Shop Things to have in your dream shop!

[Darren]

Holy Crap @Darren ! I would have been terrified of a big wind! No point insulating the trees......

After i got back with the last of it, it all got piled up neatly and weighted down, but they had a kijiji ad up and it was free, first come first serve. I was hauling ass back and forth for 4 hours. I made 3 trips and have enough to insulate the upstairs 12x50 portion and wrap the whole building. I will have to make a foam cutter as most of it is 5-5.5" thick (tapered for flat roofing). Sorry to gloat

I need to look into this Emporium power meter setup myself. Never knew such a thing existed. Is it the Emporia VUE that you have?

 

[Susquatch]

After i got back with the last of it, it all got piled up neatly and weighted down, but they had a kijiji ad up and it was free, first come first serve. I was hauling ass back and forth for 4 hours. I made 3 trips and have enough to insulate the upstairs 12x50 portion and wrap the whole building. I will have to make a foam cutter as most of it is 5-5.5" thick (tapered for flat roofing). Sorry to gloat

Gloating is totally understandable! And well earned!

I need to look into this Emporium power meter setup myself. Never knew such a thing existed. Is it the Emporia VUE that you have?

Yes. I have the Gen 2 with 8 sensors. You can get it with 4 or 8 or 16 sensors. They all come with sensors for the mains. The software will do all the math for you. I assume that Revenue Canada will accept those records given that they already accept a decent SWAG. But taxes are one thing, cost control is another. In my view knowing your energy consumption is an essential element of controlling and reducing costs.

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Those are US prices.

But they are also available on Amazon Canada.

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[DPittman]

If I was doing it from scratch, I'd install separate meters

I imagine things might be done differently from province to province but at my mother in laws in BC she has a separate meter in her stand alone garage because the garage came years after the house and it was easier to do it that way then run a new line out from the house. The only problem with that is she gets billed for all the extras twice, administration, access fees, service riders, etc, etc.

 

[Susquatch]

I imagine things might be done differently from province to province

I plan to do bills today. I'll look at how they are done. But I suspect it's all done as a surcharge (percent) on usage.

 

[DPittman]

I plan to do bills today. I'll look at how they are done. But I suspect it's all done as a surcharge (percent) on usage.

Yes here in Alberta some of the fees are based on your consumption but others are flat fees regardless of consumption and I belive that is the same with the mother-in-laws second meter as well.

 

[Brent H]

As @DPittman said - it may double the cost and “business” wise the HVAC is mostly done out of a work trailer and truck with tools. Not much done “in shop”.

Also New Brunswick has a zero touch policy for all electrical work/ A certified electrician must do all the work - right down to changing the light switch in your house. Now, that doesn’t “happen” all the time but my HVAC son may go back to school to nab his Electrician Certificate as it is a license to print money.

 

[Darren]

@Brent H but does Home Depot sell electrical supplies to the average Joe?

 

[Susquatch]

Also New Brunswick has a zero touch policy for all electrical work/ A certified electrician must do all the work - right down to changing the light switch in your house.

Holy CRAP! That's pure robbery! Ya, I'd go back to school if I were him too. In fact, I'd scrap the HVAC company! Pulling wires is way easier than knocking tin.

The tax man has no clue what percent of your shop is used for HVAC vs other work. Nobody smart enough to know that is doing tax audits.

 

[Mcgyver]

Hey folks!

So I am working on plans for expanding the shop I will be moving to. Essentially there is an existing 24 x 40 shop that will become my cabinet/wood working shop. I am hoping to add on at least another 24 x 40 space for the metal working.

What do you need? Ball room dancing lessons to use all that extra space!

Lucky you, I pine for that much space. In my 22'x22' garage I've 3 lathes (biggest is a 5100lb DSG, XLO mil, Elliot horizontal mill, pbort series I rigid ram cnc,, two drill presses, surface grinder, two T&CG (one a floor model), Sunnen hone,bench grinder, bandsaw, carbide grinder, drill grinder, d bit grinder, Mig, Tig O/A, propane, 36" shear, finger brake, roller, arbor press, small cylindrical grinder, 19 tool boxes and 40' of bench. Then there's the basement lol.....

I think that planer would be a good step toward it feeling less empty

Feelings of disgust on the zero touch bit.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I wish my 12 x 24 garage (with lean-to addition 8 x 20), had another 12 feet on the back. I also wish the door was not limiting height to 82 inches (makes machine acquiring nearly impossible). Another 100 amps for 3 phase converter and a Fryer CNC mill CM-20. Unfortunately, I put a shed behind the structure which has been stolen by my tenant. If I could add to the back, I could go another 12 feet. The unfortunate part is the door height would still be an issue. For temporary relief, in the spring I will put another 10 x 10 shed between my house and the garage for storing non-essential wood tools and maybe drawers for stock fasteners and such. This will only be until I win the lottery to by land and put up a huge pole barn.... (Wait, don't you have to buy tickets?)

A word of caution. Do not buy that land with any EP zoning whatsoever. Or that dream shop will not happen. Unless you have deep pockets to pay off all the enviro bribe money.....Last I talked to them it was a 4 season environmental impact study, that usually ran about $25k and that was 8-10 years ago. I did have a small sliver of land that was not originally EP zoned, but it wasn't enough to build my shop on without a variance, which they would not grant. They clawed that back away from me when they rezoned a bunch more land out here a few years ago. I'm all EP now.... If you're ever feeling dumb and down about your intelligence level go talk to your local town council members and gov officials. It's an instant pick me up.

 

[Brent H]

What do you need? Ball room dancing lesson to use all that extra space!

YES!!! And of course Karaoke later in the evening!!

When I built my shop here at the old place, the township dictated the max size and was a POS With everything. If the new place allows for it, well, I am going all out!

The Wood Shop needs to house: 10” x 52” cabinet saw with out feed table and cross cut sled, 24” drum sander, 16” planer, 6” joiner, bandsaw, mitre saw, shaper, router table, 48” edge banding machine, Euro hinge mortiser, mortising machine, dovetail station, glue up table and work benches plus all the supplies- not to mention space to assemble.

Metal shop needs to have space for : mill, 2 lathes, sharpening machine, surface grinder, several bench grinders, drill press, bandsaw, chop saw, plasma/cutting table, welding table, press, parts cleaner, sand blast cabinet, various tool cabinets, engine rebuild area + tools for that, plus work benches and storage.

Other things:
- paint area for up to the size of a car.
- Compressor/dust collector/ventilation room
-Wash up sink
-Washroom
-Some form of beam/lift system

List goes on as the ideas come in…

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I couldn't imagine having to pay someone to legally change a light fixture or switch, run new circuits etc. I'm curious if they have electrical supplies under lock and key and you need to show a license to buy them?

 

[Brent H]

@Brent H but does Home Depot sell electrical supplies to the average Joe?

Yes, that is the odd ball thing. You can buy all you want, you are just not to “install, repair or modify”. For the building permit you have to have a licensed electrician on your application.

Obviously I will know more once the questions are posed to the authorities. I will be making my “proposal” hopefully in a few weeks.

The land behind me is, as far as I know, the EP/crown land zoned area and it ends at the property lines. There are some other folks with buildings right up to the back (3 Meters) off the lot line.

 

[curmudgeon]

Other things:
- Compressor/dust collector/ventilation room

Would it be better to have the compressor and dust collector in a semi-attached, or separate building nearby for better noise isolation? Add a remote start and drain for the compressor. Could also be a home for your stand-by gen-set.

One of my early summer jobs was helping a machinist/millwright's setup a new wood spindle factory. We added a lean-to to the main building for the compressors. When school resumed, I worked as a lathe operator and learned first-hand why they insisted on housing the compressors away from the shop floor. Although the dust collection vents and lathes were very noisy, they weren't nearly as annoying as the compressors.

 

[Canadium]

........

Metal shop needs to have space for : mill, 2 lathes, sharpening machine, surface grinder, several bench grinders, drill press, bandsaw, chop saw, plasma/cutting table, welding table, press, parts cleaner, sand blast cabinet, various tool cabinets, engine rebuild area + tools for that, plus work benches and storage.

Other things:
- paint area for up to the size of a car.
- Compressor/dust collector/ventilation room
-Wash up sink
-Washroom
-Some form of beam/lift system

List goes on as the ideas come in…

Maybe a 3D printer station.

 

[Brent H]

@curmudgeon : having a separate building would be great. The dust collector is a 3 HP cyclone with double heppa outlet- basically so I get the heated air back in the winter if it stays inside. - close to the big draw items is also a plus.

Compressor wise I will upgrade from my current 30 gallon to a big one that can support reasonable sand blasting and painting, along with a selection of pneumatic tools.

I am almost set out in my cad drawing to post that - just in the middle of an iron railing/new stairs/hardwood flooring contract- sucks when you don’t get a retirement check for 8 weeks …. LOL.

 

[6.5 Fan]

Nobody has mentioned an in floor pit for the dream shop.

 

[Brent H]

In floor pit would be grate (LOL - see what I did there ) but might involve blasting

 

[Dabbler]

I have heard that garage pits are outlawed in Alberta. Fire hazard??

 

[Tecnico]

After i got back with the last of it, it all got piled up neatly and weighted down, but they had a kijiji ad up and it was free, first come first serve. I was hauling ass back and forth for 4 hours. I made 3 trips and have enough to insulate the upstairs 12x50 portion and wrap the whole building. I will have to make a foam cutter as most of it is 5-5.5" thick (tapered for flat roofing). Sorry to gloat

No apology required!

Nice to hear you were the lucky one, I give you a big thumbs up for taking advantage of the opportunity. I can relate, I was at the right place when a building supply was being pulled down and picked up enough pink to insulate my new garage. I did pay a nominal sum but it was still worth it. Better than having it go to the land fill too!

D