Workshop

Welcome Kenaba! When it comes to plans you should first off consider any building codes you might need to follow. I live just outside of Detroit, MI and here they have rules galore that you must adhere to. Is your shop to be used year round? Before you put up any framing you may want to consider an inexpensive heating design. A water heater attached to a recirculating pump and a grid of tubing under a cement floor provides inexpensive radiant heat. I wish somebody had mentioned this to me before I built my garage! Another thing to consider is your ceiling height. Lets say you are going to build a 5' tall bookcase. You may want to have it on your work bench for assembly. Since the average bench is around 3' tall you would have zero clearance. As a general rule it is cheaper to add more height than it is to add to length or width of a structure. Another thing to consider is wood storage. You can often get much better pricing on wood in larger quantity's, especially if it is rough cut. A storage system built on a wall is perfect for sorting different boards and keeping them flat, but it takes away from useable wall space. One solution is to add additional wall ties and go with overhead storage. Another is to extend your roofline on one side and build an enclosed rack with it's own door for access. Last and not least of my suggestions is to be sure you have adequate electrical supply to run a table saw and a dust collector along with your lighting. Often the supply is run underground in a pipe which must be allowed for before any type of floor is installed.
I hope these comments have been of some use to you or others considering building a shop. Plans are inexpensive to purchase but often will not consider a woodworker's special needs. Here are a few source's for plans:
www.ubild.com
www.ubuild.com
www.plansnow.com

I get my Cut Lists from the PC Program "CutList Plus"

Just Dan again to say that the program CutList Plus is great. I use it almost every day when laying out a project of any sort - and it tracks my inventory.

Contact info is

Bridgewood Design, LLC
977 Seminole Trail #145
Charlottesville, VA 22901

http://BridgewoodDesign.com
http://CutListPlus.com

Dan

kenaba said:

HI Guys
I am a new member to the forum and have recently retired.
I want to build a workshop but need a set of plans of some sort to show me how to build one which includes a cutting list.I am thinking on the lines of something like 20'x12' x8' high Has anyone got some plans i could use or adapt for my needs
I am from england and my hobbies are woodwork, computing, and adventure games.Hope someone can help
kenaba

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