# I wish I Would Have....



## Hermit (Oct 9, 2014)

Greetings everyone. I will be starting the framing on my new shop soon. I have been researching, and reading all I can on shop set-up, planning, etc. For all of you that have built your own shop, moved into an existing shop etc. etc…..I am looking forward to your responses on the topic of "I wish I would have". Knowing what you know now, what do you wish you would have done differently when setting up your shop? Thanks in advance!


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## bobkas (May 23, 2010)

Put in a rest room, I love my coffee. Good thing it's only about 30 feet to the back door. Could also have been larger but I'm happy with what is there.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Or at least a funnel running outside. Like my shop.


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## JKBogle (May 10, 2010)

I was going to do the same thing with the funnel. I wish I would have installed a steel beam overhead for a sliding hoist. I also wish I would have made arrangements for TV service.


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## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

Haven't built a shop yet, but I had an awesome feature that I lucked into at my last rent house. It was a large single car garage with full size garage doors at both ends. Opening both doors handled dust and fumes better than any dust collection setup ever could. If I was making a lot of dust, I would just open the doors and let a draft thru to clear out the air. It was also nice to open them up on good weather days. When the shop got filthy, I could just use the leaf blower to clean it out, making my own sort of wind tunnel, in one door and out the other. I loved that feature and would encourage anyone and everyone to do it if possible.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Water, bathroom, dedicated finishing area with heat, additional 240 plug-in's, lots of shelves. All my outlets are 4' from the floor, that was a good decision.


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

Insulated better from the start, but I was on a very low budget.


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## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

A utility sink would be great. 220v electrical service. MORE LIGHTING, more windows, sky lights, etc. A large entry/exit door. Cover large sections of the wall with chipboard.plywood rather than drywall- easier to hang stuff. Good ventilation via exhaust fans.


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## Gunslinger (Aug 8, 2014)

All of the reply's are right on target, yet it all depends on how large of a shop you plan on building and the layout for your equipment. Of all of the things you are going to do in constructing your shop layout and planning will be the most important; before you even put a shovel in the ground. Everything from sighting the building to even identifying the landscaping. One note for the electrical in which I wish I had done was, if sub panels will be needed, plan to install conduit in the slab before poring to make it easier as well as neater in the space. Of course, the bigger the better.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

Higher ceilings (mine are only a little over 9') and laying out where all machines would go before hand to run dust collection duct work.


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## Bill7255 (Feb 23, 2012)

What I wish I had done is foam insulation. Had more money to put up something better than OSB walls. Of course the standard is build a bigger shop

What I did do and glad of it

Put in the bathroom. 
Put in radient floor heat. 
12' ceilings. 
Installed a drop ceiling. Got the tiles free from a renovation. Should help with heat and looks great.
Large overhead door
Load bearing truss for light HF electrical hoist. Mostly for lawnmower changing blades.
Large sub panel with space for additional electric
Several ceiling electrical drops. May install a couple more. 
Outside electrical outlet near overhead door. 
I ran most outlets in conduit external to wall instead of behind the wall. Easier to access and eliminates cold air coming from behind the outlet.
Paved driveway to the shop


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## ChrisK (Dec 18, 2009)

+1 on the sink. Even a small one is better than none.
+1 on the 220V
+1 on more lighting. Use two or three lighting circuits. Bench lighting.
+1 on high ceilings.
+1 hoist would not hurt.

Easy doorway to use hand truck or to roll tools in or out. The threshold on door is a little too high.

Wall space for storage.


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## Case101 (Jun 29, 2013)

more outlets they you think you'll need, bottom of outlet minimum of 48" above floor(in case you lean up plywood you can still get to outlet). Wire with 12/3 for a 20amp circuit. put every other outlet on the opposite circuit. with 12/3 you can get 2 circuits out of 1 wire. By putting opposite circuit on every other outlet you can use 2 high current items at the same time without blowing the circuit breaker.

Just my $0.02


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## rob2 (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm in a garage shop so I crave windows and skylights!


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## BasementShop (Nov 3, 2014)

If I were to do mine over…

I'd have put in the French cleat mounting system to have more flexibility for moving things around.

I was able to get an old reception 'island' from work and put it up for walls. It is dark mahogany and I wish I had used plywood instead-it sits about the workbench as a backstop but it sure is dark-and painted it white. And then put everything on French cleats.

My shop has a work bench at standing height and one at sitting height. It turns out that a lot of tinkering, sorting, planning, and even assembly takes place at the lower height and I can park on a chair while doing it. Consider a spot to sit.

I put a swing arm lamp with extra light near the seating area and cuss about every third time I sit down that I don't have an illuminated magnifying lens on a swing arm. I built a Fresnel lens into a frame that I can look through but it lacks the utility of a swing arm setup.

I'm working in an unfinished basement's future bedroom so I don't have freedom to call it a permanent shop, but if I were building a shop in the backyard, I'd consider being able to hose the sucker out from time to time-whether sloping the floor to the door for drainage or putting in a floor drain-along with putting a tall baseboard up that could handle the wet.

I'd also put in a vote for thinking of using the overhead for storage. Do yourself a favor and consider hanging lights under the rafters so you can store supplies or wood or whatever overhead and not have it interfere with your lighting.

Other ideas can be had from Pinterest, by the way, if you have time to browse through some ideas from others.

Congratulations on your future shop!


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

Radiant heat in the concrete.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I would not change a thing.
I wish I had a gas line and water and sewer but the cost would be prohibitive.


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## scottstef (Nov 23, 2014)

thought about tool layout and storage before i moved in. i have moved and set up my shop several times, i have had three different shop layouts and the flow of the work has been uniquely different.


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## rantingrich (Sep 19, 2014)

Yes I would defiantly have hot and cold running water and a bathroom would be nice. Also a fridge would be great


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

More electrical power and properly located outlets. 
But that's what you get when you use a garage as a shop.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I wish I would have paid to have the drywall done. It is taking me a long time hang it. The firecode for the ceiling is a two person job just to get it on the lift. Things I did right was bathroom with a urinal, slop sink and a gas heater. I Was out in the shop working tonight 7 degrees outside 68 inside. I keep it at 50 when not working.


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## VeritasInnovations (Jan 4, 2015)

I wish that I would have put in a woodstove and ran radiant floor heat in the concrete Lord knows that we make enough scraps we could heat our place for a little bit of nothing.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

I built my shop with a roof slope to kinda match the slope of the roof on the house. It's a 4:12 so… not much pitch. Looks nice, but …. if I could have a mulligan, I'd have done a steeper pitch to give myself an attic for storage. All-in-all that's pretty cheap extra square footage.

I don't have heat, but that's really more because of the ONGOING expense of heating it. Not the expense of installing a heating system. I might do one of those external wood-fired furnaces. I just can't see heating it full time if I'm only out there once a week in the REALLY cold parts of winter. Like now… it's 12 degrees.


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## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Are you guys familiar with a wood fired, radiant floor heating system? Perhaps even a hybrid, say gas or electric and wood fired system? Seems to me to be a wonderful option for those with acreage and access to a volume of firewood. (Not so awesome for those who would be purchasing wood)


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## JeffP (Aug 4, 2014)

Love this one.

I was already planning to have a utility sink out there that has just a garden hose from the house for a source, and a pipe through the wall for a drain.

After seeing this, I think I will mount my utility sink a little lower than normal…



> Or at least a funnel running outside. Like my shop.
> 
> - TheFridge


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## Nate66 (Dec 31, 2014)

Talked the wife into a bigger shed


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## Nate66 (Dec 31, 2014)

Also, definite on the funnel and hose.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Lots of good suggestions
I put chases in my floor for electric,air and dust collection,This eliminates hoses and cords running all over the floor that you would have step over day after day.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I have hot and cold water and a sink in my shop but no toilet.
I have a space heater (electric) an air conditioning and wood stove.


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## tomclark (Feb 16, 2010)

I am on my fourth shop in the last 30 years, so have already made the changes to this one. You learn as you go. Here is what I did do:

Divided the building into three rooms, shop, garage, and storage room. All four had a tiny bathroom with washtub.
Very well insulated. Foam over fiberglass.
OSB walls painted white. You can hang anything anywhere.
Heat and air. 
Shop size is just right - not to big or too small. Last shop was one big room 40×60. Heat and air cost too much. 
Lighting is very bright where you are working only. No more endless fluorescents and endless changing of balasts.
More photos on my projects.


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## bonesbr549 (Jan 1, 2010)

Bathroom, great insulation, more power, and DC in the floor, and finally sep room for finishing.


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## gadawg31 (Dec 4, 2014)

x2 what Case101 said about outlets. I finished my shop up this past Jun '14 and thought I put in enough outlets, NOT! I found my self running additional outlets, on their own breaker or maybe a couple on one breaker. Mainly because of running tools and other equipment at the same time without tripping the breaker. I definitely wished I had listened to my wife's uncle (retired electrical engineer). He advised me to run a load calculator prior to my rough in and that would tell me how many outlets I would need and what load they would carry. Oh well, love my shop and adding things are just part of making it my own. Good luck with yours. JD


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## ToddJB (Jul 26, 2012)

> Lots of good suggestions
> I put chases in my floor for electric,air and dust collection,This eliminates hoses and cords running all over the floor that you would have step over day after day.
> 
> - a1Jim


This is what I was going to suggest, as well.

Can you tell us some basics about the plan? Size, height, attic, block, studs, kind of floor, attached to a house?


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## daddywoofdawg (Feb 1, 2014)

outlets in the middle of the floor or where you plan to put your saws,planers etc. saves having to fight cords.
Internet,cable even if you have wi-fi in the house it's got a limited range and the building doesn't help.
a loading dock pick-up bed height going into the shop floor level with a big door.if you make anything big or heavy or get heavy tools it's sooo nice to just slide it off or on the truck no heavy lifting.
space for a one of these day's finish room.
air compressor plumbing around the shop.
planned DC runs.
soundproofed room for compressor and DC
220V and more than you think you need 110V outlets


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## HMWWAWCC (Jun 26, 2011)

1. 200A, 40 circuit Service. No two ways about it. Alternate 110, 220, 110, 220 outlets around the shop if you know you'll be using 220vac tools. Include some overhead (hanging on a reel) outlets as well. DO NOT RELY ON EXTENSION CORDS! I would not run more than 2, double duplex outlets on one 20A, 12awg circuit. I don't. In fact I run one 110 duplex per circuit (two double duplex, one duplex per circuit per double outlet box) and 1, 220vac, 20A per circuit. A 40 circuit service has plenty of space for this. No popped breakers - EVER. I know of folks having problems with a tool popping a breaker that is not the lone object on that circuit. I have the same tool and no popped breakers. It's cost prohibitive if you require an electrician to do it. At least lean towards the 200A, 40 circuit service box. You can expand later as needed. What? Your electrician brother-in-law don't drink beer?
2. Waterless urinal unless sewer/ septic/ drywell access AND you have flush water.
3. LIGHT - LOTS of LIGHTS. Use a multi-switch scheme whereby you can turn on some or all of the lights as needed. Mix fluorescent temperature bulbs to avoid "washed out", muddy, or overly blue coloring. I use 6500K and 5500K - 1/2 and 1/2. T8 is da bomb. I keep my shop at 50*F and they come right on. They brighten just a little after a few seconds running.
4. Radiant heating - depending on where you live - could be problematic. If you have seasonal temperature swings you may find it too hot or too cool; My brother (lives in Vermont) has in floor radiant heat in his house. Got warm one late winter so he turned the heat down. Took 3 DAYS before he realized he'd left the heat off. Then 3 days of heater running to heat back up. You might augment radiant with gas or electric early in the heating season and turn on radiant when the cold sets in.
5. DUST COLLECTION - dedicated tool system and a dedicated "room air" system.
6. WiFi <-MUST HAVE for consulting with Lumberjocks!!


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## HMWWAWCC (Jun 26, 2011)

Continued…
7. FIRE EXTINGUISHERS - several 2.6lb ABC around the shop, well marked by a wall sign and all kept maintained. Don't spend more time fighting a fire than it takes to exhaust ONE extinguisher. Once you've fought a fire for two minutes it's time to GET OUT and call the FD!
Good luck with that shop! There's nothing better than sipping coffee, smoking a nice cigar and browsing the various tool catalogs and Lumberjocks forum in your own shop! If you're married you might at least consider allowing your wife to peek in once-in-a-while.


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## Hermit (Oct 9, 2014)

All great responses and ideas. I thank you all.

"Can you tell us some basics about the plan? Size, height, attic, block, studs, kind of floor, attached to a house?"

It's a 22×20 detached shop in the backyard. Foundation is done. Ceiling height to be 9'-6". Concrete slab, wood frame, wood siding, insulated, drywall/wood interior. 100 amp sub panel inside. Combination wall A/C/heater. Entry door, one window and a 9' roll up door going in. Lots of lights. To expensive to run sewer/water so looks like a wall mounted funnel!


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## stevepeterson (Dec 17, 2009)

I would put 120V outlets on every other stud, 50" from the floor. Wire them with 12-3 wire. Remove the breakaway tab and wire the top socket on one line and the bottom socket on the other line. This lets you plug a router in the top socket and a shop vac in the bottom socket so they are running from different breakers. They must be wired on different phases (+120 and -120) to avoid overloading the neutral wire. Another option is to wire every other box on a different circuit.


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## ToddJB (Jul 26, 2012)

22×20 is about the size of my shop. And I can have all of my machines stationary and have a little over 8' of infeed and outfeed of each machine. I used the Grizzly shop planner to figure it out. Just find a machine that is close to the ones you have, or will get, or what I did is just resized the dimensions of their bench to the size of my machine. This will give you a feel for what kind of space you are really working with.

Also, if you plane on putting in floor electrical and dust collection (highly suggested) this will help you plan that too.

If you're going to have trusses I would suggest leaving them exposed. My ceilings are 8' 6" and I hit them all the time with stock and sheet goods. It also allows for easier storage.

Also, if space allows build a small room off the shop for your DC and air compressor. Life is nicer if you don't have to listen to them all the time.


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## KDO (Oct 26, 2010)

There are a lot of great ideas here. One I didn't see (I didn't read all in depth)...
This one could litterally save a life. 
Run your lights on at least two SEPERATE Circuits and don't run anything big on either of those circuits.
That way if one circuit trips, you are not left in the dark, while pushing a piece of wood theough your tablesaw…
Make sure when you work, that you have lights from BOTH circuits running. 
You can easily run the switches in the same switch box, but from different circuits.
Make it a habit of always turning on lights from both circuits.
I have mine setup so that I don't get good light unless lights are one from both circuits.
In my first garage shop, I had the lights go out when I flipped on the tablesaw (my shop-vac was also running).
I was in total darkness.
Luckily I could see light under a door that led me to the door, but it could have been dangerous.
Needless to say, I solved that problem immediately.
Run stuff like battery chargers, WiFi, radio, TV on those curcuits, so you aren't maxing out the circuits.


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## KDO (Oct 26, 2010)

I would also consider a sheetrock lined cabinet for all of your flammables, paints, thinners, butane torches, etc. 
if you make the door seal tight and put a couple of layers off flame-retardant sheetrock inside, AND on the door, it will greatly improve the safety in case of a fire.
The idea is to keep these things from exploding in a fire and giving fire-fighters enough time to put out the fire without having to worry about explosions.
Also put a 1.5" lip around all the shelves to contain anything that leaks, on that shelf, without dripping on stuff below.
Look on the web and you can find some good plans.
Paint it in a fire retardant paint.


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## Garbanzolasvegas (Jan 15, 2015)

AT a minimum, RUN Hot and cold water to it and have a utility sink. If you are a married man you might wish to consider a bathroom as well if it won't take up too much space. That way when your ball and chain finds out how much you paid for all this at least you don't have to come into the house to take a leak and here it all over again.

Come to think of it… You might want to add a spare bedroom..to your shop.


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## Garbanzolasvegas (Jan 15, 2015)

> I am on my fourth shop in the last 30 years, so have already made the changes to this one. You learn as you go. Here is what I did do:
> 
> Divided the building into three rooms, shop, garage, and storage room. All four had a tiny bathroom with washtub.
> Very well insulated. Foam over fiberglass.
> ...


Stop showing off!


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