Some news + designing a dream workshop?

[demonx]

How would you design a ideal guitar workshop if you got to start from scratch? Layout, lighting, heating, insulation. My mind is cluttered with so many ideas I don't even know where to start.

The new:

The time has come that my partner and I are moving house. We've been at our current location for over a decade and it's long overdue for a change. We have bought a twenty acre property approximately 25 minutes south of Ballarat. When you enter the property you are greeted by a couple hundred meter long winding driveway that cuts through ten acres of bush, offering complete privacy from the road.

When you get to the end of the driveway the trees open to a elevated view which is overlooking a valley, the white weatherboard house perched right at the top. On the other side of the house is another ten acres of valley, which are surrounded by rolling hills and even more views for miles and more natural bush. When we saw it, we knew it was our little slice of paradise.

With this move though means the 15x9m workshop I currently operate from is now on the market and I need to design a new one - hence the pic of my CNC all packed up ready to be loaded onto a truck!

The property we're moving to currently has a 8X6m shed which I will temporarily work from doing setups and so forth so I can continue servicing the local customer base, but there is not enough room there to run my full workshop or even fit all my machinery, so a new, bigger and better work space is on the cards. I have lodged a planning permit with the local Shire to build a 21x12m shed (252 sq m), which will be nestled among the trees in the flattest part of the natural bush area.

It will be a great setting to be working on timber (or anything fir that matter!), surrounded by a bush setting, looking out the window at the trees and wildlife, there are a family of 35+ roo's that live in the area and I've been told spend a lot of time on our block which includes sleeping on our veranda! Echidna's, giant Wedge Tailed Eagles and all sorts of other local animals currently reside at or near the property.

The workshop:

So I know the "where", I know the "how big", my mind is now drawing a massive blank as to how to set it up and lay it all out so it's efficient and comfortable at the same time.

- I want to have a separate insulated room for the CNC.
- I want to have a timber storage area which is also insulated.
- I'll be hanging my two air filtration units above the main drum sanders and other "dusty" machines, I'll also have to purchase another one for the CNC room as I found the dust in there terrible on the lungs in the current workshop.
- I'm tinkering with the idea of LED lighting to save money and power, but the initial layout will be quite expensive - need to see options.
- I've been looking at commercial sized ceiling fans to move air around. I have a couple small house ceiling fans in my current workshop which are "ok", but larger ones would be much better.
- The walls and ceiling will have a thicker than standard sizilation, I'd like to panel the entire shed but it's certainly not affordable. Just the sizilation alone is quite costly as an initial expense.
- I want dedicated benches for glue ups as at the moment my panel saw doubles as my gluing station!
- More pallet racking, there never seems to be enough
- I want a proper spray room, in the past I've always had makeshift area. I've picked up a explosion proof booth fan, it's time I had a real spray room!
- Water tanks and a pump so I have running water
- There is a septic system not too far away, so I'm hoping I'll be able to install a toilet and get that hooked up also.
- I like the wood heater I have in my current workshop, so it's coming with me!

That is about as far as I've got! At this stage I'm going on the plan of moving in there and just seeing where everything lands.

There will be a lot of tree removal required, just under 400 sq m as there will be a 1.5m clearing around the shed and then a 1.5m 45 degree batter around the top portion of the shed as the earthworks will be cut and fill. I'll have a LOT of firewood I'm thinking!

Now for some audience participation!!!

If you were to setup a dream workshop from scratch, what would be important to you? What novelty ideas would be great? Throw your ideas at me!

[simso]

Room, room and more room is my idea of a dream workshop.

You will always fill what you have and want more

Steve

[kiwigeo]

Ya forgot the beer fridge!!!!

[demonx]

Ya forgot the beer fridge!!!!

I'm not a beer drinker and Whiskey keeps anywhere!

There'll be no social area in this shed, it'll be pure workshop.

Room, room and more room is my idea of a dream workshop.
Steve

I'd like to go bigger, but the $$$ get crazy every time I add something to the total, it's already up to stupid dollars.

[johnparchem]

For me it would be lots of natural light also really good dust collectors off the machinery.

[demonx]

For me it would be lots of natural light also really good dust collectors off the machinery.

I wanted skylights but can't have them due to the BALFZ fire codes, I will be putting in four windows with aluminium mesh in the main part of the workshop for light and ventilation.

One problem I have with my current workshop was I had Windows across an entire wall, but then that wall was wasted as I can't put things up against it like tool boards etc.

[routout]

Definitely find some LED's they are great now and almost no chance of fire ,I separated both 6x6 meter workshops sometimes it's a pain mostly it's a good way of keeping crap away from the wood,and ducted my extraction outside .The cnc soundproof would be a nice addition But I have to wear the fact mine is in the same room,seperate spray booth would be a great Idea.

[demonx]

The cnc soundproof would be a nice addition But I have to wear the fact mine is in the same room,seperate spray booth would be a great Idea.

In my current workshop the CNC resided in a 6x3m room that was insulated and had a plexiglass window for people to look through without having to wear PPE. It was also good for me to have it running and I was able to glance through the window to see where it's at.

The attached pic shows the inside of the room before I covered the walls.

I did have a separate paint room, I'd built the stud wall for it, bought the fan, just never got around to completing it.

[jeffhigh]

Humidity control to at least the Glue up and wood aclimitization areas.

[demonx]

Humidity control to at least the Glue up and wood aclimitization areas.

YES. This I need. It's something that I've let slide in the past but I'll have to look into it in this new place. Great suggestion.

[kiwigeo]

Humidity control to at least the Glue up and wood aclimitization areas.

YES. This I need. It's something that I've let slide in the past but I'll have to look into it in this new place. Great suggestion.

Consider beefed up insulation and sealing of gaps as well as the traditional dehumidifier. I used to run my dehumidifier around the clock until I realized that the beefed up insulation in my shop meant that the humidity and temperature stay surprisingly stable throughout most of the year.

[jeffhigh]

And a good vapour barrier under the slab, sometimes omitted cause "it's just a shed"

[demonx]

And a good vapour barrier under the slab, sometimes omitted cause "it's just a shed"

I was under the impression that is standard in all slabs these days? My current shed has a moisture barrier and I never asked for it. Didn't know anything about them until I had one an asked its purpose.

I'll have to check if it's in the quote. Pays to be safe.

[kiwigeo]

Also note that while your concrete floor is curing it's releasing moisture...this can go on for months after the slab is laid.

[Dave M]

I would aim for something a bit softer than concrete on the floor. Both for your feet and the dropped chisels!

[lauburu]

I would aim for something a bit softer than concrete on the floor. Both for your feet and the dropped chisels!

Agree. A slightly raised ply floor is much kinder on both feet and chisels and allows easy (re) routing of electrical cables under the floor to tools anywhere in the shop.

Sounds like a great project. Congratulations and good luck
Miguel

[demonx]

I would aim for something a bit softer than concrete on the floor. Both for your feet and the dropped chisels!

At my current workbench I actually have a piece of carpet so it softens the floor. Ive also got one of the rubber mats you see in factories

[demonx]

A slightly raised ply floor is much allows easy (re) routing of electrical cables under the floor to tools anywhere in the shop.

Electricity will be overhead and on walls same as my current workshop.

A plywood floor would be dangerous, especially with forklifts having to move around on it and several tonnes of machinery.

[lauburu]

specially with forklifts having to move around on it

OK. So not your average workshop. Sounds like an exciting challenge
Miguel

[demonx]

specially with forklifts having to move around on it

OK. So not your average workshop. Sounds like an exciting challenge
Miguel

I've been working in industrial workspaces employed by large international companies for years now so my own personal "workshop" will reflect this.

Having large machinery means you have to plan the logistics for said machinery, my CNC for example weighs around a tonne and is the size of an average car, so a forklift is needed to move it. My thicknesser weights about 450kg, my drum sander weights 380kg from memory, my panel saw is somewhere under 400kg, keep adding each machine the weight goes up and up. These aren't "hobby" machines that you find in a "garage", these are "business" machines that you'd find in a "workshop".

Add timber stocks. Several tonnes there. It's all things that have to be allowed for and calculated, especially when I was considering a mezzanine, you have to calculate the load ratings for the framework based on your estimated weight etc etc, however once the dollars were calculated it worked out about twenty thousand cheaper to go out as opposed to up.

[demonx]

Humidity control to at least the Glue up and wood aclimitization areas.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of the larger solar powered units that run on their own solar panel similar to a hot water service?

I'm thinking one of those could operate 24/7 on its own power supply, making it more long term cost efficient.

[demonx]

Bit of an update:

[demonx]

Bit of an update:

[demonx]

Slab is finshed, in about a week the shed itself will be going up.

[demonx]

Before that there was tree lopping, excavation and trenching for power