How Large, or small, is Your Shop?

[Bluenose]

I have seen a lot of "I have a small shop" quotes on this forum. I am kind of curious what small means to everyone. Thanks, Bill

 

[Steve Jones]

Bluenose,

you need more size options, mine's 1,700 Sq feet

 

[Wim]

My "shop" is a small back room of 2 x 5 m (10 m?) or 6.5 x 16.4 ft (106.6 sq ft). But "clean" jobs like glueing and assembling can be done in the nearby bed room.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  480, 20' x 24'.  Not small ,but not big. Not big enough really. I am planning to put up a new building before too long. So that I can expand my business.

Seth

 

[dirtydeeds]

we have members from most continents here so an easier method of comparisson might be easier

my workshop is the size is about 160 sq foot, a large english garage

but it would be a squeeze for a single american car

 

[Dan Clark]

Bluenose,

I looks like your poll excludes those who have a part time garage/part time workshop.  You might want to add several options for that situation.  I can't answer the poll the way it is.

Dan.

 

[Bluenose]

Dan,

Good point. Perhaps I might have asked what the working size of your workshop is.

Bill

 

[nickao]

25' x 32'(800 ft) - attached 3 car garage. No car has been in there in 5 years, since we  purchased this house.

Yes, I  hear it from the wife when we get a  snow storm or when it is 40 below. To bad.

The cars can sit outside, my tools can't. We usually buy cars 1 or 2 years old and drive them until they die. Is there really any other way to get your money out of a car? I am still driving a 1989 conversion van and my wife drives a 2001 PT Cruiser purchased in 2002, both are going strong and have never broken down and both have never seen a garage. I live outside of Chicago so I am sure the weather can not be much worse anywhere else(Canadians excluded). Our weather varies from 40 below to 105. And there is no rust on either vehicle either.

So quit worrying about a car that loses its value every second and take that garage for a workshop!

nickao

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I have a nice  car garage.  No cars share it, but I do have to accomodate a water heater, boiler for radiant heat, water softener, gardening stuf, and a wide passageway to the house door.  I sometimes feel like the old joke, "my shop is so small I have to go outside to change my mind."

 

[JayStPeter]

Mine's 600sf in my basement, but it's L-shaped so it doesn't seem as spacious as the square footage sounds.

 

[colinw]

480 20'x24', typical two car garage but again no cars have been in here for years.

Colin.

 

[dltflt]

256/384 Sq. Ft.  It is 256 if I work with my wifes car in the garage and 384 if I pull it out.  Her requirment is her car has to go in the garage every night and it does most of the time.

 

[Gene Howerton]

Mine is one bay of  a three car garage, separated by a wall.  I have an insulated garage door and A/C since I live in Florida.  Since I have gone Festool, I have sold most of my other equipment, including my Delta Contractor saw.  The Festool stuff is idea for the small shop like mine, and great dust collection.  When I built the house last year I have thinking about larger machines, but now just Festool, Bench Dog contractor router table and delta lunch box planer.  I now have quite a bit more room than I ever thought.

 

[Dan Lyke]

9'6"x14', 8'x2'6" taken up by the lumber stack (probably going to move that to a deep awning outside), 7'x2' taken up by the major tool shelves (the back of which I have to open the garage door to access).

In that I've got an MFT 1080, a planer, and a drill press. The router table currently clamps to the top of the MFT, but I may make that fold-down from the wall once we get the lumber out. I've got a huge piece of bowling alley that I'm going to turn into a mobile workbench and put in the aforementioned deep awning outside, just because outside is usable so much of the year here that we can do assembly and trimming with hand tools out in the back yard (like to keep the neighborhood quiet, so I minimize power tools outside).

And somehow I want to figure out how to get a bandsaw in there too, but that's really the only tool I'm missing, and the only thing that I'm aware of being unable to do because of that lack is wide resawing.

 

[mastercabman]

mine is 9' wide by 17' long!  and on a nice day i have about 1800 sf extra space!!!(the back yard)

 

[robtonya]

Mines a 10' by 20'. I have to share mine with 5 bicycles, a lawn mower, a christmas tree, plastic swimming pool, and anything else that you don't want to keep in a house all year long.

 

[semenza]

Mines a 10' by 20'. I have to share mine with 5 bicycles, a lawn mower, a christmas tree, plastic swimming pool, and anything else that you don't want to keep in a house all year long.

Hi,

  Don't you mean anything else you don't want to keep in a shop all year long? ;D

Seth

 

[brandon.nickel]

When I got into Festool, I was in a 400 sq-ft garage/workshop that I needed to park 2 cars in.  That's why I went with the Festool system.  Now I've upgraded to a 3+ car garage (850 sq-ft) and it feels palacious.  I still park those two cars in the garage, so now I have 450 sq-ft with cars, 850 without.  Compared to the respondents so far, I really do seem to have it good.  I'm looking forward  to summertime so I don't have to roll tools around to clear infeed/outfeed paths for the joiner, sander, and tablesaw.

 

[Steveo48]

Mines a 10' by 20'. I have to share mine with 5 bicycles, a lawn mower, a christmas tree, plastic swimming pool, and anything else that you don't want to keep in a house all year long.

420 sqft sharing the same space with summer toys during the winter at home.  What a pain in the fat fanny it is!

Work however, is another story, over 7000 sqft with store rooms, and big benches to work on and a spray room, welding hood, it's paradise!  ;D

 

[robtonya]

I make it work, I have hung 4 bikes up on utility hooks, ( I just have to watch my head when I am routing, nothing like a good tap on the head when making raised panel doors to wake you up). most of the shop equipment has a home on the perimiter walls, and most have wheels, so I keep the middle open to move whatever epuipment i want to use to that spot, after I move the riding lawn mower and the pink barbie jeep power wheels out of the way. It didn't seem as bad until I started typing it out, now, I even feel bad for me :'( Oh well, I have seen previous pictures of people on this forum doing there work outside on a deck with a mountain of snow behind them.