Birdman’s Studio / Home Machine Shop

Hello everyone!
I’ve been inspired and learned a lot from this community and finally have enough progress to start a build thread. I will be converting a small attached 2-car garage into a useful and comfortable workshop / studio.

The Vision:
This garage will not just be my workshop, but a studio for me and my family / friends to enjoy together and build projects in. I’ve never really liked the term “maker,” but I think it can be applied here as a “makerspace”. I like to be creative and build things. I’ve done a lot with wood but prefer to work with steel and aluminum. I also try to do as much of my own car repair and maintenance as possible, and have an electronics background.

Previous Basement Workshop:
View media item 67972I originally started with a workshop in my parents’ basement, and anything automotive related was kept in their garage. This was great at the time, but since buying my own house I have been craving a proper workshop again. The new space will be slightly smaller but I’m looking forward to being able to keep all my tools in one room.

The Layout:
View media item 67973Overall garage dimensions are 18’x20’ but there is a build-out that unfortunately reduces the useful floor space to around 18’x15’, so garage floor and wall space is at a premium. I need the garage to fit a 10” lathe, mill/drill, horizontal bandsaw, welding equipment and a workbench. I also want enough space to pull a car in for maintenance and repair. This is a tough order so I took the time to draw out the space in AutoCAD to scale and figure out the ideal layout. I am pretty satisfied with the results. There will be cabinets above all the benches and overhead shelves higher up on the walls above the garage door.

Electrically, I added a 60A subpanel in the garage. This makes wiring simple and flexible, especially with the 240V machines. I kept the lights on the original garage circuit so that I can easily switch off the main on the subpanel to kill all the machinery outlets for safety with curious little kids around. For lighting I'm planning to have four 4' T8 fixtures on the ceiling plus task lighting over the workbenches.

Heat & Insulation:
I will be insulating and drywalling, installing a 5000W electric heater, and adding a ceiling fan. The walls are being insulated with R12 fiberglass batts and I will blow fiberglass in the ceiling to around R30.

So that is my plan for my garage. I will update this post as I progress with the build and hopefully it will be something I can be proud of. Hopefully some others will be able to learn from my experiences. I’d love to hear comments or questions.

Originally the garage door was suspended from the ceiling. I'm planning to build shelving around the perimeter of the walls, so the door supports would be in the way. I was able to redo the garage door hangers and attach them to the walls. This way they are just as solid and are much less obtrusive. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Before:
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and after (on the other side):
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The wiring and insulation stages are complete and I hired a company to begin drywalling. They started today and should have it boarded and taped this week. I normally do everything myself but I've got a deadline to have the machines moved out of my parents house by the end of February so things have to happen quickly!

Drywall guys were here today and got the ceiling boards up. Obviously there's still a lot left to do but I'm starting to picture this as a future workshop and not just a place where I throw junk.
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Speaking of junk, my lovely wife has let me move everything that was in the garage into our family room until the garage is complete.
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This is chaotic and stressful but is giving me the motivation to get the garage completed ASAP. Stay tuned for updates!

What's this structure? And can it be removed?

Nice project, looking forward to see the rest

Antoine

Another update: the drywall is finished and painted. This was the first time I hired someone to work on my house; last year my wife and I completely gutted and renovated the main floor and basement of the house doing everything ourselves. I worried that anyone I hired wouldn’t have the same attention to detail that I normally have, but fortunately the guy did a great job. I also had him build-out and insulate the bottom 3’ of wall which is poured concrete. In total he worked for 13 days straight, always with at least 1 helper, so it would have taken me months to finish in my spare time.

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Last week I had my lathe, mill/drill and horizontal bandsaw moved from my parent’s basement to the new garage. They just sold their house so I was in a rush to prepare the garage to receive the machines. Next step will be installing electrical receptacles and light fixtures. After that I need to put up work benches, mount wall cabinets, and build overhead storage shelves. I’m planning to mount six 4’ T8 fluorescent fixtures. I really wanted LED but the pricing just isn’t there yet. My total cost for T8 fixtures and bulbs is under $150, and the energy savings from LED would take over 10 years to break even at my estimated usage.

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I’m considering fancier wall paint schemes but that’s low priority for me right now. The floor is another consideration. I love the look of epoxy but want to be able to weld and walk on metal chips from the lathe without worrying. Also the $350+ price tag is tough to justify for such a small space. I’m seriously considering just using cheap garage floor paint (“1-part epoxy”) and planning to re-touch it yearly or as needed. I was happy with it in my previous basement workshop, and this will be similar except for the occasional car being parked on it. If I want epoxy the concrete needs to be grinded down first anyway, so I figure there isn’t much to lose if I try a coat of cheap paint first. That will be happening later this summer at the earliest.

bl00: The built-out space is a stairway that leads from the side of the house to an apartment in my basement. Of course this isn't ideal but the apartment is paying down my mortgage so I live with it as-is.

TRS83: Thanks for your comments. It is exciting but I can’t wait until the day I can actually start using the space as a workshop. Stay tuned for future updates!

looking good.

This is a very nice start to your new shop. The drywall looks great and it will greatly enhance your work area. Looks like all your preps, work, and plans have been well thought out. I will be interested in watching it all come together!!

Best Regards
Herb Spencer