New Workshop

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brownie

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Jan 24, 2006
21
Michigan
Hay guys
Just started my new shop, It's 16'x22' with a overhead 9x7 door on one end. On the other end will be a wood stove. I was going to build it just for woodworking, but now I think I'll make it a general work area. You know , work on the wood splitter, tractor and woodworking. I just framed it in . Now I need ideas on how to lay it out, workbench, cabinets? I know I will have a 13" TV in the corner. This is going to be my retirement room. Has anyone of you set up a shop and wish you laid it out different? If you have ideas I would love to hear them.
 
What types of tools are you putting in there, table saw, drill press planer etc kinda hard to come up with a plan when all you know is space. To me sounds like a pretty small space, I started with a 20x32 less an 8x8 bath and ran out of room real fast.
 
Word to the wise dsawdusr and open combustion is not a safe mix Working with gasoline or having gas engines in the shop with a wood stove again a very bad idea

Working wth varnishes with a wood stove then again Not the brightest idea. If wood working better have a first class dust collection system and an outside air feed to that stove.

There are dangers you have not thought the situation through. Just a word of caution particulary, if you do not want to be retired permanently
 
It's all the room I have. It's in the back corner of my pole barn. I will also have a 20x20 slab outside my overhead that will be coverd. As for tools, I have alot. Table saw ,drill press , welder , grinder, jig saw. I do alot of side jobs now , not so mutch when I retire,so I hope. The walls are 10ft high, I can build cabinets high and put hand tools in them I don't use mutch.
 
elkimmeg said:
Word to the wise dsawdusr and open combustion is not a safe mix Working with gasoline or having gas engines in the shop with a wood stove again a very bad idea

Working wth varnishes with a wood stove then again Not the brightest idea. If wood working better have a first class dust collection system and an outside air feed to that stove.

There are dangers you have not thought the situation through. Just a word of caution particulary, if you do not want to be retired permanently


I have thought some of this through! Their will be no gas of any kind in the shop when the stove is burning. As for sawdust it will be the best collection system. I have all ready have had medical problems from sawdust. As for finishing , my wife does that in the basement.
Thanks: This is what I am looking for. Something I might have missed.
 
brownie said:
elkimmeg said:
Word to the wise dsawdusr and open combustion is not a safe mix Working with gasoline or having gas engines in the shop with a wood stove again a very bad idea

Working wth varnishes with a wood stove then again Not the brightest idea. If wood working better have a first class dust collection system and an outside air feed to that stove.

There are dangers you have not thought the situation through. Just a word of caution particulary, if you do not want to be retired permanently


I have thought some of this through! Their will be no gas of any kind in the shop when the stove is burning. As for sawdust it will be the best collection system. I have all ready have had medical problems from sawdust. As for finishing , my wife does that in the basement.
Thanks: This is what I am looking for. Something I might have missed.

Save space for an overstuffed easy chair, and maybe a cot or hammock!! Never know when the idea of a nap might sound good.

BTB
 
You might want to check with your local code folks, and find out what they think. Code prohibits wood stoves in "garage" areas, and it can be a bit fuzzy to define the difference between a "garage" and a "shop" I won't try to get into the arguments about this, but would suggest that you should check with your enforcement folks first to find out what they think and make sure it's OK with them, or if they have any special requirements.

I would suggest that an outside air supply would be a good idea for reducing the risks, also I would look at putting the stove on a pedastal hearth to get the firebox up a few feet for the same reason - most explosive fumes are heavier than air so it helps to keep potential ignition sources above floor level.

Have you picked a stove yet? If not you might want to take a look at the Sedore stoves, which seem to me like an ideal stove for shops since they can burn sawdust and wood scraps as well as cordwood.

Gooserider
 
Oh, and carefully consider the placement of your beer fridge. You will want that handy from all locations in the shop.
 
Gooserider said:
You might want to check with your local code folks, and find out what they think. Code prohibits wood stoves in "garage" areas, and it can be a bit fuzzy to define the difference between a "garage" and a "shop" I won't try to get into the arguments about this, but would suggest that you should check with your enforcement folks first to find out what they think and make sure it's OK with them, or if they have any special requirements.

I would suggest that an outside air supply would be a good idea for reducing the risks, also I would look at putting the stove on a pedastal hearth to get the firebox up a few feet for the same reason - most explosive fumes are heavier than air so it helps to keep potential ignition sources above floor level.

Have you picked a stove yet? If not you might want to take a look at the Sedore stoves, which seem to me like an ideal stove for shops since they can burn sawdust and wood scraps as well as cordwood.

Gooserider


I have thought about a furnace add on wood burner. And set it on a cement pad 3 feet behind the shop and run the pipe through the wall for heat . If I inclosed the burner in say a 8x8 shed this would take away the problem of a wood burner in my shop. Would this work??
 
It would probably take away the problem of having a major ignition source in a shop where fumes and other combustibles would be present, but it MIGHT raise issues of it's own. Unfortuneately some communities have put restrictions on "outdoor wood boilers" due to the many problems that the low efficiency wood hog type units use, and they define "outdoor wood boilers" as anything that is outside and burns wood...

I think it would be safer, and if you chose the proper unit, installed it properly, ran the stack up high enough, etc. then it should be OK, but your local authorities might disagree. I would strongly suggest talking with your local AHJ's (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) and find out IN WRITING exactly what they would consider acceptable...

Gooserider
 
brownie said:
Gooserider said:
You might want to check with your local code folks, and find out what they think. Code prohibits wood stoves in "garage" areas, and it can be a bit fuzzy to define the difference between a "garage" and a "shop" I won't try to get into the arguments about this, but would suggest that you should check with your enforcement folks first to find out what they think and make sure it's OK with them, or if they have any special requirements.

I would suggest that an outside air supply would be a good idea for reducing the risks, also I would look at putting the stove on a pedastal hearth to get the firebox up a few feet for the same reason - most explosive fumes are heavier than air so it helps to keep potential ignition sources above floor level.

Have you picked a stove yet? If not you might want to take a look at the Sedore stoves, which seem to me like an ideal stove for shops since they can burn sawdust and wood scraps as well as cordwood.

Gooserider


I have thought about a furnace add on wood burner. And set it on a cement pad 3 feet behind the shop and run the pipe through the wall for heat . If I inclosed the burner in say a 8x8 shed this would take away the problem of a wood burner in my shop. Would this work??

Well, you have to consider where it will be pulling the air from. You'd need to be sure the pull the "cool" air from up high. BUT.... I think this would work. Heck, I've even thought of putting one of them in an insulated shed outside my house and pumping in the heated air through a wall... but it was just a little too redneck for me. Look at the englander. It's cheap and has a lot of BTU output. I don't think it's epa approved though.
 
In my opinion, the side shed would be the way to go if it is possible. I don't think you will have any code issues because it is within the structure and uses a regular chimney, so it is not a OWB (outdoor wood boiler).

Finding a clean burning furnace can be tough. I think Drolet or US Stove distributes one.....search the forum for EPA wood furnace or something like that.

Another option (perhaps the best one, but like the best tools it costs more) is to install a clean burning boiler in the attached shed and then pipe the heat to the shop using a combination of baseboards, old cast radiators and/or modine-type hanging units. That is how I would do it for the most efficient heat possible.
 
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