Building a workshop

[Daniel Slomovits]

I'm looking to build a workshop this summer (we have no basement or garage, and I have tools all over my bedroom floor...), and I'm feeling a bit out of my depth trying to find someone to build it, making design decisions, etc. I'd appreciate any input—recommendations certainly, but also tips & tricks, gotchas/considerations I might not have thought of, etc. 

Thank you, 
Daniel 

Details: 
* Use: mostly woodworking and associated materials storage, probably a little electronics stuff. 
* Size: most likely 12x16. Critically <200 sq. ft.—my reading indicates that a building permit is not required below this size, and getting one seems likely to add a tremendous amount of cost and complexity to the process. 
* The only available space is not flat, so the most likely design is either a post-frame or post-supported conventional structure, in either case with a wood floor. A concrete slab would be *nice*, but seems likely to add 50-100% to the overall cost of the project, which doesn't seem worth it. 
* I want to maximize storage space given the size constraint, so storing stuff in the rafters seems like a must, suggesting a relatively high-pitch roof and either storage trusses or old-style rafter framing. 
* I'm thinking of this project in phases, to reduce initial cost and maximize the amount of work I can (learn to) do myself. So, no insulation, drywall, or finished flooring for the moment—I need to learn more about how I'm going to use the space before committing to something there—and anything small I can do myself (lighting, ventilation fans, maybe even A/C) I'm probably going to.

[M. Adam Davis]

The 12x16 also has a height.  When I did my shed in Ypsi township years ago the maximum height was 14 feet.  As such you can expand the roofed area for significant storage.  I did a gambrel style roof with a 12 foot span and an overhang.  The bottom of the shed had 8' ceiling, and the top floor had 5 feet in the center, sloping slowly to 3.5' or so knee walls, then a sharper slope the rest of the way.  Half of that was a kid's clubhouse via an exterior door (going to a platform that went to a play structure), the other half for storage. I used a free for 30 days windows truss design software, had 60 degree angles (so basically half a hexagon) and 2x6 boards for the roof support and joists.  Those I built using plywood as connecting plates before I put up the walls, then they just went on top like any other rafters.  I really did overkill for the whole thing, the entire structure was on 16" centers.  You can easily do 2' or even 4' for a shed style structure which would cut the costs down quite a bit. Could probably get away with 2x4 as well, given the slopes involved and our snow load. In pole buildings it's common to use 2x6 and 8 foot centers for spans of 24 feet.

Keep in mind that while you don't need a permit, you may still need to get approval before building the shed.  They are primarily concerned about size and placement, so you'll need to provide drawings of the property, the placement and clearances to the neighbor's lots and easements, and a general description of the building, focusing on the fact that it's not a dwelling unit, it's not connected to a dwelling unit, and it's within the size requirements for a shed or similar small structure. I'd start with a printout of the lot from ewashtenaw's parcel viewer, then use measurements and draw the shed directly on that.  It worked ok for me and the process and fee wasn't painful - no inspections required.

Posts are fine, but you have to consider the eventual load of the structure.  For what you're doing you really should have a foundation below the frost line, which means holes at least 4 feet deep, with 14" or larger diameter concrete pads on the bottom to keep the posts from sinking further into the ground due to the weight of the structure. We chose a simple sand bed with concrete blocks sunk into the ground mere inches, and eventually it did tilt, but it was only noticeable if you used a level.  The sand prevented frost heaving, though, as it drained very well.

I can't find pictures of my shed, but hopefully this gives you some ideas.

-Adam

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[ac...@provide.net]

You didn't mention if you were planning on adding metalworking
machines to your shop.

IF you are going to add that, try to avoid mixing metalworking
and woodworking machines in the "same air space".

Reason: Metalworking machinery is oil coated and mainly produces
oil mist and sparks, whereas woodworking machines primarily produce
wood dust. Right off the bat the metal machines get "gummed up" from
any wood dust.

But the big problem is FIRE HAZARD... IF placed together in a
mixed machinery small airspace, the wood dust floating around
settles and sticks to the oily metalworking machines, forming
a flammable "oil + wood dust" mixture, packed into the metalworking
machines over time. If not prevented, this mixture can and WILL
eventually catch fire from metalworking sparks...

This once happened a few years back at a local HS I was working
with for FIRST robotics, that failed to heed my warning...
A sander caught fire internally, when a metal spark ignited
a ball of oily wood and plastic inside of it. Fire and black
smoke were pouring out of the machine.

Luckily several cool-headed mentors simply held their breath,
surrounded the machine, picked it up (pedestal and all), and
hauled it outside, still on fire and pouring out thick black smoke.
They then had the time to unscrew the covers and pull the flaming
wad out of it from deep inside, saving both the shop and the
machine. (But had this happened to a larger, heavier machine
like a lathe, or one with more plastic components, this solution
wouldn't have been possible and the machine, shop, and people
could all have been at risk...)

Solutions:
1) Ideally, separate wood and metal machines in diff rooms.

2) If possible, NEVER mix wood and metalwork jobs on the same
machine. (Ex: Maker Works has separate rooms and even has
separate drill presses for wood and metal drilling...)
Not often possible in personal shops, but a total machine
cleaning between metal and wood jobs is a reasonable compromise.

3) Small, mixed use shop compromise: Start by placing the metal
and wood machines at opposite ends of the shop, long-wise.
Next: Create some form of an "air divider" between them - Ideally
walls, but something as simple as some tall clear plastic shower
curtains MAY do the trick.
Lastly, positive pressure the Metal zone, and negative pressure
the Wood zone. This can easily be done with proper HVAC
ducting/plans, setting HVAC controls or vents, setting up
dust collectors in ONLY the Wood zone to neg pressure THAT
space relative to all others, etc...

Worst case: In TINY shops plastic cover all metalworking machines
while doing woodworking. Totally clear the air/floor/shop of all
wood dust before uncovering the metalworking machines to switch tasks.
(Ick...) Not efficient, but it does protect the metalworking
machines from becoming "flammable gumball reservoirs".
(I did this years ago in my 20s, when my first shop was
just my apartment's spare bedroom.)
In my first house, my basement shop had metal working on one
side of the central stairs, wood working on the other, and a
shower curtain by the staircase, dividing the airspace.
I also set the house duct controls to slightly positive
pressure the metal zone, and added a simple cheap dryer
outlet with a squirrel cage fan to the wood zone. That
easily exhausted the wood shop, and kept all wood dust
out of the metal shop. Done deal.

Summary: The key in any mixed machining environment is to force
primary airflow to go from metal-->wood. You don't care (as much)
about a bit of oily-smelling air creeping into the wood shop,
but you MUST keep ALL wood dust out of the metal shop by hook or crook.

A proper "airflow direction plan" is huge, so if you can't
provide a real wall, you can instead consider this when
designing the shop's HVAC system (Heating, Ventilation, and
Air Conditioning). Example: If you were to put the source
ducts on the metal shop end, the sink (returns) and the dust
collector on the wood shop end, and hang a plastic curtain
divider (bottom weighted) between the two zones, then even
without a full isolation your primary air always flows from
metal-towards-wood, around the curtain.

I hope this helps in your planning. Good luck!

- Keith

On 2017-05-05 18:37, Daniel Slomovits wrote:
> I'm looking to build a workshop this summer (we have no basement or
> garage,
> and I have tools all over my bedroom floor...), and I'm feeling a bit
> out
> of my depth trying to find someone to build it, making design
> decisions,
> etc. I'd appreciate any input—recommendations certainly, but also tips
> &
> tricks, gotchas/considerations I might not have thought of, etc.

> [...]

[Daniel Slomovits]

Hello Adam,

Thank you for such a detailed reply!

Looks like the maximum height in Ann Arbor is 21 feet (per this PDF). The more I think about it, the more I'm liking the gambrel roof idea—thanks for the nudge in that direction. Given the greater available height, I could go with 9' sidewalls, and possibly a further foot of knee wall (above the ceiling joists), in order to be able to stand in the "attic".

Re: zoning permit—I'm aware of that requirement, but left it out of my initial message as a simplification. Apparently I should have mentioned it. Thanks for pointing it out anyway.

And yes, I'm definitely planning on sinking posts below the frost line. Thanks for confirming my hunch, though, that a simple sand or gravel bed would work just fine for a lighter structure—I have another project in mind where that will probably make more sense.

Daniel

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