Workshop...in the cellar or in the barn?

[ejb]

OK guys, given the choice, where would you rather be? I have always had my "shop" out in on of my outbuildings, its unheated, and tends to be cold/damp and has a dirt floor...and is a good 500 ft from the house. Makes it easy when I want to work on the tractor, or change oil etc, but most of what I want a shop for is for woodworking and other small projects. It also has a big negative effect on most of my metal tools which rust quickly out there...

I am in the midst of a complete kitchen re-do, including building all the cabinets, relocating walls etc, so my wife offered to let me use the attached garage during construction for convenince (its right off the kitchen) which is well lit, cement floor and nice and dry...I immediately moved all my tools in /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif...

Anyway, in a few months when my remodel winds up, I need to give up the garage (at least before winter). No chance of sharing it, I use too many tools and its not big enough for both of us...

So my question is, now having been spoiled, having a heated, well lit, easily accessible, dry workshop...should I just relocated down the cellar (which is huge and unused, and nice and dry), or move back to the barn/outbuilding, which, as I said is a little inconvient, and defintely on the cold/damp side?

On the one hand, being in the barn allows me to use paints, varnishes, oils etc, create a big mess of dust and not worry about air quality in the house from dust and fumes....on the other hand, I am much more productive when everything is more accessible in the house (which is where most of my work is done, in and around the house).

How many of you guys have a workshop in the cellar, versus in an outbuilding? Is the mess created in a cellar workshop difficult to control? Which would you pick and what are the pros and cons that I should factor into the decision?

 

[beenthere]

I have all three
One in the lower level, (basement).
One in the garage (same level as basement)
One in the shed.

The downside, is that the tools you want are always at the other place. But we still get both cars in the garage, all the 'toys' in the shed, and the basement shop is crowded but always the right temp - heated in winter and cooled in the summer.
I'd vote for all three.

 

[bczoom]

Looking at your profile, it appears you're retired. I actually hate to say it but the family in many respects comes into play (although probably not in your case).

In the basement, I couldn't keep the kids out. Wife didn't like the dust, fumes, noise... I moved mine to a detached building. Is "finishing" part of an outbuilding an option (heat, concrete...)?

Brian

 

[bobodu]

Basements are fine...but gravity is a drawback...up the stairs or down!! Can't get a nice ardmore out of the basement either.Keeping it clean is easy if you're not like me.I used a spray gun in my old house's basement when I lived in town.Lots of powered cross ventilation.Keep the tools dry...feed in lumber through a window.Take up some welding out in the barn in summer,do wood in the basement come winter.

 

[allpontiac]

In my last house, I had a 600 sq. ft. basement shop and loved it. Am building a new house right now and included a 1700 sq.ft. basement shop. Don't have to go out in the weather to go to the shop. Everything is dry and comfortable (has it own heat pump). Tools and equipment are, I believe, more secure in the basement that an outside building. Easy to move things around on the concrete floor and easy to keep clean. I do body work and painting on classic cars as a hobby and just use plenty of exhaust ventilation to keep the fumes from being a problem. Am building a 14 foot wide "dirty room" in the new basement for doing all things that make a mess like sanding, tractor work, etc. Wouldn't have my shop any where else.

 

[Egon]

Our basement has a drive in garage which now contains my woodworking tools. Maybe the worlds smallest shop. Much of my work has to be done outside due to the space restrictions. We have hot water heat so no air circulation to the upper floors.

A full basement shop may be okay for some projects but access, fumes and dust and wood shavings may be a concern you have to deal with.

Egon

 

[ctc1111]

I have both the Garage off the house and the basement. I used to be into wood working but then i discovered welding and metal fab so i started to part from lots of my wood shop tools but did not want to get rid of them because they can always come in handy. So i set up a Mechanic shop in the garage and a wood shop in the basement. In the garage i keep all the snap on mechanics tools, welders, drill press, bench top belt drum sander, parts washer sand blaster all that stuff and down in the basement i keep all the electric power tools circular saws, jig saws, table saw, belt sanders, and a small tool box with the basic screw drivers, pliers, chisels, ect.... Also I put a 80 gallon compressor in the basement and then plumbed it around the basement shop and then up into the garage with 3/4" steel piping since most my time is spent up in the garage i didn't want to hear it all the time. I also put DELTA dust colector in the basement and used 6 inch (or something can't remember) steel heating tubing and ran it around teh basement to the different tools and up to the sander and the sand blasting cabnet in the garage.

As for the dust problem in the basement this can easily be controled with a dust collector. Also something that helps is one of those celing mounted filteration systems that various manufactures sell such as JET and DELTA

 

[RalphVa]

I designed the drive-out basement of our new carriage house to be a workshop. It's about 25x25 but has rooms to each side of the double doors for pool change cabanas. I'm currently using it as a combination tractor and implement garage for my JD 4010 & LX4 cutter plus TroyBilt shredder and MacKissic shredder and garden growing rack area.

In the floor above are parked my Tacoma pickup and Gravely with its sulky and cart (that I now use on the JD).

There's walkup storage above the pickup/Gravely garage area.

Ralph

 

[Mike52]

Had a workshop in the basement once. Was nice and convenenient but the wife always complained when I fired up the radial arm saw and/or did any finishing work. The dust became a problem in the first floor as well....didn't have a dust management system although I should have.

Began doing tractor work in the barn.... cold, dirt floor, badly lit. But private and could cuss away as needed. Am now in the process of building a 24X30 detached workshop off of the regular two car garage. Its detached because the permit process is easier, but its only set about 14ft away from the house. I'll fill the space in with a brick patio and add a small storage building for the various yard and lawn tools later so I can keep the garae for the cars and the workshop for me.

I think its the best of both worlds....a detached building only a few steps of covered access from the living area.....

 

[AntrimMan]

My BIL and SIL, man and wife, are both professional union carpenters and very talented people indeed. When we finished building their home in rural CT they moved all the gear into the unfinished walk-out basement. Within a few months they installed a serious dust collection system, ducted to anything that spins. They have also constructed a spray booth in the rest of the basement. These folks build everything from bat boxes to sleigh beds.
That was approximately 10 years ago.
Every one was happy and content until just recently when they shared complaints about the dust and the smells invading the living space. It seem that for a long time they wern't bothered by any of this but are becoming fed up as of late. Now, returning to the house and smelling the fumes, etc. is just not pleasant.
So very soon we begin building a 24'x36' workshop adjacent to the main house with provisions for heat and water and waste. There will be no vehicles inside, just a shop.

The bottom line is people and attitudes may change over time.
Keep the dust, noise, fumes, etc. fresh in your mind and do what you are comfortable with. If you find you end up with a large empty outside building, just fill it with tractors and implements.
Do what you are comfortable with and don't look back.
Best of luck,
Martin