Wobblycogs Workshop Build

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wobblycogs

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We've are just embarking on the road of having an extension built which will include a garage that I'll be using as a workshop and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a WIP thread. I'm also going to be covering the build in detail on my site http://www.wobblycogs.co.uk/index.php/home-renovation/extension but if people would like I'll post the most interesting bits here too.

So far I've sat down with SketchUp for many a long hour and come up with a design that my wife and I liked. We ran that design past the listed building officers and they were fairly positive about it which was good. We then gave the design to an architect to turn into real plans which have turned out pretty much as we expected. This post on my site http://www.wobblycogs.co.uk/index.p...nsion/47-meeting-the-listed-building-officers shows the over all design if anyone is interested. There were a few fairly minor changes like the removal of the door on the left and the addition of a roof terrace (which we probably won't be allowed) but the basic design is the same.

Anyway, the space I have to work with for a workshop is shown in the two attachments. In total it's around 24 sq m (250sq feet) so not the worlds largest workshop but better than the bedroom I'm currently working in. In my original plan the space was quite a bit larger as I had misjudged the angle of the of the right hand wall - I suppose that's why you hire an architect. I also hadn't planned on having to have a door at the back (the one opening into the shop) but it is necessary to separate the garage from the new cellar entrance we're fitting.

Although we haven't got planning permission yet I don't think we'll hit any major problems other than the roof terrace which won't affect the shape and size of the workshop. As such I'm going to start designing the shop now, since it's not exactly enormous I want to make the best use of space I can. My current plan is to put a stud wall across the garage door opening and to run a single long bench along the left hand wall (the wall with the door opening out). I've got rough sketches of this plan which I'll try and get into SU in the next day or two.

I'd best say now, this isn't going to be a quick process. I'd be surprised if I have the workshop fully fitted out by this time next year as I have the rest of the house to fix up as well. Should be fun though and I love getting feed back.
 

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Doh, yes, silly me. I've just taken the site off line so that I can work on configuring a new server and VPN system for work. I knew there was a reason I was going to wait until tonight to post.

I'm going to have to dig out your build thread and see if there are any updates. Last I saw it was plastered and, I think, painted. I'd love to do the work myself but I know I'd never complete it and there's a bit too much work that could result in the rest of the house falling down :)
 
wobblycogs":10zv5wn0 said:
Doh, yes, silly me. I've just taken the site off line so that I can work on configuring a new server and VPN system for work. I knew there was a reason I was going to wait until tonight to post.

I'm going to have to dig out your build thread and see if there are any updates. Last I saw it was plastered and, I think, painted. I'd love to do the work myself but I know I'd never complete it and there's a bit too much work that could result in the rest of the house falling down :)

Yes - last time it was painted and plastered and now it's just cluttered up with stuff from the house and the (current) garage. The new garage has been put on hold whilst the house moves on - Wifey would like it moving on, but it's really getting annoying for me (the living in\on a building site thing).

Going to try and keep the middle 1/3 (in front of the door) with the bench so that I can at least do something. :lol: Either that or bin stuff (if it hasn't been used for yrs and isn't likely to be either) as it comes out of where it is now, on the way to the shed, so the shed doesn't get anymore cluttered up.

Dibs
 
So, as promised, here's the layout that I've come up with. Comments / criticisms are more than welcome as I'm not 100% happy with it myself. The main problem I have with it is that it feels like it's a bit cluttered and I've only put in the big bits of kit.

The two red items are there just for scale. The sheet on the floor is an 8x4 and the long piece is an 8` 2x4 (everything is in metric actually but it's so clumsy to write in metric sizes). The light green items are the stud work blocking the garage door and the boiler which probably has to go there.

My aim was to have an bench that had an 8x4 top but looking at the plan I think it might be a bit of a squeeze. The planer is actually a planer thicknesser and will be on a mobile base. Directly under the boiler you can just see a blue box which represents the dust extractor. I'll probably look at running in some 100mm piping for it.

The SCMS is causing me some headaches. As you can see it's hanging over the work surface by quite a bit (it's a Makita 1214 so a brute of a saw and I love it). The problem is the slide moves back about 350mm. I'm wondering if I might have to swap it for a Kapex or find out if Bosch have started selling the funny double jointed SCMS over here yet.

I used to quite enjoy some turning so I'll like to get the lathe set up but I'm starting to think that I might have to relegate that to the dungeon, I mean cellar. None of the other machinery can really go down there as it has seriously limited head room.

Anyway, that's now far I've got for now. We've had a call from the architect and apparently he thinks we should submit slightly revised plans which should ease the planning process a little.
 

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wobblycogs":2ct2uvls said:
The main problem I have with it is that it feels like it's a bit cluttered and I've only put in the big bits of kit.

A bit cluttered, Wobblycogs!!!

Try to fit yer gear in a standard single garage, that also contains every other item of family paraphenalia that is deemed not allowed anywhere else! (hammer)

I have to weave my way through it all just to get to my lathe, let alone anything else. My cunning plan has been to 'save' a discarded 7' by 6' shed from a friend to store stuff during the extension and garage build, then leave all non-boy toy stuff in there afterwards - Cunning! :lol:

I like your plans, by the way and in all seriousness, I do sympathise - Once you start to put in tools, storage, etc, actual workspace seems to get swallowed up in no time.

Good luck with it.

Greg
 
Cheers :)

I'm perhaps a little less than enthusiastic because one of the things we said when we bought this house four years ago was that we would build a decent space for a workshop. The world has conspired against me though and I've ended up with something less than I hoped for. I had hoped to also use the cellar as well but we got less than positive noises from listed building when we mentioned tanking it and it's too damp to leave tools down there.

I suppose there's nothing else for it, I'll just have to win the lottery!
 
Morning wobblycogs,

Yes, the Bosch SCMS is available over here, and it is a bit of a brute, but feels good to use (I tried it at Grahams in Chester).
What a crying shame that you can't have, at least, a rectangle to work with :cry: Greg's suggestion of a separte, reasonably cheap shed/sheds that you can beef up waterproof wise for storing smaller timber and tools that don't get used frequently, would be a good move, and relieve the pressure on the workshop. And how long did you spend drawing the machines on your layout - very nice. I am sure that Sketchup should be a listed as a dangerous drug, as it is so addictive...and have you tried sketchyphysics yet? That is even worse :) :)

Best wishes with the build, and the wrestle with the Planners - the roof terrace sounds a great use of the space, but Planners are an aesthetically challenged lot. :evil: :evil: :roll:

Regards.....Dick.
 
Hi Dick,

I can't take credit for drawing the tools, they are available in the SketchUp 3D Library: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/. I just picked the one that looked closest to what I have and then scaled it to match the size of my tool. I normally just use bounding boxes for tools as you can't pack them in tightly so a box is as good as an accurate drawing, I thought I'd splash out on some real models though as I was posting here :D

Time for an update though...

Planning and listed building have been around to look at the site. Surprisingly listed building were really positive about the build, they had a couple of very minor changes like swapping PVC downpipes for iron or aluminium. Planning were generally positive as well but unfortunately it would seem the guy had failed his tape measure operators course as he ended up claiming the front of a garage was half way down the drive. The planner and the architect are currently debating who is correct (I've remeasured and I'm sure the architect is correct). With any luck that'll be sorted soon and we'll be able to get permission and get cracking with finding a builder / getting the thing built.
 

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