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by: NA
Question:
Scenario: You have an unfinished shop (30-ft x 40-ft) with three bay doors,
and a regular people door. You would like to do the interior finish work
(drywall, paint, etc.) and get a Cyclone dust collector setup with more
than just a lathe and table saw.
What things should you upgrade or have a contractor install/build so future updates would be easy? Here's a preliminary list. It may change based on cost, labor and time needed to complete each item.
House to shop:
-power(110v/220) (how many amps at the sub box)?
-phone
-cable tv
-network (Cat 5e or higher)
-Water
-Natural Gas
-Gas Heater and heating ducts. (Heat)
What else is needed?
Diagnosis, Analysis, Solutions and other Feedback:
Are you having it plumbed for a bathroom? Perhaps it would be nice to have a shower and toilet in the shop. Also, A/C may not be a bad idea, if you live in a warm or seasonal climate.
A wall vent to the outside in case you want to set up a spray booth. For that matter, how about the walls and a door for a spray booth.
Compressed air plumbing in the ceiling might be convenient so you could pull down from a reel hung from above. Pull down electricity would be convenient, too.
Is 220V possible in the center of the shop where the table saw might be? This avoids cords running across the floor?
Sliding slits in the people-door, like they had in 1920's speakeasies, in case the cops come knocking.
* 10' ceilings - make this your highest priority 8' ceilings just don't cut it for a shop.
* 6'x4' concrete pad outside the foundation - You can put your dust collector and air compressor there in the future.
* One appropriately-located 4" floor 'drain' connected with a lazy 2x radius 'U' to connect to your dust collection system.
Then you can sweep into the 'drain' with the DC on and all is sucked up. This beats a broom and dust pan or a hose and
vacuum.
* 100-amp sub-panel: You may not need it but it's easier not to use amperage than to get additional. (300amp main
panel)
* Bay doors - roll-up versus standard garage doors.
* Plumbing - you may not put in a restroom but you will probably want a sink for clean-up especially for water based
finishes.
Some items you can do yourself after the exterior structure is built.
* Run electrical and air lines on the surface of the walls. Then it is easier to make changes and/or repairs.
* Horizontal blocking between the studs at appropriate heights. It gives you something solid to anchor cabinets, etc to
under the sheetrock.
* Concrete sealant and paint - easier to do in the beginning than wish you had done it after the fact.
Forgo the drywall and use 5/8" OSB for your interior walls. Invest a little of money in stainless steel deck screws. This will
make for easy access if you ever need to modify wiring, pneumatics, comm cable, etc. With OSB walls, too, you can
hang all but the heaviest cabinets or hangers anywhere without worrying about hitting a stud. With a little white epoxy
paint and you've got yourself a bright and durable wall system.
The other suggestion is to put in a sleeper & wood panel floor system. It will be easier on your legs and allow you to put
electrical cable, pneumatic lines, or comm cable at any point in your shop without worrying about exposed lines or
expensive conduit. This system also makes it a whole lot easier to fasten your machines to the floor without having to
drill concrete.
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"Future" openings framed into the walls are also suggested: one for a window A/C unit, one for an exhaust fan, and one
to access the attic area allowing long stock to be loaded up there from outside.
Your shop may wear many hats over the years so an LVL "strongback" may be fitted spanning ten roof trusses, centered
on the overhead door to provide four hoisting points should you want to lift something out of a pickup truck box, or do
some other lifting chore. Use a weight on a string near the floor, like a plumb bob, to monitor ceiling deflection when
hoisting.
In the same "many hats" spirit another strong point may be created by sinking a 6 inch diameter pipe three feet into the
concrete slab (post hole dug inside the form) at the far wall from (and centered on) the overhead door. The top of the
pipe extends only 1/2" above the floor and is a socket for another six foot long pipe to be dropped into should you need
to use a "come along" to drag some DOA piece of equipment into the shop.
100 amp electrical service is a must. You should buy a large service panel, as 230 volt circuits use up panel space fast.
Also, consider using 1/2" ply to cover the stud cavity into which the service panel is installed so you do not have to rip
open drywall should you want to add a circuit or two later. An alternative would be to include a very large, empty
conduit from the top of the panel thru the top wall plates into the attic.
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A note on the electrical. Some find that outlets on the ceiling are GREAT. They allow you to make islands of tools with no
power cords on the ground. You may have yours nestled right near the dust collector drops - that way you can wrap the
power cords for my BS, sander, and router around the pipe and plug em all up into the roof outlet. The benefit with this
is that you can utilize the center of your shop more. Add a few more outlets and some drop down extension cords and
you can set up a finishing table wherever you want.
Place any windows up high to conserve lower wall space and prevent passersby from eyeballing your tools and
equipment.
You do not have to put in-slab plumbing, but you can run a water line to an outside wall and put in a sink and cabinet. It
is great being able to wash out glue brushes, sponges, etc.
You can put a loft door on the front gable end of the shop, and brace the rafters/joists so that the center 6' is open.
Cover the joists in this 6' x 30' space with OSB and use it to store stuff up there, e.g. lumber. Access is from outside via
the loft door.
Use a roll-up instead of typical garage door. The rails on garage-type door are frequently in the way. The door also
blocks one of fluorescent lights when it's open.
You can use screws to attach the paneling directly above my breaker panel. When you run a new circuit you can access
the breaker box by simply removing the screws and paneling. You WILL rearrange your machine layout and add new
equipment along the way, so you have to allow for changes.
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Think about what the building could be used for AFTER you stop using it for a shop. You may sell the property and move.
About the only thing that you can't easily add after the building is constructed are sewer connections. These
connections would be mandatory in my mind. Think about, 'If the shop became a residence.' where would the of
bathrooms, kitchen and laundry be located? Put in the rough plumbing to these locations. It might be a small investment
today but something that will pay off substantially if the property is sold. (It's a shop today but it has all the rough
plumbing for conversion to a residence. Buyers would be looking at potential income property, mother-in-law cottage, kid
brings spouse with grand kids home, etc.)
Another thought: If you have a working bathroom with a shower, you can clean up before entering the CLEAN main
house.
Determine where the tools that would be setting away from the wall would be and put in PVC pipe and outlet boxes so
you will not have lines across the floor or hanging from the ceiling.
Useful: A 4-inch PVC pipe in the floor to come up under my table saw to use for the dust collector.
Attach (screw) 1/2 inch plywood on to the walls so that anywhere on the wall something is needed it can be placed.
If you plan on heating or cooling your shop make sure that the doors you use seal well enough to keep in the hot or cool
air. A rollup door often lets too much air by for one to heat or cool a shop.
Recommend: a 100AMP service with a panel with about 16 slots for breakers. We have 14 of my 16 in use already.
Remember you might need 110 and 220 out in the middle of the floor. You can save money by putting in the PVC when
you build and running wire in each box as needed.
Recommend: Cement pads at each door are a must according to some.
Cable TV (for television or Internet) and telephone are also necessary.
Having the outside lights at night are also good. The only reason that you would have a big shop is because you have a
lot to put in it, so keep it safe. Use light-pollution friendly lighting whenever possible.
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Do everything you can to make the shop/building structure really tight including
heavily insulating the attic. Run a heat
duct and a return out there. It might be good for resale value later on. On the
electrical, put a few ceiling drops in. I ran
two 20A circuits around the perimeter of the shop, but instead of running each
circuit along a wall, like you usually see in
a house, run them together in a double gang box all the way around. That is nice
if you have two (or more)
heavy-amp-drawing things close to each other, so you can just alternate them.
Know were your dust collector is going
to be and run a 20A circuit. But if you were not sure or want to be able to move
it, you could. If it wound up next to
something like a big saw, you could just put one into each circuit in the double
gang.
Plan where you are going to put the air compressor, and ran a 20A circuit
just for that. Get a 20A switch and mount it
beside the light switch so you can shut them both off on the way out of the shop.
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