Workshop Redesign

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UKTony

Established Member
Joined
12 Nov 2004
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Location
Stevenage
I have finally had it, after a weekend in the igloo my feet are still blue the next day despite 3 pairs of socks and i have frostbite from Robert Sorby despite every portable heater on at full pelt i normally avoid woodwork at this time of the year where possible but the lathe has taken over my soul.

So after a conversation last night with her Multitude its time for a rethink, i have a double garage with a large apex roof which is floorboarded for storage, two metal garage doors, single brick and a concrete floor no insulation whatsoever and the garages ares solely used for woodwork

There are heaps of posts especially by Waka which i have read i have some basic questions.


1. Can i get away with insulating the roof apex and boarding up the garage doors or should i consider the walls and floors

2. My benches are a mixture old kitchen units and home made 6ft benches, i want to change them all is the general consensus to put power tools on individual wheeled benches (axminster type) or build fixed units around the edge,

3. Software - is there a simple MFI kitchen style shareware/cheap prog i can download which would help with the design


4. Pictures - inspiration needed i have looked at some of the pics on the site of members workshops which are fantastic, does anyone who hasn't posted have a pic they could upload or email me


Many many thanks in advance

Tony the Snowman
 
Hi Tony

I would definitely insulate the floor and walls. The difference is amazing.

This is a mock-up of what I did: -

www.pbase.com/the_carters/image/30624063/small

You can increase the size by clicking medium/large.

I used some free workshop design software and I will find out tonight where I got it from. If I forget, feel free to pm me as a reminder.

Cheers
Neil
 
Snowman

I kniow exactly what you are going through, before I did mine I had the same problem in the winter.

I think you should really consider the floor, if it's concrete like mine then a lot of cold comes up through the floor. regarding the walls, being single skin I wanted to stop the damp.

So how effective was my insulation effort, well I have a B&Q oil filled heater in the workshop, with the setting not even 50% and the workshop is now cosy, or so my flurry bundle tells me.

One thing I haven't done yet is board in the joist holding up the flat roof, not sure whether i'll need to do that.

So, I'm happy, my tools are happy and I can continue attempting to make things all year round.
 
Tony,
I recently boarded over and insulated one door of my double garage and insulated the other with 50mm rockwool slab(whilst still allowing it to operate!)
Have a look here...
garage4.jpg

2004_1013garagedoor0001.jpg

Made a HUGE difference (as well as an oil filled rad!!)
cheers
Philly :ho2
 
Philly

I'm really disappointed; you are showing pic's and there are no tool gloats in there. Wake up man and gloat, gloat, gloat.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
 
Workshop design software - I used EasyShop Shop Designer.

If you can afford to put a level, insulated floor of ply or board of some sort, do so. I haven't, and it's a major pain in the neck. I now have most of the floor covered with anti-fatigue matting, but it's still not level of course. For walls, if you do them (and I would), I favour lining them with board that'll take fixings rather than plasterboard. Saves you having to find the studs every time. We used 12mm OSB and it's been great, fwiw. As far as heating goes, I've got an oil-filled rad too, but the workshop's just too large for it so I keep it right by the bench and just heat the important bits. i.e. me. For really cold weather I put on the infra-red heater which heats objects i.e. me and not the air. If all that doesn't work, I start planing something...

I started out with lots of fixed bench top, but now I haven't any at all. It's just too limiting if you want to change things round. If you can leave a clear area of wall at floor level you'll be surprised how useful it'll be.

Pictures - putting a workshop tour on my website has been on the tuit list for a while now.
blush2.gif
But should it be any use, there's some untweaked pics looking round clockwise. They were taken in August, and already out of date.
unsure.gif


http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/001workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/002workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/003workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/004workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/005workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/006workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/007workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/008workshop.JPG
http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/009workshop.JPG

Cheers, Alf
 
Philly":3mxt9f5x said:
Did I see TWO bandsaws then???
You know how certain people don't like having to change bits in a router? Well...
wink.gif
Fact is the Elu is of more value to me than any money I'd get for it, so I didn't see any point in selling it when I got the Jet. I've got room for it (just), so why not? They're both definitely users though.
tounge.gif


Cheers, Alf
 
tony the snowman working in a (double garage )will be cold :?
but if you had said working in a large workshop, you might have got some sympathy ,but hey some of use poor souls have to work in shoe boxes . we feel it for him dont we guys having to work in all that space :wink: :wink:
 
Alf,
Thanks for the tour! I see your Galoot Toolbox has acquired a mobile base - rope handles too much for our lady woodworkers? (Not being sexist really, they certainly would be too much for me :lol: )
 
frank":2dmm5e5r said:
tony the snowman working in a (double garage )will be cold :?
but if you had said working in a large workshop, you might have got some sympathy ,but hey some of use poor souls have to work in shoe boxes . we feel it for him dont we guys having to work in all that space :wink: :wink:

Frank right now i would be happy in your shoebox as long as its warm and snug and room enough for the lathe, but remember size is not everything its the quality that counts 8)
 
After the glue up from Hell during the coldest weekend of the winter (so far at least) I can more than sympathise Tony... C/H boiler went belly up on Friday night... trying to maintain temps above freezing with a pathetic little 1KW heater was a joke... I got away with it tho..... just....
 
Hi Tony,

I have a workshop that was built as a workshop by the chap we bought the house from, but it looks like a garage from the front, very large doors. I have just fitted 1" polystyrene sheet in the back of the doors, I have started lining them with hardboard. I cannot hang things on the inside on them as I don't think the frames are up to it.

I have a wood burner, its great. However how close are your neighbours? I have had a problem with one complaining about the smoke, the council chap was very helpful and I think it will be OK now the flue is taller. It’s a great way of getting full value from the wood you buy, any sawdust and planning’s go in the burner = free heat.

I am in the process on lining the roof space under the rafters with rock wool. I can see the effect of this when we have a frost, after the fire has been alight for 30 minutes the frost goes from the un-insulated parts.

I have got round draft proofing the doors and edge of the roof, the chap we bought from was into blacksmithing so heat lose we not high on his list of things sort out!

The insulation I have in place has reduced the time it takes for the shop to get to a workable temperature. It will be better when its all done

The other thing to think about if you are warming the air, hot air rises, OK not rocket science but the roof space it the warmest part of the shop. I have built a cyclone, which vents up into the roof space displacing the warm air. I run it for a couple of minutes picking up cold air from the floor furthest from the wood burner to even out the temperature in the shop.
 
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