The Workshop-in-a-Garage

[ben1000]

Long time reader, first post in years.

I'm moving soon and am in the process of planning out the new shop; looking forward to posting as this progresses and to getting everyone's ideas.

For background, I currently have a finished 22'x22' 2-car detached and a 12'x20' shed that are each very multi-purpose. The garage is for the auto hobbies (VW buses), parking of 1 of the 2 commuters, some light metal fabrication/machining, and is generally the go-to spot for fixing/tinkering. The workspace in the current garage is just a counter/cabinets along the backwall. The shed stores the yard equipment, but also table saw and lumber.

I'll be moving to a 32'x34' 3-car and my goal is to better combine related things together into a dedicated workshop space. To do this I'm planning to partition off some of the garage's depth. This puts a limit on car length (18' from door to partition wall) but seems worth it to add more wall space in the shop area, allow for less heat/AC cost, and finally keep all the fabrication dust/grime off the cars.

The corner of the partitioned area will be 'knocked-off' to allow easier access around the far left (commuter) car from the center (commuter) car. French doors will connect the shop to the far right (Project car) area of the workshop when needed; this will also be the route for getting big projects in and out.

In the back corner the air compressor, dust collection, and vacuum will be in an insulated room with ventilation to outside. There is an existing door on the back of the garage that will provide access to an enclosed trailer that is used for storage of scrap/raw materials.

The new (to me) house has a shed also, but this will be just for the yard stuff this time.



Please let me know your thoughts - has anyone done anything similar? What am I missing? What should I be looking out for? Thanks!

 

[tjdux]

Consider adding a bump out for the air compressor and dust collector. Those few square feet will likely be worth it in the long run.

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[BoilermakerFan]

I agree with tjdux. Get those two major noise generators out of the garage if at all possible. Add on a little bump-out, insulate all the walls/roof and use solid core doors to close it off. The compressor will need vents so it can take in the atmosphere air. Putting vents in the doors is easiest but will be more noisy.

You don't have a location listed, but if you're anywhere that sees regular freezing temps, I would extend the tank drain out through the exterior wall but make sure it stay warm enough in the bump out to keep the drain from freezing or wrap it with heating tape so it doesn't freeze.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

View media item 71352

Is the rear man door existing or an addition you plan to make? If it is an addition, you may want to move the outside access door to the wall next to the trailer and I would make it at least a 36" wide door if not wider to make it easier to bring in long materials instead of trying to angle in through the french doors. You could always add a wide window on the wall too.

 

[ben1000]

Great idea on the bump-out. Funny too since I have one currently, not sure why it didn't occur to me to repeat this. I'm tearing this down at the old place anyways so I can probably re-use it even.

The man-door on the back is existing; but I'm thinking of a window in the back corner now that the compressor will be moving.

 

[ben1000]

Update below with a few changes:

- I received actual measurements of the new garage that revealed it's really more like 27'x36'. This is wider than I originally guessed, but also not as deep. The workshop area will now be 11'x30'; and max vehicle depth is 17'.

- Compressor/dust collection/vac moved to a lean-to shed off the back wall.

- French doors widened to 6'

- Window added in back corner

I should have plenty of storage with lots of room for wall cabinets, but the narrowness around the workbench has me worried - I'm considering making this either collapsible or possibly able to retract up to the ceiling when it's in the way. I still like the idea of an 'island' workbench though since currently I'm working on a bench against a wall - it's a real pain when working on larger stuff, constantly re-positioning.

 

[Cardboard Man]

It looks like you've put a lot of thought into this, and I like it overall. I would state however that once you put up permanent walls, it becomes hard to reconfigure things as your uses change in the building. By that I mean different cars, different hobbies, different needs for space.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

They make leveling casters. Put the assembly workbench on those leveling casters then you can roll it out of the way but it's solid when in use.

 

[ben1000]

When it comes to versatility & future use, agreed 100% - this makes the partition wall a tough choice. I think overall it's good for the benefits, but far from perfect and a lot of other things are going to have to compensate for this compromise.

The leveling casters tip led me down an internet rabbit hole; at the end of this hole was the idea to setup the island workbench on a motorcycle lift. Great for height adjustability, mobility, and store-a-bility; less great for under-bench storage. At the very least though I'll plan to put this bench on lifting casters; worst-case when lots of space is needed in the shop, it'd get rolled out into one of the commuter spaces. Also considering having 'wings' hinge down on the top so most of the time this bench would be narrow with the option to make it wide.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

When it comes to versatility & future use, agreed 100% - this makes the partition wall a tough choice. I think overall it's good for the benefits, but far from perfect and a lot of other things are going to have to compensate for this compromise.

The leveling casters tip led me down an internet rabbit hole; at the end of this hole was the idea to setup the island workbench on a motorcycle lift. Great for height adjustability, mobility, and store-a-bility; less great for under-bench storage. At the very least though I'll plan to put this bench on lifting casters; worst-case when lots of space is needed in the shop, it'd get rolled out into one of the commuter spaces. Also considering having 'wings' hinge down on the top so most of the time this bench would be narrow with the option to make it wide.

Nice! I was going to mention drop leaf sides too, but I wasn't sure how much weight you planned to put on the benchtop.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Any updates?