Thread: My future Wookshop

I think the wind loading rules would require you to dig really deep footings if you do not have a slab to bolt the shed to, so a slab might be a better use of concrete.

Put a concrete floor down so it is nice and level for you to move your machines about.

Dur to size restriction most machines will be on rollers so a smooth floor is needed.

I built my shed on an old sloped carport slab which has proved to be a big mistake because it is never level and water always seeps in. This means that anything left on the floor for any time becomes damadged.

Originally Posted by Arry

Hi

Before I take the plunge and buy my woodworking equipment I need to put in a shed.

Due to the size restrictions on my block I am limited to a shed 6m * 2.5m.

Do you think I can reasonably fit in, tablesaw, dust extraction, planer, jointer etc etc.

Also I have existing paving where I plan to place the shed.

Would you dig it up and lay a slab or build the shed over the exiting paving?

Many thanks

My shed is 6m * 4m and I find I have to move machines around a lot. The thicknesser is on a stand with wheels so I can pull it away from the wall when I use it. I have a triton saw bench which I can drag around easily.

I don't have a jointer because I don't have room (I hot melt glue boards to a sled and use the thicknesser). I do have a bandsaw which I find essential.

Remember that you need the length of the board clear at the infeed and outfeed of every machine. For the tablesaw you also need room at the sides to crosscut boards. That means you need to be able to turn your saw round or have conveniently placed doors.

I've spent the last couple of months renovating which mean I've had to deal with wood up to 2.4 metres long which is a pain. Happily I finished the last piece of interior woodwork today (barring mistakes I haven't found out about yet) so I only have the wardrobe doors to make, but they are about 2 metres long.

Do you have additional space, a garage, which you can use for layout, assembly, storing timber etc? Will you need to use the shed for general maintenance/renovation around the house or can it be dedicated to woodwork?

My shed is on stumps and I'd love a concrete slab.

If you can put the DC outside in a soundproof cubicle, or in the garage. I have another shed next to my woodwork shed and the DC lives in there.

G'day arry.

Sounds like a challenge.

As much as I hate saying it... I don't know all the answers.
But those I don't know, I will make up.

But, I know from experience pavers are a pig to pull up in the summer time because you don't get the movement in them as easily as in the wetter season.

However, either way pulling pavers is still easier than digging out soil to concrete.

Just make sure the pavers aren't over easements etc.

Stratco give a lot of details in brochures and on line about wind loadings and reqs for shed footings etc.

If you go a full slab I think it reduces the individual post / column footing reqs.

Nothing like a tight squeeze, I have to house two cars in the "free" space of my workshop - Locals like to help themselves to anything not bolted down or locked away.

You also need to consider how much you will miss the BIG table saw/router/draws/bench/down draft table and anything else you can imagine combo all in one talking piece pride and joy work centre that you always dreamed of and secretly have the plans CAD drawn for.

Coz you know you want it and it always works out that you will eventually build it on the basis of "we will see if it fits once its built".

Good luck.
Rob.

check out this article from Fine Woodworkings website.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki....aspx?id=29505

its a workshop set up in a single car garage, 9 feet/2.7m x 18 feet/5.4m.

could give you some ides.

cheers
tom

I've heard many stories of woe from people working on floors they thought were level, but weren't. It's like the importance of a level bench, you don't notice it if it's OK, but it will sabotage you every time if it's not quite right. As for space, what some folks have to cope with in Europe really makes you feel bad to complain. Use plenty of thought, scavenge good ideas wherever you find them, and invest the time and energy into doing the ideas properly instead of thinking "it's not worth the trouble doing it for this one job". Those single jobs are what we spend most of our shed lives doing, so it'll soon pay off to set up some clever infrastructure to make the most of what you have. Good luck,
Bill

Get rid of the pavers and put down a slab for reasons already given by others.

The Fine Woodworking article mentioned by Tom is a really good one.

Lots of English woodworkes have very small spaces in which to work and there are actually books written on the subject of small workshops.

You may be able to locate the dust extractor outside, many do.

hang as many tools on the walls as possible and get as much roof height as you can so you can use overhead storage.

Have fun.

Have a look here for ideas on a mobile workcentre

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f187/current-project-mobile-workcentre-86654

For what its worth, I would go with the concrete slab option. Pavers would be APITA in my opinion. Good luck.

Thanks, Tom, for that great link. I can but dream about the space but vertical storage will help me greatly.
Thanks again.

Hi Arry

That link that Tom gave us is a really good one. And coincidentally the authors workshop is almost identical in size to your planned shed.

My workshop is about double that size (15x25ft) and it evolved rather than being planned. That was error number 1.

Floor is level concrete but with a rough finish - this makes it harder to move things around, and things wobble - error number 2.

I did not insulate the walls and roof when I had easy access without moving years of accumulation - makes shed less usable when really cold or really hot - error number 3.

When you are doing your planning remember you need working and storage space for all foreseeable machines and tools, for raw materials (wood, sheet material, screws, fittings, paints, etc) and for work in progress. Sometimes progress is slow, and that's the way it should be.

Cheers

Graeme

Do you have a height restriction?
Double the wall height and you can put in a mezzanine floor and store timber etc vertically. My current shed is 12.5 x 6.5 x 3.5 High and I have excavated to one side an area approx the same as existing shed and I intend to have 5m high walls in the new section of the shed for those reasons stated not to mention cooler in summer!
I have also done things like putting my thicknesser on 150mm high angled base so that timber fed through it comes out just above the tablesaw height so the 2 machines can in essence occupy the same space .
A mate of mine was short on space so i talked him into putting his thicknesser right up close to his garage door and cut a hinged flap in it so his outfeed goes right through the door into the covered carport.

Ross

My last shed was a 6 x 3.5 garage so I know what its like with a small shed.

My sawbench is too heavy to move around so it lived just inside the main doors on one end but off to the RH side. With work benches down the RH side there was sufficient room to rip long lengths as the timber went down through the centre walkway, but I had to feed the timber into the saw from outside the shed.

My 12" thicknesser and drop saw were both fixed to a portable bench (which was originally a bbq with wheels on one end). They lived on the LH side. If i was crosscutting timber with the drop saw long lengths could fit down the centre walkway. To use the thicknesser for long stuff I used to spin the bench around crossways so the timber could fit down the centre walkway. And I fed the timber through it from outside the shed.

My bandsaw and drumsander used to get pulled out into the centre walkway if I needed to cut/sand long stuff.

I had benches across the far end which held my scrollsaw, belt sander and drill press.

My dust extractor lived outside in a small leanto and was ducted to all machines with pvc drain pipes attached to the rafters.

I'd leave the pavers, drop some treated pine battens on top of the pavers and nail sheet flooring on top of the battens. Far more comfortable than concrete.