Let me first preface this post with the idea that I am very new to the woodworking hobby. I own various “home repair” tools (i.e. drills, saws, chisels, ros, etc) but only own one woodworking quality tool (delta contractor’s saw).
I have recently moved from the cookie cutter suburbs to a Sears Roebuck home in an historic area of Indianapolis. It even came equipped with a beautifully run down ill serviced two car garage. The garage was sided with lap siding, however, it was done poorly and there were huge gaping holes in the wall. The garage doors themselves were in bad shape and the entry door to the garage was actually a piece of plywood on hinges. The three windows on the garage are pieces of heavy duty plastic nailed into a window frame. The only good news is that the entire garage was professionally reinforced (quite well I might add) because the entire building was going out of square.
Now that the scene has been painted here are my laundry list of questions:
1. Since I live in Indy (humid hot summers, cold snowy winters) how do I best weather proof the garage as to avoid damage to the tools?
2. The floor is full of cracks, holes, dips, and is generally very far from level. I was planning on having a show mostly on wheels (similar to Endress’ show as seen in FWW #167), so how important is it for me to level out the entire floor and what are the best and/or cheapest ways of doing this.
3. The garage’s previous electrical capacity was a shared 15 amp breaker that also powered several outlets inside the house. I have since put in brand new 100 amp service for just the garage. Any suggestions on setting up outlets, lighting, heating, 220 vs 110 and any other electrical things I might want to think about.
4. Do I need to insulate the shop and if I do should I put plywood on the walls? If so that makes the above question that much more important as the electrical will be much harder to go back and do once the shop has been finished.
5. Any other tips for setting up shop would also be highly valued. I have lucked out and our house was recently hit with hail and it has allowed us to have some extra money to use to get the shop going. Money is always an object but I probably have a couple thousand to “play” with.
6. Should I forget about all the stuff above and just use the money to buy more tools? What is necessary and what is going to be the most important down the road?
Thanks so much and I look forward to any and all help.
Respectfully and humbly,
RD Reid
Replies
RD,
My answers are based on what I would do without knowing what your woodworking plans entail.
First, if you aren't going to make the exterior weather-tight, the rest of the responses don't matter since your tools will deteriorate and you won't want to spend any time in the garage except when the weather is really nice.
For you to get the most from your shop and protect your tools in your climate, the shop/garage walls, ceiling, windows and doors need to have a reasonable R rating. I would install either a window or through-wall air conditioner to help control the humidity level and provide air circulation. For heat I would use 2 inexpensive portable electric oil-filed units. For a reasonable current demand they will keep the shop at a temp that will allow you to work comfortably. I would sheetrock the walls: cheaper, easier and you'll be happier in the long run.
Wiring: You should consider ample circuits conveniently locate along the walls with both 20 amp 110, 220 and one 30 amp 220 circuit in case you ever run a large welder or 5-hp piece of equipment. Costs are minimal if you do it now. I would consider strategically located ceiling receptacles for both 110 and 220 to avoid wires on the floor. While you may not have a need for 220 right now, having the circuits gives you far more tool options in the future.
Floor: I would fill the cracks and holes and not worry too much about trying to level a cement floor. Once repaired, you might also consider sealing and painting the floor to reduce moisture and cold as well helping to brightening the garage. I would however, make sure the all my mobile tool bases can be leveled. The Shop Fox base is one such example.
These suggestions will take all of your budget and then some but it will make the property more saleable, protect your tools and enhance your woodworking environment .
While you are planning, consider what you use for dust collection, location and possible ducting options.
Overkill and too elaborate, maybe, but this is what I would do based on what I would want to support my woodworking goals. 30-years of working out of garages that were not designed to support my efforts presented challenges that can be eliminated or at least minimized if you start with planning the area first for woodworking and then as an area where you may occasionally park cars and other junk. You are at a point where you can define your priorities.
There are many good resources on how to establish a very workable layout for a garage/shop.
Good luck - Doug
Thanks for the suggestionsYour response sparked a few more questions/explanations:My woodworking goals would be mostly building different pieces of furniture for my house. I do not plan on doing it professionally, just for fun as a hobby. I have also considered making the garage a space for me to host my monthly poker night - nothing fancy but that is one of the reasons I am so interested in Endress' shop design.The outside of the garage is set to have all the nasty dilapidated lap siding ripped off, OSB put on, and then sided. This should make the garage water/weather tight.I also have a friend who owns a garage door business and is going to take care of the doors for me.With the portable heaters - is it possible to heat a shop that size affordably? I am not going to be in the shop everyday so I have no need to have the shop remain a comfortable 65-70 degrees. So would they be able to keep it at say 50-55? Is that okay for the tools?I had not thought about sheetrock - I was going to use plywood/OSB but that sounds like it might work better. I have not worked to heavily with sheetrock, so how is its repairability (i.e. if I want to take down a cabinet and move it how would that be?)Do you think it would be worth the investment to lay down a simple floor like the one in FWW #160? It is basically 2x4's on their side with plywood on top.I have bought a lot of the electrical things you mentioned (outside of my budget considerations) but do you have any recommendations for overhead outlets (type, brand, etc).I was considering a mobile dust collector - any brands or things to look for? And with that - I have been told the next tools I should get would be a planer and jointer. Do you agree?Thanks for taking the time to help - you gave me some ideas I would have never thought about!!RD
RD,
Heat- I use one of the heaters I suggested to take the chill of a 20 x 35 shop. Granted it doesn't get as cold here in Dallas during the winter and that is why I suggested two units for you. They are cheap - $50 apiece and they should do nicely to get the garage around 55 - 60. There are through-wall air conditioners/heater combos as another post suggested that may do very well without breaking the bank. Radiant heat - wonderful idea but you need to get the advise of other on this but I think this could be a pretty pricey option. There have been some post on this in the 6 - 8 months.
Floor - I assumed that you are not parking cars in there but if you are considering a wood flooring lad on sleepers then I guess not. If that is the case, go for it. Wood floors are much easier on your legs and back. If this isn't going to be a garage, I sure wouldn't put in an overhead door; rather, think about a 6-0 double door in its place. Better insulated. You could still frame for an overhead door but not use it right now. Later, if you change your mind, knock out the wall and the framing is already in place.
Electrical - I use duplex 20 amp 220 receptacles. They cost more but you have two outlets like a standard 110 receptacle. Any electric supply house can help you with these. I use a duplex box containing one 110 and one 220 receptacle. The 30 amp receptacle has to go in a single box. I have 4 110 and 4 220 circuits for my equipment. The ceilings lights are 10 low [profile 4-tube fluorescent on two circuits and the air conditioners is on a separate 110 circuit. Probably overkill my no matter how much I turn on, nothing every dims or lugs. Most all of my machines run on 220, including the DC system. My wife shares the shop for her glass work and runs a kiln on one of the 220 ciruits.
Sheetrock - when you hang cabinets you mount to the wall studs so the holding power of the sheetrock is immaterial.
Dust Collector - Most dust collectors pulling though a 4" flex line will not be able to handle the output from planing an 8 - 9 inch board. But for smaller boarda or extremely light passes on larger boards, it should work okay. I think you'll find that when you running a project with lots of parts you will get tired of switching the hose and moving the DC every time you want to use a different tool. If you can, consider a 1.5 or 2-hp bag/cannister DC with 5" PVC ceiling-mounted ductwork and then 5" flex (short as possible to minimize turbulence and friction) to the tools. Use 4" ports mounted as close as possible to each machine. If you can convert the the machine's DC outlet to a 5" port for dramaticlly improved DC. Brands? - you are on your here but there is a lot of information in the Knots Archives so do some searched.
Doug
Excellent tips Doug. I truly appreciate the time and effort to type out such a detailed response.My concern for the sheetrock was more the fact that I might be able to use plywood and then mount things wherever I want...kind of a vertical workbench where I can screw shelves up and move them whenever because since I only have my table saw now, while I am planning for space for other tools, I know I am going to have to do some tweaking when it comes time to actually fit them into the shop. I thought plywood might ease that transition a little.Any suggestions on what to look for in space heaters? My mother in law has one but it reminds me of the "burn your house down like a redneck" kind. I would be open to any suggestions on the "motel style combo unit" too, if you have them.Good things to keep in mind for the dust collector...thanks!!RD
rdreid,
I'm assuming the garage is detached from the house and therefore will require a seperate heating/cooling source and, therefore, you want this as tight as a house from a heat loss perspective. An issue that may be important is at what point does this building affect your taxes. If they think your creating a rentable space (ie, in-law apt) .. I think you may want to check with the local building department and check the codes..many times there are little things that if not done protect you from triggering a tax review.
Lowes and Home Depot and probably any similar retail outlet.
I was thinking - is sheetrock going to be sturdy enough to hang things from?Is radiant heat a viable option and what are the pro/cons of it versus the portable heaters?
rdreid,
You have a lot of work and thinking to do and not a whole lot of money. Just a few thoughts for your consideration: Rather than the OSB, T&G ridig insulation...rather than radiant heat and because you need air condition too, how about a through the wall combo unit (aka, motel style).
My best advice would be to stay flexible as you set up this first shop.
No matter how much thought you give to its layout now, it is inevitable you will want to change the configuration down the line, as you add machines, and your work style comes into better focus.
Run what electrical makes sense to you now, but keep it accessible so you can change it (by adding outlets, for example). That argues against sheetrocking the walls.
OSB is about the cheapest sheet goods you can buy for the walls, but I think you should at least consider MDF too. Why? Mainly because the MDF can always be cut up and used for painted cabinets, whereas OSB is not much good for anything except sheathing.
But with either one, you can roller on a coat of paint to make them more acceptable looking for the time being.
My main point is that I think you will find it liberating to surrender to the notion that reconfiguration of the shop is inevitable. You can drive yourself nuts trying to plan just the "right" set-up for a shop when you're at the beginning stage of woodworking. After you have used the shop for a year or so, the fog will clear, and you will have a more fixed idea of the arrangement that will work best for you.
You should however, make some "permanent" decisions at the onset about heating insulation, and the floor. I assume you know that concrete floors can be fixed in a variety of ways -- which would be important only if you plan to park cars in the garage. Otherwise, your idea of 2x4 sleepers, etc. would work fine.
********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Good Morning RD.
I live about 30 miles outside of the beige ring that circles Indy. So I am well acquainted with the weather issues that you will face.
First off, you wont keep moisture out of your garage with a low budget. So cope with the moisture. I made a cover out of osb for my table saw , painted the edges of the table with clear automotive paint, and with a coat of Meguiars yellow wax every year. I have a rust free surface to work on. As for your walls, wrap the outside in a house wrap(tyvek) and put up some siding. On the inside use paper backed insulation. It won't be pretty but the brown back will nicely match the color of saw dust. Don't forget the ceiling. Insulate then drywall. I would make it a priority because good lighting is a big plus, and lighting will be more effective with light colored surface to reflect off.
Bondo the floor. Use regular body filler ( not the kind with fiberglass hair) and fill in the cracks. You wont need to coat the whole floor just put down enough to bridge gaps. Go to an AutoZone they can sell you what you need and give advice on using it.
The insulation will reduce your heating requirements. Think about your style of work. I don't like to heat the shop above 60 in winter. I tend to go at things vigorously and heat up on my own. Do you own a hand plane?( those with the hand plane addiction / affliction tend to burn more calories) Reduce humidity in summer , I use a dehumidifier its cheap.
Take your time, you don't need every tool that you see in (fill in the blanks shop) to get started. Spend enough on your shop to work safe and in relative comfort. Then start doing. Its easy to think that you cant really work with out a giant collection of tools. You will get a better selection of tools if you start to actually work first. Let your needs guide your tool buying, and learn what works for you.
Good luck.
Thanks a lot...great suggestions again.I dont know if this puts a wrinkle in finishing the floor, but it has had one of those epoxy coatings put on it. It looks like one of the ones you would get at Lowes/HD.Do you use the Meguiar's on just the edges I take it? I have been using bee's wax on the wings and table.Would MDF be able to be used to screw into wherever you want? I know it often doesnt have the hold that a piece of OSB does...what kind of weight do you think you could hang from it (not using the studs)?It was great to get online and see all the responses guys...I am at a conference in San Diego for my job as a teacher so I haven't been on for a few days.Thanks everyone!!
RD, scuff the epoxy and the Bondo will stick just fine. I use the meguiars on the tops and paint the edges with clear automotive paint.
MDF has poor screw holding characteristics. I am picturing a beloved tool falling to the floor in the middle of the night. MDF is great in the right place but vibration from your shop will exasperate the problem with screws. I would not trust it to hold a smooth plane. You can cover the studs in MDF and screw boards on top of that. Run them horizontal to the studs,that will give you plenty of strength. Remember to use screws that are long enough to get good grip in the studs.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled