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Total garage shop makeover
comments (40) September 3rd, 2010 in blogs
How it all began... All I wanted to do was throw some insulation between the rafters and call it good. That's been the plan for every summer I can remember. But, well, I 'm a woodworker and it's hard for us to leave well enough alone.
If I was going that far, I thought I should do something about the rotting gap-prone doors. I figured most of my heating dollars were being spent there anyway. And if I was going through the trouble of installing a walk-out door and pair of carriage doors was I really going to be happy with a cold concrete floor? Of course not.
But adding a raised floor would mean that the low ceiling joists would get even lower, so why not raise the ceiling while I was at it? By the way, I have never been happy with the meager lighting so now was the time to fix it. And if I was going to insulate the walls (and why wouldn't I?) I wanted to address the issue of not having enough outlets...
And so went the thought process every year. The idea of one small improvement leading to an unending parade of others until it became so overwhelming that nothing was ever accomplished.
Until this year.
| More on Building Your Dream Shop • Set Up Shop on a Budget • Fine Woodworking Shop Tours • Tour the Ultimate Garage Shop • Wiring a Garage Shop • Dream Shop in the Woods |
Shop makeover for the sake of some hand tools
The breaking point was a set of carving tools. I had purchased them while making a lowboy (that's another story), and my first thought was that I'd have to keep them at work so they wouldn't rust in my unheated home shop. It was then I asked myself if I was going to get serious about my home shop or sell my equipment and let it fully revert to it's former life as a garage. I chose the former. Fortunately, I had no idea how big of a job lay before me.
Upcoming magazine feature
You can read about my journey in the Tools and Shops issue due out this fall, but it won't tell the real story. It will have some nice pictures and beautiful illustrations and hopefully a lot of information for folks who are looking to improve their shops. But it will tell you to simply make some doors, add a floor, insulate the walls and roof and maybe raise the ceiling while you're at it and you'll have a great shop... true enough, but it's not the whole story...
Hard, mean, nasty, sweaty, dirty job
The bigger truth is that it was a hard, mean, nasty, sweaty, dirty job. An unending list of tasks that seemed to multiply just as the end was in sight. I've spent so much time at Home Depot they gave me my own orange vest. I started in April and took the final photos at the end of August, but there's still some work left to do. After every stage I'd think "that was easy enough, but now comes the hard part..." But then, I'd spend a few sleepless nights working out the details and find a way to make it through that stage as well.
Of course each step meant new tools, unfamiliar materials and a sometimes steep learning curve. The work was hard, exhausting at times, but fun. It's a nice change to work on a larger scale with not-so-tight tolerances to meet. One challenge was to ignore the woodworker in me that insisted on measuring drywall cuts in 1/64's.
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Comments (40)
Posted: 2:41 pm on May 12th
Posted: 11:06 am on February 20th
I was wondering how you keep dust under control in your shop? I did not see any collecters or air cleaners. Yet your shop seems as clean as a new house.
Posted: 5:13 pm on November 14th
Anyway, I really liked the torsion box doors. It is a solution that I think will work great in my situation. Do you have a feel for how large a door you could make? I am looking at two 6' sections.
Thanks
Joe Boldt
Posted: 1:31 pm on November 5th
Posted: 4:56 pm on November 3rd
Jack
Posted: 7:57 am on November 3rd
Posted: 1:13 pm on November 2nd
I chose strap hinges because they look cool and are a lot easier to mount than mortised butt hinges.
(http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/GATE+HINGES+AND+HARDWARE/Gate+Strap+Hinges/Strap+Hinges%2C+Bean+Style%2C+Heavy+Duty)
I lag screwed a 4x4 to each side of the opening to give me a place to mount the hinges. I installed the doors by first lag screwing the hinges to the doors then setting the doors in place. I used shims to center the doors and hold them in place while I lag screwed the hinges to the 4x4s. That's it!
There's an exploded drawing of the doors and a detail of the threshold in the Tools & Shops issue due out next month that will hopefully give you all the information you need.
Good luck, Mike
Posted: 9:03 am on September 19th
Posted: 12:25 am on September 19th
Now nearly everything has its own place, the space is insulated, the six four-tube T-8, 4' troffer lights come on with the flick of a switch, the 9' high suspended ceiling is bright. I added 60 amp, 220V service and six circuits with 14 four-outlet boxes. Like you I added a loft storage area with pulldown stairs (a great suggestion from a neighbor). The oil stained concrete floor has been covered with salvaged plastic tiles (but not insulated).
I looked at alternatives for heating and decided to try a couple of 1500W plug-in electric heaters. Even on winter days in the upper teens, they bring the temperature up above 50 degrees. I can do a lot of heating with my $40 system before I could recoup the cost of a gas heater.
The walls are covered with 1/2" ACX plywood that I was going to paint but liked so much that they got a non-yellowing clear acrylic finish.
I'm not sure that a shop like this is ever completely finished. There is always one more bit of storage to be added or tool to be purchased, but the joy of a well lit, well organized retreat like this is making retirement even more enjoyable.
Donn F
Posted: 11:19 pm on September 15th
20x20 is nothing to be ashamed of. My shop is less than half that. I like buliding furniture, which can be very difficult in such a closed space. 20x20 would be a tremendous step up for me.
Posted: 2:28 pm on September 15th
Cheers,
Ed
Posted: 10:08 am on September 15th
I did a similar shop build last year and yes it feels good. Someday I would like to do my doors in a awsome manner like you did. The reason I am writing is to warn of the drywall seam cracking on every joint I have. Yes we did tape them. I believe from the manner garages are built that they are more prone to movement. That is why most garage floors in michigan are cracked and shifted. If I had it to do over I would have used osb and just painted it white. Oh well, Enjoy that new mancave it looks awsome!!!
Wes
Posted: 11:03 pm on September 14th
You didn't raise the rafters. You raised the collar ties. The rafters remain in their original position.
Posted: 5:16 pm on September 14th
@bruski,
What you say (about unvented asphalt shingled roofs) may have been true in the past, but some manufacturers are now making shingles that are warranted for "hot roof" applications. There was a recent discussion on this somewhere online; I think it was over at Green Building Adviser. Also, Joe Lstiburek has pointed out that the measured temperature increases from using a hot roof design are small--generally less than 10°F. The temperature differences between an asphalt roof in Minnesota and one in Texas are much greater than that.
True electronic ballasts for T12 lamps do exist, by the way; they're just not as likely to be found at your local home center. And they're intended more for retrofit than new construction, as there's really no point to using T12 lamps in new construction.
-Steve
Posted: 3:46 pm on September 14th
Thanks, Mike
Posted: 3:35 pm on September 14th
Posted: 3:10 pm on September 14th
Posted: 2:45 pm on September 14th
Posted: 2:22 pm on September 14th
I wasn't planning on finishing the floor, but I found it difficult to sweep which is what bugged me most about the original concrete floor. I applied a coat of de-waxed shellac followed by 2 coats of fast drying oil-based poly. I'm happy with the finish so far. There's enough of a build to sweep well, but it's not too slippery when there's a layer of sawdust on the floor.
-Mike
Posted: 1:09 pm on September 14th
Posted: 1:06 pm on September 14th
Could you please give the details of the floor construction? It looks like the sleepers are 2x4s laid flat. What spacing did you use, and did you conclude that is adequate for mobile tools, including a table saw? What grade plywood did you use? Did you finish it? Is sawdust and dirt in the grain of the plywood a problem (or an annoyance)?
Thanks for your help, and for all the information you already provided.
Alan Smith
Posted: 12:44 pm on September 14th
I can't really give you an exact cost on the renovation. The biggest single cost was the spray insulation under the roof which ran about $1100. You could save a lot by going with fiberglass bats instead. The lights were the other big expense at $500. Aside from the entry door, the rest of the materials consisted of plywood, construction lumber and drywall. I bought supplies as I needed them so the expenses were spaced out over 6 months.
jdelmon- Thanks for the comment. I understand your frustrations, my shop has been 13 years in the making and I'm definitely that guy juggling 2 kids (Anna and Eli), a full-time job and a tight budget. My garage was the perfect storm of unpleasantness; dark, dank, cramped and drafty. Hopefully not every shop will need that much rehab. My goal was by no means an over-the-top shop, and I hope that the article will offer some real world tips on improving a shop with limited time and space and money in mind.
joe- Great story! It is a slippery slope we tread. I'd love to see shots of your shop. Good luck.
-Mike
Posted: 11:02 am on September 14th
Posted: 10:34 am on September 14th
Thanks for a great building journal!
Posted: 10:01 am on September 14th
Jdelmon: Interesting question. I am about 3/4 of the way through a 2 car-attached garage shop conversion, and it's been 2-years. My wife was threatening to park her car in there, so something had to be done . If I ever get it completed, I'll consider submitting the story and photos to FWW perhaps for an article. It started with insulating the roll-up doors (I live in a sub development with an HOA, so changing the doors is NOT an option), and insulating the walls, so that it wasn't so hot in the summer, and cold in the winter.
WOW what a difference that made, which meant that I wanted to spend more time in there, so I built cabinets/work surface that covered the south wall, and houses my radial-arm saw, and miter saw so that out-feed are taken care of at the same time.
This of course evolved into my cutting a trench through the concrete floor to run the 220 for my Robland x-31 combination machine, so that I could stop tripping over the extension cord all of the time.
I am now in the middle of hooking up a 3-HP dust collector that I picked up on Craigslist and running piping, and with winter coming on, I want to get that 220 electric heater suspended from the ceiling, which means making a bracket and running the electricity - so that I no longer have to keep moving it all day just to get it out of my way.
Next, I need to install better lighting. I ran the electrical junction boxes into the ceiling back when I installed the subpanel 2 years ago (one circuit is NOT enough to supply even the most Spartan wood shop, so that is the first thing to consider by anyone putting in a shop), but just haven't gotten to it, but I will this winter.
So as you can see, like you I have a life outside of woodworking, which eats up more time that I would like, and I have a very limited budget, so I have to do small improvements one paycheck at a time. But I must say; if you love woodworking, the improvements that you make in your shop add more than the sum of their parts (or time in labor and expense).
As mentioned, keep your eye out, perhaps one day you'll see photos and my story in the pages of FWW. In the mean time, pick the most pressing upgrade (I'd always start with making sure that you have enough power - subpanel in most cases), and do it. Unless you have the money and time, do not give yourself a deadline, just upgrade as time and budget allows.
Posted: 9:47 am on September 14th
http://www.finewoodworking.com/shop-tour
We haven't seen many new posts in our shop gallery lately and maybe it's because people are bashful to highlight work areas that haven't reached "dream shop status" yet.
We all love stories about people making do... below are links to some of my favorites. I do hope that others will post photos of their "average" shops.
RV workshop:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/4087/workshop-on-wheels
Studio apt. shop:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/5097/woodworking-in-a-new-york-city-apartment
36-sq-ft shop:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/11897/japanese-shop-stool
Outdoor workshop: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/14479/wood-shop-al-fresco
"Dungeon" workshop: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/25730/tokyo-dungeon-workshop
To conclude, thanks for the suggestion, I'll forward it to the magazine editor. And as a reminder, we welcome article ideas and submissions from woodworkers like you. For more info on submitting your ideas, go to:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/submissions
Posted: 9:35 am on September 14th
Posted: 8:32 am on September 14th
Posted: 6:47 am on September 14th
Posted: 5:25 am on September 14th
Posted: 5:14 am on September 7th
Good luck -Mike
Posted: 7:50 pm on September 6th
We're building a detached workshop similar to yours. The decision giving me the most difficulty is what T8 lights to buy (brand name & model). I read somewhere that Cooper T8 fixtures are good. But even when you know a brand name, there are so many different models that it gets confusing. I've narrowed down what I think might be good to 2 bulb 4 footers that surface mount and have a wrap-around cover - hinged would be great, if possible.
Your shop looks like it has great lighting. Would you mind sharing info on which lighting fixtures you bought and installed?
The info would be a real help.
Thanks
Jodee
Posted: 4:29 pm on September 6th
Posted: 4:20 pm on September 5th
Posted: 11:37 am on September 5th
There actually is something that you can do about engineered trusses: Replace them with new trusses that satisfy the load requirements but give you more head room. You can usually find off-the-shelf scissor trusses that will do the job. They leave you with a vaulted ceiling, but you can always install a suspended acoustic ceiling under the central peak, which is also a good way to install lighting fixtures. Or you can go to a truss manufacturer that will custom-design a truss that gives you the most headroom possible, but in that case it might end up being cheaper to raise the building side walls instead.
-Steve
Posted: 10:49 am on September 5th
-Mike
Posted: 8:30 am on September 5th
Posted: 11:28 pm on September 4th
Posted: 7:50 pm on September 3rd
Life is rough isn't it!
Have many happy hours in there and be careful with your fingers. Congratulations are in order.
Stig Lundberg.
Posted: 4:39 pm on September 3rd
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