What size shop works for you?

[Guest]

plywood; sheet rock come in 4x8 sheets; studs 16" on center 8' long. High ceilings 2 sheets high(16'). Don't wast materials. Figure your square footage using these guides. Plenty of windows reduces the need for many lights, which should be the new LED lamps. Each 220vac machine have it's own plug, each plug 4ft high. Lights against walls, to eliminate shadows. Dust collection (Y's) and (45 degrees) are the most expensive part of ducting.  Air conditioning;  toilet pluming, water supply and drainage. Material storage etc etc. Make it BIG.    

[BloomingtonMike]

Does your zoning dictate how many sq non primary residence you can have?

40X64X16 2560sq and a 2 car detached 1000sq is where I am at. Its a long transition.

[fredhargis]

My last 2 shops were 24x28x9, and 24x32x8. That size was really comfortable (for a hobbyist), and I would have given up the extra 4 feet on the second one to have the higher ceiling. But we've moved and I have one under construction at the moment. It's 32x50x10, but at least 20' of it (maybe more) will replace a pole barn we used to have. That part will hold the tractor attachments,etc, and allow for car tinkering.

[SteveS]

When my dad was renting out some commercial space for his remodel business I found it very adequate (3000 ft^2). My 746  ft^2 garage is woefully inadequate even though no cars occupy any of the space. I have too little space for all the wood I have. My grandad stored a lot of lumber in his house for lack of space, but the wife isn't having any of that.

I think if I had 1200 ft^2 it would be adequate.

[Woodshop]

lay out your shop on paper the way it is now, lay out shop the way you would like it to be and submit to wife. Doubling your size is a good place to start.
leave space to add tools.

[frigator]

This question is like asking how much money would you like to have???

My first shop was 750sq ft and was just big enough. My second shop was something like 32 by 70 with 12 ft ceilings and a second story storage area of 1000ft. That shop felt like the right size.  Discovered then I like to hoard wood. Lost that shop and was shopless for a few years.

 Now I am in a 480sq ft two car garage and its working ok... just wish I had room for one more stationary tool...a woodmaster drumsander. Really miss that tool. ....I do have a spare bedroom right behind the garage that would be easy to expand into but the wife doesn't like that idea. It would give me an extra 250 ft which would allow me to get my sander and more lumber.

[Mr Eddie]

I have a 24' x 24' detached garage (576') with not quite 8' ceilings.  I am happy with the shop but it is full.  I only have room for one more machine and that's going to be one of John's horizontal mortisers.  If I were able to build a shop it would be at least 1200' with 12' ceiling.  (The 12' ceiling brings many advantages and doesn't add a lot to the cost of the building.)  That would give me room to have a dedicated finish area, a larger lumber area, and a boys room with utility sink.

Lonnie

[Bibliophile 13]

I work in pretty cramped space, but I make do. Here are three random observations about shop design.

1. Consider the height of the ceiling and not just the square footage. I have a 9' ceiling in my main workspace, and it's great to be able to spin an 8' board around. It also means I have ample wall space for storage racks, etc. I wouldn't want a lower ceiling, but I think a higher one would be wasted space.
2. Consider infeed/outfeed on your big machines. I can just run an 8' board through my bandsaw. It's tight, but I can do it. A long, narrow shop space (which is what I have) can work much better than you might think. If I had to choose between a square footprint and a long rectangle, I'd take the long rectangle in a heartbeat.
3. Adding floorspace does not solve the clutter problem. Ever. Whatever you build, you will fill it to capacity (and probably more) unless you make a constant, conscious effort to limit the amount of stuff you collect/retain. So as you're building, it's a good time to ask yourself what you really need--what you're likely to use a lot in the next 5-10 years--and what you're just hanging on to for no good reason. Moving into a new shop usually reveals just how much junk we've been hanging onto. It's always way more than we actually need. Let this be a time to divest yourself of little-used and unused tools and materials, not just a time to fill a new space with your old junk.

[Kudzu]

32 x 40 would work for me. I want to be able to pull a vehicle in during bad weather and do the maintenance and repairs.

Everyone is different but this is about the size of mine and it just about right. I wish my garage door was in a different location but the size is good.

[Wild Turkey]

Everyone is different but this is about the size of mine and it just about right. I wish my garage door was in a different location but the size is good.

Where is your door and where would you prefer it to be?