Ballpark figures for building a woodworking shop from the ground up?

Brian, if you go to a local lumber yard they should be able to give you a material list and price sheet for what you want. Figure its going to be about 20% low, because they really don’t know how to estimate.

Make sure its got everything you need. Then once you do that, call a few electricians and get some prices.

Then you won’t have to wonder what it’ll cost or if my prices in NY are different than yours in TX.

Edit, mine was about $40 a sq ft a couple years ago. Its bigger than yours, I’ve got a concrete floor, attic space, I did everything except some excavation, including electrical, its insulated, finished with plywood. I’m betting yours will be pretty close to that.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

Kind of like asking how much is a new car? Do you want a Skoda or a Bentley Continental?

-- Do or do not, there is no try

12×18???

huh? granted I have 30×40 heated that I share with tractors and stuff…but 12×18?

sounds like 2 pre-fab yard barns laid end to end will work but you’ll want insulation and interior siding. concrete probably $6 sq foot poured and finished (it’s a local pricing thing so check). you probably don’t need heat. add a minimum of $700 for electrical/lighting (includes the run from your house main panel). And don’t forget permits…

You might want to look into a pre-fab. The start around $8 – $9k. You would most likely need a crew for the foundation and the construction. Perhaps $14k at the top of the spectrum? This is a ball park figure.

-- look Ma! I still got all eleven of my fingers! - http://www.termitecrafts.com

I’d do two things: First, buy a copy of the latest RS Means Residential Construction Costs estimating book. Second, look at what pre-fab sheds are running in your area. As others have suggested, 12×18 is pretty small, depending on what finish quality you want and what your slab costs look like you might think about a metal pole-bar/carport type structure, which could cost you a few thousand bucks, on up.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Yeah, the size is just an estimate on the smaller end. I may be able to widen it by a few feet and lengthen it by 8-10 feet.

My backyard is a good size, but it’s still a backyard in a residential neighborhood. Part of asking here is to figure out whether or not this idea is even worth it at all. I would be forced to use a lot of hand tools and minimize powered equipment to some extent. For instance, edge jointing could be on a router table or with a handplane, as opposed to dedicating floor space to a large powered jointer. For flattening wide boards I could use a planer with a sled to true up one side before sending the other side through, then move the planer (on a cart, probably) back against the wall. It may be a game of musical chairs with my equipment all the time. I just don’t know. This could all be a bad idea, which is why I’m asking for advice.

If it is worth it, the building type I’m thinking of is fairly minimal. Plywood over 2×4 framed walls, cheap insulation, probably a wood frame floor, that sort of thing.

-- Brian in Arlington, TX - Laziness is the foundation of efficiency.

Check with your municipality to see what the zoning permits.

It cost me around $40K to build my 30×40 two-story shop/studio; but then, I did most of the work myself.

-- Clint Searl.............We deserve what we tolerate

If it’s in a residential back yard, check your city ordinances before you do anything else. There will (probably) be several restrictions, and you’ll have to check each one independently. For example, the setback from the property lines. Get or draw a plan of what you have now (lot & house & everything else) and draw the setbacks on it. Your available space is what’s inside those lines. Then, there might be a total lot coverage restriction (“no more than 50 or 75%, or whatever, of the lot may be covered by structures”). There might be an absolute maximum size limit, or, like in my city, there may be tiers of outbuilding sizes where different levels of permitting are required (my little 7×8’ dust collector shack required only an application and a plan showing the location [and a fee, of course], but my big 10×20’ shed required a full-blown building permit and inspection).

Edit: beaten to the punch again.

-- My broker promised me he would treat my money as if it were his own. Trouble is, he did.

So I don’t have a total accounting, in some ways I don’t wanna know, but I’m pretty sure I came in under $20k for my workshop, 16'x20' external dimensions, with a living roof, climate control, and extra sound insulation. The electrical service is overkill, all the wires are at least 2 ga thicker than they need to be and there are sockets everywhere. The roof can support 120 lbs/sq.ft. in pretty severe earthquake conditions (In Texas you may be able to engineer for 10 lbs/sq.ft.). The walls use a drainage plane assembly that was derived from South Florida post-Hurricane Andrew code modifications. The foundation beams are half-again wider than my engineer said I could probably get away with because I wanted to be absolutely sure the city didn’t ask me to do a soils test so I did those calcs with the worst possible seismic assumptions.

Except for pouring the foundation, I did the work myself with help from my Dad and friends. So if you do the work yourself, you should be able to come in way cheaper than my extreme overkill.

Size-wise, it can be a little tight, I work with a Festool saw on rail system rather than a tablesaw, but I’ve got a number of projects working through it. Sure, I’d love a 30×50 pole barn, but other issues, like walkable distance from downtown, took precedence. If you’re already used to half a one-car garage, you already know what trade-offs you’ll have to make.

If you don’t care about insulation and your jurisdiction is cool with electrical service to it, I’d go see what steel carports are going for. You’d be surprised at how inexpensively you can put up something basic. Pulling numbers out of my butt, I’d bet you can get covered space for less than three thousand bucks.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

The common number I see floating around is around $25 a sq. ft. roughly. For a 12×18 building that comes out to $5400. Ballpark number. Probably on the low end of the spectrum.

I see some other numbers in here that are ~ 25-30 % higher or more, but you are probably going to be shopping around for the builders and you are likely to get estimates that will fluctuate from high to low by that amount.

Other factors such as where you live and the number of contractors in your area would also factor in. As well as what type of foundation, insulated or not, electrical,cost of permits, etc.

Check with the city or township first. It may be too big if you live in a neighborhood.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

Go for whatever, she will let you. Get several estimates for the different sizes and be very wishful

-- Norman

pre-fab might be the best way to go. with concrete foundation and floor it would be considered a permanent structure and may raise your property taxe`s if Texas has such a thing. here in Indiana a pre-fab would not have a tax issue. you also might consider upgrading your electric to 200 amp service if you do not already have it. remember what ever size building you choose it will never be big enough. Good luck and let us know how it`s going

Brian,
I would not rule out pre-fab METAL buildings. I built my 24×30 in 2003 for roughly:

• $4500 for the slab
• <$7,000 for the building (kit parts)
• ~$500—Wired it myself
• $50 for professional electrician to do final hookup and sign-off

Total roughly $13,000 for 720sqft of space or just $18/sqft. Don’t know what restrictions you have, so things nay vary for you. I am rural, between Austin and San Antonio and have no building restrictions in my county.

10-4 on raising the value of your property taxes.

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."

I just wanted to add that for a wood floor as you described, you can get away with a floating foundation . Less cost and red tape for sure, and probably less taxes.