First the shed, then the workshop

**GentleBen** · 1st March 2016, 02:20 PM

Hi guys,

Thought I would share from the start to show what I am upto at home and see if anyone has any helpful tips.

Basically I have an old aviary that I am converting into a storage shed and then I can convert the back of my garage into a proper workshop.

floorplan1 (2).jpg

Here is the layout of the block, basically the old aviary is a 6 x 3m structure that is in quite old repair and I need to clean, build in and pretty it up. Here is a shot of taking down the ivy that has infested it:

Screenshot_2016-03-01-13-59-57.jpg

So we are going to do the following:

Rebuild the wooden sleepers that are retaining down the left of the photo
Remove existing wood and mesh structure - leaving roof and steal frame
Stud the walls up and clad with blueboard
Put a new frame and door on the short side (where I am standing in photo) but centered
Add in some ventilation, wire in some power and lighting
Then on the back of it that faces the rear garden we will be putting wooden railings with some of the mesh, painting all the same colour and training white jasmine to grow up the whole side

Then internally I will move our existing storage racking into there, make hooks for all the normal garden tools etc and move anything to do with the garden or storage in there. That will leave me 6 x 9m in the garage which will give me 6 x 3 for the workshop at the back end. I need to build a new workbench, incorporate room for the various saws and ensure I have room for storage of power and hand tools.

My old man has a bunch of old stud timber we are going to use for the bench - I am thinking of making it 1.2m deep and about 4m wide. I will incorporate a router table and a peg board for clamping but any other recommendations would be appreciated. I do get to build this from scratch which is good, and I can add to it over time - i.e. draws.

Anyway, it will be a fun project, I am getting a mate (chippie) to help with the main shed construction, but otherwise will be my old man and I.

I will put up some more pics of the current space later on when I think and progress posts and pics as I go.

Cheers

Ben

**pippin88** · 1st March 2016, 11:36 PM

The picture at the bottom (plan) contains your full address which you may or may not want.

**KBs PensNmore** · 2nd March 2016, 12:19 AM

He just wants to let people know that he's a Bombers supporter

**GentleBen** · 2nd March 2016, 08:04 AM

Haha thanks. I had uploaded then deleted and edited it to show just the plan, not address. All fixed now hopefully!

**artme** · 2nd March 2016, 09:06 AM

Interesting project!! And go the recycling!!!

You might want to keep an eye on that ivy and spray whatever dares to re appear with Roundup!!

**GentleBen** · 2nd March 2016, 10:10 AM

Yes - have a lot of roundup. The yard was a decent mess when we moved in, we have pulled out about a dozen small trees (8 - 14ft) and a number of larger ones. I kept the chestnut trunk from one tree and about to attempt to slab it up.

I will try and take some more before pics of the space tonight and post.

**Bendigo Bob** · 5th March 2016, 09:27 PM

Hi Ben,

Only thing I'm thinking for now is that bench - 1.2 m times 4 m is 4.8 Sq M out of 18 Sq M workshop. that sounds huge % of shop space claimed just on the bench. 1.2 wide is pretty impressive. have you got a particular reason for that?

**pippin88** · 5th March 2016, 09:53 PM

Will the bench be against a wall? If so, 1.2m is too deep. You won't reach the back and crap will accumulate. I can comfortably reach 600mm without bending / leaning. I would not go deeper than 800mm or so.

**snowyskiesau** · 5th March 2016, 10:06 PM

+1 on the bench depth. My main bench is 900mm deep (green tongue flooring top) and at 190cm tall, it's at the limit of my reach.

**cava** · 6th March 2016, 10:33 AM

I also have benches at 900 mm wide, and it is too wide for reach when placed against a wall.

However, if it was in the centre of the shed, it would work well.

**GentleBen** · 6th March 2016, 04:22 PM

Hey guys thanks for the heads up and comments on bench depth. I was thinking of putting it along the wall but what are people's thoughts on centering it along the back of the shed but it jutting out at a right angle into the room?

**Bendigo Bob** · 7th March 2016, 07:31 AM

Hey Ben. Good idea if it works. My shop is 4M x 8M and when I started fitting it out I looked at all the machines I would be using first and foremost, before deciding anything like where to put the bench. I realised that the table saw was the most critical, made sure that it would be used in a way that no-one could approach the user from behind in any way, looked at which side of the shed that would put it on too. That then dictated where dust collection would run, how I could locate the other machines (router table, Combo jointer and thicknesser which went on wheels)

That left me a clear choice as to where the bench would go. Mind you I have just finished building a new bench to replace it that has a caster system so I can move it when needed to work both sides (2m x 600mm)

So start with locating machines for safety and work flow, then the rest falls into place (presuming you will have machines of course)

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