Setting My New Shop Up (Formerly Shop Build Progress)

[sancho57]

Hi ya'll. Well Im finally making my out of state.  Ya'll know Ive been threatening to do that for a while now.
I thought  Id be moving to Tx but we took a trip to Arizona and the wife found a home thats being built and loves it. So happy wife, happy life.

Well the new home isn a full acre of land and is a blank slate. So I have to get s shop built and electricity ran out to it. The acre has a block wall fence all around it and the house is sorta out in the sticks with state forest land on one side.

Like i said its a blank slate

We all know the larger the better. Realistically we all arent daddy war bucks rolling in doe. I was thinking about  30' X 40' tough shed with a slab foundation, extending the foundation out another 10-15 ft in length so I can add on in the future.

There is a big difference in the price for a 20 x 40 shed to.

Maybe buying a trailer setting up shop in the trailer and using a slab as a work shop as the arizona weather other than the heat in the summer really isnt bad.

I have a 3 car garage I can use until a shop is built. But we'll have a lot of junk to be piled up in it until we get the junk sorted (we got to much junk).

Suggestions please? The house isn't going to be completed until the end of Feb so Im just beating my head up over this now. Thinking what to do, my options i setting up shop....

 

[YOGO100]

Mark Spagnuolo (a.k.a. the woodwhisperer online) built a shop in Arizona (Phoenix area) a couple of years ago, and documented it for his website (he has since moved to Colorado, I think). I know that this doesn't answer your question directly, but he put a lot of thought into both the size and other requirements for the shop, so it may be worthwhile for you to look it up. I only lived in Tempe for a couple of years, but I would figure that you'd have to give some thought to air conditioning

 

[ChuckM]

Congrats. Living on an acreage was once my dream (too old to pursue it now).

Not knowing what machines you have or will have for your new shop or the size of the shop you have been using, I'd would say a shop the size of a four-car garage or so would be good for a hobby woodworker, with room for lumber racks and partitioned dust collection.

I'd take 30' x 40'; 20' x 40' is less ideal but workable. I have a shop the size of a 2-car garage...only in the day time, as at night, two cars go in there. And I've been building furniture there from dining tables to cabinets to bookcases, etc.

I'm against the tide when it comes to shop size...the larger is not necessarily the better as I don't want to spend a lot of energy on just walking across the shop to get what I need. I've got used to my compact shop and everything is within reach without taking a hike, if you know what I mean. It is efficiency I'm talking about, not to mention aging is not helping.

Big shops look great, but unless you're a production or active woodworker, depending on the local weather, you may have to spend a lot of money on cooling or heating it. I shut down my shop last whole week because of the deep freeze (highs in the -20C)... to save energy costs. Today is back to +5C high...shop is OPEN.

 

[vkumar]

Wow congratulations. I can tell you that a 2 car garage size 20 x 20 is not adequate. Depends on whether you will have large stationary machines or not.  A full sized table saw,  jointer, planer, workbench assembly table , compressor can eat up a lot of room. If you are and not planning on having these then you can get by with less. Regardless of this do not skimp on electrical outlets, both 220 and 110 V and sufficient amperage sub panel (100 A). In case of large machines do plan on a ducting system for dust extraction.

Where in Arizona?  Keep us informed of your progress.

Vijay

 

[Pompeio]

Hi Ron:

My downstairs workshop is 13x26 and I wish it was larger.  I have an 8' Kapex bench, CT26, two tool chests (with one holding two grinders and a mini-lathe) against one long wall. The rear short wall has a CMS holding the 1400, another tool chest with a bench top bandsaw and drill press atop it.  The other long wall has a jointer, portable air compressor, entry door, utility sink and Powermatic 66 table saw.  The MFT3 table sets in the middle of the rear half of the room.  It can get crowded but it works for me. 

I think that 20 or 26 x 26 would be great.  You may want to consider a portion of the area for a spray booth (I currently use the medium and large pop-up HomeRight Spray Shelters).  This would also give you two more walls. 

 

[egmiii]

I'm not sure what tools are in your future, but if you ever plan to buy a sliding table saw with sufficient stroke to rip/crosscut full sheets of plywood, then you would need 23' x 16' just for the saw. The price of used machines can make them relatively affordable to hobbyist woodworkers.

 

[sancho57]

After reading some of the responses first , Id like to say thanks for them.  But I also realised maybe I should describe my tools that I use in the shop.

I have a CMS with a TS75 for a table saw in a GE stand, I have a CMS VL I use for my router table w a 2200 in it,  and other modules I made for it. I have 3 full size MFT 3 a Kapex MFT, Kapex a MFT extension. All my festools are in systainers, TS 55, Domino 500&700, 1010, LR 32, various sanders , 2 CTs 26/22, one has a boom arm, the other has the festool cyclone , Work center with Festool stool. Igot a large vsrety of rails the smallest is a home made 400mm the largest is 3000.
Im currently set up in a standard garage (1 1/2 car garage). Makita 12 planers , Jet 6" jointer, Apollo HVLP.

Its a little tight but I can get things done. I think I may have a old photo of my current shop. Lemme check,

I found one not very good but it will give ya'll a idea of what Im dealing with.

Ok I found a couple

 

[dltflt]

Welcome to Arizona Ron. I always dreamed of a 30’ X 40’ shop, in my mind that is a perfect size. Unfortunately I work out of a 2 car garage. You will need AC from May to October if plan on building during that time of year.

 

[rvieceli]

Ron a 30x40 would be a good size even if you don't have a bunch of large stationary machines. Storage space is always at a premium no matter how big you go.

Make sure there are no restrictions on what you can build on your lot. HOA, zoning etc.

Ron

 

[sancho57]

[member=163]vkumar[/member]

Im moving to Surprise Az. Lots of building going on there. Fortunately the house Im buying is surrounded by homes on acreage and one side backs up to state forest.

 

[sancho57]

[member=2912]Don T[/member]

Don Ill definately be picking your brain for info once I get out there and get going.
Only supplier I know of there is Peterman Lumber. I think thats one of the hardest things for me is finding where and who are good suppliers are there. Do you use one of those air coolers add water and they blow that cool air or do you use a regular ac unit? I might be in my garage for a while until I get everything set up my ducks all in a row and quacking. Setting up the house is the first thing.

 

[dltflt]

[member=2912]Don T[/member]

Don Ill definately be picking your brain for info once I get out there and get going.
Only supplier I know of there is Peterman Lumber. I think thats one of the hardest things for me is finding where and who are good suppliers are there. Do you use one of those air coolers add water and they blow that cool air or do you use a regular ac unit? I might be in my garage for a while until I get everything set up my ducks all in a row and quacking. Setting up the house is the first thing.

You are very close to where I live. I have never been to Petermans. There are a few places to get lumber here, Woodworkers Source, Timbers, and one other that I can’t think of the name.

 

[tallgrass]

Lots of building going on...... Yup Californians on the run. I wish I could leave now. Enjoy !!!! As far a s perfect shop size. You will expand to fill any size you build. Deals too good to be true.. will eventually fill all the free space. Just accept it. Go as big as you can, reasonably. ENJOY!

 

[sancho57]

[member=2912]Don T[/member]

Petermans is a big outfit they are in Fontana Calif, Las Vegas Nevada and Phoenix.  Just for curiosity I calleed their phoenix store and axed them how much they were getting for a sheet of 3/4 domestic shop birch, they said $52. I called my reg store in Calif Reel Lumber and they were $65 a sheet and Austins was $69 a sheet.

Crazy huh?

 

[sancho57]

Lots of building going on...... Yup Californians on the run. I wish I could leave now. Enjoy !!!! As far a s perfect shop size. You will expand to fill any size you build. Deals too good to be true.. will eventually fill all the free space. Just accept it. Go as big as you can, reasonably. ENJOY!

Im gettin while the gettins good

 

[Alanbach]

A 40 x 30’ shop would be awesome and the freedom that you would have with a shop that large (compared to what you have now) would be fantastic. Unfortunately it does become about what you can (and are willing to) afford.

Here is what I would recommend you think about. If I understand your profile correctly you are leaving Southern California to move to Sunrise. Make sure that you have a really good understanding what that difference in climate means to your woodworking. I live in Houston and like Sunrise it is Zimbabwe hot, I mean crazy hot and not just for a month or two, maybe 6 months straight! My suggestion is to plan to build a well insulated shop with air conditioning so that you can woodwork year round comfortably. In my opinion a swamp cooler is not going to cut it. If you plan for A/C and budget for that and use those budget numbers to determine the size of your shop I think that would be prudent. Then, once you do that you can always choose to insulate but not install the A/C right away. Then if you discover I was correct and you really need it you will have room left in your budget to take care of it.

Also, when i bought this house 11 years ago I had big plans on projects I was going to both within the shop and the house. Those plans included building my own cabinets in the shop. After a month I hired someone to build my shop cabinets because everything was in boxes and I just could not get organized and set up enough to do what I wanted to do. I realize that you are much more Festooled than I was then and therefore much more mobile but the thought of having to set up shop twice might make you crazy.

Just some random thoughts! Congratulations and I can’t wait to hear and see progress reports!

 

[Bob D.]

Include some conduits and maybe ducting under the floor to accommodate future electrical needs and maybe dust collection of possibly an air line. Nice not having to trip over hoses.

LED lighting of course and a minimum 10 foot ceiling.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Following on Bob D.'s comments, the more you plan and build into the space, the less overall space you'll need. Get the ducts, power and air under the floor and you'll need smaller aisles, as well as have a more pleasant work place.

 

[Wooden Skye]

Initially I would do a pole barn that measures 32' x40'. Multiples of 8' generally is better for building materials.  I would insulate extremely well and add plenty of power so you can future proof as much as possible.

 

[jarbroen]

At least as important as the size is how you'll organize it.
You could have a 32'x40' shop and waste a lot of time taking parts from one side to the other.
Conversely, you could have a 16'x20 that's well laid out and efficient to use.

If you're not eating up a bunch of space with equipment like a table saw do you really need huge?  I have a similar set of tools/work surfaces - 2 MFT/CMS, bandsaw, Kapex cart, lathe, DC, planer - and I make it work in a 13'x20 something garage bay.  That's the beauty of Festool mobility/configuration.  Yes, I sometimes have to move things around, but I make the most of the space I have.
Are you setting up a hobby shop?  Or professional?  That makes a difference as well.  If you're hobby like me, the moving around/setup isn't a big deal if I can plan ahead.  If you're doing it professionally you don't want to waste time setting up frequently.

If you're into cars/bikes/etc you could do a 32'x40' and have garage space partitioned from woodshop space.  And only AC in the woodshop.