A new shop

[Kardar2]

Hello all,

Well since I have been getting into models I am really thinking of building my own shop/ shed.

I also do woodworking, so trying to share a garage with the wife's car, washer and dryer, freezer. I am really feeling the squeeze. So I am trying to decide if I should build on large shed and combined wood working and modeling in one shop or two smaller sheds. The heating and a/c would have to be doubled with the two sheds but a bigger shed would be harder to heat and cool.. If I was to build a small shed for modeling I am looking at 6 foot bench say 3 foot for spray booth (9 feet of wall).So if I go with a 10 foot x 10 foot that should do it. right? plenty of storage  for kits and plastic totes and stuff. I would only have a small walk through door. So I would not lose any heat/ cool air. What do you think about a 10 x10? I see a lot of you guys crammed in to small spaces. As it is now I have to walk across the garage to paint. Where the booth is set on top of my table saw.  Any ways thanks for all your suggestions. 

[Kit Basher]

I am a woodworker by trade, and I see one big downside to combining the two: DUST! Unless you are a scrupulously clean woodworker, all your model stuff will be covered with it. That said, I do airbrush paint in my wood shop, but only first thing in the morning before I stir the dust up. The only reason I do that is because I have no other place to do it. I don't build in there.  I could see making a separate room in your wood shop for modeling, with a door that seals well. One thing I always recommend, unless your compressor is very quiet, put it in another room from where you paint, and pipe the air to where you need it. 10' x 10' sounds big enough, unless you have a lot of kits to store. Good Luck!

[Miatatom]

I am a woodworker by trade, and I see one big downside to combining the two: DUST!  Good Luck!

+1

[Spex84]

I'd recommend separate workspaces. Woodworking creates a colossal amount of dust, and the fine stuff will waft around and be very difficult to remove entirely. More than enough to mess up a model (get in the paint, stick to windows, etc).
 

[Fabrux]

Speaking from experience as someone that has crammed their workspace and ~500 models in a 6'x12' room, currently in an 8'x9' room, I would say 10'x10' would be a bit on the small side!

[mikemodeler]

As Chris mentioned, a 10x10 space is not as big you think it is. I would suggest taping out a 10x10 square on your garage floor and set up a bench and whatever you plan to use for storage of your models. See how well you can walk around in there BEFORE you build it.

If you do go for the 10x10, I would try to build your shed barn style with a loft area for storage and 8 foot side walls so you have maximized your space. Whatever you decide to do, it will seem big at first but then eventually it will get smaller, trust me I know!

 

And as the others have mentioned, keep the room sealed off from the woodworking area. Caulk and weatherstripping will go a long way towards having a dust free environment for your models. Consider some type of exhaust fan for the woodworking side to remove the dust away from the model area.

Edited April 14, 2016 by mikemodeler

[astroracer]

Just to reiterate the other comments.

1).  Wood working and modeling in the same shop will not be good. You know the mess cutting wood makes.

2). A 10' x 10' shed is dimensioned to the outside so, it will be significantly smaller on the inside, depending on your building materials. 2 x 4 with an inch or so of sheathing and you are looking at about 9' x 9' on the inside. That WILL be tight. I think 12' x 16' would be a good manageable size.

3). Going tall, if you can, is a good suggestion. Build a storage loft into the attic. Lumber storage for the wood working shop and kit storage for the modeling shop.

[espo]

A thought on an out building. I used to live in Sacramento and had a large back yard. I used a two car garage kit from Home Depot. It was used for models and work out equipment, but I think if you built a wall with a weather tight seal between the wood shop and the model side that might work. Like your area, Sacramento has some hellish summer temps and can reach freezing temps in the winter. I installed an overhead with lighting and R30 insulation. The walls had R20 and covered with sheet rock. I covered the slab with peal and stick floor covering and replaced the garage door with a double wide door and a couple of windows. In the winter I used a small wood stove for heat, and the summers never seemed to make it to hot inside because of the insulation. Tuff Shed also offers some interesting buildings.    

[astroracer]

An additional garage is a thought. OR.... Add onto the existing garage. A 12' lean to the length of the garage would work. You will have to make the decision as far as what can be done. Depends on how much room you have and what the codes are for your area.

Mark

[TimNYC]

on the dust -- if you're going to have a venting system for airbrushing, you could do a larger system for the dust and suck it out as well as possible.  However, I can't imagine having a sufficiently dust-free environment to airbrush in there.  

10x10 is probably too small for both hobbies, if storage is in there as well.  I'm in 12x12, with my other hobby (i repair and restore vintage fountain pens) sharing the workbench, lighting, and many of the tools and solvents, and there's enough room because I only have 23 unbuilt kits.  Some of my shelving is almost to the ceiling, and every available under counter space is used as well.  There is also a desk and working setup, computer and television.  But, the pens don't take up a lot of space.  Fitting woodworking into 44 less sq ft seems a bit daunting.   I'd go larger if you can.  

[Kardar2]

A thought on an out building. I used to live in Sacramento and had a large back yard. I used a two car garage kit from Home Depot. It was used for models and work out equipment, but I think if you built a wall with a weather tight seal between the wood shop and the model side that might work. Like your area, Sacramento has some hellish summer temps and can reach freezing temps in the winter. I installed an overhead with lighting and R30 insulation. The walls had R20 and covered with sheet rock. I covered the slab with peal and stick floor covering and replaced the garage door with a double wide door and a couple of windows. In the winter I used a small wood stove for heat, and the summers never seemed to make it to hot inside because of the insulation. Tuff Shed also offers some interesting buildings.    

yep I livein Redding it gets hot. +1 on the R30 insulation.