# Detached or Attached workshop



## Texchappy (Apr 27, 2012)

As I approach leaving the military, we're designing our retirement house. This leads me to my question…

For a handtool workshop for a person with limited mobility - would you have it part of the design for the house (i.e. within the blueprint) or would you have it detached from the house?

Location will be the Texas panhandle.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

Limited mobility would tell me to have it attached.


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

I would have it attached since that more easily permits sharing utilities such as heating, cooling and plumbing. Also, I don't like to put on/take off a jacket or boots every time I run back and forth between the house and the shop. Since you will be mostly be using hand tools, dust and noise shouldn't present much of an issue.

Thanks for serving our Country.


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## JesseTutt (Aug 15, 2012)

With an attached shop you have a ease of access, ease of wiring and heating/cooling. But, you have the dust problem and the "Honey could you …" consideration.


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## splinterking (Oct 27, 2012)

Just my opinion if you're building from scratch I'd attach it to the house for HVAC and electric like AandCstyle said, but I'd also put a garage or other large door on the front and give it a drive way. That way you could move lumber in or take deliveries of it very easily, instead of having to haul it around the house or worry about delivery truck access to your shop. Who knows you could get a bug for a Powermatic cabinet saw one day and with a large front accessible door it would be no problem.


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## Pabs (Dec 10, 2008)

I've had both and I LOVE my attached workshop
in my case I took over the attached garage and made it my workshop. I can run the loudest machine while the family is sleeping without any problems! 
so much more fun to be able to simply go from the house to the shop without having to get dressed to go outside..I live in Canada so in winter I always had to get dressed heavily before heading into the shop

since you are in the design phase just make sure you position it in a way that is far from the bedrooms and make sure the walls between the house and the shop are well insulated in order to provide a sound barrier
but for me , hands down it's attached!


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## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

when wood magazine featured a shop article about a soldier with injuries serious enough to require a wheelchair, he attached his shop to the house for ease of mobility.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Depending on how limited your mobility is, I would build a detached shop. I have mine attached and even though my compressor is on the far side of my shop outside it's still noisy enough to be an annoying . I have the same problem with noisy equipment when it's running. One other problem is tracking lots of saw dust in.plus fumes coming in the house every time you open a door in the shop(assuming you won't have a spray booth). If you decide to go with the attached shop shop you will need more than just normal insulation to cut down on the noise.


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## pmayer (Jan 3, 2010)

I concur with the masses on this. I favor attached in general, and given mobility limitations I would think it would be a much better approach for you.


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## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Detached, but with easily access. Noise, dust, and wife issues are important!


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## Gripfast (Apr 6, 2009)

I have had both, and by far enjoy having a stand alone shop. because I ran gas, hydro & phone, I was not allowed to run plumbing. Apparently, plumbing makes it habitable and that changes the tax rate.


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## Pabs (Dec 10, 2008)

to be honest dust has never been an issue for me…I don't crack the door open when I'm in the middle of working and do a decent job with dust collection/cleaning… 
you mentioned hand tools,if that's the bulk of what you will do then dust is not an issue…the one point about fumes is valid. if you work with things that are smelly then you may have an issue… personally I stay away from anything that smells…there usually is a non smelly , not toxic version of the smelly stuff! 
I care more about my lungs than I do about a high gloss finish!


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

attached


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## upinflames (Jun 24, 2012)

You could always have detached, not but 20 or 30 feet, run a breezeway between house and shop, something in the line of a screened in porch per say.


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## Gripfast (Apr 6, 2009)

I have had both, and by far enjoy having a stand alone shop. because I ran gas, hydro & phone, I was not allowed to run plumbing. Apparently, plumbing makes it habitable and that changes the tax rate.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I agree with a1Jim . I had an attached shop and now have a detached one. Sawdust is the issue so I prefer detached. Heating the shop here in west Texas is not so much an issue and a window unit works well for cooling.


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## mloy365 (Oct 30, 2009)

Totally with Jim & Jim. But it all has to do with how limited is your mobility. I have had both and prefer the detached shop.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Mine is attached. I've had the other. This attached shop is much more convenient.
Bill


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## kepy (Mar 5, 2012)

You might want to check with an insurance agent as the rates could be different for attached and detached.


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

I don't have an issue with messing up my shop but if it was part of the house than I would take issue with messing up part of the house.


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## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

I have both types of shops. The Upper Peninsula "Workshop in the Woods" is 109 yards from the house, thus there is no problem with noise, dust, or wood storage. This shop has it's own electrical service, water and septic system. Wireless technology has also given me telephone and internet. The 24'x28' package gave me a lot of design options that would have been significantly compromised in an attached design.

Down in Gainesville Florida I had no other choice but to use 1/2 of the attached two car garage. I've done my best, but the limitations of only 194 sq ft, and a useless garage door "wall", reduces my woodworking ability. Dust collection and avoidance of noise come to the top of the priority list.

Since you are designing a new home and shop, you will have to take the latest building codes, and lot layout and setbacks into consideration. Likely there will be heating, A/C, and electrical considerations that pose limitations and possibly extra expense.

Good luck with your exciting new adventure. Please keep us posted.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Detached. Isolation of dust, noise, fire hazard… Making it "accessible" should be an easy task since it will be new construction.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

My shop is detached. It doubles as an art studio (weather permitting and honey-do list permitting). I can finish wood projects with lacquer and I can set up my easel and paint in oils with no concern as to whether or not the fumes will get in the house. My shop is about 25 feet from the house. There's a big patio completely filling the area between house and shop. With the french doors on it, the shop looks respectable. I have to admit there are times I'd prefer to have it attached, but…. it's not. And I like it where it is.

A lot of this will come down to the degree of mobility impairment you have. I have some mobility issues myself, but for me, the 25 feet is not a problem.


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## RogerM (Oct 31, 2011)

Texchappy - I grew up in the panhandle (Elkhart, Kansas) and the summers and winters out there, not to mention the ever constant wind, can be a bit extreme. With this in mind, along with your intentions of mostly hand tools, I would consider integrating your shop in the house preferably the basement or lower areas. To further minimize at least the potential of some dust and possibly reduce operating costs I would put the shop on a separate air handling unit. My experience has been that most houses sharing the same foundation with a common air handling unit usually does not please the wife.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

I have had both. Disregarding the motility issue, hand down detached.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Normally detached would be my answer - due to noise and dust being that much further from the house. 
But because of the limited mobility, and mosty using handtools - you may be more comfortable with an attached workspace. 
The only time I wish I had a detached shop is when I spray finishes.


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

Attached - with the following upgrades.

Serious Dust Collection - both at-the-source and a HEPA-class main DC - you should do this anyway, but now for additional reasons;
Increased noise insulation at the common wall - this should be 4"-to-6" of engineered sound deadening material;
Non-common wall insulation - one of the advantages of attaching is that one wall is warm during the winter; however, the shop becomes a gateway for the cold if the other walls are left un-insulated.

MJCD


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

I went detached (and a bit of a walk from the house). Local set-back requirements on your lot may dictate the outcome (I had 2 acres here with 50ft set-backs from the sides and back, 63ft from center of the road on the front so not a problem for me).

I love it (as does my wife)...dust, material movement, finishing odors, noise are all out there (and there are times where it is nice to get out of her hair).

There are arguments for both but if you go the detached route you plan ahead for utilities…the diggers/plumbers/electricians will be on-site for the main house anyway and not much of a big deal to run stuff to the shop building before a driveway goes in.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

I would think that detached is much cheaper to insure. I'd just ask an insurance agent if that matters.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

dhazleton…our policy treats the shop building as a part of the "blanket" coverage for non-house items that we get by insuring the house (i.e. the premium wouldn't change whether the shop was there or not). I doubt the difference would be that big though if it were attached.


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## 47phord (Apr 10, 2012)

If you can manage it, I would go detached. Besides eliminating the dust and fumes and noise, having a dedicated, stand-alone shop will help keep it that way. I'm stuck using my garage, and besides woodworking, it inevitably ends up being a storage area as well.

p.s.-Thanks for your service!


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

The type of woodworking would also enter the picture. If you were doing small craft projects that don't require heavy power tools and a lot of space, I think the attached shop would be best. If you will be running large power tools and creating dust and noise, the detached might be better.


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

Detached would be my choice. My shop is on part of my garage/basement. Sawdust tracks are a problem even with a scrap of carpet by the door. No plumbing, Gripfast? That's what empty peanut butter jars are for.


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