My wife and I recently moved into a new house (the LAST move ever!). Two of the most compelling features of the house are a really nice kitchen (her requirement) and a really nice basement space for a shop (my requirement). The shop area has a lot going for it, including size (aprox 750 sqft), a 100 amp sub-panel already in place, and large french doors leading out to the yard. My plan is to add a mini-split, so I am currently in the process of studding up the perimeter walls over the reinforced concrete so that I can add insulation as well as have an easier time of adding stuff to the shop walls. (I owe a big thanks to Phil S for helping me figure out how to deal with some of specific quirks of building in a basement area. I was literally at the point of "paralysis by analysis"....every time I looked at the situation I would change my mind as to how I should tackle it...thank you Phil!).
As the work progresses, I'll probably do what Ken (KenOfCary) did for his new shop walls, T1-11 or plywood. This leads me to a couple of questions. I'll be doing the wiring myself. This could be a mistake as I am not an electrician, but I have done some small scale wiring, including adding additional circuits/breakers. What I want to do is pretty basic stuff, so I am relatively confident. Reviewing some of the recent posts on this site from those who have built shops I noticed that some chose to run wiring behind the walls while others ran wiring in conduit along the walls. Advantages/disadvantages? While I do like the cleaner look of no conduit, I can see a real advantage with not having to deal with all of the cut-outs for the switches/receptacles.
My other question has to do with the ceiling. My current idea is to simply panel the ceiling with 1/4 plywood screwed directly to the floor joist above. The joist are currently exposed with fiberglass insulation wedged between. Even with a decent dust collection system I will be creating some sawdust, which I don't want to accumulating on the fiberglass (if I don't cover the insulation, I can envision an ever present rain of dust every time a small breeze is created in the shop). Is there a better ceiling alternative that I should be considering?
I am sure I will have other questions for the group as this shop journey continues.
Donn
As the work progresses, I'll probably do what Ken (KenOfCary) did for his new shop walls, T1-11 or plywood. This leads me to a couple of questions. I'll be doing the wiring myself. This could be a mistake as I am not an electrician, but I have done some small scale wiring, including adding additional circuits/breakers. What I want to do is pretty basic stuff, so I am relatively confident. Reviewing some of the recent posts on this site from those who have built shops I noticed that some chose to run wiring behind the walls while others ran wiring in conduit along the walls. Advantages/disadvantages? While I do like the cleaner look of no conduit, I can see a real advantage with not having to deal with all of the cut-outs for the switches/receptacles.
My other question has to do with the ceiling. My current idea is to simply panel the ceiling with 1/4 plywood screwed directly to the floor joist above. The joist are currently exposed with fiberglass insulation wedged between. Even with a decent dust collection system I will be creating some sawdust, which I don't want to accumulating on the fiberglass (if I don't cover the insulation, I can envision an ever present rain of dust every time a small breeze is created in the shop). Is there a better ceiling alternative that I should be considering?
I am sure I will have other questions for the group as this shop journey continues.
Donn