Selecting and Adapting a Space: Choosing a Location

The ideal home workshop is a safe, efficient, and comfortable place to undertake projects ranging from cabinetmaking to repairing appliances. Once you have chosen your shop’s location, you may need to modify the space, adding features like ventilation and sound-proofing; bringing heat to the room; or improving access.

Choosing a Location

Home workshops are often improvised out of an area initially designed for some other purpose. This arrangement usually calls for some modifications, but with imagination and careful planning, you can create a workshop in almost any space.

Requirements: Features common to all well-designed shops include easy access; sufficient space for the chosen activity; and adequate electrical power, lighting, heat, and ventilation. Other factors such as soundproofing and storage space are important for some. Ponder the questions below and opposite to select a location, keeping in mind that you can add many features.

A Basement Shop: This location has several advantages over other rooms. It usually contains the furnace, so it is already heated; and it is generally isolated from the rest of the house, making it easier to contain dust and dirt. Its masonry foundation walls tend to block sound naturally, and the concrete floors found in most basements provide a sturdy foundation for heavy power tools.

A basement workshop may have drawbacks, however. The space may be moist, although dampness can sometimes be cured by improving drainage around the house and waterproofing the walls. In some basements, access may be limited, especially if the only entrance is through an inside door. Building an outside entrance can be a difficult or even impossible undertaking.

The Spare Room: One of the benefits of locating a shop in an unused room is that heating and electricity are readily available, and windows can provide light and ventilation. In many cases, however, the dust, dirt, and noise may disrupt others. Thorough sound- proofing can reduce the noise level, and installing a door to the outside will keep dirt from being tracked into the house.

Upstairs: An attic can be ideal for small-scale activities like carving, model making, and other hobbies. Frequent trips to the attic with tools and materials can become a nuisance, however, and unless the ceiling is adequately insulated, the space may be too hot in summer or too cold in winter. If you use heavy machines, you may have to reinforce the floor to meet code requirements.

Sharing the Garage: Like a basement, a garage is generally isolated from the rest of the house, making it suitable for automotive work and other noisy or messy jobs. The wide door provides excellent access to the outside, and overhead storage room is often available under the rafters. In a long, narrow garage, you may be able to fit the work area at the back; if you place it on a side wall, leave 3 to 4 feet of clearance for opening car doors.

Seven Important Considerations

What kind of work will you do?

Hobbies such as carving, model building, or jewelry making require relatively little space and can be done almost anywhere in the house. If you plan to build furniture or undertake other cabinetry projects, you will need room to accommodate stationary power tools, as well as for assembling and applying finishes to the projects.

How accessible is the site?

It is difficult to carry heavy machinery, unwieldy building materials, and finished projects into and out of a workshop through narrow doorways or up long flights of stairs. The ideal access is provided by double doors opening directly to the outside, with a minimum of steps to ground level, eliminating the problem of carrying cumbersome objects around corners, and cut ting down on dirt tracked through the house. In some cases, you can add a pass-through.

What utilities are available?

All workshops need heat, light, and power, and many also need air conditioning or a water sup ply. If you choose a site inside the house, most utilities will be available, although you may have to tap into electrical circuits or extend the plumbing, heating, or cooling system. If you select a site that is detached from the house, it may be more difficult to provide utilities.

How much noise will you make?

Large power tools are noisy, and their vibrations may be carried through the house. You may have to install soundproofing—especially if you plan to use these tools late at night when people are asleep.

What are the storage possibilities?

In addition to work space, a workshop needs plenty of room to stow tools, hardware, and materials.

The site you choose will need enough wall or ceiling space to contain shelves, cabinets, and storage racks. Keep in mind that exposed ceiling joists or wall studs can be adapted for adding such storage facilities.

Can you control moisture and ventilation?

Excessive dampness is a menace in a workshop: It can rust, tools, warp wood, and mar newly applied finishes such as paint and varnish. Locating a shop above ground level reduces the risk of dampness; in a basement you may have to install a dehumidifier. Poor ventilation can make a shop unbearably stuffy, and even dangerous when toxic and flammable fumes are present. The more windows the room has, the better.

What will you do with dirt and dust?

Dirt and dust are inevitable by-products of workshop activity. An efficient cleaning system will control most of the mess, but the closer the shop is to living quarters, the harder it will be to keep dust out of other areas.

Shops in Unexpected Places

If there is no obvious location for a workshop in your house or garage, there may still be a suitable space that you have overlooked. You can tuck a small work area under a basement stairway or in a closet. In the laundry room, you can build a hinged worktable that folds down over the washer and dryer, and install shelves above for storage. Another option is to locate a shop in an enclosed porch. In a region with a warm climate, you may be able to adapt an open porch, or even a concrete patio sheltered by a sunroof.

With this arrangement, mount wheels on the bench and heavy tools so they can be rolled inside for storage. If your yard is large enough and building codes permit it, you can erect a utility shed

Next: Building in Safety Features

Prev: Article Index

Top of page   HOME   All Related Articles