Shop Layout incorporating posts... ???

Art Mulder

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London, Ontario
(Stu, you might want to avert your eyes from this... ;))

I'm doing some pie-in-the-sky dreaming about expanding my basement shop to take over a neighbouring room. More space is always good, and adding a 9x13 bit of space to my shop would seem like luxury. (I told you not to look, Stu!)

But the challenge (I won't say problem!) is that there are two teleposts inside the non-structural wall that I would be ripping down to gain this space. One of those posts is pretty close to a corner, so I don't see it as being any sort of a problem at all. The other post is far from the outer wall, about 64" in. There is a gap between the two poles of about 80". And no, I don't really want to entertain thoughts of moving the post!

So I'd be interested to hear other folks solutions or ideas for working around poles in their shop.

Here are some totally empty diagrams of the space in question.

Pretty much straight down:
(the top-left door is to the furnace room. That's pretty much immovable. The other two doors could be moved if required, but I'd rather not.)
dreaming1.jpg

On the angle:
dreaming2.jpg

And looking the other way:
dreaming3.jpg
 
Have you considered replacing the poles with a beam to span the space and provide the necessary support? That would open the whole area.

Bill,

I did say in the original post that I did NOT want to entertain notions of moving the post. :rolleyes:

But since you insist... The answer is still going to be "no", for several reasons.
1- Cost. I have to expect this sort of thing to be pretty expensive

2- SWMBO. Seriously, how would YOUR wife react if you suggest mucking about with one of the main support beams that holds up your house? ;)
I can just see my wife telling me to quit whining -- I'm potentially getting another 10x13 and that isn't good enough!?

3- Practicality. I'm 6'3". One of the reasons I bought this house is that I can walk throughout the entire basement without ducking. Seriously -- if I had to duck in a basement while househunting, the house got an automatic fail. I can walk under the main beam (supported by those posts) with no worries right now. So I'm certainly not about to add more beams to cut into my headroom. (and yes, I suppose I could replace the entire beam with a steel I-beam. See #1 above... :rofl:)

So, no, moving the post is not an option
 
...
2- SWMBO. Seriously, how would YOUR wife react if you suggest mucking about with one of the main support beams that holds up your house? ;)
I can just see my wife telling me to quit whining -- I'm potentially getting another 10x13 and that isn't good enough!?
...
Since you asked, LOML suggested that I replace a 20' wall with an engineered beam when I built my shop addition so I would have a clear 36' x 24' area. I opted to leave the wall so I would have places to hang stuff. I can't disagree about the cost of a beam, but it is an option.
 
I don't know what tools you have or how you tend to do projects but my first instinct would be to make the add on room where the workbench is and the bigger room would be where the tablesaw and the larger tools are located:dunno:
 
I was thinking along the same lines as Don. The new space could be a finishing area, perhaps with separate enclosures for DC and compressor. Or maybe the use the larger room for the power tools and the smaller room for hand tools and lumber storage? Whatever you end up using the new space for, I think I'd consider keeping at least part of the dividing wall intact for storage space. I have built-in cabinets covering 2 of the 3 available walls in my shop, and I sure wish I had more wall space for hanging things.
 
I don't know what tools you have or how you tend to do projects but my first instinct would be to make the add on room where the workbench is and the bigger room would be where the tablesaw and the larger tools are located:dunno:

Ditto.
Looks like a new bench room to me. You could cluster some "vertical" tools like bandsaw and drill press around the middle column, instead of just having it standing out there.
Have fun.
Peter
 
I was thinking along the same lines as Don. The new space could be a finishing area,

I don't know what tools you have or how you tend to do projects but my first instinct would be to make the add on room where the workbench is and the bigger room would be where the tablesaw and the larger tools are located:dunno:

The diagram is, as you probably guessed, only a portion of the basement. The "new" section is and inner room, and does not have any outside walls. So ventilating it as a finish room would be a challenge.

As for tools... I purposely left them out of the diagram. I am trying to not prejudice myself with any remnant of the current layout, and so step back and look at the space as a whole.

I do have a Contractor's style Tablesaw, floor standing drillpress, 14" bandsaw, workbench, 6" jointer, storage cabinets, scrollsaw, planer on a flip-top-cart, 2HP DC... all the standard big tools for a non-turner ;)

But yes, keeping the bigger tools (TS, Jointer, Planer) in the larger room is probably a good idea, since it also keeps the DC where it is and reduces the rewiring/rearrangement moving those entail.

I think I'll have to just start mucking about with some different layouts and see what they look like. I have seen other folks who cluster tools like a drillpress + Bandsaw around a pole, but I'm just not sure it'll make much sense in this layout. That pole is far enough from the wall to be a nuisance, but I don't think it's quite far enough to cluster those tools -- they'd just crowd wall too much.
...art
 
Here is one potential layout...
dreaming1-a.jpg dreaming1-b.jpg

I think this illustrate a bit more the challenge I forsee working around the pole.

I wonder about building an assembly table there where the drillpress is, and putting the poll at it's corner.
 
I have the same problem in my shop. One post I build a chase around, then pulled wire to create a "power pole". I wired it for 110 and 240, plus I was able to support my dust collection ductwork along it. This allowed me to place my tablesaw, jointer, and drum sander in places not tied to the walls.

The other pole is simply a PIA, and I just work around it. I have thought about trying to get an engineer to tell me what I have to do to move it, but I figured the cost and effort was probably going to be too much.

Good luck.

Kent
 
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