200 Square Foot Tiny Workshop

[goofiefoot]

I am excited to kick this off! I have always wanted a dedicated workshop, and while I've been able to work in my garages of the past, it's been a dream to design and build a space for my projects, hobbies, and "me time."

A little background - we moved to Rockport last year from Austin. Our Austin house had a decent sized garage, and I was able to organize and work freely within that space, plus I built a nice storage shed in the backyard to hold extra stuff.



The garage in our current house is much smaller. While technically a 2-car garage, it's only 20x19'. My kayak cart is on wheels, but it's 14x5' and I am constantly moving it around to accommodate project work. Ideally, I'd love to actually park my wife's car in here, and just use it as a garage.

So...

The Workshop






I made a simple gable-roof shed plan for the workshop. The foundation is 10x20' (200 square feet is the maximum I can build in my backyard without building permits, per the city). 8' walls, 9:12 roof pitch, 6' wide doors - I wanted to maximize the space for working, without having to take out any of our trees.

While I paid to have the slab poured, I will be building the workshop myself - learning as I go. I have experience with framing, siding and interior finishing, yet I am new at shingle roofing, full insulation, and from-scratch electrical layout.

I will run electricity from our house panel on a dedicated breaker for full (small) workshop capability. My current tools are all 120V, but I do want the option to upgrade to 220V pieces in the future.

This is a small space, and it will provide the challenge of keeping things neat and organized. I will be experimenting with different layouts and setups to maximize the space, and my productivity. I currently do most of my work with a table saw, miter saw, circular saw, drills, and hand tools. I hope to incorporate a router station, planer and/or jointer, drill press, and maybe even a welder.

I will be documenting my progress here and on my Make it Goode YouTube channel. Follow along, give advice, ask questions, and enjoy the ride!

[Fajkus7]

Sounds good. I’ve been seriously considering building something similar in our back yard when our new house gets finished. In to see how it finishes out.

[goofiefoot]

The first video is live - https://youtu.be/XeevBMx7HMY

Check it out. I walk through my plans around building the shop, and show footage from the slab pour.

[Dusty Britches]

Cool!

Here's a suggestion - put your electrical outlets high so you don't have to bend over to plug and unplug, plus you can put a table underneath. Put more outlets than you think you need.

[goofiefoot]

Cool!

Here's a suggestion - put your electrical outlets high so you don't have to bend over to plug and unplug, plus you can put a table underneath. Put more outlets than you think you need.

Yessir, that's the plan! My workbench top is at 40", so I will have all outlets start just above that height and run one about every 3-4 feet on each wall.

[sendit]

Good deal, every guy needs a place to build things. You mention that you will be doing it yourself and I very much respect that in a diy forum. Personally I am a hardcore diy’r and love doing things myself but see more and more folks that just write checks to have subs/others do the work and call it a diy. Lol

You timing is a bit off due to the price of lumber being so high but then again you probably don’t want to wait either. I have seen some tiny work spaces and it’s amazing how you can fit a lot of things in a small area if thought out well. I see you are a guy that likes plans and having 3D models so that should make it a bit easier to do. Me on the other prefer to do it fly by wire style.
Good luck in the build, I’ll be watching here for updates.

[goofiefoot]

Good deal, every guy needs a place to build things. You mention that you will be doing it yourself and I very much respect that in a diy forum. Personally I am a hardcore diy’r and love doing things myself but see more and more folks that just write checks to have subs/others do the work and call it a diy. Lol

You timing is a bit off due to the price of lumber being so high but then again you probably don’t want to wait either. I have seen some tiny work spaces and it’s amazing how you can fit a lot of things in a small area if thought out well. I see you are a guy that likes plans and having 3D models so that should make it a bit easier to do. Me on the other prefer to do it fly by wire style.
Good luck in the build, I’ll be watching here for updates.

Yeah, I'm certainly not thrilled about lumber prices. The government keeps shoving money I don't really need at me, so I might as well spend it on something useful.

I drew up all my plans in Adobe Illustrator so I know how much lumber I need and the sizes. It's worked well for me on other projects. I like having some sort of plan to reference - especially my own!

[3ChordTruth]

Very well thought out project, will enjoy your build, good luck with it.

[dogcatcher]

Put in more electrical outlets than you think you need, you will use them. Wall height, forget the 8 foot walls, go with 10 foot for studs, this with the roof slope give you a LOT OF GOOD STORAGE around the upper wall area. In the interior part the ceiling at 10 makes it easy to work with 8 foot long lumber and 4x8 sheets.

[Sticks&Strings]

Why not 10 ft walls so you can really store a good amount on shelves or hanging from the ceiling?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[jb5001]

10 ft ceiling also makes it easier to turn 8 ft boards end for end. With it only 10 ft wide, that will be a challenge sideways as well.

I didn’t see the video, but put in lots of lights. There’s nothing worse than having to move around so you’re not working in the shadows.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Southernhunters]

Agreed on the 10’ walls. No reason not to, the additional cost will be minimal for lots more storage space!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sendit]

Cool!

Here's a suggestion - put your electrical outlets high so you don't have to bend over to plug and unplug, plus you can put a table underneath. Put more outlets than you think you need.

I would suggest having at least one electrical and one air reel above center. They will help keep them off the floor so it’s easier to sweep.

[dmk]

Check out this link. Don't know if it would be something you'd want, but the guy really maximized space. May give some ideas.

https://www.instructables.com/The-Sm...-in-the-World/

[goofiefoot]

Put in more electrical outlets than you think you need, you will use them. Wall height, forget the 8 foot walls, go with 10 foot for studs, this with the roof slope give you a LOT OF GOOD STORAGE around the upper wall area. In the interior part the ceiling at 10 makes it easy to work with 8 foot long lumber and 4x8 sheets.

I plan 3-4 outlets per wall, just above the height of my workbench for easy access. I will have at least one exterior outlet as well for working outside and yardwork.

For my site, 8ft was as high as I could go for the walls without taking out trees. The high-pitch open vault should make up for this. I'll be almost 12ft at the peak.

10 ft ceiling also makes it easier to turn 8 ft boards end for end. With it only 10 ft wide, that will be a challenge sideways as well.

I didn’t see the video, but put in lots of lights. There’s nothing worse than having to move around so you’re not working in the shadows.

I've been using 4ft LED shop lights in my last 2 garages, and they're awesome. Right now I plan to have 8 in this shop, which should be plenty.

I would suggest having at least one electrical and one air reel above center. They will help keep them off the floor so it’s easier to sweep.

Good call! I'll put it on the list!

Check out this link. Don't know if it would be something you'd want, but the guy really maximized space. May give some ideas.

https://www.instructables.com/The-Sm...-in-the-World/

Wow, there's amazing innovation there! I think I might have a "bit" more room that this.