After running this website for seven years, I have seen quite a variety of workshops. Check out our Shop Tours section for a sampling. What is very encouraging to see is that regardless of what space is available, motivated woodworkers are doing what needs to be done to further their craft. From amazing 1000+ square foot palaces to portable tools on an apartment balcony, projects are being built!
So that’s what we want to find out from you with this poll: where do you do your woodworking?
This poll was created by Tom Iovino of TomsWorkbench.com.
Basement – Somewhat warm (60F – 68F) during the winter and cool during the summer. Have a dedicated closed off area for power tools (and sawdust) that’s 23′ x 21′. Another area for assembling, finishing and lumber storage that’s 17′ x 30′. Have a small office that’s 8′ x 12′. Also have direct access from the garage to basement which is great for hauling down material and hauling up finished projects. Still a work in process.
A dedicated 3 bedroom apartment. Shop tour on my YouTube channel.
I live on the 1st floor (above the ground level) of an apartment complex. We have uncovered parking. We don’t have any place to secure anything outside of the apartment. The management would have a “hissy” if I tried to set up shop in the apartment, which only has room for me and my two cats anyway. I can’t even change a dash light bulb in my car in the parking lot there. So, I rent a 10 ft by 15 ft unpowered, unheated storage area, and have to run a heavy extension cord from a slightly remote outside plugin to power my lathe, dust extractor, table saw, lighting, and benchtop band saw and drill press. I even have two 2 ft by 4 ft by 6 ft shelving units inside. I heat it when necessary with a propane heater. And, while I do have limited wood storage and some things stacked around, it all fits and I even have room to move around and work. My main complaints and the lack of storage and lack of inside power, The lathe and table saw are mobile so they can be moved outside during good weather. I get by, but dream of a dedicated shop with plenty of power outlets.
I moved last year from a 30X60 shop with central heat/air and plumbing. When we moved there i thought i was in heaven. The kids ended up with half of it through imminent domain (wife). I did not want to invest in the necessary vacuum/filter system to operate the central unit…..so ended up not using it. Plumbing made it necessary to heat the bathroom in the winter. We’ve moved and completed a simple 30×40 shop with lots of storage–no plumbing or central units. Kids are old enough they’re not filling the shop up with their junk…..just my junk. Now, i’m in heaven.
Mine is in my basement. It’s. currently 10′ x 20′. I work 90% with hand tools so the size isn’t a problem. I still have a garage full of tools from my carpentry business, so when I need power tools, I set up in my driveway! Like James, I’m also in N.E. Actually I’m on the North Shore of MA. A few years ago I insulated all of the pipes for my heating system . I have slowly been removing it in areas that I work. Usually it runs between 50 – 60 degrees during the winter. Not bad but could be better. In the future, I want to move the shop to a larger location. Ideally I would love to build a structure that has my shop on the ground floor, and living quarters for me up above. I’m just trying to decide if I still want to stay in this state!
In my second bedroom of a two bedroom apartment… about 10` by 10` space… I build small stuff….
I have a 24′ x 24′ shop about 100 feet from my back door. It’s conditioned year around so I can work in short sleeves. Pretty sweet!
I have a detached two (almost) care garage that has never had a car in it. I have to share with the family for storage space, something I hope to amend soon by building a nice storage shed in back of the garage, then remodel the building itself to be a proper workshop. I also started woodworking and still occasionally do my woodworking in the Camp Lejeune Wood Hobby Shop.
I build on my uncovered patio. So I have to pickup and cleanup completely each night when the sun goes down to keep my tools from being stolen or rained on….
less than half of a two car garage. Have to share with my wife’s car, and the kids bikes, stollers, etc (unless I’m in the middle of a bigger project, then i make my wife park in the driveway)
i started out my little woodworking company here in Finland in 2010. My first shop was a tiny outhouse storage hut….that was about 64 ft2….The first job i got i didn’t have enough space to build there , so i cut all the pieces there and assembled and finish it in my apartment… In 2011 i moved to a bigger space about 500 ft2….more space only problem was it was damn cold in the winter (which gets to about – 30 celcius here) and very damp as it was an old building. Then finally last summer i moved to a space around, 970 ft2…. with an office/design room, very high roof, about 8 meter. more power outlets that one could need!
Started out in a shop of my own, but had to sell all my tools when I moved from the west coast to the east coast a few years ago. Seriously guys, I cried. In the bathroom where no one could see me, of course.
Since the move I’ve been paying dues to a local shop that has a pretty nice wood shop, in addition to a full metal working shop, 2 CNC routers (metal and wood), CAD stations, welding, metal casting, industrial sewing machines… the list goes on. BUT, sharing those tools with other people is kind of a nuisance, and they get a lot of abuse from people that probably shouldn’t be using them. They are constantly in need of repair and are rarely in alignment when I use them, meaning I waste a lot of time getting them setup good enough to use.
Finally we’re moving into a new house with a big yard and a detached 2 car garage, which I’m having expanded, raising the roof to 11′ and putting down a wood floor to save my achin’ bacon. For the last month I’ve been feeling like a 5 year old on Christmas Eve, except these toys weigh about 500 lbs. each. My kind of Christmas.
I’m privileged enough to be a middle school woodshop teacher. Having access to 180 square feet of workbench alone is enough motivation to really, really appreciate the equipment I have access to. I’ve more than started to collect a set of tools of my own, and one day plan to have either a garage or basement shop in which to build to my heart’s content. The next bit is going to be saving for the key fixture tools.
One day I hope to have two dream shops at my disposal!
Basement Workshop!
I live in a community of rental townhouses. I have a full size basement, but of course I only get half and the laundry is on the other half but it is good enough for the projects I make and I am glad to have it! Renting does provide problems like when I added my dust collector which is 220v. I just made an extension cord that plugged into the same outlet that my dryer uses. Only problems is that the wife and I sometimes fight for the use of the dryer outlet. :)
With all of these tools, I am not looking forward to moving when the day comes because several of them need to be disassembled just to get them up the stairs and through the basement door.
Basement shop here – stays warm in the winter, and the house has central A/C so it stays cool and dry in the summer. The main part is 13×17 (-ish), and we just added on to the house so the shop is now an ‘L’ with the other section 11×12(-ish). Also went with a doghouse-style entrance from outside, which beats the heck out of the bulkhead doors we had previously.
Man…I’m jealous of ya’ll. Especially you Marc (but I know you worked hard to get into the shop you have now). I live in a small two bedroom basement apartment. There’s not much room, so my workshop has been regulated to the 3.5′ x 10′ space underneath the stairs. Which means I have a storage room. If I want to do a project I have to take it outside or find some space inside. But, I’ve managed to make as much use of the space as possible. I rigged up a slanted lumber storage that hangs from stairs, and I’ve put up a lot of rails and pegs to make use of wall storage.
We live in a residential airpark, so we have a hangar out back. In this case, hangar means “giant 50′ x 60′ uninsulated sheet metal shed. In the hangar is a 15′ x 15′ shop which is insulated and air conditioned (relatively speaking).
The wife told me if I built a dedicated wood shop that it was over between us…. Im going to miss her….. No joke…. 480 sq/ft of unconditional love
This made me burst out laughing. Thank you.
We recently bought a new house with an existing 1200 square foot shop. I’m pretty blessed!
Mostly the basement, but since I got a secondhand bandsaw I’ve had to relegate the drill press to the adjoining garage.
Power tools in the garage, hand tools in the utility room (which leads to the garage).
Cheers,
Brian
I have a separate building on my property that has a dedicated area (550 sq.ft.) for my workshop. There is another 400 sq ft that is a double garage that rarely has any cars in it that is connected via a 9 feet wide roller door. Phone, internet, water and electricity (240 volts) and toilet are all connected. The second floor has an office and kitchenette. Great place for overflow accommodation when family come to visit. All insulated and the office is has a split system reverse cycle air conditioner…….Heaven!
I built a 7′ 6″ x 12’6″ stand alone shop on my property that was supposed to be a storage shed/bike shop.
Then I came across The Woodwhisperer pod cast on Itunes a few years ago, and added wood shop to the duties of my shop!
I work in my attached garage in my apartment complex. It’s a bit tight and has only 1 power outlet, but I’m able to do quite a bit. The biggest issue is the lack of light. Thankfully no neighbors have complained yet, even after running the lathe till about 12 am.
My garage, when it’s not too bloody cold! I plan to stud it out soon, but apparently it’s ‘More important to sort out the house first’ Pfft!
Scott Dimelow .. I feel your pain .. my garage has zero heat … and I live in New england . I bought a 208v heater thinking it would be a help but I might as well have used a cigarette lighter .. We will struggle on ..glue ups take place inside my house much to the annoyance of the the wifey. Another major concern I have is wood movement , when you build something in a cold garage and then bring it to the house your looking at a 50- 60 degree swing..