Hello everybody! This is my first thread on this forum, so please be patient with me if there are posting problems.
My wife and I bought a house several months ago that needed a lot of work, we've fixed up the inside and are working on the landscaping now. In one corner of the property is a nice little building that I've reserved as a shop (with the wife's blessing, of course ). The building measures 24' x 35' inside and is split into two rooms. One of the rooms is about half the size of the other and has some serviceable wall paneling and industrial carpet installed already. I really couldn't do any better for a shop with an attached office!
I would like to use the larger side of the building as a combination wood/machine/fabrication shop if that is practical, at least until I can figure out which of my hobbies I'd like to focus on. The problem is, I have no idea how to lay the building out to make it the most useable. Does anybody have suggestions on the best way to lay out a shop?
I took some measurements and made a simple floor plan in DraftSight.
![](http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r677/rockknocker11/Shop20130924_zpsae0d773e.jpg)
The existing floor plan is in white, possible locations for future countertops are green. There are two overhead doors (one 5' wide, one 6') and three windows, all are serviceable and don't appear to leak. The walls appear to be insulated but I haven't taken off the chipboard nailed to them to make sure. The floor is cement and fairly flat, with only minor cracking here and there.
There are several things that need to happen to make this a nice shop:
Countertops: I'd like to have a lot of work area, so I'll probably put countertops along most of the inside wall. Most of my machinery is benchtop sized, so that eats up a lot too. I have a MicroMark 7x10" lathe, a bench bandsaw, a borrowed Craftsman benchtop wood lathe, a small welder, and am looking for more.
Electrical: The shop currently only has one 15A 110V circuit and a 15A 220V circuit, which is dedicated to a wall heater. The wiring is iffy, at best. I've lined up an electrician buddy to help me run a 60A 220V circuit to the shop to its own panel, from there I'll branch out to the lighting, outlets, and heater. There is a lot of left over 14awg wire and hardware left over from the house, I plan to use that in the shop.
Lighting: Two bare bulbs supply lighting for one side, one dim fixture lights up the other. I've been grabbing old fluorescent fixtures for a year now in anticipation of this build, so I should end up with some pretty good illumination in the end.
Misc: A dust and fume extraction system would be great to have, and I have several parts for it already. That project would probably warrant its own thread. I'd also like to build a paint booth for small parts, something like the fume hoods that I saw at a local college.
As this project progresses I'll post updates and pictures. Next to come are some real pictures of the shed, I haven't taken any since we bought the place but the shed was full of the previous owner's "valuables" so you can't see much of it. With winter starting up I won't be able to work outside as much and will therefore be working on this more!
Any input is greatly appreciated, some of the other workshop projects on this site are very impressive! I can only hope that mine is useable by the time it's finished.