Woodworking Shop in Basement

[Andy]

[Joe Roberts]

I am looking for pros and cons of having a woodworking shop in a new house basement mainly from woodworkers who have a woodworking shop in their basement. Thanks

[Doug Miller]

Add to that:

- temperature is more clement in the summer, too

- with central air conditioning, humidity fairly well matches the rest of the house

- *much* less expensive to use space you already have, compared to the cost of constructing, heating, and cooling a separate building

- access is a problem not just getting raw materials in, but even more so in getting finished projects out

- many basements have water infiltration issues; you need to really be on top of that -- and if you have a sump pump, make sure you have a battery backup too.

[Chris Friesen]

My buddy has a basement shop.

Cons: Dust and noise getting into the rest of the house, difficulty of getting sheet goods and tools into the basement, difficulty of getting finished projects out.

Pros: Already heated, easy electrical access.

Chris

[Gus]

Well, there are several considerations. I won't classify them as pros or cons:

How's your headroom? Remember, you'll be handling potentially long pieces of lumber. It would be nice to do so without bapping them (or yourself) into the floor joists.

How's your access? How will you get those long pieces in and out of the basement? Through the house? Through a window? I myself load lumber through a basement window. It works well for me. Also, you'll need to get machinery down your basement stairs (unless you have a walkout). Can you do that safely? Will you be able to get finished projects back up those stairs?

How's your layout? Do you have enough infeed and outfeed space for your saw(s)? Will you need to move one machine in order to use another?

How's your lighting? Four 50-watt bulbs won't cut it. Figure on at least three times the lighting you probably already have, plus task lighting where needed. I use can lights set between the overhead floor joists. Works nicely. Like clamps, you can never have enough lighting.

How's your dust control? Get a dust collector if you don't already have one. Tracking sawdust on the carpets is not appreciated. Your mate and your lungs and your furnace will thank you.

Any open flames? Solvents and flames, such as are produced by furnaces and water heaters don't get along. Enough said.

How's your electric service? Do you have enough capacity to run those additional lighting circuits mentioned above, plus possibly dedicated 220V lines for stationary tools, plus general-purpose 15 or 20 amp lines?

How's your lumber storage? Can you store your stash accessibly and safely within your shop?

The preceding are just a few points off the top of my head. NOT an exhaustive list and NOT meant to dissuade you. I have had my shop in the basement for many years. Half the fun is constantly tinkering with the shop layout and making things work more efficiently.

The other half of the fun is "sawdust therapy" - right downstairs!!

Good Luck.

[leonard]

Hi Joe, I guess it matters on the size of the shop. The basement and the house were built around the shop(10 ft ceilings, dust collecting pipes under the concrete,extra large double walk out doors, vents to the outside ,ect) I was lucky the wife wanted a sunroom and gave me the basement as a woodshop. I have 3 areas that I use a 16x16 main ,a 10x12 finishing room,and a 16x12 wood storage room.. The main advantage I found with the basement shop over the garage shop is the all year use of the room and controlled humidity and security. You may also save some money on house insurance if the insurance company doesn't see your equipment(the garage is readily visible and the basement is not)

len

[J. Clarke]

Pros--convenient, easy to heat. Cons, getting tools and wood downstairs, noise and dust in house. Some basements just plain leak--something went wrong with the membrane seal or there wasn't one and water gets in. If yours is one of those then it's going to be hard on both tools and wood. Make sure that there's at least one path that you can get a sheet of plywood through without buggering it up. There are generally exposed wires in a basement--make sure that you have them protected to the extent that you're not going to continually be wanging board-ends into them. If it's a new house currently under construction you may want to talk to the builder about putting in electrical outlets and additional lighting--if there's an electrician on site already to do other work the incremental cost should be small, however the builder may charge a ludicrous markup on it.

[Andy]

True dat! I run a dehumidifier most of the summer, but our area has flooded in the past, so that's always in the back of my mind. Of course, if I had a garageshop, security would probably be more of a worry. Nothing's perfect. Have fun, Andy

[Lou]

I've noticed everyone agrees on getting the tools, material, and finished products in and out. There are a couple of companies that can cut a hole in your foundation and add precast stairs to the outside. just add the doors. I'ts a whole lot easier than going through the house with everything. Also, use a dust collector, even though most unfinihsed basements have no air returns in the basement it sure does help the breathing. Lou

[Dave W]

I have had a basement shop and presently have one over the garage. Basement is cheap and has problems listed by others. One benefit I wasn't expecting occurred when I build a boat in the cellar. EVERYONE who came by to check out progress opined that it probably wouldn't make it out the cellar steps. So, when I called people to help lift the boat out the cellar steps, EVERYONE showed up.....hoping to witness a disaster? Needless to say, the boat came out without a scratch. Over the garage looked great on paper; it is a really big two car garage and the roof is 45 degree with an 18 inch knee wall. Problem is....there is very little wall space. Wall space is very valuable! Dave

[russellseaton1]

I'll agree with everything else already said. If its a new house as you state, make sure it is a walkout. Or build in from the start those outside cellar doors.

With the old basement shop I was always worried about how to get big, huge, heavy, industrial equipment into the basement. This was always a deterrent. Maybe a good deterrent to getting crazy big equipment. I had a straight shot from the outside door directly down the stairs so

12 foot boards and 4x8 plywood were easy to get in and out of the basement. An appliance dolly could have handled a cabinet saw easy enough if I had ever bought one. I made do with a contractor saw.

Biggest benefit is it is always available anytime night or day for a minute or two or hours. Just walk downstairs and you are in the shop. No walking outside to the detached garage/workshop. No walking in the rain. No walking in the snow. And as someone else said, you work with what you have. In most parts of the US basements are standard on houses. No building an extra outside building. If you can even do that. Cost or permit restrictions. No having your car ice and snow covered because your shop is in your garage. And security.

I never found ceiling height much of a problem. All the stuff I ever built had the long boards cut down to 6 feet at most at the very start of the project. And if you are working on an 8 foot dining table, why would you be standing the boards up on end anyway? They would always be in the horizontal position. Never considered ceiling height a drawback to worry about.

Basement is temperature controlled. Never colder than 50 in the winter. Rarely above 80 in the summer. Never have to preheat or precool the shop before you can use it and worry about the extra time and cost before you can start using the shop. If you only have 30 minutes to enjoy, are you going to spend 15 heating the shop from 35 to

55? Middle of the midwest location for me. Do have to run a dehumidifier as a necessity or precaution.

Bathroom is right upstairs. Or maybe have one in the basement too. Water is accessible. Nice in a shop. Main electric panel will be in the basement. Or as my situation is now, its in the garage but I can easily run a subpanel to the basement. Just use some half size breakers in the main panel to get extra space and put in a 60 amp 220 breaker. Run some heavy wire to the new big subpanel in the basement and I'm all set with electricity. Run lights and outlets all over the basement.

I never noticed dust in the rest of the house. I think this is usually a fear of people who don't have a shop in the basement or people who are not woodworkers. I do use a dust collection system.

I guess if I was fabulously wealthy, I'd have a separate building for the shop. But if building a new house, I'd put in a walkout basement and plan for the shop in the basement. Lot more advantages than disadvantages for the recreational woodworker. A full time professional would likely be better off with a separate building.

[Leuf]

But since the stairs are close to the wall you do have some height limitations. No problem getting boards in, sheet goods can be done but you have to be careful. Can be an issue getting something like a bookcase out.

-Leuf

[David Starr]

Others have listed the pros and cons. I will just add I have just finished putting in a basement shop (my third one to date) and enjoy it greatly. Closing the shop door keeps the sawdust in the shop and out of the house. My children are grown, so I don't worry about waking up the kids running power tools after bedtime. We insulated the basement cinder block walls with 2 inch blue board foam insulation with sheetrock on top which helped a lot in the home heating bill and made it warmer and drier. Since you are planning new construction, allow for lots of light, lots of wall sockets, a 220 volt circuit, and a sink for cleaning brushes and stuff. And as much space as you can afford. Your table saw wants 8-10 feet in front and in back, and at least 8 feet on one side if you are gonna cut up 4*8 sheets of stuff.

David Starr

[Teddy Bear]

I have a shop in the basement. For me, the only major advantage is when it gets to minus 30 C outside. Inside, I am warm!

Happy woodworking from the frozen north,

Mike

[B A R R Y]

Mine is in a walk-out basement, so it's dry and easy to access.

The Cons that still remain:

Little natural light Low ceiling Noise, dust, and smell migrate into the living space Little natural light Low ceiling Lolly columns and a center staircase eat space Little natural light Low ceiling Concrete floors Little natural light Low ceiling Little natural light Low ceiling Little natural light Low ceiling Little natural light Low ceiling

Sorry, I got stuck on little natural light and low ceiling. I'm getting cabin fever.

With a choice, I'd greatly prefer WINDOWS and some head space in a detached building with no columns and wood floors.

In fact, I'd trade half my space to be above ground.

[WConner]

I pretty much agree with russellseaton1 above.

"Bathroom is right upstairs. Or maybe have one in the basement too. Water is accessible."

We have a half bath in the basement.

"Biggest benefit is it is always available anytime night or day for a minute or two or hours. Just walk downstairs and you are in the shop."

This is particularly handy for me. I am retired and I do not work for 6 - 8 hours at anything as a rule. While there have been times I wished I had a shop in a detached building because of dust and noise, I would not spend much time in it as I would not want to heat it continuously, I would not want to heat it up of a few minutes of work (or cool it). As it is, I may run down stairs for 15 minutes or a couple of hours when ever the notion strikes me. We do have a straight in the back door stairs which is wider than normal and makes access a little easier plus I cut plywood to rough sizes in the garage. A basement where ground level entry is possible would be better. I also have a dust collector plus a filter on the return air from the shop area.

"You may also save some money on house insurance if the insurance company doesn't see your equipment"

Anyone who thinks they are fooling the Insurance Company are only fooling themselves as hidden, unreported, items aren't likely to be covered and may even void the entire Insurance Policy if the need for it ever arises. Hobby equipment is covered under our Home Owner's Policy.

Walt Conner

[Dukester]

I went from having a shop in the basement to building a separate building for my woodworking and everything else that goes with it. I also added a lean-to to the shop for storing a tractor. I enjoyed building the shop myself, and thought of the carpentry as a distant cousin to woodworking.

Now I can easily back the truck with large sheets of MDF or plywood right there at the door of the shop and put a rolling table there to catch them and never lift a sheet by hand. That is really nice.

And it is useful to have the standalone shop as a catch-all place for doing things other than woodworking including (but not limited to) auto/mower/tractor & gardening tool maintenance & repair. I have all my woodworking tools on mobile bases so I can slide them out of the way and easily bring in (for example) a riding mower in the summer for a flat tire or blade changing etc. The grinder is right there. My files for sharpening are right there for touching up a chainsaw. Before I had this separate shop, I had to do some of these things in the basement and some in the garage (or even the driveway) which does not have space for a workbench or cabinets, and it was a hassle having tools in two places. It is also nice to not worry with making noise & dust. Of course it increases the value of the house, but who cares anyway?...

Having said all that, when I sit and think about it, I believe I enjoyed the woodworking shop in the basement more, and if it weren't for the thought of hauling all those power tools down there (no large walk-out access unfortunately), I might be tempted to move back. It was just cozier there, and heating & cooling was not a problem at all.

My $0.02.. Cheers! Dukester

[else24]

I don't think anyone's told this particular story yet: Years ago, I started my shop in the basement. One winter day I resawed some cedar with the tablesaw, the dust collection wasn't all that good yet, and I put a very teensy tiny little bitty light coat of sawdust over everything in the basement including the washer and dryer. SWMBO put me in the garage the first warm day of spring. She was not open to negotiation.

When I was done with the wiring and had all the tools out there and put everything on wheels to accommodate her car, she told me I could have her side of the garage and she'd park outside.

I like the garage better. More room. No laundry. Heat is a problem but I'm okay with the tradeoff. Everything's fine with the marriage.

[Father Haskell]

Basement, hell. I'm taking over the entire house. Wood storage -- right next to the refrigerator. The people I live with couldn't give a

damn less.

Biggest probs with a basement shop are noise (don't locate machines under living room areas, agree to a cutoff time) and dust, meaning dust onto your projects during finishing, not from them.

[David Merrill]

It's a little better if your basement layout permits your workbench to be near those walkout slider doors and a relaxing view through them is achievable.

David Merrill