Finding or building a workshop

[Expensive sawdust]

After several years happily filling my own house with sawdust, I find myself with a lot of time on my hands, a reasonable hoard of tools and machines, and nowhere to use them. Ideally I'd like to make a bit of money making stuff - garden furniture for now, I've no cabinetry drills or experience - but without a working space, I and my gear are both mostly growing cobwebs. Commercial industrial units are far too big and expensive (I reckon 300 sq ft would be plenty),.. I've got nowhere I could build a large shed, and there's no available garage space of suchlike. I'm out in the country btw. I'd quite like to build a structure myself*, so I was thinking an ideal site would be a small, derelict agricultural building with vehicle access and a power supply that I could demolish and rebuild as what I want (pre-existing to avoid planning hassles.)

I've got a bit of budget, could probably go up to £10k for a plot. Am I building castles in the air? Should I look to move somewhere with garage/shed options? Or look for another hobby / source of income?

Any ideas? Anyone else got an unconventional workshop, ie., not a domestic garage or garden shed?

* in no way to have an excuse to buy a framing nailer. Noooo, oh no,.. (yes)

 

[Bingy man]

Well not sure where to start but I guess hello and welcome if you have a large amount of tools and machinery then personally I’d not want it to be more than a few meters from my house- shed , garage or other outbuilding. If renting then I don’t suppose 10k will last that long. I live in a flat and so converted 1 bedroom for a small workshop. It’s small but compact and every inch of space is used to it’s maximum. Moving house is drastic but would give you the opportunity to find the ideal house with space to build a workshop or convert a garage . Another factor is what machinery you have and what you plan on making. Don’t give up on your dreams as life is too short. Good luck

 

[BucksDad]

As you say, I think your best bet is to find a farmer who would rent you an unused building. I've driven past a couple of farms near me that advertise workshop rental, but only list a phone number to call - I guess they don't want to attract attention.

I doubt you'll find something on the internet easily, but you might need to reach out to any contacts within the farming community to find something

Another idea is a shipping container, I think @baldkev uses one

 

[Spectric]

If you don't have the space for a workshop then you are in a bit of dilema, I think you need to at least initially think of your plans as a hobby and something to consume your free time rather than something that will make money and pay for itself. What is the main objective, keeping yourself occupied or making money due to the need to? Are you looking at woodworking because that is your passion or as a means to earn cash?

 

[Dee J]

If your project is 'I want to build a workshop', that's one thing, and with a budget as long as a piece of string. Land purchase, planning etc etc won't happen quickly either.
But if you want want to get working your tools and making other stuff then it's much quicker just to rent something. Most cities with an arts scene have networks of studio and workshop places - anything from table space to full blown metal and wood shops - start meandering round local social networks, arts trails, open studios events etc and you'll hear what's going on and what's available. For rural areas many farmers have diversified into providing studio and workshop spaces too, and if you're not alone you make get footfall and customer contacts too. Good luck.

 

[NFav]

Perhaps as a starting point, you could find if there's a 'Men's Shed' group nearby.
It won't solve your space problem, but could help you get started, meet people in a similar situation, and who knows, maybe find someone who will share space / rental costs with you.
Good Luck

 

[Deadeye]

After several years happily filling my own house with sawdust, I find myself with a lot of time on my hands, a reasonable hoard of tools and machines, and nowhere to use them. Ideally I'd like to make a bit of money making stuff - garden furniture for now, I've no cabinetry drills or experience - but without a working space, I and my gear are both mostly growing cobwebs. Commercial industrial units are far too big and expensive (I reckon 300 sq ft would be plenty),.. I've got nowhere I could build a large shed, and there's no available garage space of suchlike. I'm out in the country btw. I'd quite like to build a structure myself*, so I was thinking an ideal site would be a small, derelict agricultural building with vehicle access and a power supply that I could demolish and rebuild as what I want (pre-existing to avoid planning hassles.)

I've got a bit of budget, could probably go up to £10k for a plot. Am I building castles in the air? Should I look to move somewhere with garage/shed options? Or look for another hobby / source of income?

Any ideas? Anyone else got an unconventional workshop, ie., not a domestic garage or garden shed?

* in no way to have an excuse to buy a framing nailer. Noooo, oh no,.. (yes)

Hi and welcome
I see you're in Herts. Glebe Close Farm near Tring may or may not be near you, but they used to rent out units (and was owned by a high end kitchen maker)

 

[baldkev]

Welcome
10k doesn't go far certainly wouldnt get you a piece of land around here.... and anything with an existing building is priced higher as theres a possibility of conversion.

A good 40ft high top container costs about £3500 by the time youve got delivery, vat and lock boxes on it. Then you have to insulate it and ideally line it out.... which starts getting expensive. Then install an electric system, lights, sockets etc. But mainly you need to think about electricity. A decrepid barn isnt likely to have sparks, nor a random field to drop a container in.

Occasionally you can find space to rent within a workshop, ive seen that a couple of times on here, lots of plus points on that....

Good luck, i hope you find something

 

[rogxwhit]

Buying or renting, there are going to be setup costs, unless you were lucky enough to find somewhere with all the electrics just where you wanted them. Then after that there'll be monthly overheads like rent rates & utilities. It's quite a commitment - quite a step. In fact it's so serious that it's quite likely you should have a business plan before diving in. But I've come across people who work from home and discount most of the overheads without being licensed as business premises. It's hard to think of taking on the capital cost & overhead to just have a 'play space'.

One offers a service and / or a product. You seem vague about that. But both have to be marketed and that part of it can be harder with a product. Where & how to sell, and will there be someone elses markup on it? And one person in a workspace isn't terribly efficient in that all the overhead goes onto that one person's hourly rate.

You know your circumstances but I hope you're not thinking to bite off more than you can chew ...

 

[Expensive sawdust]

Hi and welcome
I see you're in Herts. Glebe Close Farm near Tring may or may not be near you, but they used to rent out units (and was owned by a high end kitchen maker)

Need to update that, I'm in the Forest of Dean now - west Glos - right up against the Welsh border.

 

[Expensive sawdust]

Buying or renting, there are going to be setup costs, unless you were lucky enough to find somewhere with all the electrics just where you wanted them. Then after that there'll be monthly overheads like rent rates & utilities. It's quite a commitment - quite a step. In fact it's so serious that it's quite likely you should have a business plan before diving in. But I've come across people who work from home and discount most of the overheads without being licensed as business premises. It's hard to think of taking on the capital cost & overhead to just have a 'play space'.

One offers a service and / or a product. You seem vague about that. But both have to be marketed and that part of it can be harder with a product. Where & how to sell, and will there be someone elses markup on it? And one person in a workspace isn't terribly efficient in that all the overhead goes onto that one person's hourly rate.

You know your circumstances but I hope you're not thinking to bite off more than you can chew ...

"More than I can chew" is quite possible; at least I'm awarded that's a potential pittfall! Absolutely agree that if it was going to entail serious cash investment, and therefore need to generate enough cash to be more than a bit of pocket money from Pinterest and suchlike, I'd need to do serious research into small business setup issues, business plan, market research, etc.

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

Well, speaking from my own experience, I was at a similar position as you. Pandemic started and I wanted a change of job. I asked about, and finally was at a rural garden centre and noticed they had workshops. They had nothing available, but put me in touch with their neighbour, who also didn't but his nephew had some spaces on his father's farm.
What I finally found was my current, beautiful, workshop. A single storey barn on a farm a few miles from home. The nephew, now my landlord, is a qualified electrician so asked where I wanted outlets (14 of them) and lights installed.
Its a bit cold in winter, and some days I don't see a soul all day. Other days I get frequent visits from other residents on the estate and two large dogs come most days for a pat and a treat!
They are out there, you just need to find them.

 

[Keith 66]

I started out in 84 with a cowshed on the side of a barn on a local farm. Had it for about 18 years.
Trouble is farmers have caught onto the worth of unused buildings & so have estate agents.
Rents are nearly as high as light industrial down here in the south east.
Also councils have wised up to the hooky industrial estate on a farm scenario & will be after business rates.