re: If you were to build a new shop

Just more rambling contributions:

FLOORING:

- I would prefer wood floors. This would allow a nice crawl space. With a thee or four foot crawl space, I could add and switch power to my 120/240 volt equipment.

- Like most, I’ve worked on both wood and concrete floors. Without exaggerating too much, an hour on concrete is like a couple hours on wood with flex.

- My shop is on a slab, so a long day in the shop takes a toll. HOWEVER, I am slowly, getting the floor covered in horse stall mats. They make a huge difference in many ways.

Dropping a sharp edged tool on the one inch thick mats doesn’t result in chipping or nicking it anymore.

Horsie mats are 1″×4′×6′ and run about forty each.

ELECTRICAL

- If applicable, install three-way, four way [or five way] switches.

- Have at least two light circuits, which must be on.

- Forget florescent. If you’re not a member of Costco, join. Buy four foot LED’s. They don’t care about the cold and they don’t leave you with the problem of dealing with those damned bulbs.

- Outlets should be raised so all you do is push them over – without bending over. Install them high enough you don’t have to worry about a bench requiring you to get on your knees and find a plug in (consider the back of a bench too).

- You don’t have a enough 240 outlets. Too, they are in the wrong place. So try to solve that problem in advance. If you have to , have a way of adding via the crawl space, or the attic. Otherwise, it’ll be conduit.

WINDOWS:

- Windows are nice. It feels good to be part of the world.

- Consider tinting, if you’re in a bad guy area, so people cannot see in easily (at least until the evening, when mirrored glass reverses and allows people to look in, while you cannot look out).

- If you want the windows open (e.g, no blinds, or blinds up), have outside lights that shine on the windows at night, to keep them in mirror (tinted window) mode.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION:

If you plan on adding shelves and cabinets, consider blocking that will make mounting them, after the rock is on, easier.

Is a three foot door wide enough, or will you be better off with a four foot door to move materials and finished projects through?

I have garage doors, but a four foot door I can run through on the wall separating that portion of the shop, without fear of knuckle busting.

- Power probably isn’t going to get cheaper, so thicker walls or whatever it takes to crank up the insulation is a good thing.

- Wire for phone (at least CAT 5, if not 6), Ethernet, door bells, security. . . .

MISC.:

There will be those times the best dust collection will not contain the dust. For such times [and when the weather is good], consider squirrel cages to move it all outside (with air input too, of course).

Photograph walls, trenches and so forth. Add text explaining how far from the north wall the phone line may be found.

I plan on moving my dust collection into the attic. It will be enclosed so the air returns to the shop and the system won’t defeat the cooling or heating system.

With my cyclones, all the main collection for my huge collectors (two) don’t eat valuable real estate. The bags or cans should only need cleaning every few months (just to knock the dust down, and the bags would only have to be emptied every five or ten years).