Darren's Shop

[Darren Wright]

I thought that I'd start a thread for my shop layout ideas.

I found a layout tool over on the CB Structures site and am now starting to see what the scale of my upcoming new shop will be compared to the tools, shelving, and other stuff I have...kinda overwhelming coming from a single car garage.

http://www.cbstructuresinc.com/layout-planner/

[larry merlau]

i thought you were dreaming already with the last couple threads yu started..i would run a partition in frt of the vehicles far enough ahead to have room for the other toys lawn mower, boat perhaps then use the rest for shop.. if i remeber right you have a over head door on the back right corner.. that would make good access for larger tools and for stuff to come out that is made and ready for delivery.

[Darren Wright]

You are correct Larry, there is another garage door on the end. The last 20' of the back side is gravel as well, which I'm planning to use part of for lawn and storage of equipment.

Some of the walls are insulated, but first priority (after house remodeling and moving) will be sealing up the building. Will need to look at options for insulating it there-after. It's got 12' side walls, and with the overall size, it's not going to be cheap, so partitioning may be the most economical option.

Things I'm wanting to have in the garage are:

• Woodworking area including space for the CNC router (and future larger version 5'X8')
• Welding and metalworking area.
• An office/sitting area with a beverage fridge.
• Parking and place to work on vehicles and general mechanic stuff.
• Lawn and outdoor equipment storage.

Wish list:

• Run a water and sewer lines at some point for a clean-up/bath/shower area.
• Pour concrete in the gravel area.
• Acquire a car lift

The water and sewer lines may get done sooner than later since I've offered to put in a place for my parents to park their fifth-wheel when visiting.

[larry merlau]

well the 12ft ceiling will nice for the hoist!! as for the who gets what area.. i would use the work on vehicle part as the park area as well.. combine as much in there as you can comfortably.. you need to make some size requirements in the program you are using for the pic and move them around to see what they look like darren..even the beverage cooler needs a box to move around.. as for the sewer and water i would do it soon before you get other things in there.. look over the placement of that closely so it can work for your company and your other interest as much as possible

[Rob Keeble]

Aint it funny how we never seem to have enough. When we got say 1000 dollars all the things we want to buy are $1200. So we get a shop after having a single car garage and its pretty stressful now cause other interests start to rear their head and pretty soon what was a big space is now small. We have a lottery over here in Canada well last week it was $50 million. I ask a friend of mines young daughter (21) what she would like to do if she had to win the 50 Million.

Well she said looking at a picture of an enormous yatch (not the kind with sails almost a liner) she would like one of those. So we asked her how you gonna keep it running. This thing had a full time crew of i dunno 20 or more people. Funny how soon it was not enough.

There is a bunch of tough choices there Darren. I have turned over one about 5 times when i saw you mention the insulation and then the partitioning. Part of me would insulate the whole thing heck and partition it. I like Larrys suggestion of partitioning the car area but undoubtably you will end up heating the workshop area. However with winter and a potential need to work on cars, I would want to be able to open the partition in such a way (simple door) to be able to share the heat when needed and not loose a ton.

I would also go the water etc route as a first step. Then concrete second primarily because it would put the whole area on the map for consideration since they would be on an even footing. Also that would make cleaning in that area way easier.

With a single pad for the whole area and 12 ft height i would think of using my partitioning such that i get a degree of mezzanine storage in above certain parts of the layout and you need to think of that when you do the partitioning wall if its gonna carry load and face the right direction for a load bearing platform. Something like that would make for wood storage out of the rain besides other "stuff" we all hord.

Another pro to insulating it is having storage that is non freezing in winter.

Remember how quickly these places get small so start off as if you were in Stus dungeon cause very quickly it will feel like it.

There is a saying that goes "a task expands to the time available"

so does a shop "expand to the space available"

I would still stick with all the space saving ideas we see guys with small shops do. Mainly because you still want to be able to move around and move projects you make around.

What a nice journey. Will follow along .....

[Ned Bulken]

Darren,
+1 on water/sewer early vs late... if only for one reason... it won't ever be 'as easy' to do as it will now, before you fit out the whole building. ok, let the money spending begin.

[Darren Wright]

Well things have slowed down a bit and I've had time to consider some options for the interim to make things work better than they do now, which is mostly working out of boxes on the floor.

I have a couple of constraints as far as layout goes. Two large garage doors to start with. The main one on the front will be used for parking and automotive work. It's 16' wide and centered on the front of the building. This leaves about 7' on each side of it. I was wanting an office on one side as well as a place to sit and visit. Looks like it would be wide enough for the office part, but not so much for having a sitting area, so I nixed it for now. The office space will be heated by electric or a oil filled heater. The ceiling above will be a loft for storage.

The side garage door is a bit overkill (16'), Don't really need anything larger than an 8', so it will eventually be replaced with an 8' or a set of swinging doors. The tracks just take up too much space and that extra 8' would really make the shop part flow better or make for a better office area down the road. However I've partitioned around it for now and left some floor space for welding projects.

Since the first 40' of the shop has concrete floors, I'm trying to use as much of it as I can for shop. The gravel area will store lawn stuff, the trailer, and the majority of my wood materials (on racks)

I have to leave some clearance around the wood stove, so not much has been placed around it.

I've allowed for a finishing room next to the stove area, making sure the entrance was away from the stove. It will have proper ventilation and a non-flame heat source. I may also use this room for the CNC Router as it's noisy and usually is set to run which I can walk away from it for a while to let it do it's thing.

Anywhoo, this is what I've decided that I can do for now and what I think will work for me. I'm planning to put in a metal ceiling with cellulose insulation above it, then the walls can be put up.

I haven't added much in the way of cabinets yet, but these will be place around the DP and Miter Saw areas.

Thoughts?

[Darren Wright]

Here's another option with the office moved to the middle that I think I like a bit better. Also move the mechanics tools closer to the front of the vehicle and closer to my other tools.



Also moved the wood rack in the shop to keep the wood in a more controlled environment.

[Vaughn McMillan]

I like the new layout, Darren. Now if you'd just move that SUV outside where cars are supposed to live, you'd have plenty of room for a lathe.

[Don Baer]

Darren, what format do you have the lay out in if it Sketchup can you post a copy of the file I got a few ideas that I'd like to look at b4 I show em to ya.