Is my garage suitable for a workshop

[WeeJoiner]

Lots of good advice here.

The thought of a cold draughty workshop brings back memories of my apprentice ship in a stone built workshop with a cvorrugated iron roof.

We had a woodshavings burner which helped on the winter, however I do recall one morning when the temperature had been -22 during the wee small hours and the machines were so cold your hand would stick to them.

Its well worth going to the trouble of insulating a workshop as you cant work properly when your not comfortable, too cold or too hot.

Make a good job of your place to work and you can make a good job working in that place.

 

[billw]

I like the idea but, a second door would almost certainly have to go at the other end wall, as most garages are only about 2.1m tall at the sides. Not enough room for a lintel and anyone over 5ft tall would have to squeeze under it.

That would be alright for Bill :lol:

JH

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ow! I'm going to kick your shins for that :wink:

 

[Davidadew]

Regrettably I don't have time to read other people's replies, but here are my thoughts.

I've got a detached garage next to my house, it's got no power at the moment as it was going to be dismantled. It's 23' x 9' (ish) and is made from pre-fab concrete panels. It's quite dark as there's only one window to the rear of it. The roof is corrugated panels, and there's a small gap between the top of the concrete and the roof.

Sim to mine, except mine is brick. Only wish is that we had more windows overlooking bench for more natural light.

I'm now having thoughts that it would actually make a decent workshop and given the fusebox is about 2 metres away it's not hard to get it wired up.

Question is, does a workshop have to be pretty warm? There's no heating in it, and given the fact it's not "airtight" it would cost a bloody fortune to do so.

Wish mine was but no way could do - not insulated enough. I work in there with no heating (and that doesn't bother me) but in the winter it gets quite damp as it is brick build with flat wood roof. Wood got damp during winter, up to 14% mc, but I cut up and bring in to house to dry before using.

In terms of working there, it was very cold here when it snowed and was frequently in there with snow falling outside for a number of hours per day, up to -10 but with overalls on and a few layers, as I'm hand tools only, no machines, I get warm quickly, and the cold doesn't bother me at all.

One answer might be to get it panelled internally with plasterboard? I have no idea really

Would reduce valueable space in mine, and it would still get damp in mine/

At the front it's got an up and over door, which I was thinking of replacing with two partially glazed doors so that i could open up the whole front to get stuff in and out (and for any hot days!).

Had these too initially, biggest problem was water coming under door, so replaced with own made doors - and new windows at back - and much better to open or close now and get draught through on hot days like yesterday.

I wouldn't want to sped too much on it because there's every likelyhood that we'll extend the house out at some point and so it'd all get knocked down and a new "proper" workshop built in its place.

Ditto, doors and windows cost a reasonable amount for materials but we haven't spent too much else on it.

 

[jhwbigley]

I like the idea but, a second door would almost certainly have to go at the other end wall, as most garages are only about 2.1m tall at the sides. Not enough room for a lintel and anyone over 5ft tall would have to squeeze under it.

That would be alright for Bill :lol:

JH

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ow! I'm going to kick your shins for that :wink:

:lol: see you tomorow evening mate?

 

[OldWood]

The serious problem is that such a door is a death trap if something goes wrong. Such a door killed my father - he couldn't get out. That was over 20 years ago and the terror that he must have gone through still haunts me.

holy sh!t rob, sorry to hear that

if its not to painful could you tell us more about the circumstances as there might be a lesson here for all of us
.

Thanks BSM - fortunately 20 years is an adequate buffer, but Up and Over Doors are a red rag as far as I'm concerned.

It seemed that my father (just short of 80) had mounted some 1/4" steel plate onto the edge of his bench with a guide so that he could use a small angle grinder to cut off a slice. From the fact that the final cut was incomplete we reckoned that the sparks from that cut ignited wood shavings on the floor - unfortunately it would seem that there was a plastic container of white spirit there as well. Before my father could lift the door enough to throw it out, it exploded.

Yes, there were some seriously unwise things here, but the fact is that things do go wrong in workshops, and we just do not pay full attention to all the H & S matters we should - escape may be necessary at some point.

Just think about it and please don't become a statistic.

Rob

 

[big soft moose]

oof - not a good day out

when i'd first started turning i once ignited my wirewool with sparks from the grinder (came as a suprise that metal can burn) - didnt notice til it fell on the floor and set the heap of shavings and waxy cloths on fire.

fortunately I had an extinguisher to hand and put it out before it reached the spirits - but a story like yours makes you think of how it could have been so much worse

 

[Benchwayze]

At all costs get rid of the up and over door first. If there's one reason for building a proper workshop with proper access it's that.
Rob

Hi Rob,
I fully empathise with you and I am sorry things happened as they did.

I use a house/integral single garage. I changed the up and over door for a more modern design some years ago. It has a few extra benefits.

1) There's a working handle in the centre so it can be opened easily from inside:

2) Draught proofing is no real problem, as it faces due south, and only the southerlies trouble me. It's also easy to insulate if I choose,

3) Just to be safe, I fixed a stop so the door is always ajar when I am in there.

The local council muppets won't allow me to put a door that opens into the side passage, so you can understand I am very careful about fire. Anything that involves a flame is done outside. (My metal vice is right by the door too.)

I never use the heater I bought, and apart from the coldest snap this last Winter, I never had problems. The southerly aspect means the door acts as a convector cum radiator and keeps the shop dry and reasonably warm.

If I am alone at home, then I leave the door open, or if it is too cold, I save the job for another day.

The only time I had a problem so far, was when I knocked myself out, on the underside of my Planer/thicknesser table. There was a passer-by that day - fortunately.

Regards
John