# First garage shop, thoughts on layout?



## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

I am setting up my first semi-dedicated woodshop in my garage. I would like to keep one of the two car spaces open so my wife can still park there. I have the electrician wiring up 14 power stations throughout the garage, 6×220volt plugs and 18×110 volt plugs. He ended up wiring this up as 6 dedicated 220 volt lines and another 6 dedicated 20 amp 110 volt lines.

Anyway, I welcome any feedback on the garage layout. I will try to explain how everything will work together below.

This is how the setup will look looking from the front of the house into the garage door. All the tools will be on mobile bases so I can push them against the walls allowing my wife to park a little easier. My thoughts are to have the planer and jointer available through the garage door so I can process stock coming in the door. The bandsaw will be against the back wall and will have plenty of clearance around it.










Looking to the left of the garage there are two alcoves. The smaller one will be used to hold the air compressor (80 gallon 5hp). it is a small space but I will plan on putting up plastic sheeting to make this a clean area. I will probably cut a hole through the back wall to bring fresh air into the compressor. The larger alcove will be for the tablesaw. My thoughts are to process wood through the tablesaw into the center of the garage. The saw will also be on a mobile base and I will also build an outfeed table that I can put on casters and move out into the middle of the garage (when no cars are there). At the front of the garage will be the drill press. This will be on a mobile base and will likely be pulled into the open space of the center of garage during use (the tablesaw area will be somewhat cramped with the drill press in place).










Bird's eye view of the space










What do you guys think? Would you change any of the layout? I wish I had a larger space for the clean space as this is where I will be doing painting, but this was the best solution I could come up with.

Thank you for the feedback! If it would be helpful I can post a list of the exact tools I will be purchasing.


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

Some additional information: The drawings I posted didn't show the large shelf that I already own. I will use this for some wood storage. In addition, I have a closet, now labeled, that has a nice amount of storage. I also have a crawl space that is unfinished but dry through the back wall that I can store additional rough stock (still not pictured). Hopefully adding some measurements will help. I also added a workbench that I will need to build. I figured I can build this the same height as the table saw and put it on casters to double as an outfeed table for the TS. These are renderings of how everything would store. I am trying to figure out a way to position the TS so I wouldn't have to move it but, you are right the area seems a bit cramped especially for cutting full sheets of plywood.


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## jgt1942 (Mar 25, 2013)

I'm still playing with my garage setup but I have more room than you do (25' deep, 27' wide). My goal is to park my truck on the right side. The actual layout changes a bit as I work on projects and the real setup is much more crowded than the following SketchUp image. 








Comments about my setup that may be options for you.
1) My compressor (bottom left corner) is behind a door and the noise is greatly reduced. I still need to insert a vent pipe that pulls air from the attic area otherwise if I completely close the door and the compressor runs a lot it does get rather warm in the area. The door is 3×8, I had a solid Alder wood door that was left over from my house build. I was lucky and got a SUPER deal on my doors.
2) I recently installed an automatic air hose reel between the two 8×10 garage doors. Originally I was going to run an air line around the shop. This was a LOT less work and so far I'm super pleased with it. I routed the air feed from the air compressor in the corner, up through the ceiling and across the attic area.








3) On the left side of the image you can see a set of pull-out cabinets (I will be building more). The set that I currently have are 11" deep and about 33" wide when pulled out. The 33" was used because this puts the edge of the cabinet just under the garage door rail in the ceiling. These almost triple my wall space in this area.

























4) I just finished install a dust collection vacuum line above the area for my workbench. This line runs into the house central vacuum and I'm super pleased with the performance. 
































5) In the back of my shop between the glass and wood doors I installed a large stainless steel sink.









6) As you are doing almost all of my tools are on wheels thus I can move things around easily. My table saw is one of the few tools that are not on wheels. As you can see it is placed in front of the left garage door and when I'm cutting long stuff I can use the workbench (same height as my raised table saw) for the infeed, currently I use roller stands for the outfeed. I plan to build an outfeed that I can raise and lower.
7) My workbench (still a work in-progress) is 37"x8' and the top is 43" off of the floor. I'm in the process of building some drawers that will be installed on the front and backside of the bench.

















8) I modified a 2HP Grizzly dust collector to interface with a Thien Top Hat as a portable unit but it has become a royal pain trying to connect it to various tools. Thus in the near future I will be redesigning it and making it a fixed unit in the front right corner of the garage. I will also inclose this as I did the air compressor mainly to reduce the noise.
9) My drill press and band saw are also on wheels.
10) I have two 52" ceiling fans that help provide cooling on the hot days. Also when I built the house, the glass door in the back opens to the outside thus I can raise the two garage doors and normally get a super breeze going through the shop. 
11) I have 6-4 tube fluorescent fixtures and will be installing more in the near future. These provide a lot of light but I want more. When I do the install they will be the new LED lights.
12) The walls and ceiling are painted white enamel. This makes it easy to vacuum or wash down the walls.
13) The cement floor is painted with an epoxy paint but the company that did the work did a poor job and I'm going to scrap the floor and have somebody that knows what they are doing redo the floor. My floor is slick when it gets any dust or water on it thus the new floor will have a texture. 
>>>>>>>>>>>
A) Your area for the table saw may be a bit small. If you can put the saw on wheels and when using it move it out into the car parking area. In this area move the wood storage where you currently have the saw. I'm not sure if I correctly identified things in this area.
B) what is in the area between the table saw and the air compressor? Can you remove the walls and make this part of the shop?
C) how do you plan to connect the dust collector to the tools?
d) How many electrical outlets do you have (120v/240v)? I have lots of 120 but did not install enough 240v.

Good luck!


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

> >>>>>>>>>>>
> A) Your area for the table saw may be a bit small. If you can put the saw on wheels and when using it move it out into the car parking area. In this area move the wood storage where you currently have the saw. I m not sure if I correctly identified things in this area.
> B) what is in the area between the table saw and the air compressor? Can you remove the walls and make this part of the shop?
> C) how do you plan to connect the dust collector to the tools?
> ...


Hi John, thank you VERY much for all of this information. You gave me a lot of really great ideas. I am starting to think I may not have enough room for everything so I may need to re-assess exactly what my no-comprimise wants are at this time and then consider expanding later when I can build a dedicated shop. Here are some answers to the points you addressed:

A) I agree, the area where I was thinking about putting the table saw is too tight. I will be putting it on casters so I can move it into the open when I use it.

B) The area between the table saw and the air compressor consists of a closet (labeled) and then a stairway leading up to the main house (the house is on the second and third levels, the garage is the entire first level). I won't be able to knock down any walls as this is a rental home. I was pushing it with getting electrical work done. I don't want to do too many modifications as we will be purchasing a home where I can build a dedicated shop within the next 2-3 years.

C) I planned on running tubing around the perimeter of the ceiling and then dropping the tubing at regular intervals so I can hook them up to the machines. I haven't figured out all the details on this yet.

D) I hired an electrician to run outlets throughout the space. He put 7 electrical stations at various point throughout the garage. Each station has two 110 volt outlets and one 220 volt outlets. So I have 14×110 volt outlets and 7×220 volt outlets in the space. Before that there was only one 110 volt outlet in the entire garage!


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## timbertailor (Jul 2, 2014)

Where's the miter saw\RAS?


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## WoodNSawdust (Mar 7, 2015)

I would put all of the tools on mobile bases so you can move them around as needed. For example, my 16-32 drum sander lives in a corner since I normally only sand 2' long wood. Today I need to sand 7' long boards so I will roll the router table out of the way and roll the sander to the center of the shop.

I went with a centrally located retractable air hose and added two retractable ceiling mounted power cords.


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

> Where s the miter sawRAS?
> 
> - timbertailor


I was going to put a recess into my workbench where the miter saw could sit.

I'm not sure what a RAS is?

I am also still working out where I will fit a router table


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

> I would put all of the tools on mobile bases so you can move them around as needed. For example, my 16-32 drum sander lives in a corner since I normally only sand 2 long wood. Today I need to sand 7 long boards so I will roll the router table out of the way and roll the sander to the center of the shop.
> 
> I went with a centrally located retractable air hose and added two retractable ceiling mounted power cords.
> 
> - WoodNSawdust


I agree, that is definitely the plan. Put everything on mobile bases and put casters on the workbench so I can move everything into the center for use. I will also likely make the workbench with an adjustable height top so I can use it as outfeed for the planer and tablsaw


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## Oosik (Oct 16, 2013)

Where do you find all the tool drawings for sketch up? Been trying to layout my shop old fashion way with graph paper.


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

> Where do you find all the tool drawings for sketch up? Been trying to layout my shop old fashion way with graph paper.
> 
> - Oosik


You can download components from the sketchup 3D warehouse or you can get to the components straight from sketchup. File/3D Warehouse/Get Components.

I am lazy, I just draw rectangular boxes but it definitely makes it easier to visualize with proper components.


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

Alright here are some new renderings dressed up a bit. The plan now will be to have the tools organized against the right wall (primarily) and then brought out into the center with use.


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## timbertailor (Jul 2, 2014)

> Where s the miter sawRAS?
> 
> - timbertailor
> 
> ...


Just remember that a MIter saw or a Radial Arm Saw are usually used for cross cutting long pieces of wood. Think baseboards or crown moulding. These pieces can be long before they are cut so you have to make sure you have plenty of space to feed the pieces into the Miter Saw from one side unobstructed. You also have to leave room on the exit side.


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

> Just remember that a MIter saw or a Radial Arm Saw are usually used for cross cutting long pieces of wood. Think baseboards or crown moulding. These pieces can be long before they are cut so you have to make sure you have plenty of space to feed the pieces into the Miter Saw from one side unobstructed. You also have to leave room on the exit side.
> 
> - timbertailor


Cool, thank you for the feedback. My plan is to build the miter saw into (one) of my workbenches that will be on casters. My goal would be to have the workbench flush with the miter saw so it can support long stock. With the workbench on casters I could roll it into the middle of the shop for crosscutting long stock.


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## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

thoughts on layout?

Without even lookin my thought was
It's too small. 
And I agree with everyone who said out stationary tools on mobile bases.
You are probably going to be changing locations of everything as ya go along. I started it in a 12 by 12 barn shed and it was very cramped. But I was able to make things happen by organizing and reorganizing. 
But your getting one thing down that important:
Lots of outlets.
Don't know if ya had it in there, but if not please look into an air filter. It's the super fine dust particles that are the killers.


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## trevordj (Jul 2, 2012)

> thoughts on layout?
> 
> Without even lookin my thought was
> It s too small.
> ...


Thank you for your feedback! I agree, the space is definitely too small. Unfortunately its all I have for now but I view it as an opportunity to experience my first (semi) full blown woodshop before I build a dedicated space in a few years.

Thank you for reminding me regarding the air filter too. That is definitely on the list (in addition to the dust collector). My wife wouldn't let me do this without having proper air filtration/dust protection in the shop.


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## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

> thoughts on layout?
> 
> Without even lookin my thought was
> It s too small.
> ...


Hey, I'm glad ya got the space and ya got a great start! That little 12 by 12 had a RAS taking up one wall. Set it up half way down the wall and the table was the full length of the wall with a window at one end to get longer lumber in. Lots of storage above and below. Back wall was all shelving top to bottom except spot for DC( had 8' side walls on the shed which made it nice).Other wall was a 5' bench, spot for drill press, and rest shelving. Table saw and jointer were my only other stationary tools. Lunch box planer I was gonna build a base for, but didn't have the room. Took quite a few times of rearranging but finally got to a point I was comfortable with where everything was. Except in winter I was able to roll the Ts and jointer outside, which made it nice. Winters I worked on smaller projects.
Then after I got it all set up like I liked, I moved!!LOLOL
It would be nice to read your updates and see pictures of the progress. Seems us woodworkers get some pleasure seeing a d reading of others setting up shop.


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## jgt1942 (Mar 25, 2013)

trevordj - Good move on the new SketchUp drawings. I'm in a relearn mode after discovering I was doing a lot of things wrong in SketchUp. The new drawings make it clear as to the obstacles you face. This will give you a very good idea as to what you want to do in the next shop.  Also as you play with the drawings you can experiment
with the setup. 
I've made a number of mistakes in my shop and continue to do so. My next move will be into a retirement home and hopefully they will have a workshop and hopefully I can partake in it.
I recently looked into using the Nordfab duct pipe and for my needs it is just too expensive. For the simple run I had in my drawing it was going to cost about $1300. I'm going to use PVC.
The new line I put in for my workbench area that is connected to the house central vac is working great but it does generate a lot of static electricity thus I will be adding more grounds.
As you move forward and gain more experience you will make new decisions.
If possible joint a local woodworking group or take classes at a local school. Most semesters I take a class atd my local college and have met some really great woodworkers. 
Good Luck!


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