Empty garage!

dazart

New User
Steve
We're moving into a new construction in November. It's empty - No cabinets, no storage, nothing. The only thing that could impact where I put something is a drop down ladder to get into some storage space above the garage.

Are there any good places to kind of figure out how to lay it out? I think I'll still need to be semi-mobile in case we need to put one of our vehicles in the garage, but I doubt we'll ever put 2 in it.

Feels like it's Christmas.

 

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
I used a program called ezshop. (I think) it's been a while. Grizzley has a similar program. Try Google. :)
 

Canuck

Wayne
Corporate Member

I think is the app Fred was referring to above

Wayne
 

Dave Richards

Dave
Senior User
Of course I would do it in SketchUp. :D You can probably find all the tools and cabinets you need in the 3D Warehouse and by working in 3D, you can consider the heights of things (infeed/outfeed, hanging things above or below other things and such) in addition to their footprints.
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
IF possible, get as many outlets installed prior to them finishing the electrical. It is easier now while it is being built than later when you want to run them.
 

dazart

New User
Steve
We're going Saturday to show it to the parents, so I'll try to remember to take some.
 

SteveHall

Steve
Corporate Member
I recommend using graph paper and a pencil and draw your space at 1/4" = 1'-0". Then draw all your equipment the same way and cut out the pieces, moving them around until you find a solution. Most helpful is to include the working clearances for each tool (in and outfeed) and coordinate them to minimize wasting space.
 
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NOTW

Notw
Senior User
I was in the same boat around a year ago, so I can tell you what I did that worked and what I should have done. What worked was that all my tools were already on casters so I could move them around easily. I started by placing the large items, table saw, workbench and lumber (I am a bit of a lumber hoarder :eek:). With having everything on wheels including my dust collector I find that I move machines around based on project I am working on. For example when I was making american flags I was going back and forth between the bandsaw, planer and jointer so I moved the three of them together so I wouldn't have to walk as much. The other thing I did was add a bunch of LED light to the ceiling to make the area brighter.

Now what I wish I would have done was run all the electrical. I've been in this house a year and am still running off drop cords and it is annoying. So if you can run your electrical outlets and lights now even if you aren't 100% on placement of machines. It is easier to move a conduit and single feeder than it is to install everything after the fact.
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
I recommend that you put down Dricore R+ down over the concrete floor.


It adds a little insulation but the big thing is it will make your knees and feet feel much better. It holds up to heavy equipment no problem. Has channels to allow any moisture to run underneath it if that is ever a problem. About $2 per square foot. Well worth it. Paint it grey or some other neutral color. I made the mistake of using a clear poly on my first shop floor and found the random pattern of the OSB upper layer to work just like camouflage when a screw fell on the floor. It's a floating floor with T&G panels that are very easy to put down - if you do it before the equipment is placed.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I think I'll still need to be semi-mobile in case we need to put one of our vehicles in the garage, but I doubt we'll ever put 2 in it.
new garage

Is your new home under construction and the garage is already built? It's likely that the electricians have already installed the electrical outlets in the garage walls and ceiling (duplex receptacles, 110 v, 15 amp circuits on a GFI in the walls only).
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I can't see any of the electrical receptacles along the walls. How many are there on each wall? You have at least one ceiling receptacle that the garage door opener and light are connected too from what I can tell.
 

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
My previous workshop I laid out meticulously using AutoCad. It was good.

The new workshop was a crazy busy time, with building house at the same time, removing trees (1,500 trees), landscaping and trying to do all in 6 months. There was no time to plan shop layout.

I just put 240V and 120V outlets side by side every 6’ in the walls and a row of 240V outlets in the floor where I thought the bigger machines would go.

Once the truck arrived with all the stuff I decided what goes where, moved things around a bit and it all worked out fine.

To the OP a ruler, paper, pencil and eraser would do you just fine if you like to plan.
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
Are there any good places to kind of figure out how to lay it out? I think I'll still need to be semi-mobile in case we need to put one of our vehicles in the garage, but I doubt we'll ever put 2 in it.
Shops evolve, and it is really difficult to get it perfect the first time around. Tool placement is important, but that's the easy thing to change if you don't like the setup. There are four things you want to do up front:

(1) Electrical. Get a bunch of outlets. If you plan to use 240V tools, add at least one 240V on every wall. It's helpful to have multiple sockets on different circuits next to each other so you can plug in a router into one and the dust collector in the one beside it. I have 42 outlets on 10 circuits and I honestly believe I have finally discovered the Question to the Answer about Life, the Universe, and Everything ("How many outlets should a shop have for a woodworker to be happy?")

Surface mounted conduit allows for some flexibility in layout over time. I used it in my shop. In retrospect, I should have just cut a trench in the drywall and ran Romex. It's cheaper and much faster than learning how to bend conduit. More importantly, the conduit takes up space. Also, I put the outlet boxes where there were studs to screw into. That limits where you can hang things like cabinets, lumber racks etc. But it does look very industrial, and when I upgraded my table saw it was easy to replace the 12 gauge with 10 gauge wire.

(2) Flooring. Once the tools and cabinets are in, you'll never get around to flooring. I really like the Dricore product Ken recommended. If I ever redo my floor, I will use that or some sort of oak strip flooring you can put over concrete. Much easier to stand on for longer periods of time, and the insulation factor is big.

(3) Lights. Think about how many 4ft bulbs you want, then double it. Now is the time to do it when you have easy access and can move a ladder around

(4) Paint. Offwhite is boring, but it adds a ton of light to the space. Even better would be to put up some sort of wood paneling, but that's not cheap and also requires quite a bit of effort.
 

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