No food in my shop...invitation to rodents coming in.
I just carry a thermos mug down, for beverage; no beer in the shop, or anywhere I'm using tools that bite.

 

No food in my shop...invitation to rodents coming in.
I just carry a thermos mug down, for beverage; no beer in the shop, or anywhere I'm using tools that bite.

exactly...
and a spilled beverage could spell disaster or even catastrophe......


so neither...

 

Ever not so often I will carry a mug of coffee out to the shop, but usually end up dumping it out on my way back into the house as I get too involved in my work to drink it.
I take a lot of breaks, one per hour I would estimate to give my ole back a little time to quit biting me, and go into the house, then empty one tank and fill another.

Herb

 

@Herb Stoops:

The matter of full tanks is an issue for a lot of us. I don't always go out there to do woodwork. Sometimes I just want some time to let the old thinker rumble. Then caffeine comes into play. I have built a 185 foot long dry stream bed with an island where I have a bench under a canopy of trees. I like to take a toddy out there now and again. No alcohol with power tools, I agree.

Kind of wondering in what state you live? I'm in Southern California out in the desert.

 

Great question, Tom...

I find that when I carry a beverage into my "shop" I generally don't ever touch it again. It finally dawned on me that I don't "drink and drive" so I stopped carrying drinks in.

I also found I was moving it out of my way from time to time...

Now, if I had a real shop and had room for a mini-kitchen then I would need a closet for my clothes, small bathroom so I could shower and etc... oh, yeah, a bed to take naps...a laptop to keep up with RF...

Oh my....I might not have to talk to humans again...:wink: :no:

 

a bench under a canopy of trees. I like to take a toddy out there now and again. No alcohol with power tools, I agree.

Kind of wondering in what state you live? I'm in Southern California out in the desert.[/QUOTE]

I thought the definition of "desert" was no trees? maybe an oasis?

The trees are likely very thankful for that.

Herb

 

I thought the definition of "desert" was no trees? maybe an oasis?

The trees are likely very thankful for that.

Herb

We are in the high desert, in a "low" spot about 3,000 feet. The yard is landscaped to be like a small, 1 acre forest area with 1500 feet of trails and near 50 tons of rocks and boulders that I personally collected and placed in my younger days. All on drip. A nifty spot, here's a pix of a smidgen of the dry creekthe other is of the seating area. The overhanging trees have grown and there is a bench in there now.

 

Right inside the house from the shop is an old side by side refrigerator with ICE and water in the door. In the summertime I don't like to hang around inside too often and get cooled down too much, so I just bop in and out and top off my water.

No food, though, never even thought about snacking!

 

Tom; great landscaping job! Hopefully you had a little bobcat or something to help with the material moving?

 

Nope, carried every single rock and boulder to the truck, unloaded, carried to destination in wheelbarrow, hand placed every rock. Today, I can't even lift a lot of them. When we started the yard looked like the first picture below. Flat and full of weeds. Everything on the property was added by my wife and myself. But that was 14 years ago.

Second picture is the beginning of the seating area you saw above. And, BTW, my first woodworking on the site, a bridge to the "island." Third picture is of the dry stream bed after a $350 water leak.

The last picture was taken in winter a couple of years ago. You can see my shop with its white roof. We've added another set of pathways between the house and the upper center of the property. I think you can even see our '92 Dakota that did all the transporting. There are a couple of other sheds. You should see it in full bloom in spring and summer.

My wife was surprised because I caught this vision of how it would turn out when there was nothing but a few weeds and a couple of dead trees. Its a little over 270 feet from the back of the house to the back fence. People come to visit just to enjoy the back yard and my Son in law and his wife told us they want the house after we pass because of the yard and all the improvements to the house. It is quite a wonderful low water desert property. :grin:

 

I take a drink with me, either a bottle of green tea or a bottle of water. It doesn't have to be cold as long as it is wet. I don't take food and I never have alcohol. thirst is not too much of a problem as long as I have something to sip on. If I drink too much I just have to go inside much more frequently than I want. something about getting old I believe.

 

A good cup of coffee in the shop and I"m set................

 

Coffee is always required. It's one of the things that powers my workshop. When the caffeine is gone, so is production.

 

I'm like several of you, if I take a drink out there I usually forget about it and end up throwing it out.

 

Cold coffee with a little dust floating around in it is pretty good at times.

HJ

 

I take my coffee out in an insulated, sealed, cup. The one I like is sold by Contigo, but I'm sure there are others that work just as well.... it stays drinkable for 2-3 hours.

 

Coffee is always drinkable — hot or cold. :yes4:

 

Nice place you have there, Tom.

Since my shop is my garage and attached to the house my set up is not very fancy. I have a small refrigerator with water, Diet Cokes, and a few beers. I never drink any alcohol while working in the shop.

A rest room is just inside the door of the house.

I don't know if you guys have heard about the Yeti brand of coolers and mugs, but they seem to have created quiet a stir here in Texas. All of their products are expensive. But I have heard nothing but praise from people who have bought them.

The offshore fishermen really like them. The coolers keep ice a really long time. My wife's niece raves about the coolers of which they have several ranging from a small one to the larger version. They go fishing and camping a lot so keeping ice is a good thing.

But they really like the tumblers. Keeps your drink hot or cold all day. Maybe if I win the lottery, I will try one.

YETI Coolers- Premium Ice Chests, Apparel, and Gear

 

I always have a bucket of tea out there (900ml). I have a tea cosy to put over it to keep it from getting cold and getting dust in it. I do find myself forgetting it a lot, so only manage half of it, but it does stay hot longer under the cosy.

 

Hadn't thought of that. I do have a small microwave to heat things up again. I usually use disposable coffee cups just to make it easy to clean up. Come spring, my wife and I will be sitting out on the island in the morning with coffee and tea and conversation. I semi retire July 1 and will really have a lot more time for woodworking and enjoying the garden, which is really more of a park than a garden.

 

Quoting myself here...
"No food in my shop...invitation to rodents coming in."

Did I tell you the rat story? I did? Too bad; I'm telling it again...
Just before Xmas, our neighbours invited a bunch of us over for drinks.
(These folks live in a rancher style home, built over a crawl space.)
The last two years have been Hell for them, they've had their hardwood floors flooded twice; once requiring a lot of drywall removal, and the second time just the floor had to come out.
They finally got back into their home, maybe mid November.
So, there we are, coming in, taking our shoes off, and coming through the kitchen into the open plan living area.
On my way past the kitchen I notice that the dishwasher is out/missing...can't keep my foot out of my mouth...I casually ask as to why?
Frosty look directed at Mr. Neighbour by Mrs. Neighbour...
"Sit down, have a drink, and I'll explain" says Mrs N.
"I noticed water coming out from under the dishwasher and onto the new hw floor. I shut it off immediately, mopped it up, and called the service guy.
He came over, opened the dw door, looked inside and called us over to look. ! Rats, he said."
For those who haven't been paying attention, new dishwashers have plastic cabinets...great idea, in theory.
Mrs. N. continued to explain, " I told **** that there was a rat in the crawl space and to fix the problem. Didn't happen. The rat came up through the plumbing cutout and ate through the back of the dw."

Two lessons here:
1) do what SWMBO says...when she says it.
2) don't put hardwood anywhere there's water!!!

In cases such as above, I believe the first item is a Felony, earning an extended stay in the doghouse.

 

and get a DW w/ a SS tank...

 

Drinks are Verboten in my shop. Our humidity is high year-round, and cold glasses sweat. I don't want rust rings on my tablesaw, or joiner, and the horizontal surfaces are just too inviting. It's only a few steps across the grass to the kitchen, so if I want a drink or a snack, I just take a break and go where they live. I'm finding that as I get older, the breaks are good for my feet and legs anyway. And I'm fortunate thatjjj my wife is not someone I need to escape from.

 

Like many have already said, if I take something out (bottle water, Diet Coke) it ends up getting hot! So most of the time, I bring nothing. :wink:

 

I simply walk about 50' to the house and get whatever I want, when I go back in to the house I return the cup or mug. 0

 

No food or liquid held in the shop or brought down, however I sometimes bring a cuppah throat searing java with during the winter.

 

Part of why I use paper cups is that they don't sweat. I also sometimes use an insulated, sealed cup. Feels really good sometimes to just go out there to sit and tinker with hand tools, or just sit and read awhile. My wife has really gotten into oil painting lately and her studio is in the sun room so the aroma drifts into the rest of the house. What you smell is what you taste, which is part of why I tend to tank up out in the sheds. I have two now, first is the shop, second is a 10x12 I finished as my office. Nice to be out of the house, kind of like a short commute to work. The office is really comfortable summer and winter while the shop takes some heating or cooling to be really comfortable. I have a wireless remote that turns on the office heater from the house. Have, but not yet installed the same for the shop. AC has to be turned on manually.

My consulting work is largely a matter of writing, so having the outside office gives me peace and quiet. The shop occupies my mind. I think I'm a little like Oliver, always thinking through something or other. Back when I was a newspaper writer and editor, I learned to let my mind process information until the story just wrote itself. Still like that today. Also more or less like to write to deadlines. Woodworking is the opposite of that, and you produce something real and solid. In consulting its more about empowering the success of others.

Thanks guys for letting me share my wonderful back yard. It is a work of art. My dad was a landscaper/gardener and I swore I'd never stick my hands in dirt again. Well, If he were still around, he'd love hanging out in our back yard. But he'd be about 117 years old, so he'd probably leave the rocks where they are.

 

I stumbled across this thread today. I find it curious that I was mulling over the same question. Should I include a kitchen in the workshop.

My old house had an attached two car garage so popping into the house to get a drink or a bite to eat was never really an inconvenience. It was often welcome, in our Texas heat.

But now that I am making plans for a much larger building, I have decided to include a small kitchen and bathroom with shower. It will be nice to spread out and actually have a refuge of my own.

As far as drinks, I used to have a dedicated spot for my drinks so that, one, I could find it again, and two, so that it did not gt placed somewhere it should not. I just used old, scratched up CDs for coasters and a cover to prevent "lagniappe" from entering my drinks.

Thanks for your post and question. It has helped me finalize my decision.

 

I stumbled across this thread today. I find it curious that I was mulling over the same question. Should I include a kitchen in the workshop.

But now that I am making plans for a much larger building, I have decided to include a small kitchen and bathroom with shower. It will be nice to spread out and actually have a refuge of my own.

I really would like to have a bathroom in a shop, but its just not workable here. As I get older, that run to the house gets longer and longer.

 

okay...
slop sink, hopper and coffee bar..

 

I might take a cup of joe into the shop once in a while. Don't have room for a refer or microwave or anything else. Lucky to have all my tools in one place.