Topic: Shop Ideas, Thoughts and Suggestions

[Bossbill]

When I decided to go LED there were 3 ways to go. Keep ballast in place; 120V power on one end of LED tube; 120V on both ends of tube.
The power on one end has power to one pin, neutral to the other.
The power on both ends has power to both pins on one end, neutral on the other two.

You can find 8' fixtures really cheap. Buy these, gut them of ballast and all tombstones. Buy a conversion and tombstone kit that converts the twin 8s to quad fours. Buy the LED tube that is wired on only one end. The center of the fixture will now have two tombstones going one way and two the other way. You can then wire all of the tombstones with power and neutral in this conversion plate on the bench.

I did this with 32 LEDs on eight  8' fixtures in a 24x24.

I like air compressor outside (small compressor room to keep noise down) and solvent tank inside. Get a 100% duty cycle 2 stage compressor. You need it if you media blast.

[J_Speegle]

The footprint or plan view in square feet is important. What is your size and configuration?

Odd size space I have to work with governs (along with plenty of regulations) what I start with. Right now planning on going stick build so that it matches the rest of the home and considers resale. Also the design allows the shop section to be divided off in the future as a changing, extra bedroom or day room off the pool area if the next owners choose and again looking at resale. One of the reasons french door were chosen for access from the shop to the pool area of the property.

Don't want to limit ideas (they may go to help others) but there are some things that just are not all going to fit (needs and space so maybe looking at the current idea may stimulate some additional idea. We can't always have something that matches all of our dreams. 

Model is far from perfect - have moved many things around and tested some different configurations. Next step will be seeing the truss company to see if my roof idea will work without additional supports (a support pole). Current (model) dimensions represent 40' (long axis) x 28" across the back wall. Entry has to be through the narrow part of the design (pie shaped space) which will contain the rack.

Though I have built homes and shops myself in the past along with the design and provided oversite of a series of buildings that made up a city block including a 6 story building. Still doesn't mean that I've kept up on regulations and know all working details for everything I need yet.  Will farm this one out just unfinished inside. Will take care of that. 



Bathroom in the lower corner. I may leave the fixtures out (except the sink) and walls out while I use the space as a workshop. This would leave the finishing to the next owner. Still not decided yet.






Plan is to use this corner (vented to the outside) for plating, conditioning (rubber items and Evapo rust soaks). charging and so on



Yes I understand that its not typical to build scale models of a build just helps me to visualize spaces, flow patterns and discover issues easier.

[tobkob]

Looks very nice Jeff...I saw 4' LED shop fixtures in Costco today for $19.99 if anyone needs these. I was in a hurry and saw the sign from the main isle  and I think they were 4800 lumens.

TerryO

[67gtasanjose]

Jeff, what kinds of trusses would allow for use of the lift at full height? Perhaps your plan has higher walls? The model seems to suggest an 8 ft ceiling.

[1966KGT]

I have been contemplating raising the ceiling in my work area since I have a high pitched roof with considerable wasted space. Also have several 220 and numerous 110 outlets for tig ,mig, plasma cutter, drill press etc. Have air run though out shop exiting walls in several areas. LED lighting, shower and toilet. insulated walls ,ceilings and garage doors for winter work with minimal heating. Everyone has their own niche. Just what works for me. I put in larger than needed breaker box also. You'll never have enough storage."LAUGHING"

[J_Speegle]

Jeff, what kinds of trusses would allow for use of the lift at full height? Perhaps your plan has higher walls? The model seems to suggest an 8 ft ceiling.

Currently the plan is 10' walls (have to keep the overall height at or under 16') and use scissor trusses on the front extended section and hopefully continue them into the main area by about 6-8'

Other considerations. Someone mentioned a drain. Not really allowed here. Since they would consider what ever I want to drain away would be nasty fossil fuel waste (oils, grime, sealers, undercoating ....)  no one is going to approve letting that go down the sewer drain, out towards or into a storm drain, leach field or anything else. If we go into that discussion then it will trigger hazardous waste concerns and I'm not going there 

Haven't figured out about a compressor yet. Have never had much need over the years. Really don't need to media blast parts, painting with a gun is limited to certain periods and I don't find a need for air tools very often at all. remember we don't often need to deal with rusty finishes, frozen bolts and hardware and things like that if I do electric impacts have done the trick or I can always go next door -  to a friends if the occasion arises once a year 

[carlite65]

you mean you cannot drain to a drywell?? vehicle runoff/car wash only.

[preaction]

Jeff, that's a very well done and detailed model even a tool box did your local authority having jurisdiction require that expense ?

[jwc66k]

you mean you cannot drain to a drywell?? vehicle runoff/car wash only.

This is the "pristine" State of California. The "Catch 22" factor is in full force. You must have a floor drain to keep your work space clean, but you can't have a floor drain because your "hobby" has a lot of potential "hazardous chemicals" involved. The answer is a separate floor drain system that empties into a tank that gets emptied weekly at a cost of - well it's in the four figure range. That "quirk" is what killed the chrome plating business.

Someone mentioned a drain. Not really allowed here. Since they would consider what ever I want to drain away would be nasty fossil fuel waste (oils, grime, sealers, undercoating ....)  no one is going to approve letting that go down the sewer drain, out towards or into a storm drain, leach field or anything else. If we go into that discussion then it will trigger hazardous waste concerns and I'm not going there 

A "deep sink" for clean-up purposes, and to immediately treat burns, etc. The "politically correct" answer is to make part of the "hobby area" a laundry area.
Isn't it fun fighting city hall.
Jim

[Countrysquire]

Jeff,

I just went through all of this by adding on to my existing three car garage.  Like you, my property size and shape dictated what I could build, so your idea of building a model to think about how you will be using it is a good one.  I didn't go as far as building a model (though I should have), a drawing to the same scale as Hot Wheel cars really helped as I tried different layouts, what would have to be done to move cars around to get them in and out, etc.  In addition to my existing four post lift, I added an inground scissor lift near the garage door, which allows me to work on daily drivers, cars I'm detailing, etc without moving the inoperable cars in the back.  The garage at out previous house had a 10' ceiling, and I could not go all the way up with a '66 convertible on my four post.  An extra foot of clearance above the lift will make a big difference.

As others have mentioned, LED lighting is the way to go now.  Based on the big lighting threads at the Garage Journal, I shot for 100fc at 3' off the floor and used one of the recommended vendors for the lights.  I ended going with a bunch of new 4' fixtures (~$14 each) and two 2650 lumen 18 watt lamps (~$7.50 each), so about $30.00 for per fixture for over 5000 lumens. This was early this year, so you can probably do better now as the technology continues to get cheaper.

A few other thoughts of the top of my head:

I split the existing three car in the center so that one side is climate controlled and where I installed a urinal, which has been VERY nice to have, as well as a deep commercial style sink.

My compressor is in a separate room that I use for storage, but outside would be better, particularly when I'm blasting for hours at a time and the storage room gets really hot.

Lot's of options for flooring that get debated, but I went with epoxy this time and really like how easy it is to keep it clean, wipe up spills, etc.  Had a Racedeck clone at my old house, and anything that was spilled went right through the joints in the tile and into the concrete below.

Every window and door is lost space for storage, etc, plus another way for someone to get in, so I believe in minimizing those as much as possible while trying to match the styling of the existing house.

You can't have too many electric receptacles.  I put a bunch of them on the walls, both at 16" and 52", but now wish that I would have put more than the two I did on the ceiling.

If your lift is going to be near a garage door, you will want to consider a 'high-lift' style track for clearance.

[AJ]

Epoxy floor and a good squeegees.  I personally like windows that are high on the wall and horizontally oriented.  Seeing lots of metal shops being built that way here in Texas.  Too high to peak into and too narrow to crawl through.   But let’s lots of light in.  Positioned horizontally just below soffit on exterior and just above cabinet height on interior.  Does add cost but adds tons of light.