north and east porch to it this fall. Before doing anything, I went down to the city offices to chat with the building permit guys. This was a real big help in making sure I was doing it all to code. I designed the whole shop around 4' x 8' drywall sheets as I would be finishing out the interior. The rough sketch was taken down to the building permit guys for a quick once over. One small change was needed and plans were approved. I had 6 months to get it done before needing to extend the permit. Inspectors came to check off the work as things progressed. I received pointers from the inspector as construction progressed.

The concrete work was farmed out to a concrete outfit. Be certain you are there to oversee the work. I built the rest.

The walls are 2 x 6 with full fibergalss insulation. The roof is 2 x 12 and filled with fiberglass. I have a chandlier in the north end of the shop and a ceiling fan/light in the south end. There are two 3 x 5 windows on the north wall with a large slip in air conditioner between them. There is a 3 x 5 window on both east and west walls. All windows are insulated double pane construction.

Outlets are every 48" and all are 4' from the floor. 220 electricity is there as is 3 phase power. Security bars are on all windows and a steel entry door with steel security screen door is on the west side.

The exit door is on the south end. There ia a large walkin closet on the south wall along with desk, file cabinet, etc. Soon two display cases will be removed to make room for a turret lathe.

Now, the inside of the shop has a south wall. On the other side of this wall is an 18' x 5 1/2' area facing south which opens up with a garage door to the outside slab. This was designed for holding table saw, band saw, etc. to be rolled out onto the slab when in use. Also this garage door makes the whole building look like a garage rather than a shop. The building inspector classified it as a garage rather than a shop (much cheaper property tax rate).

I live in Tucson and saw no need for heating. at first I used a roll around radiator; but never needed it. A couple halogin lamps over machines quickly warm things as do several on the lathe motors. With all of the insulation the shop stays comfortable.

My biggest mistakes when building the shop:
1. I should have installed a double wide steel entry door for moving machines into the shop.
2. I should have (and soon will) poured a concrete ramp into the shop to more easily get 2000+ pound machines into the shop.
3. I should never have put a threshold on the entry door - a real pain moving things in and out.
4. Too small!

I hope the above will give you a few more things to consider.
Jim

 

[rhenrichs]

Hey Ray,
Bismarck. Is that like North Dakota? When did you live there?

Roger