| As I mentioned before, the analogy to utilities is an oversimplification of the word services. You have the usual power, water and sewer, and natural gas or oil, but you must also add dust collection and your compressor, and any piping associated with it. Now, not everyone has these things, but you have to consider whether you will obtain them in the future so that you can plan ahead. Starting from the beginning, what type of power service will your shop need. If you work solely with hand tools in a very moderate climate, you may only need lighting, which may be already present. However, if you work with machinery and live in a cold climate, you will have to take into account the needs of your machinery, and perhaps your heating system.
In my situation, I require two 220V 30A circuits, for my dust collector and table saw, then I have three 110V 20A circuits for hand held tools and other machinery. In order to facilitate this, I installed a 100A sub-panel in the shop, drawing from my main panel. The panel is expandable enough to allow an additional 220V circuit for any heating needs plus several more 110V circuits if need be. The lights I intend to leave on the original house circuit. That way if I should trip the breaker on the main panel for any reason, the lights won’t fail.
I came by this information by two methods. First, I looked everything up in a good reference book on electricity and residential wiring. Using the information that came with my tools on their voltage and current draw, I was able to decide precisely what type and size of circuits I needed. Second, this is my fifth shop. I have answered these questions for myself on several occasions so I have the benefits of that experience to draw from. The wiring in this shop is far less complicated than in my last one. It is a one man shop, and I know my methods so I was able to diagnose my immediate needs. However, the equipment I have selected allows me the flexibility to expand my electrical system beyond what I have had in the past.
Water and sewer are treated together because as you use water, you create the need to provide an means of carrying away the excess, and the ubiquitous waste. This can be as simple as an old sink with a pail under it to a full bathroom with a tiled shower. Your situation will dictate which is right for you. At present I am outfitting a 20 by 20 2-car garage that is attached to my home. The entrance to the house is a mere 10 feet from the powder room so I definitely do not need a bathroom, and I am no more than 30 feet from the kitchen sink.
My last shop was a bay, about 20 by 50, in a building in an industrial park in Maryland. It was a good 30 minutes from my apartment, providing traffic was light (not a usual occurrence). It had a drain to the sewer on one side hidden under a grate in the floor (it used to have water in it) and access to an outside hose bib not more than 25 feet away. After purchasing one of those little portable toilets, I found it quite serviceable, although not ideal. Being the cheapest shop space I could find, my finances were still limited enough that I couldn’t afford to do any better, hence my situation dictated my limits in all respects. However in my present situation, the proximity of access to water, the cost of adding water and sewer lines to the shop, and the smaller size of the shop dictate that my money would be much better spent on blades and lumber for the next several projects.
Finally, the gas line is so close to the back wall of my shop that I think I will try to get away with using electricity for heat. The West corner of the shop is no more than 2 feet from where the gas meter and service entrance. It is also no more than 2 feet from my sub panel. At present I am trying to cut corners on both time and expense, so I intend to try heating with an oil filled electric radiator, with a thermostat controlled ceramic heater to provide that extra heat to bring the shop to room temperature while I am in it.
I am aware that electricity is the most expensive way to heat, but with all of the other expenses (drywall, insulation, paint) that I am faced with at present, I am trying to costs down. These heaters are great because they are so inexpensive, and I don’t need or want 70 degrees in the shop except when I am finishing (and then I always have the option to finish things in my basement).
This, however, is an excellent illustration of one of the most important aspects of shop design - flexibility. Should the cost of heating, or the quality of the heat make using electricity prohibitive, the proximity of the gas line and sub panel would make installing a gas fired system, even in mid-Winter, a very viable option.
I would like to point out that I had considered extending the ductwork from the house heating system tot he shop, but I decided against it for three very good reasons. First, the structure of the house where it meets the shop would make adding the ductwork a very expensive proposition. Second, when they design these houses, builders today use a set of very specific calculations to fit the HVAC system to the house, and they do not leave room for heating an extra 400 square feet. Third, the health of the furnace is adversely affected by the presence of sawdust.
Now, that last point I would take more time with. I don’t care how meticulous you are with your dust collection procedures, there will be some sawdust and fumes floating around your shop at some time. I wouldn’t recommend introducing even the smallest amount to your furnace. It was designed for your house, not for the shop environment. There is also the issue of allergens. Introducing an extra source of them into your home, beyond what walks through the door with you isn’t wise. Make your home a respiratory oasis away from the dust. Please don’t add the extra nuisance of having to worry about this all the time.
We have covered electricity, water, sewer, and, in my case gas. There are two other utilities unique to the shop environment: dust collection and compressed air. Over the past 10 years the proliferation of dust collection equipment and air tools has caused a revolution in woodshops almost as remarkable as the advent of electricity. These days nearly everyone you talk to has some sort of dust collection system in mind even before they have thought of populating the shop with tools. The most recent to many a woodworker’s Christmas wish list is the up and coming cyclone. Several companies are marketing these, even over the Internet, and usually provide even a free design service in the package, which is proving to be more affordable than you might think.
The most expensive component of your dust collection system usually is the infrastructure needed to support it. Anyone can go out and buy a cyclone, or single stage dust collector, but you need to do some research to gain the knowledge it takes to layout your ductwork effectively. Ten years ago it was commonplace to purchase a single stage unit and push it form tool to tool in your shop, but our dust collection desires, and in some cases needs, are more advanced now.
Similarly, having an air compressor in your shop with rubber hoses stretched everywhere across the floor is fine for some, but others prefer to look at different ways of bringing the compressed air to various locations in the shop. My previous shop had sufficient floor space and electrical outlets to allow me to move my portable compressor wherever I needed it. The size of that shop also made it prohibitive to install the pipe system I would have liked.
My new shop has a dedicated circuit for the compressor and I have a place to hide it. Because I only have 40% of the space, running pipe will be considerably less expensive and a much more attractive option to tripping over hoses on the small amount of remaining floor space. |
