My soon to be piece of heaven

[DennisG]

Hey guys, need some ideas.

I have a shed at my other house that I am turning into my "shop". The outside dimensions are 10'X8'X8'high. The inside dimensions are on one of the pics I have posted. It is a 2x4, chip board(3/8"), shingled building. On the north east corner is a big old maple(?). The front has a double door opening, and no windows. The floor has 4-2x4's width wise covered with 3/8" chip board. My power supply will come from an extension cord from the house, although I may run a power line out to it if I find I need more power. My forge will sit in the back and I will be putting in a hood system of some sort. The building is somewhat sturdy.

So my questions or what I need ideas on are.....

Should I move the shed over to the other side of the property to avoid the tree with the chimney? The branches are about 4' above the roof, or there abouts.

Do I need a window or two? I was thinking in the doors.

Should I remove the floor and just go with ground? Upsides/downsides to a wood floor? I was thinking of putting a layer of 3/4" plywood on top of what is there and since I have some tin sheets I'd put those on top of that under the forge area.

For lighting when the doors are closed would florescence or normal bulbs be better? There is that safety thing with florescence and mercury I wonder about. Maybe paint the inside white to help with "light".

What about incoming ventilation? Add a vent above the doors and something lower to the floor possibly?

It gets to being cold up here from mid sept to late may ( long periods of -22F for the folks south of the boarder). Should I insulate this shop? I will have a little heater on a timer for when I am not there. My anvil, since it is rectangle (see my pic folder) is going to have a battery blanket on it (also on a timer) to keep it "warm".

Well any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions are appreciated, and no the lawnmower is not staying in there.

DennisG

[mike-hr]

Cheap Flourescent lights get angry below freezing temps. I use HO flouro lights in my shop, they work below freezing, but below 0 degrees F plain old light bulbs would probably work best. Your forge, gas or solid fuel, will eat oxygen and generate carbon monoxide. fresh air inlets are a must.

[beth]

hi Dennis - im no expert but i would get rid of the floor and just go on the ground - wood floors and fire are a bit of a pain in my experience.... dont reckon you need to worry too much about the tree and as someone who used to cut trees for a living theres no harm in a gentle crown lift if it looks like its getting singed! not sure about what type of bulbs are best although in my workshop i like it darker round the forge so i can see the heat better and lighter areas for finishing. and like mike said ventilation is a total must - i leave my doors open unless the rain is hammering in, but it might be colder where you are.? Good luck with it - looks like it will be great - put some more pics when its done:)

[urnesBeast]

As someone who lost his entire wood floored shop to a fire April 16th, I HIGHLY recommend removal of the wooden floor.

-Doug

[divermike]

Windows and ventilation can be the same unit, just hinge the window and put in a prop open stick, my gas forge has my shop up to warm in no time, and I did not insulate the walls, I have forged with the door open on days that were 12 degrees, and my shop is twice that size, I would suggest having windows that can give you indirect light and a cross draft. Working on dirt is fine, but sheetrock the walls, or put cement board on them, protection in a tight space is paramount. My pal Don Kieffer at FAWA Forge works out of a shop that size, and he has a Kerrihard power hammer in the middle of it!! But he is so organized, he is sick in the head!!

[Frosty]

Ventilation is a must and windows are good. A window behind the bench and perhaps one in each door or the opposite wall would be a minimum.

You'll need cold start ballasts and high quality flourescents below zero but those are only more expensive, not hard to get. Were I lighting a small space like yours I'd buy a flourescent yard light for about $50 USD. Oh wait! I have a much larger shop and I DID buy one! It isn't enough for good working light in my 30' x 40' x 14' shop but it'd probably work a treat in yours. The flourescent tube is also in a gasket sealed fixture so it's unlikely to get broken and if it does break will be contained. Lastly, it's already rated for sub-zero starts.

An extension cord should be fine if you keep it as short as possible and use 10 ga. arctic insulated one. I'm running my shop one one now, I'd much rather not but it's working okay. What I did was wire a box outside with a male plug and run the heavy duty extension cord out to it. Inside I wired a number of outlets that are connected to the circuit. It lets me close the doors when I can and helps keep the extension cords off the floor. Well, some of them anyway.

Losing the wood floor isn't a bad idea and will help prevent a fire. Spraying the wood in the shop with a saturated Borax solution will make it fire retardent for not much but some effort and time. A garden sprayer works just fine.

A couple coats of light colored paint, preferably white will brighten things considerably. However, if you do much arc welding it will reflect enough to flash you after a while so you might want to invest in a dark colored screen to back you when you arc weld.

Insulation won't hurt either though that volume will warm up quickly. If you do much bench work you'll want something though and insulation will make the stove requirements significantly smaller. It's always easier to cool a space off than warm it up in sub zero temps. I know.

Keeping everything as mobile as reasonably possible will help a lot too.

Still, it's a decent sized space for small work up to oh say garden gate size though that might crowd it a bit.

Frosty

[DennisG]

Thanks for the info and ideas folks.

Seems that windows that slide with a screen may work. Allows light AND ventilation. I am torn about the floor. I do worry about it catching fire but then a soak with a borax mix and tin cover in the forge area may work. I have found out that if I take the floor out I will have to "frame" the bottom of the walls and anchor them but then I can put in crushed rock, or pea rock. I will paint everything except on the other side of the forge across from me so I am not blinded by the reflection from my fire.

Please keep passing on any ideas folks.

[Don A]

A block foundation would give you good containment for a packed dirt or gravel floor, plus a level and uniform base for your building.

You could even go with a couple extra coarses of block and add height to you ceiling.

Don

[David Einhorn]

I would suggest:
- remove the wood floor
- install lots of windows and doors, both for ventilation as well as having a window or door for elbow room for long pieces in the forge or on top of another tool.
- you might consider halogen lights intended for outside use, as they instantly go on in cold weather.
- consider installing wire underground that is rated for installation under ground. Extension cords make me nervous.
- consider building a large building.

[DennisG]

Ok, put in a plywood floor using screws, and industrial glue, set the joints opposite of the original joints. Had to put in a floor as the Mrs. doesn't like the idea of ripping out the floor. Put extra screws where the anvil will be. Did a Borax wash suggested by Frosty.

Put up gyp-rock on the walls, with the off white I won't need to paint. Put tin on the floor where the forge and anvil will sit as well at a tin "skirt" on the wall.



I will keep you all posted as I do more.

DennisG

Edited September 7, 2009 by DennisG

[Frosty]

Getting closer!

Frosty

[DennisG]

Well I was sick for 3 weeks, no not the swine flu, and am doing better so went last weekend and finished setting up my "shop". Got to start my first fire this past fri and spent several hrs today pounding. Darn do I miss it! Started working on a piece for xmas.

Anyway, my hood is up it is 30"W X 40"L. The venting is a 10" pipe and the flow is great. At present I am still figuring out where to put things to make it an economical flow for working. The combustion chamber fan from a high efficiency furnace works better then I dreamed, look at the bottom left of the 3rd pic, it is at the floor. Got an old welding table from a neighbor and have most of my stuff inside with a good locking system on. As you may see on the anvil I have 3 plates, using them to heat it before using it, works well for now. Shop heats up very nicely and fast.

Next is to see how it is with 2 feet of snow on the ground and also to put up a sign.

[njanvilman]

Is that 10" pipe single wall coming through a wooden building side? Dangerous. At least cut the hole bigger and create a second layer to insulate the pipe from the wood. You could make a sheet metal outer plate to center it in the hole. Also, I would add a few more sections of pipe to create a better draw at the top of the stack. My opinions.